中国学生解读英语歧义名名组合的认知机制

Chinese Learners' Interpretation of Ambiguous N+N Combinations in English

本文运用启动实验探讨了不同水平中国英语学习者解读歧义名名组合的认知机制。结果发现:1)启动组合和目标组合中心词相同时的启动效应显著大于修饰词相同时的启动效应;2)启动组合为次要关系时的启动效应显著大于启动组合为主要关系时的启动组合;3)高低水平学习者的歧义名名组合的认知模式一致,但高水平学习者的加工速度快于低水平学习者。这说明中心词和主题关系都影响名名组合的加工过程。实验结果支持概念组合的双重加工模型和基于用法的理论模型。

The present study reports the results of an experiment which uses Lexical Decision Task under priming paradigm to explore Chinese English learners' cognitive processes of interpreting ambiguous N + N combinations. The results showed that 1) when the head nouns of priming combinations were the same with those of target combinations,the priming effects were larger than when the modifier nouns of the priming combinations were the same with the target combinations; 2) when the priming relations were subdominant,the priming effects were larger than when the priming relations were dominant; 3) Language proficiency did not affect Chinese English learners' interpretation of ambiguous N + N combinations. Both the low and high proficiency learners interpreted the combinations in the same pattern. The experimental results suggest that both the high and low proficiency learners' interpretation of ambiguous N + N combinations follow the Dual Processing Model.