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The dependency structure of coordinate phrases: a corpus approach
1Eastman School of Music, Rochester, NY 14604, USA. temperley@esm.rochester.edu
Journal of Psycholinguistic Research
|December 13, 2005
Summary
The multi-head view of coordinate phrases is supported by corpus analysis. This linguistic theory explains conjunct ordering preferences and determiner repetition patterns in English sentences.
Area of Science:
- Linguistics
- Corpus Linguistics
- Syntactic Theory
Background:
- The "multi-head" view proposes that conjuncts in coordinate phrases relate to external elements.
- Previous linguistic theories have offered alternative explanations for coordinate structure.
Purpose of the Study:
- To empirically test Hudson's (1990) multi-head view of coordinate phrases.
- To analyze conjunct ordering preferences and determiner repetition using corpus data.
Main Methods:
- Corpus analysis of Wall Street Journal text.
- Examination of right-branching and left-branching constituents.
- Investigation of determiner repetition patterns with different noun types.
Main Results:
- Observed a short-long preference for conjunct ordering in right-branching constituents, supporting the multi-head view.
- Found a short-long preference in left-branching constituents, compatible with the multi-head view.
- Identified a stronger preference for determiner repetition with singular count nouns compared to mass or plural nouns.
Conclusions:
- Corpus findings provide evidence supporting the multi-head view of coordinate structures.
- The multi-head view effectively explains observed preferences in conjunct ordering and determiner usage.
- Linguistic analysis of natural language data confirms theoretical predictions about syntactic dependencies.
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