Asymmetries in relative clause comprehension in three European sign languages

Autor: Hauser, Charlotte, Zorzi, Giorgia, Aristodemo, Valentina, Giustolisi, Beatrice, Gras, Doriane, Sala, Rita, Amat, Jordina Sánchez, Cecchetto, Carlo, Donati, Caterina, Amat, Jordina
Přispěvatelé: Laboratoire de Linguistique Formelle (LLF UMR7110), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université de Paris (UP), Universitat Pompeu Fabra [Barcelona] (UPF), Università degli Studi di Milano-Bicocca [Milano] (UNIMIB), Structures Formelles du Langage (SFL), Université Paris 8 Vincennes-Saint-Denis (UP8)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Paris Lumières (UPL), Université Paris Lumières (UPL)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Paris 8 Vincennes-Saint-Denis (UP8), Hauser, C, Zorzi, G, Aristodemo, V, Giustolisi, B, Gras, D, Sala, R, Amat, J, Cecchetto, C, Donati, C
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2021
Předmět:
Linguistics and Language
Subject/Object asymmetries
Italian Sign Language
Computer science
First language
age of exposure
Object (grammar)
French Sign Language
Sign language
050105 experimental psychology
Language and Linguistics
Cross-linguistic
cross-linguistic and cross-modal typology
Subject (grammar)
Linguistics
psycholinguistics
syntax
experimental
0501 psychology and cognitive sciences
relative clauses
Relative clause
060201 languages & linguistics
Language. Linguistic theory. Comparative grammar
P101-410
05 social sciences
subject/ object asymmetries
06 humanities and the arts
[SCCO.LING]Cognitive science/Linguistics
language.human_language
Linguistics
0602 languages and literature
language
Cross-modal typology
Subject/ Object asymmetrie
comprehension
Subject/ Object asymmetries
L-LIN/01 - GLOTTOLOGIA E LINGUISTICA
Sign (mathematics)
Zdroj: Glossa: a journal of general linguistics (2016-2021)
Glossa: a journal of general linguistics (2016-2021), Ubiquity Press, 2021, 6 (1), pp.72. ⟨10.5334/gjgl.1454⟩
Glossa: a journal of general linguistics; Vol 6, No 1 (2021); 72
Glossa: a journal of general linguistics (2021-...)
Glossa: a journal of general linguistics (2021-..), Open Library of Humanities, 2021, 6 (1), ⟨10.5334/gjgl.1454⟩
Glossa, Vol 6, Iss 1 (2021)
ISSN: 2397-1835
DOI: 10.5334/gjgl.1454⟩
Popis: Relativization is a robust subordinating type across languages, displaying important typological variability concerning the position of the nominal head that the relative clause modifies, and sign languages are no exception. It has been widely assumed since Keenan & Comrie (1977) that the subject position is more accessible to relativization than object and oblique positions. The main aim of this paper is to investigate the extension of this famous generalization both across modalities (sign as opposed to spoken languages) and across relativization typologies (internally as opposed to externally headed relatives), and to verify how it interacts with age of first language exposure. We here report the results of a sentence-to-picture matching task assessing the comprehension of subject and object relative clauses (RCs) in three sign languages: French Sign Language (LSF), Catalan Sign Language (LSC), and Italian Sign Language (LIS). The results are that object RCs are never easier to comprehend than subject RCs. Remarkably, this is independent from the type of relative clause (internally or externally headed). As for the impact of age of exposure, we found that native signers outperform non-native signers and that a delay in language exposure emphasizes the subject/object asymmetry. Our results introduce a new potential diagnostic for LF movement: the existence of a Subject Advantage in comprehension can be used as a reliable and measurable cue for the existence of long-distance dependencies, including covert ones. The research summarized in this paper is part of the SIGN-HUB project, which has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under grant agreement No 693349.
Databáze: OpenAIRE
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