| This thesis presents an investigation of the human sentence processing mechanism focusing on when and how multiple sources of information are used in spoken language processing. Two of the most influential but competing views have been examined: the serial model and the constraint-based model. The serial model is a syntax-first view in which syntactic information guides the initial parse of sentences. Non-syntactic information plays a minor role by entering after the initial parse is completed and filtering the output from the previous stage if necessary. The constraint-based model is an interactive model in which multiple sources of information participate in any steps of processing as they become available. Explanation is still needed on exactly how individual informational components contribute to parsing decision relative to each other where more than two informational sources interact.; This study investigated Korean spoken sentence processing with the goal of evaluating the two opposing views on the nature of information access and use in sentence processing. Specifically, two questions motivated this study on the temporal relationship of information and the relative contribution of information in sentence processing. In order to understand the mechanism, this study explores the use of three types of information: syntactic, semantic and prosodic information. It uses both on-line and off-line studies, two distinct but complementary experimental techniques.; In the on-line study, a cross-modal naming task was used to explore the interaction of the three informational constraints on the resolution of temporary ambiguity in variously manipulated semantic and prosodic conditions. We found that the relationship between informational constraints predicted the speed of processing, indicating the interaction of information in on-line sentence processing. In the off-line study, an end-of-sentence comprehension task was used to investigate how the informational constraints communicate for the resolution of global ambiguity. The results show that individual constraints can have different weights in parsing decision.; Taken together, the interaction of information in the on-line study is in accord with the constraint-based model. The findings from the off-line study further suggest that the influences of individual information in different weights should be incorporated into the constraint-based models of sentence processing. |
