5～6岁儿童汉语句法启动中的生命度效应

目的 为探讨语言产生中句法与语义之间的关系,考察生命度效应对句法启动的调节作用。方法 采用启动范式,以5~6岁汉语儿童64名为被试,以被动句的产生为指标,跟随主试的句子(启动句)描述及物动作情景(目标句),且动作的施事和受事具有不同的生命度特点,进行了2个实验。结果 ⑴汉语被动句的句法启动受启动条件和物体的生命度的影响,而且二者存在交互作用。被动句启动条件下产生的被动句明显多于主动条件下产生的被动句(χ2=33.84,P<0.01),且当启动句和被动句均包含一个有生命的受事/无生命的施事时,主动句和被动句启动条件之间的被动句产生有显著的不同(t=-4.32,P<0.01),被动启动条件下产生的被动句显著高于主动启动条件。⑵在被动句的启动过程中,目标图片的生命度特点更能影响启动效应,而且目标图片的生命度特点与启动图片的特点匹配时,这种影响更大(t=2.073, P<0.05)。结论 汉语句法启动受生命度的制约,语言产生模型能够解释这个现象。

Exploring the animacy effect of Chinese syntactic priming in children aged 5-6 years old

Objective To explore the current study addressed the relation between syntactic and semantic processes during language production. Methods Sixty-four Chinese children aged 5-6 years old were selected as participants. A priming paradigm was used to examine the animacy effect during syntactic priming of children’s production of passives in describing transitive scenes (target pictures) following the exposure to the experimenter's sentences (primes), and the agent and patient had different characteristics of animacy. Two experiments were carried out. Results (1) the process of syntactic priming was moderated by the conditions of prime and animacy, which provided the evidence of the interaction between syntax and animacy. The children produced more passive responses following the passive primes as opposed to active primes (χ2=33.84, P<0.001), and this priming effect was particularly strong when the prime and the target included an animate patient/inanimate agent compared with the condition in which the animacy was reversed (t=-4.32, P<0.001). (2) In the process of the priming of the passive sentences, the animacy features of the target influenced the priming effect more than those of prime, and this effect was stronger when the animacy features of the prime matched those of the target (t=2.073, P<0.05). Conclusion Chinese syntactic priming is restricted by the animacy, which can be explained by the language production model.