Is Passive Syntax Semantically Constrained? Evidence from Adult Grammaticality Judgment and Comprehension Studies

Autor/inn/en	Ambridge, Ben; Bidgood, Amy; Pine, Julian M.; Rowland, Caroline F.; Freudenthal, Daniel
Titel	Is Passive Syntax Semantically Constrained? Evidence from Adult Grammaticality Judgment and Comprehension Studies
Quelle	In: Cognitive Science, 40 (2016) 6, S.1435-1459 (25 Seiten) PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0364-0213
DOI	10.1111/cogs.12277
Schlagwörter	Adults; Grammar; Verbs; Semantics; Linguistic Competence; Comprehension; Sentences; Syntax; Predictor Variables; Questionnaires; Likert Scales; Foreign Countries; United Kingdom + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Grammatik; Semantik; Sprachkompetenz; Verstehen; Verständnis; Sentence analysis; Satzanalyse; Prädiktor; Fragebogen; Likert-Skala; Ausland; Großbritannien
Abstract	To explain the phenomenon that certain English verbs resist passivization (e.g., "*£5 was cost by the book"), Pinker (1989) proposed a semantic constraint on the passive in the adult grammar: The greater the extent to which a verb denotes an action where a patient is affected or acted upon, the greater the extent to which it is compatible with the passive. However, a number of comprehension and production priming studies have cast doubt upon this claim, finding no difference between highly affecting "agent-patient/theme-experiencer" passives (e.g., "Wendy was kicked/frightened by Bob") and non-actional "experiencer theme" passives (e.g., "Wendy was heard by Bob"). The present study provides evidence that a semantic constraint is psychologically real, and is readily observed when more fine-grained independent and dependent measures are used (i.e., participant ratings of verb semantics, graded grammaticality judgments, and reaction time in a forced-choice picture-matching comprehension task). We conclude that a semantic constraint on the passive must be incorporated into accounts of the adult grammar. (As Provided).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2020/1/01