Acceptability Rating of Ungrammatical Colloquial Latvian: How Native Speakers Judge Different Error Types

Abstract

Abstract. The aim of the current study is to test what types of sentences according to their grammatical structure are (a) considered to be more plausible from a native speaker's view and (b) perceived as better understandable even if not entirely grammatical. A quasi-experimental task in a repeated measures design was conducted. 83 native speakers of Latvian have rated a randomized and balanced set of most typical grammatical errors (together with correct sentences and the filler sentences). Importantly our sample contained all regions of Latvia with different dialects (and even a different writing system). According to our results, errors in usage of verbal prefixes, definite / indefinite endings, and word order errors are the closest to the ratings of correct sentences. The most crucial errors recognized by native speakers are the errors of prepositional usage and word coordination. To our knowledge, this is the first acceptability rating experiment for the Baltic languages.