Deictic features and clausal prolepsis in Hungarian: a multifactorial experimental study

This paper investigates the interpretability of deictic features on demonstrative pronouns in Hungarian clausal prolepsis – configurations in which a demonstrative pronoun dependent of the main predicate is associated with a subordinate clause. We carried out an acceptability judgment experiment with 102 native Hungarian speakers, in which we examined how syntactic position, discourse-linking, and quotation type affect the acceptability of proximal and distal demonstratives. The resulting dataset was statistically analyzed with a mixed-effects model. Our results show that distals are the generally preferred choice, which is in line with previous expectations. However, proximal forms were not categorically rejected; their acceptability benefited from the increased referentiality in postverbal (argument) positions and when the cognitive accessibility of the associated clause is heightened via discourse-linking and direct quotation. These findings argue against standard accounts of clausal prolepsis, which involve the expletive status of the demonstratives at hand, and for analyses that view them as meaningful elements. Overall, the paper contributes to the understanding of the interaction between syntax, grammaticalization, deixis, and cognitive accessibility.