從空位多過先行詞，看句法處理
Abstract
自然語言的某些結構中，一個填充詞(filler)能與兩個或以上的空缺(gap)構成依存關係，如 例(1)。本計畫欲探討此結構的句法以及心理機制。 (1) Which book did John buy _ and Mary read _ all night? 雖然這類的橫越式位移(Across-the-Board Movement)在口語不常見，但許多語言都擁有此 特性(Zhang 2009)，且大部分的語言都允許第二個空缺出現在附加語或主語裡(寄生空 缺，Parasitic Gaps)。此外，母語人士對於這類結構的語意與合法性皆有明確語感，實時 (real time)研究也指出母語者能正確理解寄生空缺之指涉(Phillips et al. 2009)。因此，這種 結構對於探索自然語言的心理基礎極為重要。 本計畫檢視英語、羅曼史語系以及中文未曾被發掘過的性質。在句法層面，我將著重 英語跟羅曼史語的差異。英語的橫越式直接問句要求主句與子句具有相同的時制，但英語的 間接問句與西班牙語皆無此限制(Fernández-Salgueiro 2008)。我將從這兩種語言的疑問句 結構出發，探究其他羅曼史語是否與西班牙語表現一致。 在心理語言學層面，我將進行三項實驗：(一)探索英語橫越式結構中第二個空缺的閱 讀時間；(二)實驗測試英語程度高的台灣學生如何理解這些結構，進一步與母語者的結果做 對比；(三)探討中文裡不同的空缺─填充詞順序如何影響閱讀時間。 本計畫的結果對於普遍語法與語言變異皆有所做發，而我們也能藉此一窺人類心智如 何使用語法知識。這些結果也有助進一步認識台灣境內較為常見的語言(中文、英語、法語 以及西班牙語)
The present project investigates both the syntax and mental processes associated with constructions in natural languages in which two or more silent positions (gaps) are related to another element (filler): (1) Which book did John buy _ and Mary read _ all night? In (1), the fronted phrase which book (the filler) must be interpreted as the object of both buy and read (gaps are indicated with underscores), even though read does not usually require an object (e.g., Mary read all night). Though examples like these (called Across- the-Board [ATB] constructions) are not common in actual speech, all languages that have been examined exhibit them (Zhang 2009) and most languages also allow second gaps to be inside adjuncts or subjects (Parasitic Gaps [PGs]). Moreover, native speakers (but not second-language speakers) have clear intuitions about their interpretation and (un-)grammaticality and have been shown to process PGs extremely accurately in real time (Phillips et al. 2009). For these reasons, these constructions are crucial for the study of language as a human mental capacity: their presence in the world’s languages may well be the reflex of innate aspects of grammar, which would also explain why native speakers process them so accurately. This project examines previously unstudied properties of these constructions in English, Romance, and Chinese. On the syntactic side, I focus on the variation between English and Romance. In English, ATB direct questions need their clauses to have the same temporal interpretation (*which book did John buy _ and Mary will read _). These restrictions do not apply in English indirect questions (I wonder which book John bought _ and Mary will read _) and they never apply in Spanish (Fernández-Salgueiro 2008). I will investigate this contrast by examining question formation in Spanish vs. English and also verify whether other Romance languages pattern with Spanish. On the psycholinguistic side, I plan on conducting three experiments. The first one investigates reading times associated with the second gap found in ATB and PG constructions in English. The second one investigates how these constructions in English are perceived by taiwanese students fluent in English compared to native speakers. The third one studies how having the filler before or after the gaps in Chinese affects reading times (那部電影，婷喜歡 _ 可是明不喜歡 _ vs. 這是婷喜歡 _ 可是明不喜歡 _ 的那部電影). This collection of studies are relevant to linguistics in different ways. Regarding syntactic theory, the results of this project will have implications for the theory of universal grammar and linguistic variation. As for psycholinguistics, we will learn more about how the mind uses pure linguistic knowledge (again, these constructions are not common in speech). In terms of acquisition, we will make informed claims about native speakers and second-language learners in terms of grammatical knowledge. Finally, these results relate to languages that are prominent in Taiwan: Chinese and some popular foreign languages (English, French, and Spanish).
The present project investigates both the syntax and mental processes associated with constructions in natural languages in which two or more silent positions (gaps) are related to another element (filler): (1) Which book did John buy _ and Mary read _ all night? In (1), the fronted phrase which book (the filler) must be interpreted as the object of both buy and read (gaps are indicated with underscores), even though read does not usually require an object (e.g., Mary read all night). Though examples like these (called Across- the-Board [ATB] constructions) are not common in actual speech, all languages that have been examined exhibit them (Zhang 2009) and most languages also allow second gaps to be inside adjuncts or subjects (Parasitic Gaps [PGs]). Moreover, native speakers (but not second-language speakers) have clear intuitions about their interpretation and (un-)grammaticality and have been shown to process PGs extremely accurately in real time (Phillips et al. 2009). For these reasons, these constructions are crucial for the study of language as a human mental capacity: their presence in the world’s languages may well be the reflex of innate aspects of grammar, which would also explain why native speakers process them so accurately. This project examines previously unstudied properties of these constructions in English, Romance, and Chinese. On the syntactic side, I focus on the variation between English and Romance. In English, ATB direct questions need their clauses to have the same temporal interpretation (*which book did John buy _ and Mary will read _). These restrictions do not apply in English indirect questions (I wonder which book John bought _ and Mary will read _) and they never apply in Spanish (Fernández-Salgueiro 2008). I will investigate this contrast by examining question formation in Spanish vs. English and also verify whether other Romance languages pattern with Spanish. On the psycholinguistic side, I plan on conducting three experiments. The first one investigates reading times associated with the second gap found in ATB and PG constructions in English. The second one investigates how these constructions in English are perceived by taiwanese students fluent in English compared to native speakers. The third one studies how having the filler before or after the gaps in Chinese affects reading times (那部電影，婷喜歡 _ 可是明不喜歡 _ vs. 這是婷喜歡 _ 可是明不喜歡 _ 的那部電影). This collection of studies are relevant to linguistics in different ways. Regarding syntactic theory, the results of this project will have implications for the theory of universal grammar and linguistic variation. As for psycholinguistics, we will learn more about how the mind uses pure linguistic knowledge (again, these constructions are not common in speech). In terms of acquisition, we will make informed claims about native speakers and second-language learners in terms of grammatical knowledge. Finally, these results relate to languages that are prominent in Taiwan: Chinese and some popular foreign languages (English, French, and Spanish).