Doctoral Dissertation Research: Examining the linguistic cues that guide prediction in the processing of Mandarin relative clauses: An ERP study

理解语言是一个渐进的过程，在这个过程中，听者试图将每个传入的单词整合到句子的结构和意义中。越来越多的人认为，这一过程也涉及到对句子中即将到来的部分的预测。然而，关于使用哪种类型的语言信息来生成预测，以及个体在参与预测的能力上存在多大程度的差异，仍然存在悬而未决的问题。本论文的研究项目是利用脑电图（EEG），一种毫秒级时间分辨率的脑成像技术，来研究大脑是否利用预测线索来预测汉语复杂的句法结构。本研究还考察了预测复杂结构的能力在多大程度上取决于语言和非语言认知能力，为语言的神经基础和调节语言理解成功的认知能力提供了新的见解。这个项目研究了在处理过程中使用什么类型的语言信息来预测即将到来的结构，重点是对汉语关系从句的预测（例如，“玛丽写的书”中的字符串“玛丽写”）。在普通话中，只有在短语的末尾才会有标记，表明这些词构成了一个关系从句；因此，提前预测关系分句可能对不中断这些句子的处理至关重要。这个项目研究了在句子中出现的时态表达是否可以提供一个预测线索，表明即将到来的关系从句。当参与者阅读普通话句子时，将通过脑电图记录大脑活动，以跟踪整个句子的预测处理动态。参与者还将完成一系列测试，以检查参与结构预测是否受到语言和认知能力的个体差异的调节，从而揭示可能影响语言理解的个体属性。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Comprehending language is an incremental process in which the listener attempts to integrate each incoming word into the structure and meaning of the sentence as it unfolds. Increasingly, this process is also argued to involve the prediction of upcoming parts of the sentence. However, open questions remain regarding what type of linguistic information is used in order to generate predictions, and to what extent individuals differ in their ability to engage in prediction. This dissertation research project uses electroencephalography (EEG), a brain-imaging technique with millisecond-level timing resolution, to examine whether the brain utilizes predictive cues to anticipate a complex syntactic structure in Mandarin. This study also examines to what extent the ability to predict complex structures depends on verbal and non-verbal cognitive abilities, providing new insights regarding the neurological basis of language and the cognitive abilities that modulate success in language comprehension.This project examines what type of linguistic information is used to predict upcoming structure during processing, focusing on the prediction of relative clauses in Mandarin (e.g., the string "Mary wrote" in "the book Mary wrote"). In Mandarin, it is only at the end of the phrase that there is any marker indicating that the words form a relative clause; therefore, predicting relative clauses in advance may be critical for processing these sentences without disruption. This project examines whether tense expressions that appear early in a sentence may provide a predictive cue indicating an upcoming relative clause. Brain activity will be recorded via EEG while participants read sentences in Mandarin, in order to track the dynamics of predictive processing throughout the sentence. Participants will also complete a battery of tests in order to examine whether engaging in structure prediction is modulated by individual differences in linguistic and cognitive abilities, shedding light on the individual properties which may affect language comprehension.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.