Faculty of Foreign Studies

Otsuka Yuko

  (大塚 祐子)

Profile Information

Affiliation
Professor, Faculty of Foreign Studies, Department of English Studies, Sophia University
Degree
学士(教養)(国際基督教大学)
修士号(オックスフォード大学)
博士号(オックスフォード大学)

Researcher number
30794474
J-GLOBAL ID
201601006318754723
researchmap Member ID
7000018043

Papers

 36
  • Katsuo Tamaoka, Shaoyun Yu, Jingyi Zhang, Yuko Otsuka, Hyunjung Lim, Masatoshi Koizumi, Rinus G. Verdonschot
    Frontiers in Psychology, 15, Apr 24, 2024  Peer-reviewed
    This study explored sentence processing in two typologically distinct languages: Korean, a verb-final language, and Tongan, a verb-initial language. The first experiment revealed that in Korean, sentences arranged in the scrambled OSV (Object, Subject, Verb) order were processed more slowly than those in the canonical SOV order, highlighting a scrambling effect. It also found that sentences with subject topicalization in the SOV order were processed as swiftly as those in the canonical form, whereas sentences with object topicalization in the OSV order were processed with speeds and accuracy comparable to scrambled sentences. However, since topicalization and scrambling in Korean use the same OSV order, independently distinguishing the effects of topicalization is challenging. In contrast, Tongan allows for a clear separation of word orders for topicalization and scrambling, facilitating an independent evaluation of topicalization effects. The second experiment, employing a maze task, confirmed that Tongan’s canonical VSO order was processed more efficiently than the VOS scrambled order, thereby verifying a scrambling effect. The third experiment investigated the effects of both scrambling and topicalization in Tongan, finding that the canonical VSO order was processed most efficiently in terms of speed and accuracy, unlike the VOS scrambled and SVO topicalized orders. Notably, the OVS object-topicalized order was processed as efficiently as the VSO canonical order, while the SVO subject-topicalized order was slower than VSO but faster than VOS. By independently assessing the effects of topicalization apart from scrambling, this study demonstrates that both subject and object topicalization in Tongan facilitate sentence processing, contradicting the predictions based on movement-based anticipation.
  • Yuko Otsuka
    Studies in Language Sciences, 21(2) 23-30, Oct, 2023  Invited
  • Koichi Otaki, Manami Sato, Hajime Ono, Koji Sugisaki, Noriaki Yusa, Yuko Otsuka, Masatoshi Koizumi
    Issues in Japanese Psycholinguistics from Comparative Perspectives: Volume 1: Cross-Linguistic Studies, 147-174, Jul 10, 2023  
  • Yuko Otsuka, Yoshiyuki Tanabe
    Sophia Linguistica, 72 31-45, 2023  Lead authorCorresponding author
  • Ono, Hajime, Koichi Otaki, Manami Sato, ‘Ana Heti Veikune, Peseti Vea, Yuko Otsuka, Masatoshi Koizumi
    Proceedings of the Twenty-Seventh Meeting of the Austronesian Formal Linguistics Association, 71-82, 2021  Peer-reviewed

Books and Other Publications

 1

Presentations

 42

Research Projects

 7

Academic Activities

 18

Social Activities

 9