Processing French RCs with Postverbal Subjects in a Minimalist Parser
- Daniel Del Valle (University of Utah)
- Aniello De Santo (University of Utah)
Abstract
Computational models with explicit assumptions about the connection between syntactic representations and processing difficulty can help strengthen bridges between theoretical linguistics and psycholinguistics. In this sense, a model based on Stabler’s parser for Minimalist grammars (MGs; Stabler 2013) has been shown to predict a variety of off-line processing pref- erences, by exploiting complexity metrics tracking how syntactic structure affects memory load (Graf et al. 2017:a.o.). This model provides an interpretable linking theory between fine-grained syntactic structure in the generative tradition and precise sentence processing results, through transparently specified notions of cognitive cost. Here, we build on recent work on the processing of non-canonical word order constructions in Italian (De Santo 2021), and explore the model’s performance on off-line results for cases of subject inversion within restrictive relative clauses (RCs) in French. This provides an opportunity to probe the sensitivity of the approach to small but critical syntactic differences across similar constructions cross-linguistically.
Keywords: Minimalist grammars, Parsing, French, Subject inversion, Relative Clauses
How to Cite:
Del Valle, D. & De Santo, A., (2023) “Processing French RCs with Postverbal Subjects in a Minimalist Parser”, Society for Computation in Linguistics 6(1), 411-412. doi: https://doi.org/10.7275/kg55-ft97
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