Perspective in the Processing of the Chinese Reflexive ziji: ERP Evidence

We investigated the comprehension of the Chinese reflexive ziji, which is typically subject to long-distance binding. However, this preference can be overridden by verb semantics (some verbs require local binding) as well as by subtle feature combinations of intervening noun phrases (NPs) (e.g., 1st/2nd person pronouns block dependencies with more distant 3rd person antecedents). The processing of ziji was examined in sentences containing two verb types (local/self-oriented, distant/other-oriented) and three different intervening NPs (1st, 2nd , 3rd person). The event-related potential data revealed an early interaction of verb and intervener: other-oriented verbs showed more processing effort for 1st and 2nd person interveners (blocking), while self-oriented verbs showed a disadvantage for 2nd person (associated with directive speech acts). We argue that two distinct animacy hierarchies are the source for these early verb-specific patterns. The blocking effect showed an additional later effect independent of verb semantics.

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