The Use of Formulation Frames in Syntax Perception

Abstract

A source of regularity in sentence construction is the recurrent use of certain fixed syntactic formats in formulating explanations, descriptions, etc. It is demonstrated that subjects exploit these regularities in sentence perception. They assimilate some of the features of the sentence to formulation frames, rather than determining its actual morpho-syntactic structure, and do not normally check the conformity of the sentence to the presumed format. This is shown by an experiment on perceiving "perverse" sentences, which deviate from the normal formats so that normal relationships do not obtain. It is further shown that expectations raised by the context influence the process of sentence analysis and interpretation.