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Examining Online Syntactic Processing of Spoken Complex Sentences in Chinese Using Dual-Modal Interference Tasks
Published on: September 5, 2019
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Use of Memory-Load Interference in Processing Spoken Chinese Relative Clauses.
Tuyuan Cheng1, Jei-Tun Wu2, Shuanfan Huang3
1General Education Center, National Tainan Junior College of Nursing, Tainan, Taiwan. 2012tuyuan@gmail.com.
Journal of Psycholinguistic Research
|March 19, 2018
Summary
Chinese relative clauses (RCs) show no inherent processing asymmetry. Working memory load impacts online processing, suggesting memory involvement is crucial for understanding sentence complexity.
Area of Science:
- Psycholinguistics
- Cognitive Science
- Linguistics
Background:
- Competing theories exist regarding processing advantages for Subject-gapped relative clauses (SRCs) versus Object-gapped relative clauses (ORCs).
- Investigating online processing asymmetry in Chinese relative clauses under varying memory loads is essential.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine the online processing asymmetry of Chinese SRCs and ORCs.
- To determine the influence of concurrent memory load on Chinese RC processing.
- To compare online listening times and post-online measures for SRCs and ORCs.
Main Methods:
- A self-paced listening paradigm was employed.
- Online listening times were recorded for SRCs and ORCs.
- Post-online measures, including reaction times and accuracy for comprehension and digit recall, were collected.
Main Results:
- No differential processing patterns were observed between ORCs and SRCs under interfering conditions.
- Under zero-digit load, SRCs showed a processing advantage; however, under a five-digit load, SRCs exhibited longer listening times.
- Post-online results indicated worse performance in SRC processing, with slower reaction times and lower accuracy in comprehension and digit recall tasks.
Conclusions:
- The findings suggest a lack of intrinsic processing asymmetry in Chinese relative clauses.
- Working memory involvement is a critical factor in processing sentence complexity and should be considered in future research.
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