ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Syllables constitute proximate units for Mandarin speakers: Electrophysiological evidence from a masked priming task
Qingfang Zhang,
Markus F. Damian,
Corresponding Author
Qingfang Zhang
Department of Psychology, Renmin University of China, Beijing, China
Correspondence
Qingfang Zhang, Department of Psychology, Renmin University of China, 59 Zhongguancun Street, Haidian District, Beijing 100872, China.
Email: [email protected]
Search for more papers by this authorMarkus F. Damian
School of Psychological Science, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
Search for more papers by this authorQingfang Zhang,
Markus F. Damian,
Corresponding Author
Qingfang Zhang
Department of Psychology, Renmin University of China, Beijing, China
Correspondence
Qingfang Zhang, Department of Psychology, Renmin University of China, 59 Zhongguancun Street, Haidian District, Beijing 100872, China.
Email: [email protected]
Search for more papers by this authorMarkus F. Damian
School of Psychological Science, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
Search for more papers by this authorFunding information
National Natural Science Foundation of China grant (31471074), Key project of Beijing Social Science Foundation in China grant (16YYA006), Central Universities fundamental research funds, Renmin University of China research funds (18XNLG28) (to Q.Z.)
Abstract
Languages may differ regarding the primary mental unit of phonological encoding in spoken production, with models of speakers of Indo-European languages generally assuming a central role for phonemes, but spoken Chinese production potentially attributing a more prominent role to syllables. In the present study, native Mandarin Chinese speakers named objects that were preceded by briefly presented and masked prime words, which were form related and either matched or mismatched concerning their syllabic structure, or were unrelated. Behavioral results showed a previously reported interaction between prime and target syllable type. Concurrently recorded EEG also exhibited this interaction and further revealed that syllable overlap modulated ERPs mainly in the time window of 300–400 ms after picture onset. By contrast, phonemic overlap modulated ERPs from 500 ms to 600 ms. This pattern might suggest that speakers retrieved syllables before phonemes and strengthens the claim that for Chinese individuals syllables constitute primary functional representations (“proximate units”).
Supporting Information
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