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Department of Cognitive Science

Dr Peng Zhou

BA BLCU, MA BLCU, PhD Macq.

Dr Peng Zhou

Postdoctoral Research Fellow

Contact Details

Office : 3.504
Phone : +61 2 9850 6735
Fax : +61 2 9850 6059
email : peng.zhou@mq.edu.au
Homepage : http://mq.academia.edu/PengZhou

External Address

Department of Cognitive Science
Australian Hearing Hub
16 University Avenue
Macquarie University NSW 2109

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Profile

My research is in two areas of the psychology of language: language acquisition and sentence processing. In the study of language acquisition, I look at how children acquire the knowledge of linguistic interfaces, like scope assignment, focus identification etc. In the study of sentence processing, I investigate how adults and children use different levels of linguistic
knowledge in sentence comprehension, using on-line techniques like eye-tracking and neuroimaging techniques like MEG. I am currently working on a project looking at Specific Language Impairment (SLI) in Mandarin Chinese.

External Appointments

  • Editorial board member, Journal of Psycholinguistic Research. (2009 continuing)
  • Editorial board member, International Journal of English Linguistics. (2011 - 2012)
  • Associate editor, International Journal of English Linguistics. (2012 continuing)
  • Deputy Director, International Centre for Child Language Health (ICCLH), Beijing Language and Culture University. (2012 continuing)

External Memberships

  • Linguistic Society of America (LSA)

Awards

  • Travel Fellowship – Generative Approaches to Language Acquisition North America 5 (2012), Zhou, P. US National Science Foundation ($400)
  • Student Travel Award (2010), Zhou, P. GLOW-in-Asia VIII ($500)
  • Higher Degree Research Excellence Award (2009), Zhou, P. Faculty of Human Sciences, Macquarie University

Grants Awarded

  • Macquarie University Research Fellowship (2012 - 2015) "Linguistic knowledge in children with Specific Language Impairment." Zhou, P. ($260,551)
  • Australia-China Science and Research Fund (9201200088) (2012) Developing strategic links between Macquarie University, Beijing Language and Culture University and project partners on language acquisition and childhood language disorders. Crain, S., Gao, L., Cutler, A., Coltheart, M., Yu, W., Bi, H., Ma, Y., Wang, M., Wang, F., Johnson, B., Thornton, R., & Zhou, P. ($13,455)
  • Macquarie University Research Infrastructure Block Grant Scheme (2012) “Upgrade of child magnetoencephalography (MEG) system.” Johnson, B.W., Crain, S., Thornton, R., Demuth, K., Brock, J., Sowman P., Zhou, P., & Johnson, M. ($100,000)
  • Macquarie University Research Infrastructure Block Grant Scheme (2012 - 2013) "Tobii eye-tracker for testing infants and young children." Demuth, K., Grant, K.-A., McMahon, C., Crain, S., Thornton, R., Sharma, M., Cox, F., Tsukada, K., Zhou, P., & Moscati, V. ($49,150)
  • National Social Science Foundation Grant of China (2009 - 2011) Semantic acquisition in Chinese and English: A Cross-linguistic comparison of children's understanding of logical words. Gao, L.Q., Crain, S., Thornton, R., Lee, T. H.-T., Huang, Y. Y., Yang, S. Y., & Zhou, P. ($13,000)
  • Student Travel Fellowship (2008) Generative Approaches to Language Acquisition (US National Science Foundation) Zhou, P. ($500)
  • MACCS Postgraduate Grant (2008) Zhou, P. ($6,680)
  • Macquarie University Travel Scholarship (2007) Zhou, P. ($500)
  • MACCS Postgraduate Grant (2007) Zhou, P. ($1,958)

Selected Publications

Book Chapters

  • Crain, S., Goro, T., Notley, A., & Zhou, P. (In Press). A parametric account of scope in child language. In S. Stavrakaki, P. Konstantinopoulou & M. Lalioti (Eds.), Advances in Language Acquisition. Newcastle: Cambridge Scholar Press.
  • Crain, S., & Zhou, P. (In Press). Semantics and pragmatics: Acquisition of logical connectives and focus. In C.T.J. Huang & R. Sybesma (Eds.), The Encyclopedia of Chinese Language and Linguistics. The Netherlands: Brill.

Periodicals

  • Notley, A., Zhou, P., Jensen, B., & Crain, S. (2012). Children's interpretation of disjunction in the scope of 'before': A comparison of English and Mandarin. Journal of Child Language, 39(3), 482-522. doi:10.1017/S0305000911000092
  • Zhou, P., Su, Y., Crain, S., Gao, L.Q., & Zhan, L.K. (2012). Children's use of phonological information in ambiguity resolution: A view from Mandarin Chinese. Journal of Child Language, 39, 687-730. doi:10.1017/S0305000911000249
  • Su, Y., Zhou, P., & Crain, S. (2012). Downward entailment in child Mandarin. Journal of Child Language, 39(5), 957-990.
  • Zhou, P., Crain, S., & Zhan, L.K. (2012). Sometimes children are as good as adults: The pragmatic use of prosody in children's on-line sentence processing. Journal of Memory and Language, 67, 149-164. doi:10.1016/j.jml.2012.03.005
  • Zhou, P. (In Press). Children's knowledge of wh-quantification in Mandarin Chinese. Applied Psycholinguistics.
  • Zhou, P., & Crain, S. (2011). Children's knowledge of the quantifier dou in Mandarin Chinese. Journal of Psycholinguistic Research, 40(3), 155-176. doi:10.1007/s10936-010-9161-z
  • Zhou, P. (2011). Interface conditions in child language: A view from Mandarin Chinese. Language Acquisition, 18, 202-204. doi:10.1080/10489223.2011.580678
  • Zhou, P., & Crain, S. (2010). Focus identification in child Mandarin. Journal of Child Language, 37, 965-1005. doi:10.1017/S0305000909990110
  • Zhou, P., & Gao, L.Q. (2009). Scope processing in Chinese. Journal of Psycholinguistic Research, 38, 11-24. doi:10.1007/s10936-008-9079-x
  • Zhou, P., & Crain, S. (2009). Scope assignment in child language: Evidence from the acquisition of Chinese. Lingua, 119, 973-988. doi:10.1016/j.lingua.2009.01.001
  • Notley, A., Zhou, P., Thornton, R., & Crain, S. (2009). Children's interpretation of focus expressions in English and Mandarin. Language Acquisition, 16(4), 240-282. doi:10.1080/10489220903266669

Published Conference Proceedings

  • Zhou, P., Thornton, R., & Crain, S. (2013). The logic of double negation in child language. In S. Baiz, N. Goldman, & R. Hawkes (Eds.), Proceedings of Boston University Conference on Language Development 37 (BUCLD 37) (pp. 495-507). Somerville, USA: Cascadilla Press.
  • Zhou, P., & Crain, S. (2012). Focus and scope in child language. In Y.-O. Biq & L. Chen (Eds.), Proceedings of the 13th International Symposium on Chinese Language and Linguistics (IsCLL-13) (pp. 434-455). Taipei: National Taiwan Normal University.
  • Zhou, P., & Crain, S. (2010). Dou-quantification in child Mandarin. In J. Costa, A. Castro, M. Lobo & F. Pratas (Eds.), Language Acquisition and Development: Proceedings of GALA 2009 (pp. 505-518). Lisbon, Portugal: Cambridge: Cambridge Scholars Publishing.
  • Zhou, P. (2010). Children's understanding of dou in Chinese. In Mohanty, R., & Menon, M. (Eds.), Proceedings of GLOW in ASIA VII 2009 (pp. 87-96). Hyderabad: EFL University Press.
  • Notley, A., Zhou, P., Jensen, B. & Crain, S. (2010). Children's interpretation of 'before' and 'or' in English and Mandarin Chinese. In Mohanty, R., & Menon, M. (Eds.), Proceedings of GLOW in ASIA VII 2009 (pp. 97-116). Hyderabad: EFL University Press.
  • Zhou, P., & Crain, S. (2009). Focus in child language: Evidence from the acquisition of Chinese. In Crawford, J., Otaki, K., & Takahashi, M. (Eds.), Proceedings of the 3rd Conference on Generative Approaches to Language Acquisition North America (GALANA 2008) (pp. 336-346). Somerville, MA: Cascadilla Press.
  • Zhou, P., & Crain, S. (2008). Scope Assignment in Chinese: Why Children and Adults differ. In Otsu, Yukio (Ed.), Proceedings of the Ninth Tokyo Conference on Psycholinguistics (pp. 341-366). Tokyo: Hituzi Syobo.

Conference Presentations, Colloquia, and other presentations

  • Zhou, P., Romoli, J., & Crain, S. (2013, May). Children's knowledge of alternatives. Paper presented at the 23rd Semantics and Linguistic Theory Conference (SALT 23), University of California at Santa Cruz, USA.
  • Zhou, P., Crain, S., & Thornton, R. (2012, November). The logic of double negation in child language. Paper presented at the 37th Annual Boston University Conference on Language Development, Boston, USA.
  • Zhou, P., Crain, S., & Thornton, R. (2012, October). Lexical aspect and the use of negation by Mandarin-speaking children. Paper presented at the 5th Generative Approaches to Language Acquisition - North America 5 (GALANA5), University of Kansas, Lawrence, USA.
  • Zhou, P., Crain, S., & Thornton, R. (2012, October). When two negatives make a positive in child Mandarin. Paper presented at the 5th Generative Approaches to Language Acquisition - North America 5 (GALANA5), University of Kansas, Lawrence, USA.
  • Zhou, P. (2012, September). Lexical aspect and the use of negation by Mandarin-speaking children. Invited colloquium at the Beijing Language and Culture University, Beijing, China.
  • Zhan, L.K., Crain, S., & Zhou, P. (2012, September). The anticipatory effects of focus operators: A visual-world eye-tracking experiment. Paper presented at the 9th Conference of Generative Linguistics in the Old World Asia (GLOW-in-Asia IX), Mie University, Japan.
  • Zhou, P., Crain, S., & Zhan, L.K. (2012, March). Children’s pragmatic use of prosody in sentence processing. Paper presented at the 35th Generative Linguistics in the Old World (GLOW) Workshop: Production and Perception of Prosodically-Encoded Information Structure, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany.
  • Zhou, P. (2012, March). Focus interpretation at the interface. Invited presentation given at the University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany.
  • Crain, S., Goro, T., Zhou, P., & Notley, A. (2012, January). Polarity meets focus in child language. Paper presented at the 86th Annual Meeting of the Linguistic Society of America, Portland, USA.
  • Thornton, R., Crain, S., Zhou, P., Notley, A., & Goro, T. (2012, January). The latest scoop on scope in child language. Paper presented at the 86th Annual Meeting of the Linguistic Society of America, Portland, USA.
  • Zhou, P. (2011, December). Parsing ambiguities: Children’s pragmatic use of prosody in sentence processing. Invited presentation given at the Tianjin Normal University, Tianjin, China.
  • Crain, S., & Zhou, P. (2011, December). Principles and parameters of scope in child language. Invited presentation given at the Tianjin Normal University, Tianjin, China.
  • Zhou, P., Goro, T., & Notley, A. (2011, September). The logic of focus in child language. Paper presented at the Generative Approaches to Language Acquisition (GALA), Thessaloniki, Greece.
  • Crain, S., Goro, T., Notley, A., & Zhou, P. (2011, September). A parametric account of scope in child language. Paper presented at the Generative Approaches to Language Acquisition (GALA), Thessaloniki, Greece.
  • Zhou, P. (2010, December). Another look at "the observation of isomorphism". Invited presentation given at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong.
  • Zhou, P. (2010, December). Interface conditions in child Mandarin. Invited presentation given at the Beijing Language and Culture University, Beijing, China.
  • Zhou, P., Su, Y., & Crain, S. (2010, October). The role of prosody in children's ambiguity resolution: A view from Mandarin Chinese. Paper presented at the 13th China International Conference on Contemporary Linguistics, Shanghai, China.
  • Zhou, P., Crain, S., Gao, L.Q., & Zhan, L.K. (2010, September). The role of prosody in children's focus identification. Paper presented at the Generative Approaches to Language Acquisition - North America 4 (GALANA-4), Toronto, Canada.
  • Zhou, P., Su, Y., Crain, S., Gao, L.Q., & Zhan, L.K. (2010, August). Children's use of prosodic information in ambiguity resolution. Paper presented at the 8th Conference of Generative Linguistics in the Old World Asia (GLOW-in-Asia 8), Beijing, China.
  • Zhou, P., Su, Y., Crain, S., Gao, L.Q., & Zhan, L.K. (2010, April). The role of prosody in children's ambiguity resolution: A view from Mandarin Chinese. Paper presented at the 1st International Conference on Chinese Acquisition and Cognition, Beijing, China.
  • Zhou, P., & Crain, S. (2009, September). Dou-quantification in child Mandarin. Paper presented at the Generative Approaches to Language Acquisition (GALA), Lisbon, Portugal.
  • Notley, A., Zhou, P., Jensen, B., & Crain, S. (2009, July). Children's interpretation of before and or in English and Mandarin Chinese. Paper presented at the The 4th International Conference on Formal Linguistics., Beijing Foreign Studies University, Beijing, China.
  • Zhou, P., & Crain, S. (2009, April). Children's Interpretation of wh-words in downward entailing contexts vs. non-downward entailing contexts. Invited presentation given at the Beijing Language and Culture University, Beijing, China.
  • Notley, A. Zhou, P, Jensen, B., & Crain, S. (2009, March). Children's interpretation of before and or in English and Mandarin Chinese Poster session presented at the Festschrift in honour of Max Coltheart, Macquarie University, Australia.
  • Notley, A., Zhou, P., Jensen, B., & Crain, S. (2009, February). Children's Interpretation of 'Before' and 'Or' in English and Mandarin Chinese Presentation given at the 7th Conference on Generative Linguistics in the Old World (GLOW in Asia), English and Foreign Languages University, Hyderabad, India.
  • Zhou, P., & Crain, S. (2009, January). Focus Identification in Child Mandarin. Paper presented at the 83rd Annual Meeting of the Linguistic Society of America, San Francisco, California, United States.
  • Zhou, P. (2009, January). Children's Understanding of DOU in Chinese Presentation given at the 7th Conference on Generative Linguistics in the Old World, English and Foreign Languages University, Hyderabad, India.
  • Zhou, P. (2008, October). Focus Expressions in Child Mandarin. Paper presented at the Workshop on Glimpses of Linguistic Research in Chinese, the Centre for Language Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia.
  • Zhou, P. (2008, October). How do Mandarin-speaking Children Understand 'Zhiyou'? Invited paper presented at the Beijing Language and Culture University, Beijing, China.
  • Zhou, P., & Crain, S. (2008, September). Focus in Child Language: Evidence from the Acquisition of Chinese. Paper presented at the Generative Approaches to Language Acquisition - North America 3, University of Connecticut in Storrs, United States.
  • Zhou, P., & Crain, S. (2008, March). Scope Assignment in Chinese: Why Children and Adults differ. Paper presented at the 9th Tokyo Conference on Psycholinguistics, Tokyo, Japan.
  • Zhou, P. & Gao, L.Q. (2007, December). L1 Processing of Relative Scope in Chinese. Paper presented at the 12th International Conference on the Processing of East Asia Related Languages (PEARL), Tainan, Taiwan.