Expletive Pronoun Deletion
Date
2019-09-21
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Abstract
This study aims to observe phonetic changes that participants made in their speech when reading sentences with deleted subject pronouns. Three subject pronoun types were considered in this study; expletive 'it', expletive 'there', and referential 'it'. Productions of sentences were elicited using a self-paced reading task. The results show that participants do not alter their speech if the subject pronoun is absent, but will maintain phonetic consistency based on the type of pronoun that was absent. These results suggest that participants process the type of pronoun that should be present, and unconsciously speak the sentence as though it were present.
Description
Keywords
Pronouns, Syntax, Pronoun Deletion
Citation
Weir, J. (2019). Expletive Pronoun Deletion. Final report and reflection. Program for Undergaduate Research Experience (PURE), University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta.