The principle of minimal attachment argues that syntactic analysis of a sentence
A)proceeds in such a way that the smallest number of syntactic nodes must be computed.
B)begins as soon as the first speech sound in the sentence is perceived.
C)is primarily based on the analysis of the lexemes that constitute that sentence.
D)requires the use of specific,distinct information-processing modules in the brain.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The principle of minimal attachment argues that the syntactic analysis of a sentence should begin by building the smallest possible phrase structure tree. This means that the parser should choose the simplest possible structure that can account for the input, minimizing the number of nodes that need to be constructed, and favoring general well-formedness principles over specific grammatical rules. This principle has been supported by many psycholinguistic studies and is widely accepted as a guiding principle of language processing.

The Principle of Minimal Attachment Argues That Syntactic Analysis of a Sentence