Yoon. Universal Versus Language-Specific Conceptual Effects on Shifted Word-Order Production in Korean: Evidence from Bilinguals

Abstract

Yamashita and Chang (2001) claimed that the long-before-short preference found in Japanese preverbal positions is due to a universal conceptual accessibility difference between long and short phrases (i.e., semantic richness of long phrases). However, the preference could also reflect the development of processing strategies and experience-based components in grammar (Hawkins 2004). To test this, one on-line production experiment and one off-line judgment study were conducted. They examined the long-before-short preference in Korean using proficient bilinguals of Ko.rean and English as well as native speakers of Korean, while also examining the animate-before-inanimate prefer.ence considered to be universal. The results show an experience-specific effect of length on word order (i.e., varia.tion in group behaviors), while finding a universal effect of animacy (i.e., uniformed response patterns from all groups). This study proposes that the long-before-short order is beneficial for the production system to lessen diffi.culty at the verb position. Thus, this ordering preference is not a conceptual effect but a special type of word order that reflects processing strategies influenced by experiences with grammar.