1. Introduction

Middle sentences are syntactic active and semantic passive structures, and their syntactic semantic interface formation mechanism has attracted attention from academia. Research has mostly focused on typical English verb sentences, with insufficient research on atypical English verb sentences. This study explores the online processing of typical and atypical English sentences by Chinese English learners through a self paced reading task, in order to reveal the influence of syntactic semantic interfaces.

2. Theoretical basis

In depth exploration of the syntactic semantic interface processing of English moving sentences was conducted. Firstly, typical and atypical English moving sentences were distinguished, and it was pointed out that typical moving sentences have the characteristics of passive or passive argument roles, and passive agent inhibition, while atypical moving sentences have tool or place argument roles. Next, the concept of syntactic semantic interface was discussed, emphasizing the influence of the non event meaning of middle verbs on their syntactic features, such as the fact that middle verbs cannot be used in the progressive aspect and middle verbs do not allow causative event adverbs. In addition, the Interface Hypothesis was analyzed, pointing out that even high-level second language learners face difficulties in processing syntactic semantic interface structures. The Interface Heterogeneity Hypothesis was proposed, which suggests that the heterogeneity of verb and argument structures can lead to varying degrees of difficulty for second language learners in processing dynamic sentences. Finally, it is predicted that Chinese English learners will face challenges in processing English middle sentences, and there will be differences in processing typical and atypical middle sentences.

3. Empirical Study on the Acquisition of Middle Dynamic Sentences

The existing empirical research on second language acquisition of middle sentences includes the influence of mother tongue transfer, second language proficiency, and argument vitality on acquisition. The shortcomings of existing research have been pointed out, such as not addressing the differences in processing typical and atypical middle sentences, not exploring online processing from the perspective of syntactic semantic interfaces, and mainly using offline tasks. This study adopts a self paced reading task to investigate the syntactic semantic interface processing of Chinese English learners in English middle sentences, and to answer the differences in processing typical and atypical middle sentences and the influence of different interface conditions.

4. Research Methods

This paper introduces the research methods of syntactic semantic interface processing of dynamic sentences among Chinese English learners. The subjects are 34 English major students with an average age of 23.12 years and have studied English for 13.06 years. Adopting a 2x4 design, the independent variables include structural type, syntactic semantic interface conditions, and the subject's second language proficiency, while the dependent variables are reading reaction time and acceptability score. The experimental materials include 48 experimental sentences and 72 filler sentences, controlling the frequency of words. The experiment was conducted using E-Prime software, recording reaction time and acceptability assessment.

5. Result analysis

The reaction time and acceptability scores of Chinese English learners in processing typical and atypical English moving sentences were analyzed using a linear mixed effects model. The results showed that in region 2, the average reaction time of typical English moving sentences was significantly shorter than that of atypical English moving sentences, while in regions 3-5, the reaction times of the two were similar and there was no significant difference. The role of the question element has a significant impact on the processing of middle moving sentences, with the reaction time of the middle moving sentence being significantly shorter than that of the place subject and the object subject. In terms of acceptability score, the acceptability of typical English moving sentences is significantly higher than that of atypical English moving sentences, and the acceptability standard score of moving sentences in the causative subject is significantly lower than that in the passive subject, but higher than that in the locative subject.

6. Discussion

This study explores the impact of syntactic semantic interfaces on the processing of dynamic sentences by Chinese English learners through a self paced reading task. The results showed that there were significant differences in reaction time and sentence acceptability between typical and atypical middle dynamic sentences in the subject area, revealing the difficulty of identifying syntactic semantic interface features. Typical middle sentences have advantages in processing and understanding, while second language learners face difficulties in mastering the syntactic semantic interface knowledge of atypical middle sentences. The study does not support the view that syntactic semantic interface knowledge can be fully acquired in the "interface hypothesis", but instead uses the interface heterogeneity hypothesis to explain the findings. The heterogeneity of the middle clause is reflected in the verb and argument structures, and the heterogeneity of the question element role leads to a deviation from the category prototype, increasing cognitive processing costs. The heterogeneity of syntactic semantic interface features is reflected in the reaction time of the verb, adverb, and preposition regions. For example, when the [+progressive] condition affects the reaction time of the verb region, the [+agent manifestation] and [+agent implication] conditions act on the preposition and adverb regions, respectively. The research results confirm that the difficulty in acquiring dynamic sentences in English lies in the semantic constraints of the syntactic semantic interface, and second language learners are influenced by native language transfer when processing dynamic sentences. This study provides new empirical evidence for the interface heterogeneity hypothesis and expands its explanation for the applicability of unconventional structures.

7. Conclusion

This study summarizes the research findings of Chinese English learners in syntactic semantic interface processing of dynamic sentences, including the differences in processing between typical and atypical dynamic sentences, the impact of syntactic semantic interfaces on processing, and learners' acquisition of syntactic semantic internal interface features of dynamic sentences. At the same time, the applicability of the interface heterogeneity hypothesis in explaining the processing of middle sentences was pointed out, and it was suggested that future research use eye movement or EEG techniques to further explore the neurocognitive mechanisms of middle sentences.