Semantic Reference and Phrasal Grouping in the Acquisition of a Miniature Phrase Structure Language

In this study we examine the roles of semantic reference and of grammatical morphology in the learning of an artificial syntax. Subjects assigned to one of three training conditions viewed sentences from a miniature phrase structure language. In the reference field condition, subjects saw sentences which each referred to an array of geometric figures. In the morphology condition no reference field was present, but inflectional suffixes marked each sentence’s constituent structure. Control condition subjects studied sentences lacking semantic reference and inflectional morphology. Unlike control subjects, subjects in both the reference field and morphology conditions learned the miniature syntax, as evidenced by successful discrimination of novel grammatical versus ungrammatical sentences. Therefore, when surface features mark constituents, adult learning of complex syntactic regularities proceeds even in the absence of semantic reference. c 1986 Academic Press. Inc.