Abstract
Numeral classifiers syntactically require subsequent nouns, and they restrict semantic categories of the nouns. However, a previous study that used event-related potential showed that integration of a nouns and a numeral classifiers involves only semantic processing when they were presented as a word pair. The present study investigated whether the same is true when nouns and numeral classifiers are presented in sentences. As a result, a noun that does not correspond to precedent numeral classifier elicited not only N400 that reflects semantic integration, but also P600, which reflects structural processing. This suggests that integration of numeral classifiers and nouns involves different processes depending on experimental condition. In addition, we found an enhanced anterior positivity for classifier violation in 160-240 ms interval, which may reflect processing specific to numeral classifiers.
