Cognitive Constraints and Island Effects
Philip Hofmeister1, Ivan A Sag
1Center for Research on Language, University of California-San Diego, La Jolla, CA, Telephone: (650)-387-6641, phofmeister@ucsd.edu.
Language
|June 5, 2012
Summary
Syntactic island effects are not always absolute. This study shows that processing factors, not just grammar rules, significantly influence how acceptable sentences with island violations are perceived, impacting generative grammar theories.
Area of Science:
- Linguistics
- Psycholinguistics
- Cognitive Science
Background:
- Competence-based theories are central to generative grammar but fail to explain the graded nature of syntactic island effects.
- Existing categorical syntactic accounts overlook data showing non-structural factors alter judgments of island violations.
- The variability in acceptability judgments for island structures remains inadequately explained.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the role of processing factors in accounting for the variation in acceptability judgments of syntactic island effects.
- To explore the relationship between processing costs and acceptability judgments in island-violating constructions.
- To provide evidence favoring a processing-based explanation for island effects in generative grammar.
Main Methods:
- Conducted self-paced reading experiments to measure processing costs associated with island violations.
- Performed controlled acceptability studies to correlate processing costs with subjective judgments of sentence acceptability.
- Manipulated non-structural factors within island structures to observe their effect on processing and acceptability.
Main Results:
- A single non-structural factor significantly reduced the processing cost of island violations to levels comparable to non-island constructions.
- This reduction in processing cost was accompanied by a significant improvement in sentence acceptability.
- Data indicate that processing pressures aggregate in island-violating sentences, leading to perceived unacceptability.
Conclusions:
- Processing factors play a crucial role in determining the acceptability of syntactic island violations.
- Island effects are not purely categorical but are influenced by processing load and associated pressures.
- Findings have significant implications for understanding filler-gap dependencies and revising theories of generative grammar.
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