Shared logical representations with asymmetric access: Evidence from cross-quantifier scope priming across languages

The current study explores whether logical (form) representations underlying doubly-quantified ambiguous sentences are quantifier- and language-general or constrained by quantifier- and language-specific features. We examined cross-quantifier and cross-linguistic priming in Chinese-English bilinguals using sentences with contrasting scope preferences: Mandarin Chinese “ měi / suǒyǒu . . . yī ” and English “ every / all . . . a ” constructions. Three sentence-picture matching experiments involving 249 participants tested priming effects across three contexts: within L1 Chinese (L1-L1), from L1 Chinese to L2 English (L1-L2), and within L2 English (L2-L2). Results revealed a language-of-prime asymmetry: robust priming emerged across both within- and cross-quantifier conditions in L1-L1 and L1-L2 contexts when L1 served as the priming language; whereas priming was restricted to the within-quantifier condition in L2-L2 when L2 served as the priming language, providing evidence for L1-L2 asymmetry in bilingual scope priming. This asymmetry may be mediated by Mandarin’s obligatory overt dōu-mediated scope-making configuration, which externalizes the scope computation and renders abstract logical (form) representations structurally explicit and cognitively accessible. The current study is the first to demonstrate robust cross-quantifier, cross-language scope priming with quantifiers exhibiting opposite baseline preference, revealing that shared logical representations exist across languages; yet their cross-quantifier generalizations are modulated by language-specific properties, with L1 serving as a foundation for L2 quantifier interpretation in bilingual processing.