The prediction in sentence processing: A study focusing on individual differences

2019 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 17K17755
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Linguistics; Cognitive science
• Research Institution: Kanazawa University
• Principal Investigator: Yasunaga Daichi 金沢大学, 歴史言語文化学系, 准教授 (00707979)
• Project Period (FY): 2017-04-01 – 2020-03-31
• Keywords: 文理解 / 視線計測 / 先読み

Outline of Final Research Achievements

One of the processing mechanisms that has attracted much attention in the study of sentence comprehension is "prediction". This is a mechanism to anticipate at each point in a sentence processing that unfolds rapidly in real-time, what elements will follow and what kind of language structure the whole will become. In recent research on sentence comprehension, it has been reported that the load on sentence comprehension processing changes due to this "prediction", and elucidating the function of "prediction" in sentence comprehension processing is indispensable for elaborating human models of language comprehension. In this study, we examined the differences in the way this "prediction" mechanism works between native speakers and learners.

Free Research Field

心理言語学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

本研究では、この「予測」という仕組みの働き方が母語話者の場合と学習者の場合の相違点を明らかにした。具体的には、母語話者は語の意味的な情報によって他の語の出現やその構造関係を予測するだけでなく、格助詞などの統語的な情報も適切に利用することができるのに対し、学習者は意味的な情報の利用は学習レベルに応じて変化するが、統語的な情報の利用はその学習レベルに関わらず、あまり得意ではないことが明らかになった。