processing high level constraints in chinese and english

1. Shu-ju Chi, Carolyn Skoutelakis, Steve Seegmiller, & David Townsend Montclair State University Amlap 2004

3. [ip The lady sold [np a portrait of who ]] [cp Whoi did [ip the lady sell [np a portrait of ti ]]] [cp Whoi did [ip the lady sell [np a portrait of xi ]]] In LF who binds the unbound variable x.

4. Derivation of a Chinese wh-question [ip The lady sell [np a who portrait ]] [ip The lady sell [np a who portrait ]] [cp Whoi [ip the lady sell [np a xi portrait ]]] Movement of who does not occur at s-structure, but it does occur at LF so that who has scope over x.

5. The Specified Subject Constraint� [ip The lady sold [np Mary�s portrait of who ]] [cp Whoi did [ip the lady sell [np Mary�s portrait of ti ]]] [cp Whoi did [ip the lady sell [np Mary�s portrait of xi ]]] This derivation produces the sequence *Who did the lady sell Mary�s portrait of?, which violates the Specified Subject Constraint (SSC, now subsumed under Subjacency, Chomsky, 1981).

6. �exists in Chinese as well [ip The lady sell [np Mary-paint-de who portrait ]] [ip The lady sell [np Mary-paint-de who portrait ]] [cp Whoi [ip the lady sell [np Mary-paint-de xi portrait ]]] Even though there is no overt movement in Chinese, this derivation produces an ungrammatical sequence: The lady sell Mary-paint-de what portrait? (Huang & Li, 1996).

7. Where is the SSC? The SSC may be a constraint on movement or on binding: The specified subject Mary prevents movement of who (Lasnik & Saito, 1984). The specified subject Mary prevents who from binding its trace (Freidin, 1978). In either case the derivation fails to produce a well-formed LF.

8. Sentence Matching TaskFreedman & Forster (1985) In the sentence matching task one line appears and 2 sec later a second line appears below the first. The task is to decide whether the two lines are physically identical. (Identical lines) THE LADY SOLD A PORTRAIT OF HER FATHER. THE LADY SOLD A PORTRAIT OF HER FATHER. (non-identical lines) ? THE LADY SOLD A PORTRAIT OF HIS FATHER. THE LADY SOLD A PORTRAIT OF HER FATHER. Violations of phrase structure rules increased sentence matching times, but violations of the SSC did not.

9. Two Explanations Shallow sensitivity: The matching task is sensitive only to shallow linguistic representations, such as s-structure (Freedman & Forster, 1985). Correctability: Participants spontaneously correct an ungrammatical sequence, retain the correction, and compare it to the second line (Crain & Fodor, 1987). Both hypotheses predict no SS effect in either language on the matching task.

10. Experiment 1

11. Materials

12. Results of Acceptability Test In both languages violations of the SSC reduced acceptability ratings.

13. Results of Sentence Matching Violations of the Specified Subject Constraint had an effect in Chinese but not in English.

14. The results do not support shallow sensitivity because the SS effect in Chinese suggests that LF controls sentence matching. The results do not support correctability because the presence of the SS effect only in Chinese suggests that LFs that are poorly formed in the same way in two languages differ in correctability.

15. The Garden Path Theory The parser initially follows the one structure that uses the fewest rules based on lexical category (Frazier, 1987). The Most Recent Filler Strategy states that the parser assigns the most recent NP to fill a gap (Frazier et al., 1983). This approach makes the same predictions for materials with specified vs. unspecified subjects.

16. The Constraint-Based Theory The parser uses all available information to obtain as complete an interpretation as possible (MacDonald et al., 1994). The parser will show an increase in processing time when the sequence is likely to be ungrammatical. This point is the SS in English and the who in Chinese. Any further effects of SS will be similar for the two languages.

17. Late Assignment of Syntax Theory Townsend & Bever, 2001 LAST distinguishes two syntactic processes: Statistically-valid cues elicit the most likely meaning ? pseudosyntax Grammatical rules apply to the initial meaning to generate a surface structure that the parser checks against the input ? real syntax

19. Processing Chinese wh-questions Since a Chinese who has not moved from its original position, there is no trace to link. So, a Chinese wh-sequence immediately elicits an initial meaning and application of the grammar. In the case of questions with a SS, these rules fail to generate a well-formed LF.

20. Processing English wh-questions Who is a cue that a trace will be an unbound variable. If a SS is in a trace position, reading times increase. Since an English who has moved from its original position, sentence pattern templates elicit a likely link between who and its trace. Whi- N1 V N2 [ (to) ti ] Whi- N1 V [N2 of ti ] Who did the lady sell [a portrait of ]? A delay in linking who and its trace will delay accessing an initial meaning, generating a surface structure, and detecting the absence of a well-formed LF.

21. Predictions from LAST Both languages will show increased processing time at the likely violation point. English: Who did the lady sell Mary�s portrait of? Chinese: The lady sell Mary-paint-de who portrait? Since the late linking of English who and its trace delays generating a surface structure, violations of the SSC will increase reading times at the end of the sentence. Since this delay does not occur in Chinese, the effect of these violations at the end of the sentence will be smaller in Chinese than in English.

22. Experiment 2

23. English SPR Data Questions: Spec N2 Prep +SS: *Who did the lady sell Mary�s portrait of? -SS: Who did the lady sell a portrait of? Difference 202*** 27 206* Declaratives: Spec N2 Prep Adj N3 +SS: The lady sold Mary�s portrait of her father. -SS: The lady sold a portrait of her father. Difference 118*** 44 17 -14 72 Interaction on Spec: F (1,31) = 5.25, p < .05 Interaction on Prep: F (1,31) = 5.82, p < .05 Interaction on last word: F (1,31) = 1.73, p > .10

24. Chinese SPR Data Questions: Wh N3 +SS: The lady sell Mary-paint-de who portrait? -SS: The lady sell a who portrait? Difference 28* 199*** Declaratives: N2 N3 +SS: The lady sell Mary-paint-de her father portrait. -SS: The lady sell a her father portrait. Difference 67*** 185** Interaction on wh/N2: F (1,31) = 2.68, p > .10 Interaction on last word: F (1,31) < 1

25. There is immediate access to the syntactic requirement that who must bind an unbound variable. Violating the SSC increases end-of-sentence reading time in English but not in Chinese; on the other hand, it increases matching time in Chinese but not in English. Since linking English who and its trace requires templates that span the entire sentence, the grammar does not generate an ungrammaticality in time to disrupt matching. Since Chinese who does not move in s-structure, the grammar generates an ungrammaticality that disrupts matching.

26. Conclusions We investigated an old controversy by assessing on-line processing in two languages. The sentence matching and self-paced reading results follow naturally from the division of syntactic labor that is the architecture of LAST. Cross-linguistic research is challenging, but potentially rewarding if we can generalize our theories of processing beyond one language.

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