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Removing a middle verb phrase speeds up English sentence reading, but not in Dutch. This "missing-VP effect" shows language-specific processing differences impacting comprehension and acceptability judgments.

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Area of Science:

  • Psycholinguistics
  • Comparative Linguistics
  • Cognitive Science

Background:

  • The missing-verb phrase (VP) effect demonstrates faster reading of ungrammatical English sentences when a middle VP is omitted.
  • Previous research indicates this effect is reversed in German and Dutch, suggesting cross-linguistic variation.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate cross-linguistic differences in the missing-VP effect by examining sentence judgments in English and Dutch.
  • To determine if the missing-VP effect influences perceived comprehensibility and acceptability across languages.

Main Methods:

  • Native English and Dutch speakers participated in sentence judgment tasks.
  • A within-subjects replication tested Dutch native speakers on sentences in both English and Dutch.
  • Comprehensibility and acceptability ratings were collected for sentences with and without the middle VP.

Main Results:

  • Native English speakers found sentences more comprehensible and acceptable when the middle VP was removed.
  • This pattern was not observed in Dutch native speakers, who did not rate sentences with omitted VPs more favorably.
  • The cross-linguistic difference in the missing-VP effect was confirmed through judgment data.

Conclusions:

  • The missing-VP effect exhibits significant cross-linguistic variation, differing between English and Dutch.
  • Linguistic properties of a language interact with working memory constraints to produce the missing-VP effect.
  • A hybrid account integrating language-specific and cognitive factors is proposed to explain these findings.