Thematic role assignment in non-default verb classes: A cross-linguistic comparison of English and German

Abstract

The influence of sentential cues (such as animacy and word order) on thematic role interpretation differs as a function of language (MacWhinney et al. 1984). However, existing cross-linguistic research has typically focused on transitive sentences involving agents, and interpretation of non-default verb classes is less well understood. Here, we compared the way in which English and German native speakers – languages known to differ in the cue prominence of animacy and word order – assign thematic roles. We compared their interpretation of sentences containing either default (agent-subject) or non-default (experiencer-subject) verb classes. Animacy of the two noun phrases in a sentence was either animate-inanimate and plausible (e.g. “The men will devour the meals...”) or inanimate-animate and implausible in English (e.g. “The meals will devour the men…”). We examined role assignment by probing for either the actor or undergoer of the sentence. Mixed effects modelling revealed that role assignment was significantly influenced by noun animacy, verb class, question type, and language. Results are interpreted within the Competition Model framework (Bates et al. 1982; MacWhinney et al. 1984), and show that English speakers predominantly relied on word order for thematic role assignment. German speakers relied on word order to a comparatively lesser degree, with animacy a prominent cue. Non-default verbs (experiencer-subject) promoted a non-default comprehension strategy regarding the prominence of sentential cues, particularly in German. Intriguingly, responses were modulated by the probe task, with undergoer probes promoting object-initial interpretations, particularly for German speakers. This suggests that task focus may retroactively influence sentence interpretation.

Posterior superior temporal sulcus supports sequence-based language processing: Evidence from low-frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation

“…Our results support the hypothesis (H1) that, in line with previous research (Kyriaki, et al 2020b),…”

“…This is not the case for other languages where the ordering of words is not as strict and the animacy of nouns can influence sentence processing (Bornkessel-Schlesewsky & Schlesewsky, 2013;MacWhinney et al, 1984). For example, in German, the cue of animacy could lead to both (1) and (2) being interpreted with the same meaning (Kyriaki, Schlesewsky, & Bornkessel-Schlesewsky, 2020b). Here, dependency-based processing supported by the ventral stream is proposed to play a stronger role in sentence comprehension (Bornkessel & Schlesewsky, 2006;Bornkessel-Schlesewsky & Schlesewsky, 2013).…”

“…noun animacy) of English semantic reversal anomaly (SRA) sentences. English speakers rely strongly on sequence for sentence comprehension (Bates et al, 1982;MacWhinney et al, 1984), however Inanimate-first sentences should still show a slightly higher dependency-based strategy due to the implausibility of the sentence context and the animacy reversal (Dowty, 1991;Kyriaki, et al 2020b). Comprehension was investigated using forced-choice comprehension questions that probe for the Actor ("Who/what will compose?…”

“…"), or a general comprehension probe ("Was there a restaurant?"). The focus of the comprehension question can influence the behavioural response of comprehenders, with differential responses being observed for Actor versus Undergoer questions (Kyriaki, et al 2020b).…”

“…Previous research suggests that Undergoer questions lead to a more dependency-based strategy compared to Actor questions, particularly when in combination with implausible sentences such as Inanimate-first SRAs (Kyriaki, et al 2020b). Therefore, we included a within-participants factor of question type to account for potential differences in sentence processing which may interact with rTMS.…”