Grammatical encoding of double-object alternations in Zhuang: Evidence for the one-stage model

Abstract

Production research has yielded mixed findings regarding whether grammatical encoding specifies grammatical functions and linear word order simultaneously or separately, supporting either one-stage or two-stage models. Here, we focused on the double object (DO) and shifted double object (SDO) constructions in Zhuang, an ethnic minority language in China because they differ only in linear ordering of the two nouns whose grammatical functions are direct object and indirect object, assuming the roles of Theme and Recipient, respectively. Using two structural priming experiments, we found that both DO and SDO constructions induced within-structure priming effects, but they did not prime each other. Such structural priming effects persisted, regardless of whether semantic features (i.e., animacy of the Theme) were repeated across primes and targets. Taken together, these priming patterns support the one-stage model of grammatical encoding, where a conceptual representation is converted into a structure specifying both grammatical functions and linear word order.