Backward licensing of Negative Polarity Items in Dutch: An ERP investigation

Abstract

Abstract This Event-related Potential (ERP) study examines the licensing of NPIs in Dutch in a grammatical configuration where the NPI linearly precedes its licensor. It investigates how the addition of modifiers at two different structural positions in the sentence affects differently the process of actively searching for an upcoming licensor. We measured the ERPs elicited at the licensor position by comparing conditions with modifiers at two different structural positions, with a control condition where no modifier was added, where all the tested conditions were grammatical. In addition, we examined whether adding different number of modifiers at the two structural positions affects the processing of the licensor differently. Our results show that there is a central anterior negativity elicited at the licensor in conditions with modifiers at the structural position where a licensor could occur in comparison to the control condition without modifiers. Further, there is an amplitude difference shown for the central anterior negativity when these conditions differ in the number of modifiers. In comparison, an ERP component with a reduced amplitude was elicited at the licensor for conditions with modifiers at a structural position where the licensor cannot occur, when compared with the control condition. We suggest that our results show evidence that the parser is sensitive to structural relations in the on-line licensing of NPIs.