Variable agreement with coordinate subjects is not a form of agreement attraction
| Autor: | Adrian Staub, Lap-Ching Keung |
|---|---|
| Rok vydání: | 2018 |
| Předmět: |
060201 languages & linguistics
Linguistics and Language Pure mathematics media_common.quotation_subject 05 social sciences Experimental and Cognitive Psychology Verb 06 humanities and the arts Attraction 050105 experimental psychology Language and Linguistics Agreement Neuropsychology and Physiological Psychology Artificial Intelligence Noun 0602 languages and literature Subject (grammar) Attractor 0501 psychology and cognitive sciences Psychology media_common Plural Variable (mathematics) |
| Zdroj: | Journal of Memory and Language. 103:1-18 |
| ISSN: | 0749-596X |
| DOI: | 10.1016/j.jml.2018.07.001 |
| Popis: | Agreement attraction (e.g., ∗The key to the cabinets are rusty) is not attributable to the linear proximity between the local noun and verb (Franck, Vigliocco, & Nicol, 2002). However, agreement with a disjoined subject (e.g., The horses or the clock is red) is specifically sensitive to the number of the nearer noun (Haskell & MacDonald, 2005). The present study highlights other differences between the influence on agreement of a local noun in the classic attraction configuration and the nearer noun in a coordinate subject. Experiments using a two-alternative forced-choice paradigm and eyetracking during reading show, first, that a singular second conjunct tends to elicit a singular verb; this influence of a singular noun contrasts with the lack of effect from a singular attractor. Second, in comprehension a singular second conjunct both facilitates processing of an ungrammatical singular verb and inhibits processing of a grammatical plural verb. This symmetrical effect contrasts with the lack of an agreement attraction effect in comprehension of grammatical sentences. It is proposed that variable agreement with coordinate subjects should be given distinct theoretical treatment, relating these phenomena to the cross-linguistic phenomenon of closest conjunct agreement. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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