Processing Chinese relative clauses in context
Name
Gibson & Wu oct 2010[1].pdf
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374.72 KB
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Author(s)
Gibson, Edward A.
Wu, H.-H. Iris
Date Issued
March 2011
Journal
Language and Cognitive Processes
Publisher
Taylor & Francis Group
Citation
Gibson, Edward, and H.-H. Iris Wu. “Processing Chinese Relative Clauses in Context.” Language and Cognitive Processes (2011): 1–31. Web.
Version
Author's final manuscript
Abstract
This paper presents a self-paced reading experiment comparing the processing of subject-extracted relative clauses (SRCs) and object-extracted relative clauses (ORCs) in supportive contexts in Chinese. It is argued that lack of a consistent pattern in the literature for the comparison between Chinese SRCs and ORCs is due to potential temporary ambiguity in these constructions in null contexts. By placing the materials in contexts biased towards a relative clause (RC) interpretation, we limit the effects of temporary ambiguity. The results of the experiment demonstrate that SRCs are read more slowly than ORCs in supportive contexts. These results provide evidence for working memory-based sentence processing theories whereby processing difficulty increases for connecting sentence elements that are further apart. Some convergent evidence that strengthens these conclusions comes from recent research on aphasic populations where a dissociation between English and Chinese RC processing has been revealed: whereas English aphasic patients have more difficulty with ORCs and Chinese aphasic patients have more difficulty with SRCs (Su, Lee, & Chung, 2007). Taken together, these results support the idea that sentence processing is constrained by working memory limitations.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences
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Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0
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DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.1080/01690965.2010.536656
