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Koizumi, M., Yasugi, Y., Tamaoka, K., Kiyama, S., Kim, J., García Matzar, L. P. O., & Ajsivinac Sian, J. E. (under review). On the (non-)universality of the preference for subject-object word order in sentence comprehension: A sentence processing study in Kaqchikel Maya.

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• TITLE: Effect of Animacy on Word Order Processing in Kaqchikel Maya

  AUTHORS: Sachiko Kiyama, Katsuo Tamaoka, Jungho Kim, Masatoshi Koizumi

  KEYWORDS: Animacy; Sentence Processing; SO Word Order Preference; Syntax; Kaqchikel

  JOURNAL NAME: Open Journal of Modern Linguistics, Vol.3 No.3, August 20, 2013

  ABSTRACT: This study investigated the processing load of transitive sentences in two different basic word orders (i.e., VOS and SVO) in Kaqchikel Maya, with a particular focus on the animacy of the object. The results of a sentence plausibility judgment task showed that VOS sentences were processed faster than SVO sentences regardless of the animacy of the object. This supports the traditional analysis in Mayan linguistics that, although SVO is the most frequently used word order, the syntactically determined basic word order is VOS in Kaqchikel, as in many other Mayan languages. More importantly, the results suggest that the processing load in Kaqchikel sentence comprehension is more strongly affected by syntactic canonicity than production frequency or object animacy.