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The source ambiguity problem: Distinguishing the effects of grammar and processing on acceptability judgments
Philip Hofmeister1, T Florian Jaeger, Inbal Arnon
1Center for Research in Language, University of California-San Diego, La Jolla, CA, Telephone: (650)-387-6641.
Language and Cognitive Processes
|March 30, 2013
Summary
Linguistic acceptability judgments can stem from grammar rules or processing ease. This study suggests Superiority effects in questions may arise from processing difficulty, not just grammar.
Area of Science:
- Psycholinguistics
- Formal Syntax
- Cognitive Science
Background:
- Linguistic unacceptability judgments may result from grammatical deviance or processing difficulty.
- This ambiguity complicates theories distinguishing formal and functional linguistic constraints.
- The Superiority effect, a dispreference in multiple wh-questions, exemplifies this ambiguity.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the source of ambiguity in acceptability judgments for Superiority effects.
- To differentiate between grammatical deviance and processing difficulty as causes of the Superiority effect.
- To examine the role of D-linking in modulating Superiority effects.
Main Methods:
- Acceptability judgment experiments.
- Self-paced reading experiments.
- Analysis of the interaction between wh-phrase type and processing/judgment outcomes.
Main Results:
- Judgments and processing times for Superiority violations correlated with wh-phrase type.
- Exposure increased acceptability judgments while decreasing processing times.
- Reading times strongly predicted acceptability judgments.
- Wh-phrase complexity influenced both judgments and reading times.
Conclusions:
- D-linking effects appear reducible to general cognitive mechanisms.
- Superiority effects may primarily stem from differential processing difficulty rather than purely grammatical constraints.
- Processing difficulty offers a unified explanation for Superiority and D-linking phenomena.
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