Search results for "animacy information"
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The role of animacy in online argument interpretation in Mandarin Chinese
2011
The present event-related brain potential (ERPs) study demonstrates that online argument interpretation in verb-final structures in Mandarin Chinese is modulated by two factors: a preference for Undergoer-before-Actor orders and a preference for animate Actor arguments. Participants listened to sentences with NP(animate)-NP(inanimate)-verb or NP(inanimate)-NP(animate)-verb orders embedded in minimal contexts. Sentences were disambiguated towards either an Actor-initial or an Undergoer-initial order by the clause-final verb. Between 450 and 700 ms post verb onset, we observed an anterior negativity for sentences violating both preferences (inanimate-Actor-initial structures) vs. sentences fu…