Stimuli Items Used in the Study "Revisiting Tagalog Word Order Preferences"

Abstract

This study investigates linear word order tendencies in single-sentence contexts for four Tagalog voice alternations. The work hypothesizes two grammatical constraints that influence production of declaratives 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. We test these proposed constraints in a sentence continuation task. Native Tagalog adults demonstrated word order patterns aligning with these constraints in the patient, benefactive, and instrument voice. The two constraints resolved in the agent voice to exhibit two similarly preferred patterns. The study findings extend support for a probabilistic account where probability distributions, influenced by interacting grammatical constraints, determine Tagalog word order preferences.