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1 results

  • 12 - Constituent Order and Acceptability

  • from Part II - Experimental Studies of Specific Phenomena
  • Edited by Grant Goodall, University of California, San Diego
  • Book:
    The Cambridge Handbook of Experimental Syntax
    Published online:
    16 December 2021
    Print publication:
    09 December 2021, pp 315-340

  • Summary

    The relation between the constituent order of a sentence and its acceptability score is a complex one. This is due to the fact that both the crucial independent variable, constituent order, and the dependent one, acceptability judgments, are inherently multifactorial. This contribution seeks to disentangle this relation by (i) enumerating the factors that contribute to the ordering of constituents in non-canonical orders, i.e. orders that deviate from the unmarked order of a given language, (ii) giving an explanation of how these factors interact in terms of the notion of contextual licensing, and (iii) providing a survey of the experimental evidence accrued so far both in favor of and against such an explanation for a number of different constructions. An outlook on possibilities for further research concludes the chapter.