Abstract
Speakers of a language sometimes use particular constructions which violate prescriptive grammar rules. Despite their prescriptive ungrammaticality, they can occur rather frequently. One such example is the comparative construction in Dutch and similarly in German, where the equative particle is used in comparative constructions instead of the prescriptively correct comparative particle (Dutch beter als Jan and German besser wie Jan “lit. better as John”). In a series of three experiments using sentence-matching and eye-tracking methodology, we investigated whether this grammatical norm violation is processed as grammatical, as ungrammatical, or whether it falls in between these two. We hypothesized that the latter would be the case. We analyzed our data using linear mixed effects models in order to capture possible individual differences. The results of the sentence-matching experiments, which were conducted in both Dutch and German, showed that the grammatical norm violation patterns with ungrammatical sentences in both languages. Our hypothesis was therefore not borne out. However, using the more sensitive eye-tracking method on Dutch speakers only, we found that the ungrammatical alternative leads to higher reading times than the grammatical norm violation. We also found significant individual variation regarding this very effect. We furthermore replicated the processing difference between the grammatical norm violation and the prescriptively correct variant. In summary, we conclude that while the results of the more sensitive eye-tracking experiment suggest that the grammatical norm violation is not processed completely on a par with ungrammatical sentences, the results of all three experiments clearly show that the grammatical norm violation cannot be considered grammatical, either.
Highlights
Decades of experimental research contrasting grammatical with ungrammatical sentences have taught us much about language processing (e.g., Hagoort et al, 1993; Friederici et al, 2006)
Processing Prescriptively Incorrect Comparative Particles understood by those exposed to the same input; ungrammatical sentences are constructions that are in principle not generated by a native speaker’s competence, grammaticality judgments may vary (Schütze, 1996)
We focused on one grammatical norm violation in particular, namely, the use of an equative particle in a comparative construction, which occurs frequently in Dutch as well as German, and which is well-known for being a violation of prescriptive grammar rules
Summary
Decades of experimental research contrasting grammatical with ungrammatical sentences have taught us much about language processing (e.g., Hagoort et al, 1993; Friederici et al, 2006). In contrast, an ungrammatical sentence is one that is prescriptively “incorrect” and is not, or rather in their view should not, be part of the standard language. These definitions clash when considering constructions that are frequently produced and encountered by native speakers of the language, yet firmly disapproved of by speakers who adhere to prescriptive grammar rules. Jane is stronger as Jackie “Jane is stronger than
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