Open AccessPointing to the right side? An ERP study on anaphora resolution in German Sign Language
Author(s) -
Anne Wienholz,
Derya Nuhbalaoglu,
Nivedita Mani,
Annika Herrmann,
Edgar Onea,
Markus Steinbach
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
plos one
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.99
H-Index - 332
ISSN - 1932-6203
DOI - 10.1371/journal.pone.0204223
Subject(s) - linguistics , anaphora (linguistics) , sentence , sign (mathematics) , sign language , german , psychology , pronoun , computer science , n400 , semantics (computer science) , artificial intelligence , resolution (logic) , event related potential , mathematics , cognition , philosophy , mathematical analysis , neuroscience , programming language
Sign languages use the horizontal plane to refer to discourse referents introduced at referential locations. However, the question remains whether the assignment of discourse referents follows a particular default pattern as recently proposed such that two new discourse referents are respectively assigned to the right (ipsilateral) and left (contralateral) side of (right handed) signers. The present event-related potential study on German Sign Language investigates the hypothesis that signers assign distinct and contrastive referential locations to discourse referents even in the absence of overt localization. By using a semantic mismatch-design, we constructed sentence sets where the second sentence was either consistent or inconsistent with the used pronoun. Semantic mismatch conditions evoked an N400, whereas a contralateral index sign engendered a Phonological Mismatch Negativity. The current study provides supporting evidence that signers are sensitive to the mismatch and make use of a default pattern to assign distinct and contrastive referential locations to discourse referents.