Processing efficiency in flexible word order languages: an investigation into Hungarian

Accounts of Hungarian word order, which is flexible, commonly claim that its constituent structure is determined exclusively by information structure. (É. Kiss; 2002). However, following Hawkins’ (1994) claim that grammars are shaped by processing efficiency and preferences in performance, I explore the extent to which Hungarian word order is sensitive to processing efficiency, suggesting that information structure is not the only factor at play in this language. In this paper, I test whether Hungarian natives are sensitive to processing factors in the preverbal and postverbal domains of transitive sentences. I suggest that orders of oblique, verb, and object are preferred when they are optimal for processing, and consider how preferences vary depending on the use of postposition or preposition in the oblique.