Doctoral Dissertation Research: The Processing of Referential Expressions in Discourse in L2 English

博士论文研究：二语英语话语中指称表达的处理

• 批准号: 1252235
• 负责人: Bonnie Schwartz
• 金额: $ 1.64万
• 依托单位: University of Hawaii
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2013
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2013-03-01 至 2016-02-29
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1252235&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Doctoral; Dissertation; Research; Processing; Referential

There are various ways speakers use language to refer to things and people. Depending on context, a person named JOHN can be referred to as "he," "the guy," "John," etc. English native speakers tend to use a pronoun (e.g., "he") when its referent is salient in their mind, such as when it is the discourse topic; when saliency decreases, they tend to use a more explicit form, such as a repeated proper name (e.g., "John"). In comparison to English, Chinese and Japanese have an additional option: omission, i.e., the "null pronoun." When the referent is highly salient, native Chinese speakers use overt pronouns, but they can also use the null pronoun. By contrast, native Japanese speakers rarely use overt pronouns but frequently use the null pronoun.This project investigates how intermediate-to-advanced second language learners of English, whose native language is Chinese or Japanese, as well as native speakers of these three languages, refer to people embedded in various discourse contexts. The participants' preferences for referential expressions are examined in real-time comprehension and production tasks. The research project investigates whether preferences are influenced by differences of saliency manipulated in contexts and/or by cognitive load; greater processing demand (e.g., production) should decrease saliency of referents, which should in turn increase the preference of a more explicit form. The project also investigates whether Chinese learners use more overt pronouns in English than Japanese learners do, reflecting their use of pronouns in their native language.This is the first study to systematically examine the preferences in both comprehension and production tasks by learners of English and the three groups of native speakers. Unlike previous second-language studies that used complex tasks and found problems coordinatingdiscourse and syntax even in near-native learners, this project uses simple sentences and procedures to see learners? true processing behavior. Since foreign-language classrooms rarely cover use of referential expressions in discourse, the research results should providelanguage educators with much-needed insights into their acquisition and use. This project also enhances the training of a promising graduate student.

说话者使用语言来指代事物和人的方式多种多样。根据上下文，一个叫约翰的人可以被称为“他”、“那个家伙”、“约翰”等。“他”），当它的所指在他们的脑海中是突出的，如当它是话语主题时;当突出性降低时，他们倾向于使用更明确的形式，如重复的专有名称（例如，“John”）。与英语相比，汉语和日语有一个额外的选择：省略，即，“空代词”“当所指非常突出时，母语为汉语的人使用显性代词，但他们也可以使用空代词。与此相反，日语本族语者很少使用显性代词，而经常使用空代词。本研究调查了母语为汉语或日语的英语中级至高级第二语言学习者以及这三种语言的本族语者如何在不同的话语语境中指代人物。受试者对指称表达的偏好在实时理解和产出任务中被检验。该研究项目调查偏好是否受到上下文和/或认知负荷中操纵的显着性差异的影响;更大的处理需求（例如，生产）应减少显着的指称，这反过来又会增加偏好的一个更明确的形式。本研究还调查了中国学习者在英语中是否比日本学习者使用更多的显性代词，这反映了他们在本族语中使用代词的情况。本研究首次系统地考察了英语学习者和三组本族语者在理解和产出任务中的偏好。与以前的第二语言研究，使用复杂的任务，发现问题coordinatingdiscourse和句法，即使在近母语的学习者，这个项目使用简单的句子和程序，看看学习者？真正的加工行为。由于外语课堂很少涉及语篇中指称表达的使用，研究结果应该为语言教育工作者提供急需的关于指称表达的习得和使用的见解。该项目还加强了对有前途的研究生的培训。