LingLunch : Anna Czypionka

Anna Czypionka (Constance)
The processing of question-sensitive discourse particles -- long-distance licensing at the interfaces of syntax, semantics and pragmatics

German question-sensitive discourse particles (QDiPs) are small words like *denn* which need to be licensed by a locally accessible [+Q]-element. Their licensing is characterized by an interesting combination of syntactic, semantic and pragmatic constraints. I will present the results of five experiments (ratings, self-paced-reading, EEG) on the processing of QDiPs in German interrogatives and declaratives, showing that:

• Embedded QDiPs can be licensed by intermediate wh-traces, which supports the idea that wh-movement is cyclic.
• Successful QDiP licensing is associated with a mild increase in processing cost, while outright licensing violations lead to low acceptability ratings and high increases in processing cost.
• Violations of syntactic locality are associated with better acceptability ratings and milder increases in processing cost than expected from syntactic theory.

I will offer different possible explanations for these unexpected findings, and discuss whether we may be dealing with a new type of linguistic illusion.