This study investigates the functional priority of syntactic and semantic processing in Chinese sentence reading. While research on Indo-European languages generally supports the priority of syntactic over semantic processing, findings from Chinese, particularly EEG studies, have been inconsistent. We propose that these discrepancies may stem from the limited use of morphological inflections in Chinese and the widespread use of Rapid Serial Visual Presentation (RSVP) paradigm, which disrupts natural reading. To address these issues, we employed a violation paradigm under natural reading conditions, using co-registered eye movements and fixation-related potentials (FRPs). Participants read full sentences of “ba” construction while their eye movements and EEG signals were simultaneously recorded. Four conditions were constructed based on syntactic and semantic correctness: fully correct, semantic violation, syntactic violation, and combined violation.
FRP analyses using cluster-based permutation tests revealed a clear dissociation between syntactic and semantic processing. Syntactic violations elicited a P600 effect (616–799 ms), while semantic violations elicited an N400 effect (262–548 ms). Crucially, semantic effects (297-460 ms) emerged only when syntax was intact; when syntactic structure was violated, semantic processing was disrupted. Multivariate pattern analysis (MVPA) further showed that semantic information could be decoded over chance level only under syntactically correct conditions, confirming that syntactic integrity is a prerequisite for semantic processing. Eye-tracking results converged with the neural findings. Measures including first-pass reading time, total reading time, regression-in probability, and skipping probability all showed that semantic effects were robust under syntactically correct conditions but diminished or absent when syntax was violated.
Together, these results demonstrate that, during natural Chinese reading, syntactic processing functionally modulates semantic processing. The study provides strong evidence for the functional priority of syntax in Chinese sentence reading, a language lacking rich morphological inflections, and highlights the importance of using ecologically valid methodologies in psycholinguistic research.
