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，听者试图将每个输入的单词整合到句子的结构和意义中。越来越多的人认为，这个过程还包括对句子中即将到来的部分的预测。然而，关于什么类型的语言信息被用来产生预测，以及个体参与预测的能力在多大程度上存在差异，仍然是悬而未决的问题。本论文的研究项目使用脑电(EEG)，一种具有毫秒级时间分辨率的脑成像技术，来检验大脑是否利用预测性线索来预测普通话中复杂的句法结构。这项研究还考察了预测复杂结构的能力在多大程度上依赖于语言和非语言的认知能力，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。本研究考察了在加工过程中，什么类型的语言信息被用来预测即将到来的结构，重点是对汉语中关系从句的预测(例如，《玛丽写的》一书中的字符串玛丽写的)。在普通话中，只有在短语的末尾才会有任何标记表明这些词构成了关系从句；因此，提前预测关系从句可能是不间断地处理这些句子的关键。这个项目考察了出现在句子早期的时态表达是否可以提供一个预测性的线索，表明即将到来的关系从句。当参与者阅读普通话句子时，大脑活动将通过EEG进行记录，以便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，以检验参与结构预测是否受到语言和认知能力个体差异的影响，揭示可能影响语言理解的个体属性。这一奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势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.