The Effect Of Context And Memory Load On Processing Scalar Implicature:An Eye-Tracking Study

Scalar implicature is an important testing ground for exploring the exact process of integrating semantic and pragmatic information.Although much research has found that contextual factors influence its online processing,no significant difference has been observed in the processing cost of scalar terms themselves under different contextual manipulations.This might be due to native speakers’ strong sentential processing abilities,which lead to lower cognitive costs when generating scalar implicatures.Such costs thus may not be detectable by experimental tools.In contrast,an increase in the memory load of language users may result in a longer processing time for scalar implicature,making it easier for experimental tools to capture data.However,little research has been conducted on the combined effects of memory load and context on scalar implicature processing.Therefore,the current thesis aims to investigate the Chinese native speakers’ processing mechanisms of scalar implicature under different contextual conditions,both with and without memory load.This study utilized eye-tracking technology to investigate how memory load influences Chinese native speakers’ interpretation and processing of scalar implicature under different contextual conditions,with Context(upper-bound context,lower-bound context)and Quantifier(some,only some)as within-subject variables.Participants were divided into two groups based on whether or not they took a memory-load task.The results revealed that:1)In the no-memory-load group,context manipulated the processing of scalar implicature,with upper-bound contexts facilitating the comprehension of target phrase("the rest"),and this facilitation effect was mainly evident in early reading measures.In addition,there was an interaction effect between Context and Quantifier on those measures,that is,when"some" was the quantifier,there was a significant difference in the processing of the target phrase between two contexts,whereas when " only some"was the quantifier,no difference was detected.2)In the memory-load group,no effect of context on the processing of scalar implicature was observed,and the reading differences of the target phrase were only reflected between different quantifier conditions,with "only some" clearly facilitating the understanding of the target phrase.3)Whether it be in the no-memory-load group or in the memory-load group,the processing differences of scalar terms were only reflected in different quantifier conditions.Contextual manipulations had no effect on the processing of scalar terms themselves.The results indicated that memory load affected the processing of scalar implicature under different contexts.Specifically,memory load eliminated the facilitation effect on the comprehension of the target phrase in the upper-bound contexts,suggesting that the processing of scalar implicature was sensitive to the availability of cognitive resources.In addition,no significant difference was observed in the reading measures of scalar terms themselves across different conditions,indicating that context left little impact on the processing of the scalar term itself.This study enriches the understanding of online processing of scalar implicature and provides support for the "constraint-based" model.Future studies can employ other neuroscience methods to investigate the neural processing mechanisms of scalar implicature.