MoL-2004-03: Two ERP studies on Dutch temporal semantics

MoL-2004-03: Baggio, Giosuè (2004) Two ERP studies on Dutch temporal semantics. [Report]

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Abstract

Although meaning has been a constant interest in psycholinguistics,
the concepts and methods of formal semantics have been rarely used to
make sense of empirical data. In this thesis we try to fill this gap
presenting the results of two ERP studies on Dutch temporal
semantics. In the first, we investigate the effects elicited by tense
violations in temporal adverb constructions. The observed P600/SPS is
interpreted as an index of semantic rather than morphosyntactic
processing. Reichenbach's distinction between event and reference time
is used to account for the LAN elicited by sentences in which the main
verb is placed before the adverbial modifier. In the second study, we
propose a refinement of an earlier experiment on English temporal
connectives. We investigate the effects of manipulating world
knowledge and the order in which events are mentioned in
discourse. Factorial analyses and direct comparisons between
conditions indicate that sentences with different inferential
properties, triggered by the selective activation of world knowledge
from declarative memory, have different ERP correlates. In brief, our
work suggests that the use of formal semantics within the ERP paradigm
can reinforce the criticism of existing hypotheses and accelerate the
process of generation and testing of new ones.

Item Type:	Report
Report Nr:	MoL-2004-03
Series Name:	Master of Logic Thesis (MoL) Series
Year:	2004
Date Deposited:	12 Oct 2016 14:38
Last Modified:	12 Oct 2016 14:38
URI:	https://eprints.illc.uva.nl/id/eprint/748

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