Abstract
The question of whether there exists a universal subject preference in relativization has stimulated research in a wide range of languages and across different domains, yielding an extensive body of literature in relative clause acquisition and processing. In this article, we aim at consolidating the efforts of existing research in order to inform further exploration of the universality of the subject preference with a comprehensive analysis of relevant work (including journal articles on empirical studies, dissertations, and conference proceedings). We present an overview of the proposals regarding the source(s) of the subject-object asymmetry from a cross-linguistic perspective and discuss commonly used methodologies in this research area, and we survey the research on relative clause processing and acquisition of different linguistic communities, including native speakers, second language learners, clinical populations, and heritage speakers.
Highlights
We focus on research on typical monolingual native speaker populations, we touch on the theoretical and practical implications of research on second and heritage language speakers and clinical populations
This paper presents an overview of relative clauses (RCs) asymmetry research across languages with different typologies and variations in their RC configuration, and across different linguistic groups and diverse methodologies
All things considered, there is a convergence on a subject advantage; that is, the majority of findings show that Subject RC (SRC) are acquired earlier and are faster to process, easier to produce, preferred in ambiguous cases, and more resistant to language loss than object RC (ORC) in many languages
Summary
Findings from Indo-European languages generally support a “universal” subject advantage: adults process SRCs more quickly and accurately than ORCs; children understand and produce SRCs earlier than ORCs. Research on typologically distinct languages and with groups other than monolingual native speakers, casts doubt on the universality of these patterns. Research on typologically distinct languages and with groups other than monolingual native speakers, casts doubt on the universality of these patterns This overview paper critically reviews the state-of-the-art literature on RC processing and acquisition in order to evaluate proposals regarding the source of the subject-object asymmetry as well as the methodologies devised to investigate it..
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