主语关系从句加工优势的普遍性——来自汉语关系从句ERP研究的证据

Universality of Processing Advantage for Subject Relative Clause:An ERP Study of Chinese Relative Clauses

文章采用ERP技术通过考察汉语关系从句的神经加工机制,探讨了主语关系从句加工优势的普遍性问题。实验对句法结构临时性歧义进行了控制,并调控了从句动词论元的生命性与指称性,结果发现:1)汉语主语关系从句比宾语关系从句更容易加工,主语关系从句加工优势具有语言类型上的普遍性;2)从句内语迹与移位的从句中心语之间的句法结构距离更短是主语关系从句存在加工优势的原因,符合"结构距离"假说;3)当从句主语为生命性名词、宾语为非生命性名词时,主、宾语关系从句之间的加工难度差异增大;4)当从句主语和宾语之一为人称代词、另一个为普通名词时,主、宾语关系从句之间的加工难度差异消失。

The paper examines the neural processing mechanism of Chinese relative clauses in an event-related potentials（ERPs） experiment, and explores the universality of processing advantage for subject relative clause. In the current experiment, temporary syntactic structural ambiguity is controlled, and animacy and referentiality of the arguments of embedded verb in clauses are regulated as well. The results demonstrates that： 1）Chinese subject relative clause is easier to process than Chinese object relative clause, and processing advantage of subject relative clause is universal in head-initial and head-final relative clauses; 2）The processing advantage of subject relative clause is attributed to fact that the syntactic structural distance between trace and moved head in subject relative clause is shorter than in object relative clause, which is in line with the Structural Distance Hypothesis;3）The processing of object relative clause is more difficult when the subject is animate and the object is inanimate in relative clause; 4）The difference in processing two relative clauses dissolves when one of the subject and object is animate noun, another is pronoun in relative clause.