Norming Data on the Study "Influences of Grammatical Constraints on Tagalog Linear Word Order Preferences"

Abstract

This study investigates how grammatical constraints in a probabilistic architecture drive linear word order tendencies in four Tagalog voice alternations in single-sentence contexts. This study hypothesizes two constraints influential to the generation of a linguistic message in Tagalog: an agent-first constraint, where the agent preferentially occupies the first post-verbal argument position; and a pivot-second constraint, where the pivot preferentially occupies the second argument position. In data from a sentence continuation task, native Tagalog adults demonstrated word order patterns aligning with the constraints in the patient, benefactive, and instrument voice. These two constraints resolved in the agent voice to exhibit two similarly preferred patterns. The study findings concur with an account where probability distributions, influenced by interacting grammatical constraints, determine Tagalog word order preferences.