Focus identification during sentence comprehension: evidence from eye movements.
Three eye movement experiments investigated focus identification during sentence comprehension. Participants read dative or double-object sentences (i.e., either the direct or indirect object occurred first), and a replacive continuation supplied a contrast that was congruous with either the direct or the indirect object. Experiments 1 and 2 manipulated focus by locating only adjacent to either the direct or indirect object of dative (Experiment 1) or double-object (Experiment 2) sentences. Reading-time effects indicated that the surface position of the focus particle influenced processing. In addition, Experiment 1 reading times were longer when the replacive was incongruous with the constituent that only adjoined, and particle position modulated a similar effect in Experiment 2. Experiment 3 showed that this effect was absent when only was omitted. We conclude that the surface position of a focus particle modulates focus identification during on-line sentence comprehension.
Paterson
Kevin B
KB
School of Psychology, University of Leicester, Leicester, UK. kbp3@le.ac.uk
Liversedge
Simon P
SP
Filik
Ruth
R
Juhasz
Barbara J
BJ
White
Sarah J
SJ
Rayner
Keith
K
D001288:Attention; D003071:Cognition; D005133:Eye Movements; D006801:Humans; D008037:Linguistics; D011932:Reading; D013067:Speech Perception