@conference {4720,
	title = {French object relatives: all is good when the context is right},
	year = {2016},
	month = {09/2016},
	abstract = {<p>In experiments and corpus studies, we compared two types of French Object Relatives: with preverbal subject (le livre que Paul lit, \&$\#$39;the book that Paul reads\&$\#$39;) and with inverted subject (le livre que lit Paul). The linear distance hypothesis predicts the latter should be easier to process. However, in a Visual World experiment using reversible RCs with agentive verbs, we found the former to be easier.\&nbsp;<br />
In a corpus study, we looked at general frequency of OR-types, verb semantics (+/- agentive), relative length of subject and verb in number of syllables, and the number of arguments in the OR. Logistic regressions show that the two ORs don\&$\#$39;t differ significantly in frequency, excluding a frequency-based explanation. Inverted ORs are actually preferred when the subject is longer, and the verb shorter with a non agentive meaning. Our findings showed that general frequency cannot be the factor explaining the use of the two ORs, but that verb semantics and length play a role. This means that the two ORs are not just alternatives but used in specific syntactic/semantic conditions. An acceptability judgement experiment confirmed that inverted ORs can be preferred over non-inverted ORs when the subject is longer and the verb non agentive.</p>
},
	author = {Pozniak, Celine and Barbara Hemforth and Anne Abeill{\'e}}
}
