汉语口语句子产生中句法启动效应的眼动研究

研究利用眼动技术考察了汉语口语句子产生中的句法启动效应及其眼动模式。实验采用双宾语句(主语+谓语+间接宾语+直接宾语)、介宾语句(主语+谓语+直接宾语+间接宾语)和简单句三种启动句类型,听觉呈现启动句后呈现图片要求被试用句子进行描述,目标句类型为双宾语句或介宾语句。结果发现,启动句类型影响了目标句的句法选择及对图片中不同客体的注视时间比率及注视顺序。无论产生的目标句是否与启动句句法结构一致,双宾语句启动下对间接宾语的客体注视时间比率更高,且更多地优先注视间接宾语,介宾语句启动下对直接宾语的客体注视时间比率更高且更多地优先注视直接宾语,而在简单句启动条件下,眼动注视模式则会受到所产生目标句句法结构的影响。行为结果和眼动指标都支持了两阶段理论中结构选择和内容计划两阶段的观点。

Syntactic Priming Effect in Chinese Spoken Sentence Production: An Eyetracking Study

In sentence production, syntactic priming effect refers to a phenomenon that speakers or writers prefer to reuse syntactic structures that they just processed, and the magnitude is larger for less frequently used (non-preferred structure) than for more frequently used (preferred structure). Different theories have been proposed to account for the syntactic priming effect. The implicit learning theory assumes that the syntactic structure of prime sentences strengthens the connection between the specified syntactic structure and the specific content of a sentence. The two-stage theory hypothesizes that syntactic encoding involves syntactic structure's selection and content planning. The syntactic structure of a sentence is determined by the maximum activation of syntactic nodes, and the production latencies is determined by the activation difference of all activated syntactic nodes. Studies have addressed the behavioral responses including syntactic choices ratio and production latencies, however, little is known about the eye-tracking pattern in planning of sentence production. The present study investigated the eye-tracking pattern of syntactic priming effect in Chinese spoken sentence production. In a syntactic priming task, participated were presented a sentence (as a prime) auditorily, and then they need to judge a visually presented sentence matched the prime sentence or not. After that, participants were instructed to describe the target picture orally using the verb “give”. The eye-movement and production sentences were recorded. We manipulated prime sentence type (double objects, prepositional objects, and simple sentence) and target sentence type (double objects and prepositional objects). For the syntactic choices ration, results showed that the type of prime sentences affected the syntactic structure choice ratio, presenting that in comparison with simple sentence prime condition, speakers produced more double objects (or prepositional objects) sentences in the double objects (or prepositional objects) prime condition. For the eye-movement pattern, results showed that it was modulated by prime sentences, regardless of the consistency about syntactic structure between primes and targets. In the double objects prime condition, fixation ratio on indirect object was significantly higher than that of direct object, and fixation sequences contained more sequences of indirect object in priority, while in the prepositional objects prime condition, fixation ratio on direct object was significantly higher than that of indirect object, and fixation sequences contained more sequences of direct object in priority. By contrast, in simple sentence prime condition, the eye-movement pattern was determined by the type of target sentences. Fixation ratio on indirect object was significantly higher than that of direct object when producing targets with double objects, and fixation ratio on direct object was significantly higher than that of indirect object when producing targets with prepositional objects. Our findings indicated that there is a syntactic priming effect in sentence production, presented in syntactic choice ratio and eye-tracking pattern. We suggest that the findings on eye-tracking data provide evidence for the two-stage theory in sentence production.