Do learners’ word order preferences reflect hierarchical language structure?

Result code in IS VaVaI

<a href="https://www.isvavai.cz/riv?ss=detail&h=RIV%2F00216208%3A11320%2F19%3A10427045" target="_blank" >RIV/00216208:11320/19:10427045 - isvavai.cz</a>

Result on the web

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DOI - Digital Object Identifier

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Result language

angličtina

Original language name

Do learners’ word order preferences reflect hierarchical language structure?

Original language description

Previous research has argued that learners infer word order patternswhen learning a new language based on knowledge aboutunderlying structure, rather than linear order (Culbertson &amp;Adger, 2014). Specifically, learners prefer typologically commonnoun phrase word order patterns that transparently reflecthow elements like nouns, adjectives, numerals, and demonstrativescombine hierarchically. We test whether this resultstill holds after removing a potentially confounding strategypresent in the original study design. We find that when learnersare taught a naturalistic “foreign” language, a clear preferencefor noun phrase word order is replicated but for a subsetof modifier types originally tested. Specifically, participantspreferred noun phrases with the order N-Adj-Dem (as in “mugred this”) over the order N-Dem-Adj (as in “mug this red”).However, they showed no preference between orders N-Adj-Num (as in “mugs red two”) and N-Num-Adj (as in “mugstwo red”). We interpret this sensitivity as potentially reflectingan asymmetry among modifier types in the underlying hierarchicalstructure.

Czech name

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Czech description

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Type

O - Miscellaneous

CEP classification

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OECD FORD branch

10201 - Computer sciences, information science, bioinformathics (hardware development to be 2.2, social aspect to be 5.8)

Project

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Continuities

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Publication year

2019

Confidentiality

S - Úplné a pravdivé údaje o projektu nepodléhají ochraně podle zvláštních právních předpisů