摘要
The Slow Prediction Hypothesis suggests that predictions based on the thematic roles of sentence arguments unfold relatively slowly and may not influence verb processing at early time points. The current ERP study tested whether such predictions could become available at verb onset when arguments exhibit contrastive animacy features and appear in an order that either aligns with or violates animacy hierarchy. Participants read Mandarin SOV ba-construction sentences in which the arguments were presented in either Animate-first order (e.g., “the dancer ba the ribbon threw out”) or Inanimate-first order (e.g., “the alarm clock ba the roommate woke up”), with verb compatibility manipulated by reversing argument order. We measured N400 responses to the verb, and found that when argument order violated the animacy hierarchy, retrieving the target verb was easier. A verb-type distribution analysis further revealed that Animate-first and Inanimate-first configurations led to predictions of different types of verbs. Together, these findings suggest that animacy-based thematic information can guide both when and what comprehenders predict during sentence processing. The results refine the Slow Prediction Hypothesis by demonstrating that predictions based on thematic role information are not uniformly slow.
•Verb prediction based on thematic roles is not uniformly slow.•Verb prediction is faster under animacy hierarchy violations.•Animacy configurations shape thematic role relations during sentence processing.•These role relations influence both the timing and content of verb prediction.•The findings refine the Slow Prediction Hypothesis.