Givenness, complexity, and the Danish dative alternation

Abstract

In this study, we investigated the interaction between givenness and complexity on the choice of syntactic structure, via two experiments using speeded acceptability judgments. Experiment 1 showed that for the Danish dative alternation, given-new orders are only easier to process for double-object or NP constructions, whereas PP constructions are unaffected. This replicates previous findings for the English dative alternation. Experiment 2 revealed that when a long NP precedes a short NP-a suboptimal complexity relation-the effect of givenness is neutralized, whereas givenness remains influential when the complexity relation between the NPs in the sentence is optimal. This is consistent with the view that in online parsing, the actual syntactic structure-building process is primary, whereas any higher-order computations such as discourse linking are secondary. The relative complexity of the NPs in the double-object construction directly affects the structurebuilding process, whereas the decoding of the discourse structure is a later and less crucial phenomenon, resulting in neutralization of the givenness effect in cases in which the complexity relation is suboptimal.

The dative alternation in Danish and Polish – A learners perspective

“…In the PP-construction givenness (signalled either via definiteness or via a prior context and definiteness) does not affect RT. Kizach and Balling (2013) conclude that Danish has the same givenness asymmetry as English, suggesting that the NP-construction has a special information structural function (i.e. is used when the recipient is given and the theme is new).…”

“…There is a strong tendency to place a short phrase before a long phrase, so if the theme is longer than the recipient, the NPconstruction is preferred, and if the recipient is the longest, the PP-construction is preferred (Hawkins 1994). Givenness, which we focus on in this study, seems to affect only the NP-construction, giving rise to an interesting asymmetry, where given-new order is preferred in the NP-construction, whereas the PPconstruction is equally acceptable with given-new and new-given orders (Brown et al 2012;Clifton and Frazier 2004;Kizach and Balling 2013). This asymmetry has been demonstrated experimentally, but is not stated in Danish grammars nor indeed taught in schools, which gives us the opportunity to examine whether such a subtle fact is nevertheless acquired by learners of Danish as a foreign language (DFL).…”

“…Bresnan et al 2007;Clifton and Frazier 2004;Gries 2003;Haw-kins 1994;Kizach and Balling 2013). There is a strong tendency to place a short phrase before a long phrase, so if the theme is longer than the recipient, the NPconstruction is preferred, and if the recipient is the longest, the PP-construction is preferred (Hawkins 1994).…”

“…The Korean EFL learners seem to have at least partially acquired the givenness asymmetry in the dative alternation, whereas the Japanese and Chinese EFL learners may not have (Chang 2004;Park 2011;Tanaka 1987). Kizach and Balling (2013) investigated how givenness and length affect the processing of the Danish dative alternation through two speeded acceptability judgment experiments. They found that givenness has a significant effect on reaction time (RT), but only in the NP-construction.…”

“…In this study we investigate whether adult Polish learners of Danish as a foreign language (henceforth: Polish DFL learners) acquire the givenness asymmetry after 3 years of Danish studies (Group 1) and after 1.5 years of studies (Group 2). We repeat the first experiment used in Kizach and Balling (2013) to test both our groups of students, and we expect that Group 1 may have partially acquired the pattern, but that Group 2 has not. The reason is both that the givenness asymmetry is neither taught nor mentioned, and that Polish word order is traditionally assumed to be highly influenced by information structure considerations (cf.…”