Attachment Preference in Auditory German Sentences: Individual Differences and Pragmatic Strategy.

ABSTRACT: Relative clauses modify a preceding element, but as this element can be flexibly located, the point of attachment is sometimes ambiguous. Preference for this attachment can vary within languages such as German, yet explanations for differences in attachment preference related to cognitive strategies or constraints have been conflicting in the current literature. The present study aimed to assess the preference for relative clause attachment among German listeners and whether these preferences could be explained by strategy or individual differences in working memory or musical rhythm ability. We performed a sentence completion experiment, conducted post hoc interviews, and measured working memory and rhythm abilities with diagnostic tests. German listeners had no homogeneous attachment pre

SUBMITTER: Harding EE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6592159 | biostudies-literature | 2019

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature