An exemplar model should be able to explain all syntactic priming phenomena: A commentary on Ambridge (2020). Issue 5 (October 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Messenger, Katherine; Hardy, Sophie M.; Coumel, Marion
• Other Names: Marshall Chloë guest-editor.
• Is Part Of: First language. Volume 40:Issue 5/6(2020)
• Page Start: 616
• Page End: 620
• Publication Date: 2020-10
• Subjects: Abstract syntactic representations -- sentence-level constructions -- syntactic priming; Language acquisition -- Periodicals; 401.9305
• DOI: 10.1177/0142723720904479
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0142-7237

Abstract

The authors argue that Ambridge's radical exemplar account of language cannot clearly explain all syntactic priming evidence, such as inverse preference effects ( greater priming for less frequent structures), and the contrast between short-lived lexical boost and long-lived abstract priming. Moreover, without recourse to a level of abstract syntactic structure, Ambridge's account cannot explain abstract priming in amnesia patients or cross-linguistic priming. Instead, the authors argue that abstract representations remain the more parsimonious account for the wide variety of syntactic priming phenomena.