Preposition copying and pruning in present-day English
- This article investigates the nature of preposition copying and preposition pruning structures in present-day English. We begin by illustrating the two phenomena and consider how they might be accounted for in syntactic terms, and go on to explore the possibility that preposition copying and pruning arise for processing reasons. We then report on two acceptability judgement experiments examining the extent to which native speakers of English are sensitive to these types of 'error' in language comprehension. Our results indicate that preposition copying creates redundancy rather than ungrammaticality, whereas preposition pruning creates processing problems for comprehenders that may render it unacceptable in timed (but not necessarily in untimed) judgement tasks. Our findings furthermore illustrate the usefulness of combining corpus studies and experimentally elicited data for gaining a clearer picture of usage and acceptability, and the potential benefits of examining syntactic phenomena from both a theoretical and a processingThis article investigates the nature of preposition copying and preposition pruning structures in present-day English. We begin by illustrating the two phenomena and consider how they might be accounted for in syntactic terms, and go on to explore the possibility that preposition copying and pruning arise for processing reasons. We then report on two acceptability judgement experiments examining the extent to which native speakers of English are sensitive to these types of 'error' in language comprehension. Our results indicate that preposition copying creates redundancy rather than ungrammaticality, whereas preposition pruning creates processing problems for comprehenders that may render it unacceptable in timed (but not necessarily in untimed) judgement tasks. Our findings furthermore illustrate the usefulness of combining corpus studies and experimentally elicited data for gaining a clearer picture of usage and acceptability, and the potential benefits of examining syntactic phenomena from both a theoretical and a processing perspective.…
Author details: | Andrew Radford, Claudia FelserORCiDGND, Oliver Boxell |
---|---|
URN: | urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-414898 |
DOI: | https://doi.org/10.25932/publishup-41489 |
ISSN: | 1866-8364 |
Title of parent work (English): | Postprints der Universität Potsdam : Humanwissenschaftliche Reihe |
Publication series (Volume number): | Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Humanwissenschaftliche Reihe (527) |
Publication type: | Postprint |
Language: | English |
Date of first publication: | 2019/02/12 |
Publication year: | 2012 |
Publishing institution: | Universität Potsdam |
Release date: | 2019/02/12 |
Tag: | syntactic blends |
Issue: | 527 |
Number of pages: | 24 |
Source: | English Language and Linguistics 16 (2012) 3, pp. 403–426 DOI 10.1017/S1360674312000172 |
Organizational units: | Humanwissenschaftliche Fakultät |
DDC classification: | 8 Literatur / 82 Englische, altenglische Literaturen / 820 Englische, altenglische Literaturen |
Peer review: | Referiert |
Publishing method: | Open Access |
Grantor: | Cambridge University Press (CUP) |
License (German): | Keine öffentliche Lizenz: Unter Urheberrechtsschutz |
External remark: | Bibliographieeintrag der Originalveröffentlichung/Quelle |