This study looks at the psychological reality of separate 'which' constructions in English.  Measurements of the vowel duration, for tokens of 'which' occurring in different two- or three-word collocations, are compared for statistical significance.  The results of the comparisons are evaluated and interpreted in terms of diachronic/grammatization and frequency effects.  The working hypothesis is that sub-syntactic constructions, or multi-word collocations, are as "real" as syntactic constructions, or finite clause constructions, and that these emerge in the grammar through repetition and entrenchment.

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