Abstract
Three experiments were conducted to determine the relative accessibility of semantic and deep-structure syntactic concepts. In Experiment 1, which employed a concept-formation task, subjects learned the concept “deep-structure subject” more slowly than the case concept “experiencer.” In Experiments 2 and 3, which employed a new recognition memory procedure, subjects performed more poorly when the sentences to be remembered were differentiated on the basis of deep-structure syntactic relations than when they were differentiated on the basis of semantic relations. These results favor Fillmore’s case grammar, or another semantically based theory, rather than the “standard theory” of Chomsky in a model of linguistic behavior.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
Anderson, J. R., &Bower G. H.Human associative memory Washington. D.C. Winston. 1973.
Baker, W. J..Prideaux.G. D. &Derwing, B. L. Grammatical properties of sentences as a basis for concept formation.Journal of Psvcholinguistic Research 1973,2 201–220.
Bever, T. G., Katz, J. J., &Langendoen, D. T.An integrated theory of linguistic ability. New York: Crowell, 1976.
Blumenthal, A. L. Prompted recall of sentences.Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior, 1967,6, 203–206.
Blumenthal, A. L., &Boakes, R. Prompted recall of sentences.Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior, 1967,6, 674–676.
Chomsky, N.Aspects of the theory of syntax. Cambridge, Mass: MIT Press, 1965.
Clark, H. H. The language-as-fixed-effect fallacy: A critique of language statistics in psychological research.Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior, 1973,12, 335–359.
Fillmore, C. J. The case for case. In E. Bach & R. T. Harms (Eds.),Universals in linguistic theory. New York: Holt, Rinehart, & Winston, 1968. Pp. 1–88.
Fillmore, C. J. Subjects, speakers, and roles.Synthese 1970,21, 251–274.
Fillmore, C. J. Some problems tor case grammar. In R. O’Brien (Ed.),Report of the twenty-second annual round table meeting on linguistics and language study. Washington, D.C: Georgetown University Press, 1971. Pp. 35–56.
Fillmore, C. J. The case for case reopened. In P. Cole & J. M. Sadock (Eds.),Syntax and semantics, Vol. 8. New York: Academic Press, 1977.
Fodor, J. A., Bever, T. G., &Garrett, M. F.The psychology of language: An introduction to psycholinguistics and generative grammar. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1974.
Katz, J. J., &Fodor, J. A. The structure of a semantic theory.Language, 1963,39, 170–210.
Kintsch, W.The representation of meaning in memory. Hillsdale, N.J: Erlbaum, 1974.
Lakoff, G. On generative semantics. In D. Steinberg & L. A. Jakobovits (Eds.),Semantics: An interdisciplinary reader in philosophy. linguistics, and psychology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1971. Pp. 232–296.
Mccawley, J. D. The role of semantics in a grammar. In E. Bach & R. T. Harms (Eds.),Universals in linguistic theory. New York: Holt, Rinehart, & Winston, 1968. Pp. 124–169.
Perfetti, C. A. Retrieval of sentence relations: Semantic vs. syntactic deep structure.Cognition, 1973,2, 95–105.
Rumelhart, D. E., Lindsay.P. H., &Norman.D. A. A process model for long-term memory. In E. Tulving & W. Donaldson (Eds.),Organization of memory. New York: Academic Press, 1972. Pp. 197–246.
Schank, R. C. Conceptual dependency: A theory of natural language understanding.Cognitive Psychology, 1972,3. 552–631.
Shafto, M. The space for case.Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior, 1973,12, 551–562.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
This research was supported in part by PHS Grants MH26573 and RR07015, NSF Grant BNS77-00077 to Yale University, and NICHD Grant Hoo1994 and BRSG Grant RR05596 to Haskins Laboratories. The senior author was supported by a Junior Faculty Fellowship from Yale University during the preparation of this manuscript.
Portions of this paper concerning Experiments 1 and 2 were read at the Eighteenth Annual Meeting of the Psychonomic Society, Washington, D.C., November 1977.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Healy, A.F., Levitt, A.G. The relative accessibility of semantic and deep-structure syntactic concepts. Memory & Cognition 6, 518–526 (1978). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03198240
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03198240