کد مقاله کد نشریه سال انتشار مقاله انگلیسی نسخه تمام متن
935858 1475076 2013 12 صفحه PDF دانلود رایگان
عنوان انگلیسی مقاله ISI
Modelling implicatures from modified numerals
موضوعات مرتبط
علوم انسانی و اجتماعی علوم انسانی و هنر زبان و زبان شناسی
پیش نمایش صفحه اول مقاله
Modelling implicatures from modified numerals
چکیده انگلیسی

It has been argued that comparative and superlative quantifiers (such as “more than” and “at least”) fail to yield scalar implicatures in unembedded declarative contexts (Krifka, 1999 and Fox and Hackl, 2006). However, recent experimental work has shown that such implicatures are available, and that these are constrained by considerations of granularity or numeral salience (Cummins et al., 2012). That is, “more than n” triggers a pragmatic upper-bound, the value of which depends on the numeral n. However, Cummins et al. further show that this effect is weakened by prior mention of the numeral n, a finding that they interpret in terms of priming effects. In this paper I discuss a recent theoretical proposal that accommodates these findings by arguing for a model of numerical quantifier usage based on multiple constraint satisfaction. This approach provides a means of accounting for the influence of contextual factors on the speaker's choice of utterance. It also makes predictions as to how a rational hearer should use context in their interpretation of utterances. Here I explore how this can yield the diversity of interpretations exhibited by participants in Cummins et al. (2012). More generally I consider how such an account predicts that a hearer will infer context on the basis of an utterance, and examine how this offers a potential explanation for the previously observed failure of implicature in the domain of modified numerals. I discuss the implications of this for experimental semantic and pragmatic methodologies, with particular reference to the numeral domain.


► Recent experimental work shows comparative quantifiers yield scalar implicatures.
► A constraint-based model can predict the strength of these, factoring in prior context.
► This also predicts how context may be inferred on the basis of the utterance.
► Such an account potentially explains the observed failure of some implicatures.
► The implications for empirical research in semantics and pragmatics are discussed.

ناشر
Database: Elsevier - ScienceDirect (ساینس دایرکت)
Journal: Lingua - Volume 132, August 2013, Pages 103–114
نویسندگان
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