Processing multiple nonadjacent dependencies in BP
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.31513/linguistica.2020.v16n1a31631Keywords:
Nonadjacent dependencies, multiple dependencies, linguistic processing, agreement.Abstract
In this paper, we investigate the processing of nonadjacent dependencies (NADs) and their different configurations in Brazilian Portuguese (BP) by adult speakers. NADs are defined as the co-occurrence of morphosyntactic and/or phonological markers with intervening material, as in A menin-a, in which the dependence between the determiner and the a- noun gender feminine mark is observed, with the intervening material menin- between them. From a structural point of view, there are nested NADs (A1 A2 B2 B1), when the co-dependent elements A2 and B2 are “nested” between A1 and B1, as in TheA1 carA1 theA2 mechanicsA2 repairedB2 crashedB1; and aligned NADs (A1 A2 B1 B2) when the co-dependent elements are in immediate sequence, as in TheA1 mechanicA1 repairedA2 theB1 carsB1 that crashedB2. Results from two experiments using maze tasks revealed longer reading times for the nested condition, suggesting that dependencies in this configuration cause greater demand in linguistic processing. NADs have been explored in language acquisition, but little is known about how well adults process these structures. This study sheds light on adult processing of multiple NADs in BP and on the factors involved in multiple dependency processing.
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