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，这个过程也涉及到对句子即将出现的部分的预测。然而，悬而未决的问题仍然是什么类型的语言信息，以产生预测，以及在多大程度上个人在他们的能力不同，从事预测。本论文的研究项目使用脑电图（EEG），一个大脑成像技术与毫秒级的时间分辨率，以检查是否大脑利用预测线索，以预期一个复杂的句法结构，在普通话。本研究还探讨了语言和非语言认知能力在多大程度上决定了预测复杂结构的能力，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。本项目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，重点是预测普通话中的关系从句（例如，字符串“玛丽写的”在“这本书玛丽写的”）。在普通话中，只有在短语的末尾才有任何标记表明这些词构成关系从句;因此，提前预测关系从句对于不中断地处理这些句子可能是至关重要的。本研究旨在探讨句子中出现在句首的时态表达是否可以提供一个预示即将出现的关系从句的线索。当参与者用普通话阅读句子时，大脑活动将通过EEG记录下来，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，揭示可能影响语言理解的个体属性。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力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.