Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Date of Degree

6-2014

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

M.A.

Program

Linguistics

Advisor

Marcel den Dikken

Subject Categories

Linguistics

Keywords

attachment preferences, pseudo-relatives, relative clauses, sentence processing, Spanish, syntax

Abstract

This paper presents the results from an off-line experiment on the extent to which the availability of pseudo-relatives modulates attachment preferences in Spanish. Participants were presented with sentences in which different syntactic and semantic factors had been manipulated to allow for either both a pseudo-relative (PR) and a relative-clause (RC) reading or a RC reading only. All the experimental items included two potential antecedents with which the constituents of interest could be associated. The experimental items can be divided into four groups: group 1 consists of stimuli allowing for a double reading in direct object position, and groups 2, 3 and 4 consist of stimuli containing RCs in prepositional complement position, preverbal subject position, and postverbal subject position, respectively. A stronger preference for the "higher" antecedent was expected in the first group of experimental items. The results indicate that the availability of pseudo-relatives seems to influence attachment preferences; however, the results ensuing from the statistical comparison of groups 3 and 4 need further investigation.

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