Constructing dependencies with optional elements: Insights from Vietnamese

Abstract

The cognitive mechanisms that underlie the phenomenon of similarity-based interference during language processing remain a controversial issue. One well-known approach attributes the source of interference to activation patterns during the retrieval process. We report research on Vietnamese that examines the possibility of similarity-based interference effects during the processing of an optional dependency between a wh-phrase and a Question-particle (Q-particle). In this dependency, the presence of the second element is optional. Using acceptability ratings and self-paced reading methods, we provide evidence for a retrieval-based account. We also provide evidence that a sub-part of a word – specifically, the wh-morpheme inside existential expressions in Vietnamese – can result in similarity-based interference. Overall, our study contributes to understanding of similarity-based interference using a previously-under-researched type of dependency, namely one where the second element is optional and thus not wholly predictable.