Cognitive neuroscientific mechanism on real-time processing of aspectual information

2019 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 15K02529
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Linguistics
• Research Institution: Tsuda University
• Principal Investigator: Ono Hajime 津田塾大学, 学芸学部, 准教授 (90510561)
• Project Period (FY): 2015-04-01 – 2020-03-31
• Keywords: 文理解 / 日本語 / アスペクト / 事象 / AQ指数

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Prediction mechanisms play an important role in human sentence processing. At the same time, there are numerous unsolved issues remain with respect to the exact nature of prediction, especially how the semantic content of a sentence is predicted and eventually computed in real-time sentence processing. In this project, we focus on a phenomenon called aspectual coercion, which is part of the semantic computation processes. We ran several behavioral experiments, using sentences in which we manipulated time adverbials, floating numeral quantifiers, as well as verb types. We examined detailed processes regarding to semantic computation, and how semantic information impacts on the real-time sentence processing.

Free Research Field

心理言語学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

本研究で扱ったアスペクト強制という現象の文処理過程は，まだ英語等の言語でもあまり多様な研究が進んでおらず，これから多くの重要な経験的事実が発掘されることが期待できる研究テーマである。これまでに蓄積されてきた日本語の文処理の研究成果を存分に生かし，即時的な意味処理のモデルに結び合わせようとする極めて独創的な研究計画であった。特に日本語のように英語等とは類型論的にも違う言語を用いることで，普遍的な言語処理のモデルに関わる研究となり，その意義は非常に大きい。