Number attraction affects reanalysis in sentence processing. Issue 1 (2nd January 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Suckow, Katja; van Gompel, Roger P. G.
• Is Part Of: Language, cognition and neuroscience. Volume 33:Issue 1(2018)
• Page Start: 1
• Page End: 11
• Publication Date: 2018-01-02
• Subjects: Sentence processing -- number attraction -- eye-tracking -- garden-path sentences -- reanalysis; Psycholinguistics -- Periodicals; Linguistics -- Periodicals; Neurosciences -- Periodicals; Psycholinguïstiek; Cognitieve processen; Linguistics; Neurosciences; Psycholinguistics; Periodicals; 401.9
• DOI: 10.1080/23273798.2017.1346812
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2327-3798

Abstract

ABSTRACT: Many studies have shown evidence for number attraction effects in production. Recent cross-linguistic findings suggest that number attraction can also affect comprehension of ungrammatical sentences. We present an eye-tracking experiment that investigates number attraction during recovery from garden-path sentences. The sentences contrasted locally ambiguous with unambiguous structures containing a plural or a singular attractor noun before a singular verb. Reading time data from the experiment suggest that number attraction effects occur when the processor has difficulty finding a grammatical analysis: Sentences with a local ambiguity had longer regression-path times when there was a plural number attractor than when there was a singular number attractor. The attractor number did not affect the processing of the unambiguous sentences.