构式在中国学生英语句子意义理解中的作用

Constructions in the comprehension of English sentences by Chinese EFL learners

在句子意义理解过程中 ,传统的观点认为动词决定句子的句法和意义 ,而Bencini&Goldberg( 2 0 0 0 )通过两个分类法的实验 ,指出论元构式在决定句子整体意义方面比动词具有更强的预测能力。在前人研究基础上 ,本研究试图引进语言水平这一参数 ,考察动词和论元构式在二语句子意义理解中的作用。实验材料参照Bencini&Goldberg ,由 4个英语动词和 4个构式交叉组成 1 6个英语句子 ,三种不同英语语言水平的受试依据自己对句子整体意义的理解对它们进行归类。结果表明 ,受试的分类随着语言水平的不同而呈现不同的倾向 ,即初学者更容易受动词的影响 ,而中级和高级水平的学习者则倾向于依据论元构式来理解句子意义。

This paper investigated, by the sorting paradigm, the role of verbs or constructions when Chinese EFL learners try to understand an English sentence. Sixteen sentences were created by crossing four verbs with four constructions and subjects of different language proficiencies were asked to sort them into four groups according to their overall meaning. The results suggest that in an L2 context, language proficiency makes a difference on the main determinants of sentence meaning. That is, EFL beginners rely more on the verb in sentence interpretation, while intermediate and advanced learners are more influenced by the construction of a sentence.