以中文為母語的兒童對反身代名詞「自己」與複合反身代名詞「他自己」詮釋之實證研究

Abstract

本研究旨在探討以中文為母語之兒童對於反身代名詞「自己」與複合反身代名詞「他自己」之詮釋與發展。主要的研究議題包括長距離約束、阻斷效應、動詞分類、名詞顯著性、年齡等因素是否影響兒童在反身代名詞以及複合反身代名詞上的理解。本研究採用是非判斷任務進行兩階段的詮釋測驗，分別讓受試者在有無語境提示下詮釋包含「自己」與「他自己」的句子。研究對象包含實驗組的六十位兒童，依其就讀年級分為三組：幼兒園大班、小學二年級、小學四年級，每組各二十人，以及對照組的二十位成人。本研究主要發現如下： 一、三組兒童皆傾向對「自己」與「他自己」做長距離的詮釋。 二、小四兒童始能察覺「自己」之阻斷效應，大班以及小二兒童則無此能力。在阻斷效應句中，三組兒童皆傾向對「他自己」做長距離的詮釋，顯示「他自己」並不受阻斷效應之影響。 三、動詞類別會影響兒童對「自己」與「他自己」的詮釋。當動詞為自制動詞時，兒童傾向做短距離詮釋；動詞為他制動詞時，兒童傾向做長距離詮釋。 四、名詞顯著性會影響兒童對「自己」與「他自己」的詮釋。兒童傾向選擇顯著的名詞，例如：帶有「施事」語義角色或是具有「生命性」的名詞，作為「自己」與「他自己」的先行詞。 五、語境會影響兒童對「自己」與「他自己」的詮釋。在提供語境的測驗中，兒童對長距離詮釋的接受度明顯提高。

The present study investigated Chinese-speaking children’s interpretations of the simplex reflexive ziji and the complex reflexive taziji. The main issues addressed in the present study included the effect of structural constraints (i.e., long-distance binding and blocking effect) and non-structural information (i.e., verbal classification and noun prominence) on the children's interpretations of ziji and taziji. Apart from these factors, contextual effect was also considered in the present study. A yes/no judgment task was designed to elicit the participants' interpretations of ziji and taziji. The participants were sixty Chinese-speaking children and they were divided into three experimental groups: G1 (kindergarteners aged five and six), G2 (second graders aged seven and eight), and G3 (fourth graders aged nine and ten). In addition, twenty Chinese-speaking adults were recruited as the control group. The major findings are summarized as follows: 1. All the child groups preferred long-distance binding of ziji and taziji. 2. The fourth graders, but not the kindergarteners and the second graders, perceived the blocking effect on ziji. All the child groups preferred long-distance binding of taziji in the blocking condition, indicating no blocking effect on taziji. 3. Verb types influenced the children's interpretations of ziji and taziji. The children preferred the local interpretation with zizhi verbs while the long-distance interpretation with tazhi verbs. 4. Noun prominence determined the children's interpretations of ziji and taziji. The children preferred an agent antecedent or animate antecedent for reflexives. 5. Context affected the children's interpretations of ziji and taziji. When context was provided, more long-distance interpretations were elicited.