Abstract
A series of self-paced reading studies utilized an embedded anomaly technique to investigate long-distance dependencies with dative verbs. Previous research i our lab demonstrated that argument structure influences the gap-filling process. Experiment I extended that work by demonstrating that dative verbs pattern with other complex transitive verbs (i.e., a fronted filler that is implausible as the direct object will not be interpreted as the direct object until the absence of a noun phrase after the verb forces the postulation of a direct object gap. This pattern contrasts with that of transitive verbs that subcategorize for a single internal argument position, where fronted fillers are obligatorily interpreted as the direct object). Experiments 2 and 3 investigate the prediction that semantic analyses precede syntactic analyses in dative questions. It is argued that the lexical information about argument structure and thematic roles can guide semantic interpretation.
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This research was supported in part by NSF grant BNS-8617738 and NIH grant HD-22271.
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Boland, J.E., Tanenhaus, M.K., Carlson, G. et al. Lexical projection and the interaction of syntax and semantics in parsing. J Psycholinguist Res 18, 563–576 (1989). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01067160
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01067160