Processing Scalar Inference of the Model ‘Keneng’ in Mandarin Children: ERP Evidence

Processing Scalar Inference of the Model ‘Keneng’ in Mandarin Children: ERP Evidence | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Processing Scalar Inference of the Model ‘Keneng’ in Mandarin Children: ERP Evidence Lulu Cheng, Wenting Yuan, Haoran Mao, Bingqi Fu, Jiali Wan, Yule Peng This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-6992287/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Understanding how children acquire pragmatic competence, particularly the ability to infer scalar implicatures from modal expressions, remains a central challenge in developmental linguistics and cognitive neuroscience. This study investigates the neurocognitive mechanisms underlying Mandarin-speaking children’s comprehension of the scalar modal keneng (“might/possibly”), which conveys both semantic probability and context-dependent pragmatic inferences. Utilizing event-related potentials (ERPs), we examined how children aged 7 to 10 process keneng under upper-bound (pragmatic) and lower-bound (semantic) contextual conditions. Eighty typically developing children participated in an EEG experiment using a contextually manipulated sentence judgment task. Behavioral results revealed that while all age groups distinguished between semantic and pragmatic interpretations, performance accuracy declined under pragmatic contexts, indicating elevated cognitive demands for deriving implicatures. ERP analyses demonstrated a graded developmental trajectory across five key components (P200, N400, P600, LPP, LPC). Seven-year-olds exhibited larger P200 and N400 amplitudes under pragmatic contexts, reflecting heightened attentional engagement and semantic integration difficulty. P600 and LPP effects, associated with pragmatic reanalysis and sustained cognitive effort, emerged prominently from age eight, marking a neurocognitive transition toward context-sensitive inferencing. By age ten, children demonstrated stabilized ERP patterns, indicative of adult-like pragmatic processing efficiency. These findings provide the first neurophysiological evidence delineating the developmental stages of scalar implicature processing in Mandarin-speaking children. Critically, they support a Cognitive-Dynamic Relevance Model, positing that children’s pragmatic interpretation of modals arises from an interaction between default semantic activation, contextual modulation, and cognitive resource regulation. This research advances theoretical models of language acquisition and offers empirical foundations for educational interventions targeting pragmatic development. Biological sciences/Neuroscience Biological sciences/Psychology Social science/Psychology Scalar implicature Pragmatic development Mandarin-speaking children Event-related potentials Contextual inference Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-6992287","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":534703880,"identity":"0770160e-f13a-4e23-a8eb-2115a3c8a9be","order_by":0,"name":"Lulu Cheng","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"China University of Petroleum (East China)","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Lulu","middleName":"","lastName":"Cheng","suffix":""},{"id":534703881,"identity":"3cf0a21c-66d7-43f2-8e97-092e282c5318","order_by":1,"name":"Wenting Yuan","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Heilongjiang University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Wenting","middleName":"","lastName":"Yuan","suffix":""},{"id":534703882,"identity":"c2f14393-3239-4796-ac4e-b44e1954edfb","order_by":2,"name":"Haoran Mao","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAAzklEQVRIiWNgGAWjYBACNmbmAwYfDP7Z8csfPkCcFj52toTCGRUHkiVnsCUQp0WOn8fgM8eZA4wbbvAYEOswtsTNjG13mA1u93y88YbBTk63gaAW5sPGhW3P+CTvnN1sOYch2djsAGFb0oxntjEz8x3I3SbNw3AgcRthLTzmv3nbmBkbDuQ8I1qLgTHPmcOME27ksBGrhS3BcEZFWrJkzzFjyzkGRPhFvv8wKCpt7PjZmx/eeFNhJ0dQCwqQIDZqkLWQqmMUjIJRMApGBAAAPZRCD9iVe3IAAAAASUVORK5CYII=","orcid":"","institution":"China University of Petroleum (East China)","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Haoran","middleName":"","lastName":"Mao","suffix":""},{"id":534703883,"identity":"36dafa63-08ff-47ab-b000-b51a4eb69551","order_by":3,"name":"Bingqi Fu","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"China University of Petroleum (East China)","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Bingqi","middleName":"","lastName":"Fu","suffix":""},{"id":534703884,"identity":"2320abc6-a1e0-47a4-baa7-429f3cd670c1","order_by":4,"name":"Jiali Wan","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"China University of Petroleum (East China)","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Jiali","middleName":"","lastName":"Wan","suffix":""},{"id":534703885,"identity":"f87f45f2-a210-421d-b00d-c0ed31090b48","order_by":5,"name":"Yule Peng","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Ocean University of China","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Yule","middleName":"","lastName":"Peng","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2025-06-27 13:53:31","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-6992287/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-6992287/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":94592084,"identity":"6ff67fd8-4bb1-4e75-a9a6-5ff333041b15","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-10-28 18:22:59","extension":"docx","order_by":0,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":6714359,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"2500813manuscript1.docx","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6992287/v1/731055c23413f98865a20a62.docx"},{"id":94591948,"identity":"cc2265f2-2656-405d-922b-3f6afe23fb26","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-10-28 18:22:50","extension":"json","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":8205,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"9b97b22c3a644044ac95f40622f984c6.json","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6992287/v1/c1e3a4391fb700b8e5902e16.json"},{"id":94592604,"identity":"b4bbc53d-db37-4bba-a0fa-3a3bc291e6af","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-10-28 18:23:28","extension":"xml","order_by":2,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":171252,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"9b97b22c3a644044ac95f40622f984c61enriched.xml","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6992287/v1/4b409c635def177c96d2c986.xml"},{"id":94592606,"identity":"3d9943e9-ddc7-4999-96b9-203335a5c65d","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-10-28 18:23:28","extension":"jpeg","order_by":3,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":197762,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"floatimage1.jpeg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6992287/v1/b17bcb497e4f3d0ed42a3c18.jpeg"},{"id":94592375,"identity":"1e38a2d9-f0f1-46af-9294-581578d4305f","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-10-28 18:23:11","extension":"png","order_by":4,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":17821,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"floatimage10.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6992287/v1/d39ea2a3cf6290cef544ecbc.png"},{"id":94592578,"identity":"e057ea7a-1f5f-48fe-b450-76647d06c683","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-10-28 18:23:22","extension":"png","order_by":5,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":92978,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"floatimage11.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6992287/v1/f2c00f21a2c03d9ffdc64c21.png"},{"id":94592680,"identity":"7e0d65d4-dfe7-4e8a-9bfe-06cba0c81c3f","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-10-28 18:23:35","extension":"png","order_by":6,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":22778,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"floatimage12.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6992287/v1/cfcbd040797e19e7841493ba.png"},{"id":94592387,"identity":"c9baecd0-83f4-442c-a007-5dcf9efca0e0","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-10-28 18:23:12","extension":"png","order_by":7,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":79958,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"floatimage13.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6992287/v1/ded526749a6e955f036bb910.png"},{"id":94591864,"identity":"8c324a9d-f2f7-4067-9bc1-f189241e2fe0","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-10-28 18:22:44","extension":"png","order_by":8,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":19615,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"floatimage14.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6992287/v1/13c12fab113687f637b5c19d.png"},{"id":94591264,"identity":"b46553c0-15c1-412e-b023-f900f178001a","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-10-28 18:22:03","extension":"png","order_by":9,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":69123,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"floatimage15.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6992287/v1/16ef41ea8ed93298ad9a4a5e.png"},{"id":94592686,"identity":"ed237da0-0a55-42f2-9934-51ab43d400fd","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-10-28 18:23:35","extension":"png","order_by":10,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":17937,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"floatimage16.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6992287/v1/a3f3240eeacd4ea3c4634f98.png"},{"id":94592642,"identity":"b0b43991-07d8-4781-9b2b-4322925c6861","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-10-28 18:23:32","extension":"png","order_by":11,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":80130,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"floatimage17.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6992287/v1/c9cf893dd1b5f4bedc10f0e2.png"},{"id":94592517,"identity":"604168eb-083c-4303-86d2-f7a94de2cd68","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-10-28 18:23:14","extension":"png","order_by":12,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":19118,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"floatimage18.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6992287/v1/5d0c691416a921dbdfdf6725.png"},{"id":94591536,"identity":"78d2f25d-7e71-4c57-83c4-3550e22f8b91","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-10-28 18:22:24","extension":"png","order_by":13,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":37682,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"floatimage19.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6992287/v1/414584d02a5e7b7030ad755f.png"},{"id":94592453,"identity":"6d662915-a3ad-44b9-bece-371972fc839a","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-10-28 18:23:12","extension":"jpeg","order_by":14,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":381142,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"floatimage2.jpeg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6992287/v1/9ab0738f10212dcbd9049002.jpeg"},{"id":94592520,"identity":"d1f6fc44-81cb-40ca-beda-18be92a7fdec","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-10-28 18:23:15","extension":"png","order_by":15,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":34379,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"floatimage20.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6992287/v1/82a0940641943a298435f70c.png"},{"id":94592083,"identity":"69e1a156-5967-4f27-a511-3d7f977c218e","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-10-28 18:22:58","extension":"png","order_by":16,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":35800,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"floatimage21.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6992287/v1/64d037db029c58c2a75734a9.png"},{"id":94592081,"identity":"7cbfc4ee-dd41-43f3-9936-b2599e7c3f03","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-10-28 18:22:58","extension":"png","order_by":17,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":560526,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"floatimage22.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6992287/v1/e10c2aa034edcedc1ea0f1f3.png"},{"id":94592645,"identity":"4712915c-2a18-4e44-8063-110cd9ac73e7","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-10-28 18:23:32","extension":"png","order_by":18,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":581109,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"floatimage23.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6992287/v1/6fef3bf1a80141ab57937290.png"},{"id":94591639,"identity":"cb0df669-f04c-423f-ac1a-b77ac326bfbb","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-10-28 18:22:34","extension":"jpeg","order_by":19,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":375937,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"floatimage3.jpeg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6992287/v1/a2220446d0750bc3ad8a2394.jpeg"},{"id":94592613,"identity":"9830294e-b00e-4810-a926-981537ead78d","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-10-28 18:23:29","extension":"jpeg","order_by":20,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":273185,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"floatimage4.jpeg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6992287/v1/98a5ee9a1750dd1c890463e5.jpeg"},{"id":94592641,"identity":"e8ad283b-c669-4f02-b527-00fed8cecb87","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-10-28 18:23:32","extension":"jpeg","order_by":21,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":278704,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"floatimage5.jpeg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6992287/v1/da43c1a1bc65b8e7f5a4a89a.jpeg"},{"id":94592158,"identity":"729b81b5-88f9-4b6f-b72b-79d17c7d5041","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-10-28 18:22:59","extension":"jpeg","order_by":22,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":272042,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"floatimage6.jpeg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6992287/v1/cdbc70707b7c6a012f161563.jpeg"},{"id":94591662,"identity":"6422d5ab-8821-4042-8998-1767301131f3","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-10-28 18:22:34","extension":"jpeg","order_by":23,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":273278,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"floatimage7.jpeg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6992287/v1/8e3248acdcc0eee25a82bfdd.jpeg"},{"id":94591275,"identity":"e4e23914-9629-4a3b-95b4-7f9529c59629","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-10-28 18:22:05","extension":"png","order_by":24,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":57383,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"floatimage8.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6992287/v1/3bd549977877798c53afdebc.png"},{"id":94591950,"identity":"05422637-0697-4993-ac78-bf4237057713","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-10-28 18:22:51","extension":"png","order_by":25,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":63068,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"floatimage9.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6992287/v1/870eb03af9f849f9fc7ecdd5.png"},{"id":94592337,"identity":"9c549099-3494-4a6b-a377-696d9d40c423","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-10-28 18:23:05","extension":"png","order_by":26,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":48407,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Onlinefloatimage1.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6992287/v1/89373bd541be0ddd20b5f893.png"},{"id":94592583,"identity":"11e9ec1a-5dec-45c6-9463-58c72d4cd0c2","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-10-28 18:23:22","extension":"png","order_by":27,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":9091,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Onlinefloatimage10.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6992287/v1/7451cfa64b13099130a03f05.png"},{"id":94591867,"identity":"0413ac82-78f4-4654-8fce-6b76e28d5f20","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-10-28 18:22:45","extension":"png","order_by":28,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":30436,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Onlinefloatimage11.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6992287/v1/217330d94c87f83d0974d796.png"},{"id":94592077,"identity":"97c07639-3c44-4614-9497-070c0aa2238f","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-10-28 18:22:58","extension":"png","order_by":29,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":9552,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Onlinefloatimage12.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6992287/v1/a35c508e817a67c3cd46162c.png"},{"id":94592640,"identity":"8382936f-b1f5-447d-9bde-0ee3d7345a64","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-10-28 18:23:32","extension":"png","order_by":30,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":25306,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Onlinefloatimage13.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6992287/v1/77f7e56f4746918f3abf7b97.png"},{"id":94592682,"identity":"1adc8616-7568-498f-8c65-12bcb89ff02f","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-10-28 18:23:35","extension":"png","order_by":31,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":10540,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Onlinefloatimage14.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6992287/v1/69bcd3e970fbbc5dbd62fb7c.png"},{"id":94599030,"identity":"8159d1fb-b1f4-4e5a-a079-dae64f939e7b","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-10-28 19:02:05","extension":"png","order_by":32,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":21996,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Onlinefloatimage15.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6992287/v1/3c0f68bd18f193cc97dab69a.png"},{"id":94592644,"identity":"d7adfe7b-3976-4685-a1c1-ff00d19528a5","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-10-28 18:23:32","extension":"png","order_by":33,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":9660,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Onlinefloatimage16.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6992287/v1/1cba1e2d800cccc800c39095.png"},{"id":94592616,"identity":"fcce32cc-f113-46b2-9a73-69c6a2f5f330","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-10-28 18:23:29","extension":"png","order_by":34,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":26197,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Onlinefloatimage17.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6992287/v1/713fe96fb8f6fdfcdf705eb9.png"},{"id":94591992,"identity":"510002d9-2528-421e-b0c4-c05287bd13b2","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-10-28 18:22:54","extension":"png","order_by":35,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":10298,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Onlinefloatimage18.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6992287/v1/e92a1eaa5a7c7f8b68d6f008.png"},{"id":94592329,"identity":"904e9b08-106e-4cc1-ba68-33e21b8781c6","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-10-28 18:23:03","extension":"png","order_by":36,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":15877,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Onlinefloatimage19.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6992287/v1/6adf1626a15cacfd000b786a.png"},{"id":94592324,"identity":"c7f6fc9d-d19f-416e-94fc-e4ece5a24dd6","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-10-28 18:23:03","extension":"png","order_by":37,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":110053,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Onlinefloatimage2.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6992287/v1/16af5abe08118345f4332a80.png"},{"id":94592589,"identity":"a9c298b5-717b-46a2-bcb8-16133a9bdc5f","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-10-28 18:23:24","extension":"png","order_by":38,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":15243,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Onlinefloatimage20.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6992287/v1/cf8c789348ff88052c300ddb.png"},{"id":94592361,"identity":"8b15cfcb-ebd4-4670-bd0b-c84d2f77beb7","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-10-28 18:23:10","extension":"png","order_by":39,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":15576,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Onlinefloatimage21.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6992287/v1/16bf5b68b5a4a6182c1fbc82.png"},{"id":94591542,"identity":"c5190965-784b-45b7-b3a2-15c2a0c50c30","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-10-28 18:22:25","extension":"png","order_by":40,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":122511,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Onlinefloatimage22.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6992287/v1/0f9a1ed12667ad05a5f2dd3f.png"},{"id":94592388,"identity":"d84bd2c7-8f2b-43cf-8b7c-17d2b46ad3d7","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-10-28 18:23:12","extension":"png","order_by":41,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":127793,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Onlinefloatimage23.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6992287/v1/781abeb154ec9e2e9239d60e.png"},{"id":94592687,"identity":"055e9949-bd23-409c-b89c-bc6fa476ee52","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-10-28 18:23:36","extension":"png","order_by":42,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":108423,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Onlinefloatimage3.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6992287/v1/9040fc6a1adf00dc2d8f32f4.png"},{"id":94591351,"identity":"a951a8bc-a150-400f-b68d-655fca820fe1","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-10-28 18:22:11","extension":"png","order_by":43,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":85641,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Onlinefloatimage4.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6992287/v1/b6cea46da79004c7be783010.png"},{"id":94591270,"identity":"1d46e2c1-a936-42a4-9fef-1f1bcd218167","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-10-28 18:22:04","extension":"png","order_by":44,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":91990,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Onlinefloatimage5.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6992287/v1/4d1ebd987835b2609f5031b0.png"},{"id":94592072,"identity":"e7d7d840-7154-4d98-9a30-78fedba554ad","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-10-28 18:22:57","extension":"png","order_by":45,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":90074,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Onlinefloatimage6.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6992287/v1/043ccd3d22c5ef9c1ce34719.png"},{"id":94591949,"identity":"f0e6d73e-da12-4e46-8f4e-367080264871","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-10-28 18:22:50","extension":"png","order_by":46,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":88937,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Onlinefloatimage7.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6992287/v1/994768db8cc39e517149c6e2.png"},{"id":94592339,"identity":"afc8c4d4-1c75-46a2-9671-3e346dfbfadf","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-10-28 18:23:06","extension":"png","order_by":47,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":16581,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Onlinefloatimage8.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6992287/v1/bf5a81a41e2314f4a92eb5a7.png"},{"id":94592321,"identity":"d72a7e60-b6ff-4e3f-b659-0c31923909ec","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-10-28 18:23:02","extension":"png","order_by":48,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":18201,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Onlinefloatimage9.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6992287/v1/1a2de6d9a7723375dc7c0c6f.png"},{"id":94592080,"identity":"a8191f8e-18cf-485c-8b0e-eceb4b54447e","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-10-28 18:22:58","extension":"xml","order_by":49,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":165816,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"9b97b22c3a644044ac95f40622f984c61structuring.xml","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6992287/v1/be0f1eba6afdbfb464247fc8.xml"},{"id":94592618,"identity":"b3343725-e8dc-41e7-97e4-eb960c9a63a4","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-10-28 18:23:29","extension":"html","order_by":50,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":183229,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"earlyproof.html","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6992287/v1/7446b7ec2428baa360d29eeb.html"},{"id":100971484,"identity":"3a95572a-b01d-449d-ae5c-97220cd2fc32","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-01-23 10:13:24","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":1639945,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"2500813manuscript1.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6992287/v1_covered_7411e586-2017-4d38-812f-6970e707692f.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Processing Scalar Inference of the Model ‘Keneng’ in Mandarin Children: ERP Evidence","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Scalar implicature, Pragmatic development, Mandarin-speaking children, Event-related potentials, Contextual inference","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-6992287/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-6992287/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eUnderstanding how children acquire pragmatic competence, particularly the ability to infer scalar implicatures from modal expressions, remains a central challenge in developmental linguistics and cognitive neuroscience. This study investigates the neurocognitive mechanisms underlying Mandarin-speaking children\u0026rsquo;s comprehension of the scalar modal keneng (\u0026ldquo;might/possibly\u0026rdquo;), which conveys both semantic probability and context-dependent pragmatic inferences. Utilizing event-related potentials (ERPs), we examined how children aged 7 to 10 process keneng under upper-bound (pragmatic) and lower-bound (semantic) contextual conditions.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eEighty typically developing children participated in an EEG experiment using a contextually manipulated sentence judgment task. Behavioral results revealed that while all age groups distinguished between semantic and pragmatic interpretations, performance accuracy declined under pragmatic contexts, indicating elevated cognitive demands for deriving implicatures. ERP analyses demonstrated a graded developmental trajectory across five key components (P200, N400, P600, LPP, LPC). Seven-year-olds exhibited larger P200 and N400 amplitudes under pragmatic contexts, reflecting heightened attentional engagement and semantic integration difficulty. P600 and LPP effects, associated with pragmatic reanalysis and sustained cognitive effort, emerged prominently from age eight, marking a neurocognitive transition toward context-sensitive inferencing. By age ten, children demonstrated stabilized ERP patterns, indicative of adult-like pragmatic processing efficiency.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThese findings provide the first neurophysiological evidence delineating the developmental stages of scalar implicature processing in Mandarin-speaking children. Critically, they support a Cognitive-Dynamic Relevance Model, positing that children\u0026rsquo;s pragmatic interpretation of modals arises from an interaction between default semantic activation, contextual modulation, and cognitive resource regulation. This research advances theoretical models of language acquisition and offers empirical foundations for educational interventions targeting pragmatic development.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Processing Scalar Inference of the Model ‘Keneng’ in Mandarin Children: ERP Evidence","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2025-10-28 16:47:45","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-6992287/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"cf4b543f-f60f-4e49-bcc4-bf93f9eb0feb","owner":[],"postedDate":"October 28th, 2025","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"posted","subjectAreas":[{"id":56852425,"name":"Biological sciences/Neuroscience"},{"id":56852426,"name":"Biological sciences/Psychology"},{"id":56852427,"name":"Social science/Psychology"}],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2026-01-23T10:12:05+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2025-10-28 16:47:45","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-6992287","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-6992287","identity":"rs-6992287","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"8U1c8b4HqxoKbykW_rLl7","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}