Frazier's work has examined how listeners approach the task of processing the incoming language stream.[3] She has proposed and refined syntactic parsing models, including a two-tier parsing system (Frazier & Fodor 1978), the
garden path model (Rayner & Frazier 1987, Clifton & Frazier 1989), and the Active Filler Hypothesis (Frazier & Clifton 1989). Her more recent work has focused on how listeners parse
ellipsis (Clifton & Frazier 2010).
Honors and awards
She was named the first Distinguished Graduate Mentor at University of Massachusetts[4] and received an award from the University of Massachusetts system for Outstanding Accomplishments in Research and Creative Activity.[5]
(1989) Clifton, C., Frazier, L. "Comprehending Sentences with Long-Distance Dependencies." In: Carlson, G.N., Tanenhaus, M.K. (eds) Linguistic Structure in Language Processing. Studies in Theoretical Psycholinguistics, vol 7. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-2729-2_8
(1989) Frazier, L. and Clifton, C., Jr. "Successive cyclicity in the grammar and the parser." Language and Cognitive Processes, 4(2), 93-126.
https://doi.org/10.1080/01690968908406359
(1987) Rayner, K. & Frazier, L. Parsing Temporarily Ambiguous Complements. The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology Section A, 39(4), 657–673. https://doi.org/10.1080/14640748708401808