Ques on: How does the parser link a wh
Resumptive Pronouns Complete Filler-Gap Dependencies, but Inadvertently
Dustin Alfonso Chacón, Colin Phillips
Sentence Completion Task
Introduction
We’re afraid of things that we don’t know [ what ____ are ]
• Participants saw an incomplete prompt
• Critical items contain an open FGD and a pronoun
We’re afraid of things that we don’t know [ what they are ]
If pronoun in prompt is interpreted as an RP à
abandoned gap search
• The parser actively searches for gaps in filler-gap
dependencies (FGDs), but not inside islands [1,2,3,4]
• FGDs end in resumptive pronouns (RPs) in some cases [3, 4],
including islands!
The bridesmaid speculated which groomsman
[ISLAND the speech that he prepared ] could offend …
Ques%on: How does the parser link a wh-‐filler with a pronoun when ac6ve search is unavailable? Hypothesis 1: Filler-Driven Dependency Formation
① Instigate Search for Gap
② Search discovers RP
the person that [ the claim that she saw Bob ] …
( ______ )
… surprised Dale.
Hypothesis 2: Pronoun-Driven Dependency Formation
① Instigate Search for Gap
(No gap)
(Gap)
(1) Do (potential) RPs “cancel” search for later gaps?
(2) Is this modulated by relative accessibility of FGD head?
Experimental Designs
Experiment 2: Prominent feature-matching distractor
• Experiment 3: Less prominent distractor; manipulate gender match
• N = 20; 2 × 2 Latin Square Design each
• Expts 1–2: ±FGD, ±RP; Expt 3: ±FGD, ±Distractor Gender Match
④ Cancel gap search
③ Select filler as antecedent
> … the bridal party
> … at the reception
③ If pronoun’s antecedent = filler:
Cancel gap search
the person that [ the claim that she saw Bob ] …
Expt 1: Parser can abandon search after an RP…
The bridesmaid speculated
{which groomsman / to the groomsman that}
[ISLAND the speech that { he / Andrew } prepared ]
could offend …
② Search for all antecedents
Hypothesis 3: Error-Driven Dependency Formation
① Instigate Search for Gap
③ Retroactively form RP dependency
It was explained
[ to the { priest / bridesmaid } ]
which groomsman ( ___ said that)
[ISLAND the speech that he prepared ]
could offend …
Gap-less responses: -Match: 59% +Match: 41%
RP dependencies are formed by a pronoun’s retrospec6ve search for an antecedent Are RPs Grammatical?
• Are RPs grammatical? Traditionally, yes [3,4], but this is questioned
in recent work [6,7]
• Regardless of whether they’re sanctioned by the grammar, the
parser [8] and producer [9,10] construct RP dependencies
• This work sheds light on the mechanism by which RP
dependencies are constructed in English – this may vary between
“intrusive” RPs in English and “grammaticized” RPs (e.g. in Hebrew)
Conclusion
Expt 2: …but not with a prominent “distractor”.
The priest speculated
{which groomsman / to the groomsman that}
[ISLAND the speech that { he / Andrew } prepared ]
could offend …
② Fail to detect gap
the person that [ the claim that she saw Bob ] … surprised Dale.
Expt 3: Non-prominent distractors modulate
responses
Gap-less responses: -RP: 20% +RP: 34%
( ______ )
… surprised Dale.
• Experiment 1 vs. 2: availability of a prominent alternative
antecedent removes RP effect – what about non-prominent ones?
Gap-less responses: -RP: 26% +RP 25%
• RP dependencies are formed by standard pronoun antecedent
retrieval mechanisms – long suspected in theoretical syntax [11,
12], but previously unsubstantiated
References: [1] Crain, S., J. Fodor. 1985. How can grammars help parsers? [2] Stowe, L. 1986. Parsing wh-constructions:
Evidence for on-line gap location. [3] Ross, J. 1967. Constraints on variables in syntax. [4] Kroch, A. 1981. On the role of
resumptive pronouns in amnestying island constraint violations. [5] Phillips, C. 2006. The real-time status of island phenomena.
[6] Alexopoulou, T. & Keller, F. 2007. Locality, cyclicity and resumption. [7] Heestand, D. et al. 2011. Resumption still does not
rescue islands. [8] Hofmeister, P., & Norcliffe, E. 2013. Does resumption facilitate sentence comprehension? [9] Zukowski, A. &
Larsen, J. To appear. The production and judgment of sentences that we fill their gaps. [10] Ferreira, F., Swets, B. 2005. The
production and comprehension of resumptive pronouns in relative clause ”island" contexts. [11] Sells, P. 1984. Syntax and
semantics of resumptive pronouns. [12] Ausdeh, A. 2010. The logic of pronominal resumption. Acknowledgements: NSF
0801465 to UMD, NSF 0848554 to CP, DGE0750616 to DAC. Thanks to Becca Kraut, Aya Asscher-Meltzer, Maayan Keshev, Matt
Wagers, participants in TAU-UMD workshop on resumptive pronouns
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