Motion Events in English Novels: Evidence for a Satellite-framed Language
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- Keywords: language typology; manner verbs; motion event; path of motion; The Call of the Wild
- Abstract: This paper discusses language typological characteristics and motion events. As Talmy proposed, languages can be divided into two types: satelliteframed languages and verb-framed languages. The construction of satelliteframed languages is [Motion + Manner + Path + Ground]. In satellite-framed languages, the motion information is conveyed by the main verbs ([Motion + Manner]), and the path of motion is expressed by a subordinate element ([Path]). The subordinate element is called a satellite, which is similar to the particles in English. The construction of verb-framed languages is [Motion + Path + Ground + Manner]. In verb-framed languages, the main verbs ([Motion + Path]) convey the core information of the path of movement, and the manner of motion is described in a subordinate place ([Manner]). The present study focuses on the typological characteristics and lexicalization patterns in English by analyzing the expression of motion events in literary works. This paper chooses an English novel written by Jack London, The Call of the Wild, which has fruitful descriptions of motion events, to analyze the habitual language pattern of English native writers. The results show that English writers tend to use the language pattern of satellite-framed language, which provides evidence to testify and strengthen the fact that English is a typical satellite-framed language.
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N400 Prediction Effects in Relative Constructions
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- Keywords: Chinese relative construction; N400; relatedness proportion; semantic prediction
- Abstract: When a context of a strongly constrained sentence structure is formed, N400 as the ERP component of the follow-up word of the structure will be reduced in amplitude. Two accounts can explain this: a passive activation account and a contextual-based prediction account. A dispute lies in the extent of how each of these accounts influences the N400 element reduction. This issue is addressed in the present paper in Chinese relative construction context by formatting semantically associated Chinese relative construction prime and word target pairs within an experimental context that encouraged prediction. The proportion of related pairs was used to modulate the predictive validity of the relative construction prime for the target while holding constant semantic association. A semantic category probe detection task was used to encourage subjects to process semantic meaning of these experimental pairs without their preferences to the trial content of interest. A larger N400 reduction to related targets was observed in the high-proportion block of relatedness than under the low condition. The results support the hypothesis that N400 effects emerge in the predictions of upcoming input. The results suggest that predictability modulates N400 amplitude in a dominant way in a constrained context like Chinese relative constructions.
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