Abstract
Off-line measures suggest that the hierarchy rule strategy applies to the processing of free relative clauses (RCs) in German, suggesting that case matches between covert head and RC-pronoun are preferred, whereas mismatches are dissociated based on their (non)conformity with the case hierarchy. We asked whether on-line sentence processing supports this pattern, and investigated free RCs with combinations of nominative, accusative and dative case in the self-paced reading paradigm. Our results are captured best by assuming two further strategies: the parallel syntactic function strategy and, especially, the subject-first strategy. Based on these strategies, we provide an Optimality Theory-style analysis that explains prior findings and particularities of incremental sentence processing, and that additionally accounts for the exceptional behaviour of accusative-nominative mismatches.
Published Version
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