Factors Affecting the Choice of Word Order in Kaqchikel : Evidence from discourse saliency

From the perspective of discourse analysis, Gundel (1988) proposed that there are two independent principles that determine the choice of word order: the Given Before New Principle and the First Things First Principle. Psycholinguistic studies on sentence production so far, however, have found only the tendency that follows the former principle. The current study examines how these principles affect the choice of word order in Kaqchikel, a Mayan language spoken in Guatemala, using a picture description task in which discourse contexts were manipulated. As a result, Kaqchikel speakers showed a tendency to produce VOS active sentences more often when agent was contextually salient, suggesting that First Things First Principle played a greater role than the Given Before New Principle. The interaction between discourse principles and psycholinguistic principles was discussed based on this result.本研究は日本学術振興会科学研究費基盤研究(Ｓ) 「OS 型言語の文処理メカニズムに関するフィールド言語認知脳科学的研究」 (課題番号：22222001，研究代表者：小泉政利)，及び，日本学術振興会特別研究員奨励費の助成を受けて実施された