本實驗目的在探討提供語法標誌線索的「連接詞」對讀者整合訊息的作用以及處理歷程。實驗一藉由讀者閱讀句子通順度的判斷，發現最需要的語法標誌為不一致類型以及先因後果連接詞。實驗二以眼動控制探討兩個問題，一為前後句訊息對立程度與連接詞「但是」的關係，另一為讀者處理連接詞訊息的方式是符合延遲整合假設或是逐漸整合方式。材料為27對「但是」銜接的句子，操弄兩句話的對立程度以及有或沒有連接詞，結果顯示連接詞與句子的對立程度在眼動資料上沒有交互作用。讀者在有連接詞的句子向前跳躍的距離較長，回視率較低，而對立關係較高的句子向前凝視的時間較長。由第一次凝視的總時間（First gaze）資料顯示連接詞前後的詞彙在「但是」的句子比沒有連接詞的句子處理時間短。無論有或沒有連接詞，後句最後一個雙字詞並未有明顯的句子結束的整合現象，且後句的第一個詞、第二個詞處理時間是提升而非下降，顯示讀者對句子訊息的處理是以逐漸整合的方式。實驗三設計讀者讀有「但是」、「因為」句子的篇章，顯示兩類句子在後句最後的雙字詞，甚至是篇章最後的雙字詞的第一次凝視的總時間都與其他內容詞相近，顯示閱讀時不是在句子結束才整合。綜合結果，本研究肯定連接詞在閱讀中的助益角色，且其作用是逐漸整合語詞。 Three experiments examined the processes of connectives in sentence and text reading. The arguments about the processes of connectives are between delayed-integration hypothesis and incremental interpretation. According to delayed-integration hypothesis, readers process two clauses linked by a connective by interpreting each clause separately and combining them when they reach the end of the second clause. However, incremental interpretation considers semantic processing takes place incrementally. In the first experiment, adversative and causal connectives were found to be the most crucial in reading on the basis of a 5-1 scale rating. Afterward, readers’ eye movements were monitored as they read sentences containing adversative connectives with different clausal semantic relatedness. The results showed readers spent more processing time on clauses with less semantic relatedness. Connectives could integrate clausal semantic information easily. There was no interaction between clausal semantic relatedness and connectives. Readers’ first gaze duration on the end of second clause was not longer than any other content words. It seemed to indicate readers didn’t integrate clauses at the end of the second clause. Readers integrated clause incrementally. In the third experiment, both adversative and causal connectives were inserted in text reading. The incremental interpretation was also observed These experiments support that connectives facilitate reading and readers integrate semantic units incrementally.
