What did Frazier and Clifton (1989) conclude when they tested sentences like (1) and (2):

(1) What did the shy child whisper __ to his mother during the party yesterday?

(2) What did the shy child whisper to his mother about __ during the party yesterday?

Question

What did Frazier and Clifton (1989) conclude when they tested sentences like (1) and (2):

(1)  What did the shy child whisper __  to his mother during the party yesterday?

(2) What did the shy child whisper to his mother about __ during the party yesterday?

BlackTom AI · Accepted Answer

Question restatement: What did Frazier and Clifton (1989) conclude when they tested sentences like (1) and (2)?

(1)  What did the shy child whisper __  to his mother during the party yesterday?

(2) What did the shy child whisper to his mother about __ during the party yesterday?

Answer options:
- Sentences like (1) are equally easy to process with (2)
- Sentences like (1) are easier to process than (2)
- Sentences like (2) are easier to process than (1)

Analysis of each option:

Option 1: Sentences like (1) are equally easy to process with (2)
- This choice claims no difference in processing difficulty between the two sentence types. In landmark processing studies, Frazier and Clifton challenged the idea that all long-distance dependencies are equally demanding. They provided evidence that the two constructions do not impose the same processing load, particularly when a prepositional phrase is involved. The structure in (1) places the wh-phrase in a position that aligns more directly with a simple linear strategy for filling the gap, whereas (2) introduces an additional PP boundary (about __) that generally disrupts processing. Therefore, treating them as equally easy does not fit the observed processing patterns reported by Frazier and Clifton. This option is inconsistent with the core claim of their results.

Option 2: Sentences like (1) are easier to process than (2)
- This is the statement that matches the core finding reported by Frazier and Clifton. The sentence in (1) features a wh-phrase integrated with a direct object/indirect object frame that is less encumbered by an additional PP boundary. In contrast, (2) requires sustaining the wh-dependency across the boundary introduced by the preposition about, which tends to increase processing load and elicit longer reading times or more pronounced garden-path effects in optimal experimental conditions. The authors argued that the additional structural load in (2) makes it harder to process than (1), reflecting the sensitivity of real-time parsing to syntactic complexity and dependency locality. This option aligns with the reported conclusions about relative processing difficulty between these two constructions.

Option 3: Sentences like (2) are easier to process than (1)
- This choice directly contradicts the main finding attributed to Frazier and Clifton. If (2) were easier, one would expect faster judgments, fewer revisits to earlier material, or less parsing difficulty when encountering the wh-fill and the surrounding PP boundary. However, their experimental evidence pointed toward greater processing demand for (2) relative to (1). Thus, this statement mischaracterizes the observed pattern and stands at odds with the documented results.

In summary, option 1 conflicts with the demonstrated processing differences, option 2 coherently reflects the reported conclusion that the (1) structure is easier to process than the (2) structure, and option 3 contradicts the core finding. The reasoning hinges on how the presence of the additional PP boundary in (2) affects real-time syntactic integration and dependency resolution during processing.

LIN102H1S Homework 04 (due 11 March Tues before 11:59pm)

What did Frazier and Clifton (1989) conclude when they tested sentences like (1) and (2): (1) What did the shy child whisper to his mother during the party yesterday? (2) What did the shy child whisper to his mother about during the party yesterday?

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