scholarly journals A compositional approach to conjunct agreement in Turkish

2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 17
Author(s):  
Yilmaz Koylu
Keyword(s):  
Native Speaker ◽  
Judgment Task ◽  
Choice Task ◽  
Full Agreement ◽  
Compositional Approach ◽  
Closest Conjunct Agreement ◽  
Forced Choice Task ◽  
Verbal Agreement ◽  
Two Stages ◽  
Acceptability Judgment

This article presents novel empirical evidence on verbal agreement patterns observed in conjunction phrases (CPs) in Turkish. To account for the discrepancies observed in native speaker preferences in agreement paradigms in CPs, two experimental tasks were carried out: namely an acceptability judgment task and a forced choice task. Based on the results, it is proposed that there is compositional conjunct agreement in Turkish that takes place in two stages. The agreement relationship is first established between the Agreement head and the coordinated phrase in the syntax. Then, the PF spells out the features of either the coordinated phrase, or the features of the linearly closest conjunct inside the coordinated phrase. I argue that Full Agreement (FA) results from the Spec-head agreement with the CP, whereby the features of both conjuncts are resolved and inherited to the CP (Johannessen 1996). In Closest Conjunct Agreement (CCA), on the other hand, the agreeing head has asymmetric access to one of the prominent conjuncts or its features (Bošković 2009; Johannessen 1998; Munn 1993, 1999; Benmamoun 1992). Thus, in CCA in Turkish, the agreement is with the linearly closest conjunct and the features of that conjunct appear on the verb.

Locative Inversion, PP Topicalization, and Weak Crossover in English

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-19
Author(s):  
BENJAMIN BRUENING
Keyword(s):  
Judgment Task ◽  
Choice Task ◽  
Mechanical Turk ◽  
Amazon Mechanical Turk ◽  
Variable Binding ◽  
Weak Crossover ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Forced Choice Task ◽  
Locative Inversion ◽  
Acceptability Judgment

The literature on locative inversion in English currently disputes whether locative inversion differs from PP topicalization in permitting a quantifier in the fronted PP to bind a pronoun in the subject. In order to resolve this dispute, this paper runs two experiments on Amazon Mechanical Turk, one an acceptability judgment task and the other a forced-choice task. Both find that PP topicalization does not differ from locative inversion: both permit variable binding. Locative inversion also does not differ from a minimally different sentence with the overt expletive there. These findings remove an argument against the null expletive analysis of English locative inversion, and they also show that weak crossover is not uniformly triggered by A-bar movement.

Second language acquisition of pragmatic inferences: Evidence from the Frenchc'est-cleft

2016 ◽  
Vol 38 (3) ◽  
pp. 703-732 ◽  
Author(s):  
EMILIE DESTRUEL ◽  
BRYAN DONALDSON
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Native Speaker ◽  
Choice Task ◽  
Empirical Adequacy ◽  
Control Group ◽  
L2 Acquisition ◽  
Proficiency Levels ◽  
Forced Choice Task

ABSTRACTThis paper examines the extent to which second language (L2) speakers of French acquire the semantic and pragmatic (or interpretive) properties associated with thec'est-cleft, specifically the exhaustive inference. This phenomenon is relevant to theories of language acquisition because it is situated at the interface of syntax and pragmatics. The results from a forced-choice task challenge the empirical adequacy of the interface hypothesis (Sorace, 2011, 2012; Sorace & Filiaci, 2006), which claims that external interfaces between a linguistic module and a cognitive module remain problematic even at the highest levels of L2 acquisition. The results from 40 L2 learners at three proficiency levels reveal development from nontargetlike to nativelike behavior. In particular, the high-proficiency group interprets thec'est-cleft, as well as canonical subject–verb–object sentences and sentences with exclusives (i.e.,seul(ement)“only”), in a statistically identical way to the French native speaker control group.

Alternating Italian thetic and sentence-focus constructions

Revue Romane ◽  
2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Belligh ◽  
Ludovic De Cuypere ◽  
Claudia Crocco
Keyword(s):  
Native Speaker ◽  
Forced Choice ◽  
Choice Task ◽  
Online Questionnaire ◽  
Italian Language ◽  
Pilot Experiment ◽  
Forced Choice Task ◽  
Syntactic Status

Abstract In this article we study the alternation between the two most prominent Italian thetic and sentence-focus constructions, viz. the Syntactic Inversion Construction (henceforth: SIC), e.g. Arriva il treno (‘The train is arriving’), and the Presentational Cleft (henceforth: PC), e.g. C’è il treno che arriva (‘The train is arriving’). Based on the existing literature on the two constructions and drawing inspiration from a number of cognitive-functional hypotheses pertaining to constraints on the amount of referentially new constituents that can be conveyed in a single clause, we put forward the hypothesis that Italian language users are more likely to prefer the PC over the SIC if the utterance involves a high number of referentially new constituents. To assess this hypothesis, we constructed a pilot experiment consisting of a 100-split forced choice task that was administered by means of an online questionnaire to 66 native speaker participants. The results of the experiment indicate that the preference for the PC indeed increases if the number of referentially new constituents is higher. This is however not the only factor involved in the alternation and the preference of the language users seems not only to be determined by the number of referentially new constituents, but also by their syntactic status.

scholarly journals Agreement attraction in Serbian

2016 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 242-276 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bojana Ristic ◽  
Nicola Molinaro ◽  
Simona Mancini
Keyword(s):  
Reaction Times ◽  
Judgment Task ◽  
Forced Choice ◽  
Choice Task ◽  
Frequency Pattern ◽  
Gothic Architecture ◽  
Forced Choice Task ◽  
Attraction Effects ◽  
Accuracy Data ◽  
Morphological Markedness

Asymmetric number attraction effects have been typically explained via a privative markedness account: plural nouns are more marked than singular ones and thus stronger attractors. However, this account does not explain results from tripartite systems, in which a third number value is available, like paucal. Here we tested whether attraction effects can be driven by specific markedness sub-components, such as frequency/naturalness of use, using Serbian, in which participles can agree with masculine subjects in singular, plural and paucal. We first conducted a naturalness judgment task, finding the following naturalness/frequency pattern: singular,plural<paucal. In a subsequent forced-choice task, we presented participants with preambles containing a singular, a plural or a paucal headnoun (the castle[Sg] /two castles[Pauc] /the castles[Pl]) modified by singular/plural/paucal attractors (with the window[Sg] /with two windows[Pauc] /with the windows[Pl]). Three options were provided to complete the sentence (resembles[Sg] /resemble[Pauc] /resemble[Pl] gothic architecture).Both accuracy and reaction times (RTs) were collected. Accuracy data reflected the naturalness/frequency pattern, with paucal being the strongest attractor, and plural and singular attracting equally. However, reaction times showed a difference between singular and plural, suggesting co-influence of both frequency/naturalness and morphological markedness. We emphasize the necessity of re-defining markedness and testing attraction through different markedness sub-components (i.e. frequency/naturalness) to explain attraction cross-linguistically.

scholarly journals Long distance binding option for the Mandarin Chinese reflexive taziji

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuhang Xu ◽  
Jeffrey Runner
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Evidence ◽  
Mandarin Chinese ◽  
Judgment Task ◽  
Choice Task ◽  
Long Distance ◽  
Clausal Structure ◽  
Embedded Clause ◽  
Local Binding ◽  
Acceptability Judgment

Contradicting prevailing claims in the literature, we report experimental evidence showing that the Chinese reflexive taziji has both local and long-distance binding options. We per-formed a series of formal judgment experiments manipulating the gender feature of the potential antecedents such that they matched or mismatched the anaphor’s gender using a bi-clausal structure with an argument reflexive in the embedded clause (e.g., Name1-says-Name2-Verb-taziji). Participants were asked to choose the antecedent of the anaphor (antecedent choice task) and also to judge the acceptability of the sentence (acceptability judgment task). Results showed that the reflexive taziji had both long-distance and local binding options, although the local binding option was preferred. Also, the pattern was replicated for the original examples taken from a widely used Chinese syntax textbook (Huang et al. 2009), contra the judgments reported there. We discuss the implications of this study from both theoretical and methodological perspectives.

Assessing the Link Between Perception and Production in Cantonese Tone Acquisition

2019 ◽  
Vol 62 (5) ◽  
pp. 1243-1257 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peggy Pik Ki Mok ◽  
Holly Sze Ho Fung ◽  
Vivian Guo Li
Keyword(s):  
Language Acquisition ◽  
General Principle ◽  
Choice Task ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Tone Pair ◽  
Tone Production ◽  
Monosyllabic Words ◽  
Early Production ◽  
Forced Choice Task ◽  
Production Accuracy

Purpose Previous studies showed early production precedes late perception in Cantonese tone acquisition, contrary to the general principle that perception precedes production in child language. How tone production and perception are linked in 1st language acquisition remains largely unknown. Our study revisited the acquisition of tone in Cantonese-speaking children, exploring the possible link between production and perception in 1st language acquisition. Method One hundred eleven Cantonese-speaking children aged between 2;0 and 6;0 (years;months) and 10 adolescent reference speakers participated in tone production and perception experiments. Production materials with 30 monosyllabic words were transcribed in filtered and unfiltered conditions by 2 native judges. Perception accuracy was based on a 2-alternative forced-choice task with pictures covering all possible tone pair contrasts. Results Children's accuracy of production and perception of all the 6 Cantonese tones was still not adultlike by age 6;0. Both production and perception accuracies matured with age. A weak positive link was found between the 2 accuracies. Mother's native language contributed to children's production accuracy. Conclusions Our findings show that production and perception abilities are associated in tone acquisition. Further study is needed to explore factors affecting production accuracy in children. Supplemental Material https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.7960826

Habit learning in a forced-choice task

2001 ◽  
Author(s):  
Markus Dressel ◽  
Teena D. Moody ◽  
Barbara J. Knowlton
Keyword(s):  
Forced Choice ◽  
Choice Task ◽  
Habit Learning ◽  
Forced Choice Task

scholarly journals Biological Bases of Beauty Revisited: The Effect of Symmetry, Averageness, and Sexual Dimorphism on Female Facial Attractiveness

Symmetry ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 279 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alex L. Jones ◽  
Bastian Jaeger
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Dimorphism ◽  
Learning Algorithm ◽  
Facial Attractiveness ◽  
Choice Task ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Human Female ◽  
Literature Study ◽  
Skin Texture ◽  
Femininity And Masculinity ◽  
Forced Choice Task

The factors influencing human female facial attractiveness—symmetry, averageness, and sexual dimorphism—have been extensively studied. However, recent studies, using improved methodologies, have called into question their evolutionary utility and links with life history. The current studies use a range of approaches to quantify how important these factors actually are in perceiving attractiveness, through the use of novel statistical analyses and by addressing methodological weaknesses in the literature. Study One examines how manipulations of symmetry, averageness, femininity, and masculinity affect attractiveness using a two-alternative forced choice task, finding that increased masculinity and also femininity decrease attractiveness, compared to unmanipulated faces. Symmetry and averageness yielded a small and large effect, respectively. Study Two utilises a naturalistic ratings paradigm, finding similar effects of averageness and masculinity as Study One but no effects of symmetry and femininity on attractiveness. Study Three applies geometric face measurements of the factors and a random forest machine learning algorithm to predict perceived attractiveness, finding that shape averageness, dimorphism, and skin texture symmetry are useful features capable of relatively accurate predictions, while shape symmetry is uninformative. However, the factors do not explain as much variance in attractiveness as the literature suggests. The implications for future research on attractiveness are discussed.

scholarly journals RNNs develop history biases in an expectation-guided two-alternative forced choice task

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Manuel Molano-Mazon ◽  
Guangyu Robert Yang ◽  
Ainhoa Hermoso-Mendizabal ◽  
Jaime de la Rocha
Keyword(s):  
Forced Choice ◽  
Choice Task ◽  
Forced Choice Task
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