Experimental Syntax : Applying Objective Methods to Sentence Judgments

by Wayne Cowart

• ISBN13: 9780761900436
• ISBN10: 0761900438
• eBook ISBN(s): 9781452249124
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1997-01-23
• Publisher: Sage Publications, Inc

Summary

This book provides a concise yet thorough introduction to methods that linguists can use to study patterns of sentence acceptability in speech.Experimental Syntax shows how to design, execute and analyze an appropriate survey experiment for a well-formed question about a matter of fact relative to sentence acceptability. The book also examines variability and demonstrates a method by which an investigator can make principled decisions as to whether two or more informants who use atypical dialects are using the same atypical dialect.

Table of Contents

Introduction

Are Judgements Stable?

Error Variance in Sentence Judgements

Designing Experiments on Acceptability

The Sentence Judgement Task

Presenting Sentence Materials to Informants

Response Methods and Scaling Issues

Sampling

Settings for Experiments

The Organization and Construction of Questionnaires

Coding and Decoding the Data

Summarizing the Data

Statistical Issues