The Effect of Prepositional er on Processing Speed: an Empirical Examination

Mol, Joas (2024) The Effect of Prepositional er on Processing Speed: an Empirical Examination. Bachelor's Thesis, Artificial Intelligence.

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Abstract

This project aims to expand the understanding of the effect of long-distance dependencies (LDD's) on word processing speed in Dutch. It has been found that LDD's in what-questions increase processing load at the resolving point. However, with respect to the LDD's caused by the different forms of the Dutch word er, an empirical observation of this effect has not been made. In this project, we examined the effect of the long-distance dependency of prepositional er on processing load. We used a moving window self-paced reading task to compare the reading speeds of sentences with er, sentences with wh-constructions, and sentences without LDD's. We have found no significant difference between any of the conditions. This means we have observed no slowing effect of resolving an LDD in sentences with er, nor have we observed a previously found slowing effect of resolving an LDD in what-questions. However, due to likely methodological issues, we believe the data to be an unreliable indicator of this effect.

Item Type:	Thesis (Bachelor's Thesis)
Supervisor name:	Jones, S.M.
Degree programme:	Artificial Intelligence
Thesis type:	Bachelor's Thesis
Language:	English
Date Deposited:	28 Aug 2024 11:57
Last Modified:	28 Aug 2024 11:57
URI:	https://fse.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/id/eprint/34090

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