Clitics in Phonology, Morphology and Syntax

It has been claimed that verb processing (as opposed to noun processing) is subserved by specific neural circuits in the left prefrontal cortex. In this study, we took advantage of the unusual grammatical characteristics of clitic pronouns in Italian (e.g., lo and la in portalo and portala 'bring it [masculine]/[feminine]', respectively)-the fact that clitics have both nominal and verbal characteristics, to explore the neural correlates of verb and clitic processing. We used repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) to suppress the excitability of the left prefrontal cortex and to assess its role in producing verb+det+noun and verb+clitic phrases. Results showed an interference effect for both kinds of phrases when stimulation was applied to the left but not to the right prefrontal cortex. However, the interference effect was significantly greater for the verb+clitic than for the verb+det+noun phrases. These findings support the view that clitics increase the morphosyntactic complexity of verbs.

show abstract

When nominal features are marked on verbs: A transcranial magnetic stimulation study

Finocchiaro

Fierro

Brighina

et al. 2008

Brain and Language

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

Morphological and phonological sources of split ergative agreement

Reilly¹

2007

Lingua

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The morphophonology of the Romanian clitic sequence

Popescu

2000

Lingua

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.

Contact Info

hi@scite.ai

10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614

Henderson, NV 89052, USA

Blog Terms and Conditions API Terms Privacy Policy Contact Cookie Preferences Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information

Made with 💙 for researchers

Part of the Research Solutions Family.

Clitics in Phonology, Morphology and Syntax

Cited by 10 publications

References 0 publications

When nominal features are marked on verbs: A transcranial magnetic stimulation study

When nominal features are marked on verbs: A transcranial magnetic stimulation study

Morphological and phonological sources of split ergative agreement

The morphophonology of the Romanian clitic sequence

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About