Lyn Frazier

My main interest is in adult language comprehension, including syntactic processing and the syntax-prosody and the syntax-semantics interfaces. In recent work, my colleague Professor Charles Clifton of the Department of Psychology and I have investigated the processing of ellipsis, especially those forms of ellipsis that can cross sentence boundaries.

Selected Publications

Processing Ellipsis:

• Frazier, L. (2013) A recycling approach to processing ellipsis. In L. Cheng and N. Corver (eds) Diagnosis in Syntax. Oxford University Press.
• Merchant, J., Frazier, L., & Clifton, C. Jr., & Wescott, T. (2013). Fragment answers to questions: A case of inaudible syntax. In Laurence Goldstein (ed.) Brevity. Oxford University Press.
• Grant, M., Frazier, L., & Clifton, C., Jr. (2012). The role of Non-Actuality Implicatures in processing elided constituents. Journal of Memory and Language.
• Clifton, C., and Frazier, L. (2010) Imperfect ellipsis: Antecedents beyond syntax? Syntax 13(4), 279-297.
• Frazier, L. (2008) Explorations in ellipsis: The grammar and processing of silence. In S. Winkler and S. Featherston (eds) Linguistic Evidence 2008 Proceedings. Mouton de Gruyter.
• Arregui, A., Clifton, Jr., C., Frazier, L., and Moulton, K. (2006) Processing elided VPs with flawed antecedents: The recycling hypothesis. Journal of Memory and Language, 55, 232-246.
• Frazier, L. & Clifton, Jr., C. (2006) Ellipsis and discourse coherence. Linguistics & Philosophy, 29 (3), 315-346.
• Frazier, L. & Clifton, Jr., C. (2005) The syntax-discourse divide: Processing ellipsis. Syntax, 8(2), 121-174.
• Frazier, L. & Clifton, Jr.,C. (1998) Comprehension of sluiced sentences. Language and Cognitive Processes, 13, 499-520.

Semantic Processing:

• Frazier, L., Clifton, Jr., C., Rich, S. and Duff, J. (2017, to appear.) Anticipating Negation: The do's and don't of Neg Raising. Syntax.
• Frazier, L. (2015) Two interpretive systems for natural language? (2015) In Eva Fernandez and Janet Dean Fodor (eds) Special Issue on Grammars and Parsers: Toward a unified theory of language knowledge and use . Journal of Psycholinguistic Research, (44), 7?25. DOI 10.1007/s10936014-9328-0
• Harris, J., Clifton, C., Jr., & Frazier, L. (2013) Processing and domain selection: Quantificational variability effects. Language & Cognitive Processes.
• Clifton, Jr., C. and Frazier, L.. (2012) Discourse Integration Guided by the Question under Discussion. Cognitive Psychology, 65, 352-379.
• Frazier, L., and Clifton, C. (2011) Quantifiers undone: Reversing predictable speech errors in comprehension. Language 87(1), 158-171.
• Clifton, C., and Frazier, L. (2010) When are downward entailing contexts identified? The case of the domain-widener ever. Linguistic Inquiry 41 (4), 681-688.
• Frazier, L. (2009) Computing scalar implicatures In T. Friedman and S. Ito (eds.) SALT XVIII Proceedings, Cornell University, 319-339.
• Frazier, L., Clifton, C., and Stolterfoht, B. (2008) Scale structure: Processing minimum standard and maximum standard adjectives. Cognition, 106 (1), 299-324.
• Frisson, S. & Frazier, L. (2005) Carving up word meanings: Portioning and grinding. Journal of Memory and Language, 53, 277-291
• Carminati, M.N., Frazier, L. & Rayner, K. (2002) Bound variables and c-command. Journal of Semantics, 19, 1-34.
• Frazier, L. & Clifton, Jr., C. (2000) On bound variable interpretations: The LF-only hypothesis. Journal of Psycholinguistic Research, 29, 125-139.
• Frazier, L., Pacht, J. & Rayner, K. (1999) Taking on semantic commitments, II: collective versus distributive readings. Cognition, 70, 87-104.

Information-Structure:

• Mack, J., Clifton, Jr., C., Frazier, L., & Taylor, P.V. (2012) Pragmatic constraints Influence the restoration of optional subjects. Journal of Memory and Language, 67(1), 211-223.
• Stolterfoht, B., Frazier, L., & Clifton, C. (2006) Information structure constraints on word order in processing English In S. Featherston (ed.) Linguistic Evidence 2006 Proceedings. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.
• Frazier, L., Clifton, Jr., C., Rayner, K, Deevy, P., Koh, S., & Bader, M. (2005) Interface problems: Structural constraints on interpretation? Journal of Psycholinguistic Research, 34, 193-223.
• Bader, M. & Frazier, L. (2005) Interpreting leftward-moved constituents. Special issue of Linguistics, 43(1), 49-87.
• Clifton, Jr., C. & Frazier, L. (2004) Should given information appear before new? Yes and no. Memory & Cognition, 32, 886-895.
• Alonso-Ovalle, L., Fernandes-Solera, S., Frazier, L. & Clifton, Jr., C. (2002) Null vs. overt pronouns and the Topic-Focus articulation in Spanish Rivista di Linguistica, 14(2), 1-19.

Prosodic Processing:

• Clifton, Jr., C., and Frazier, L. (2015) Corrective exchanges: Effects of parallelism and focus. Language and Speech, 1-18.
• Frazier, L. and Gibson, E., editors. (2015) Explicit and implicit prosody in sentence processing: Studies in honor of Janet Dean Fodor. Springer.
• Carlson, K., Frazier, L., and Clifton, C. (2009) "How prosody constrains comprehension: A limited effect of prosodic packaging." Lingua 119, 1066-1082.
• Clifton, C., Jr., Frazier, L., & Carlson, K. (2006) Tracking the What and Why of speakers' choices: Prosodic boundaries and the length of constituents. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 13, 854-861.
• Clifton, C., K. Carlson & L. Frazier (2002) Informative prosodic boundaries. Language and Speech 45(2), 87-114.
• Carlson, K., Clifton, C., & Frazier, L. (2001) Prosodic boundaries in adjunct attachment. Journal of Memory and Language 45, 58-81.
• Schafer, A., Carlson, K., Clifton, C. & Frazier, L. (2000) Focus and the interpretation of pitch accent: Disambiguating embedded questions. Language and Speech, 43, 75-105.

Filler-Gap Processing:

• H?ussler, J., Grant, M., Fanselow, G., & Frazier, L. (2013). Superiority in English and German: Cross-language grammatical differences? Syntax.
• Clifton, Jr., C., Fanselow, G., & Frazier, L. (2006) Amnestying superiority violations: Processing multiple questions. Linguistic Inquiry, 37, 51-68.
• Frazier, L. & Clifton, C., Jr. (2002) Processing d-linked phrases. Journal of Psycholinguistic Research 31(6), 633-659.
• Frazier, L. & Clifton, C., Jr. (1989) Successive cyclicity in the grammar and the parser. Language and Cognitive Processes, 4(2), 93-126. Frazier, L. & Flores d’Arcais, G.B. (1989) Filler-driven parsing: A study of gap filling in Dutch. Journal of Memory and Language, 28, 331-344.

Phrase Structure Processing:

• Traxler, M., & Frazier, L. (2008) The role of pragmatic principles in resolving attachment ambiguities: Evidence from eye movements. Memory & Cognition, 36(2), 314-328
• Frazier, L. & Clifton, Jr., C. (1996) Construal. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
• Frazier, L. (1993) Processing Dutch sentence structures. Journal of Psycholinguistic Research, 22, 85-108.
• Frazier, L. & Rayner, K. (1982) Making and correcting errors during sentence comprehension: Eye movements in the analysis of structurally ambiguous sentences. Cognitive Psychology 14, 178-210.
• Frazier, L. & Fodor, J.D. (1978) The sausage machine: A new two-stage parsing model. Cognition 6, 291-325.