3.2.3. Correlation

Results

However, the interpretation is complicated by the correlation between different factors. Items with a pronominal recipient (blue) mostly go with a negative logarithmic length difference (blue) since all pronominal recipients consist of one word only. Both factors decrease the probability of a prepositional dative. In the same way, pronominal themes (red) mostly go with a positive logarithmic length difference (red), and in two cases also with inanimate recipients (red). All these factors increase the probability of the prepositional dative. Furthermore, the factors promoting the prepositional dative rarely go together with those decreasing its probability. Those correlations make it difficult to tell if several factors have an influence, or if only one is decisive, and if so, which: For instance, is the pronominal theme the reason why participants rated the naturalness of the prepositional dative in item 14 at 95.60%, and do the inanimate recipient and the positive logarithmic length difference have no influence of their own? Or, are two of the factors responsible for the choice, or all three? Also, are those items with pronominal recipients (blue) only rated low because the factors promoting a prepositional dative are not present?

Discussion

As for the correlation between pronominal themes and inanimate recipients, the ratings are highest when both occur together (items 14 and 15), which indicates that both are influential. Concerning positive length difference, the items with the biggest difference (1.95) are rated at 70.10% and 74.00% (the second and third highest rating). Since other factors promoting the prepositional dative are present both in these cases and when the length difference is not that high, the high rating seems to be due to the bigger length difference. A pronominal recipient and a pronominal theme occur together only in item 11. Its moderate rating of 42.30% seems to constitute a ‘compromise’, indicating that both factors are influential. A length difference of zero or below always correlates with pronominal recipients, which makes it impossible to tell if negative length difference has an impact. However, since positive length difference is influential, it would be illogical if negative length difference was not.

All in all, a closer look at the individual constellations leads to the conclusion that all of the factors mentioned above – pronominal recipients, pronominal themes, inanimate recipients and length difference between recipient and theme – have an impact on the choice of the dative.

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