Previous research has demonstrated that filler-gap dependency formation is an active process in which gap filling occurs at the earliest possible gap site, in advance of identifying the location of the actual gap (Crain and Fodor 1985; Frazier 1987; Frazier and Clifton 1989; Frazier and Flores d’Arcais 1989; Omaki et al. 2015; Stowe 1986). In this study, we investigated whether this active gap filling is at work in the processing of tough-constructions. In tough-constructions, the matrix subject has to be associated with a gap in the embedded clause (Chomsky 1977; Keine and Poole 2017; Lasnik and Fiengo 1974; Rezac 2006). However, unlike a wh-phrase in wh-questions or relative clause constructions, the matrix subject in tough-constructions does not guarantee the presence of a gap. The results of a self-paced reading experiment indicated that active gap filling is nonetheless operative in the processing of tough-constructions, providing further evidence for the active nature of dependency formation.
1. Introduction
2. Background
3. Experiment
4. Discussion
5. Conclusion
References