理论语言学的实验研究

Experimental Studies on Theoretical Linguistics

本文综述了用实验来探究理论语言学议题的研究现状和趋势。文章首先举例说明了理论语言学和实验研究之间的常见误区,以及将理论应用于变量可控、现实可操作的实验范式所面临的挑战。接着,以两个自控步速阅读实验和一个声学实验的具体研究为例,评析了实验研究对理论语言学的两种贡献类型,一种是先理论后验证型,即当理论相对完善或者有明确预测的时候,实验研究主要充当一个验证的手段提供证据,往往是支持其中一种理论而驳斥另一种;另一种类型的贡献是实验的结果可以反过来对理论进行重构,实验的数据也可以作为语言事实成为理论的一个新的起点。最后,本文展望了理论语言学的实验研究的发展前景。

The present paper reviews some experimental studies on theoretical linguistic issues.It first illustrates a number of common misunderstandings between theoretical linguistics and experimental linguistics,as well as the challenges encountered when experimental paradigms need to be made compatible and realistic with theoretical questions and issues.Furthermore,two kinds of contributions that experimental studies can make to theoretical linguistics are discussed by reviewing two self-paced reading experiments and an acoustic study.One contribution is that experimental means serve as a means of verification for sound linguistic theories or theories with clear predictions.The other concerns the relation between theoretical models and experimental research,as experimental results have the potential to help theoretical remodeling.The developmental trends of experimental studies on theoretical linguistics are also discussed.