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Investigating Thematic Roles through Implicit Learning: Evidence from Light Verb Constructions.

Eva Wittenberg¹, Manizeh Khan², Jesse Snedeker²

¹Language Comprehension Lab, Linguistics Department, University of California, San DiegoSan Diego, CA, United States.

Frontiers in Psychology

|July 18, 2017

Summary

Listeners categorize sentence meaning by thematic roles, not syntax. However, light verb constructions initially mislead interpretation, showing syntax

Keywords:

argument structure eye tracking implicit learning light verb constructions semantics syntactic alternations syntax thematic roles

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Area of Science:

Psycholinguistics
Cognitive Science
Linguistics

Background:

Sentence meaning is typically predicted by syntactic structure.
Argument noun phrases (Subject, Object) usually map to single thematic roles (Agent, Patient).
Some constructions present mismatches between syntax and semantic roles.

Purpose of the Study:

Investigate how syntactic structure influences sentence interpretation.
Examine English ditransitive light verb constructions as a case study.
Determine if listeners prioritize thematic roles over syntax in construal.

Main Methods:

Eye-tracking experiment to monitor processing.
Behavioral categorization tasks.
Analysis of light verb constructions (e.g., 'gave a hug').

Main Results:

Listeners categorize sentences based on the number of thematic roles, independent of syntax.
Light verb constructions create a unique category where syntax initially misdirects role assignment.
Partial recovery from initial misinterpretation occurs in light verb constructions.

Conclusions:

Syntactic argument structure automatically influences semantic interpretation and event construal.
This influence persists even in frequent constructions.
Listeners prioritize semantic roles but can be temporarily misled by syntactic cues.