scholarly journals Differences and similarities between scalar inferences and scalar modifiers: The case of quantifiers

2015 ◽  
Vol 25 ◽  
pp. 267 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yaron McNabb
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Work ◽  
Experimental Studies ◽  
Systematic Investigation ◽  
Scalar Implicature ◽  
Diverse Group ◽  
Conversational Implicature ◽  
Scalar Implicatures ◽  
The Rich ◽  
Scalar Modifiers ◽  
Semantic Properties

Despite the rich theoretical and experimental work on scalar implicature, many of the studies on this topic were limited to some vs. all, neglecting the cross-categorial pervasiveness of the phenomena. The few experimental studies involving a more diverse group of scalar implicatures have found variation among expressions in the likelihood they give rise to scalar implicature, thereby challenging the assumption that scalar implicature (and generalized conversational implicature) is a uniform phenomenon (Doran, Baker, McNabb, Larson & Ward 2009; Doran, Ward, Larson, McNabb & Baker 2012; Van Tiel, Van Miltenburg, Zevakhina & Geurts 2014). This paper presents a first, systematic investigation of the degree to which a large group of quantifiers give rise to the implicature ‘not all’ using an utterance compatibility task with a modified Likert scale. Two accounts for the variation among quantifiers are proposed: (i) Shared semantic properties among three coherent groups of quantifiers account for the degree they give rise to upper- bound implicature; or (ii) the likelihood of an implicature is a function of the scalar distance between the various quantifiers and ‘all’. The predictions these two accounts make are discussed, charting the way to a future investigation of the heterogeneity of scalar implicature. 

scholarly journals Complex Inferential Processes Are Needed for Implicature Comprehension, but Not for Implicature Production

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Irene Mognon ◽  
Simone A. Sprenger ◽  
Sanne J. M. Kuijper ◽  
Petra Hendriks
Keyword(s):  
Theory Of Mind ◽  
Optimality Theory ◽  
Experimental Studies ◽  
Scalar Implicature ◽  
Scalar Implicatures ◽  
Intended Meaning ◽  
Apply Theory ◽  
Bidirectional Optimality Theory ◽  
The Asymmetry ◽  
Variable Performance

Upon hearing “Some of Michelangelo’s sculptures are in Rome,” adults can easily generate a scalar implicature and infer that the intended meaning of the utterance corresponds to “Some but not all Michelangelo’s sculptures are in Rome.” Comprehension experiments show that preschoolers struggle with this kind of inference until at least 5 years of age. Surprisingly, the few studies having investigated children’s production of scalar expressions like some and all suggest that production is adult-like already in their third year of life. Thus, children’s production of implicatures seems to develop at least 2 years before their comprehension of implicatures. In this paper, we present a novel account of scalar implicature generation in the framework of Bidirectional Optimality Theory: the Asymmetry Account. We show that the production–comprehension asymmetry is predicted to emerge because the comprehension of some requires the hearer to consider the speaker’s perspective, but the production of some does not require the speaker to consider the hearer’s perspective. Hence, children’s comprehension of scalar expressions, but not their production of scalar expressions, is predicted to be related to their theory of mind development. Not possessing fully developed theory of mind abilities yet, children thus have difficulty in comprehending scalar expressions such as some in an adult-like way. Our account also explains why variable performance is found in experimental studies testing children’s ability to generate scalar implicatures; moreover, it describes the differences between children’s and adults’ implicature generation in terms of their ability to recursively apply theory of mind; finally, it sheds new light on the question why the interpretation of numerals does not require implicature generation.

scholarly journals Rapid Access to Scalar Implicatures in Adjacency Pair Contexts: Experimental Evidence in Spanish

Languages ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 48
Author(s):  
Rodrigo Loredo ◽  
Juan E. Kamienkowski ◽  
Virginia Jaichenco
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Evidence ◽  
Experimental Studies ◽  
Judgment Task ◽  
Conversational Implicature ◽  
Scalar Implicatures ◽  
Reading Task ◽  
Context Sensitive ◽  
Rapid Access ◽  
Acceptability Judgment

A conversational implicature arises when there is a gap between the syntactically and semantically encoded meaning of a sentence and the pragmatic meaning that is inferred in an actual communicative situation. Several experimental studies have approached the processing of implicatures and examined the extent to which the derivation of the pragmatic meaning is effortful, especially in the case of generalized implicatures, where the inferred meaning seems to be the most frequent one. In this study, we present two experiments that explore the processing of scalar implicatures with algunos ‘some’ in adjacency pair contexts through an acceptability judgment task and a self-paced reading task. Our results support the claim that the access to the meaning of some as only some is context sensitive. Moreover, they also indicate that adjacency pair structure contributes to making that meaning rapidly available.

On the Non-Unified Nature of Scalar Implicature: An Empirical Investigation

2009 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 211-248 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachel Baker ◽  
Ryan Doran ◽  
Yaron McNabb ◽  
Meredith Larson ◽  
Gregory Ward
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Investigation ◽  
Scalar Implicature ◽  
Conversational Implicature ◽  
Experimental Setting ◽  
Scalar Implicatures ◽  
Gradable Adjectives ◽  
Discourse Context ◽  
Scale Type ◽  
Truth Conditional ◽  
Scale Types

AbstractScalar implicaure is often offered as the exemplar of generalized conversational implicature. However, despite the wealth of literature devoted to both the phenomenon in general and to specific examples, little attention has been paid to the various factors that may influence the generation and interpretation of scalar implicatures. This study employs the “Literal Lucy” methodology developed in Larson et al. (in press) to further investigate these factors in a controlled experimental setting. The results of our empirical investigation suggest that the type of scale employed affects whether or not speakers judge a particular scalar implicature to be part of the truth-conditional meaning of an utterance. Moreover, we found that features of the conversational context in which the implicature is situated also play an important role. Specifically, we have found that the number of scalar values evoked in the discourse context plays a significant role in the interpretation of scalar implicatures generated from gradable adjective scales but not other scale types. With respect to the effects of scale type, we have found that gradable adjectives were less frequently incorporated into truth-conditional meaning than cardinals, quantificational items, and ranked orderings. Additionally, ranked orderings were incorporated less than cardinals. Thus, the results from the current study show that the interpretation of scalar implicature is sensitive to both the associated scale type and discourse context.

Differentiating scalar implicature from exclusion inferences in language acquisition

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jess Sullivan ◽  
Kathryn Davidson ◽  
Shirlene Wade ◽  
David Barner
Keyword(s):  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Young Children ◽  
Scalar Implicature ◽  
Scalar Implicatures ◽  
Mutual Exclusivity ◽  
Logical Semantics

When acquiring language, children must not only learn the meanings of words, but also how to interpret them in context. For example, children must learn both the logical semantics of the scalar quantifier some and its pragmatically enriched meaning: ‘some but not all’. Some studies have shown that this “scalar implicature” that some implies ‘some but not all’ poses a challenge even to nine-year-olds, while others find success by age three. We asked whether reports of children’s early successes might be due to the computation of exclusion inferences (like contrast or mutual exclusivity) rather than an ability to compute scalar implicatures. We found that young children (N=214; ages 4;0-7;11) sometimes prefer to compute symmetrical exclusion inferences rather than asymmetric scalar inferences when interpreting quantifiers. This suggests that some apparent successes in computing scalar implicature can actually be explained by less sophisticated exclusion inferences.

Saccharomyces als Objekt für populations-genetische Versuche

1959 ◽  
Vol 14 (7) ◽  
pp. 457-460 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Gutz ◽  
C. C. Emeis
Keyword(s):  
Population Genetics ◽  
Experimental Work ◽  
Simple Technique ◽  
Experimental Studies ◽  
Controlled Conditions ◽  
Large Populations ◽  
Sexual Propagation ◽  
Suitable Object

Microorganisms are suitable objects for experimental studies in population genetics. It is easy to cultivate large populations under exactly controlled conditions. But microorganisms reproduce usually vegetatively so that one factor is lacking which is of great importance in populations of higher organisms: The sexual propagation which implies a permanent rearrangement of the genes present.Saccharomyces is an unicellular ascomycet. The cells are diploid and propagate vegetatively by budding. Under certain conditions Saccharomyces is able to reproduce sexually by formation of ascospores. We have developed a simple technique which allows to enforce exclusively a sexual propagation in a yeast. Thus Saccharomyces is a suitable object for experiments in population genetics, in which the rearrangement of genes by sexuality has to be considered. The existence of a diploid phase makes it possible to work on problems resembling those in populations of higher organisms.In the present work methods are described for experimental work with yeast populations, and possibilities are which Saccharomyces offers for experiments in population genetics are discussed.

Differentiating scalar implicature from exclusion inferences in language acquisition

2019 ◽  
Vol 46 (04) ◽  
pp. 733-759
Author(s):  
Jessica SULLIVAN ◽  
Kathryn DAVIDSON ◽  
Shirlene WADE ◽  
David BARNER
Keyword(s):  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Young Children ◽  
Scalar Implicature ◽  
Scalar Implicatures ◽  
Mutual Exclusivity ◽  
Logical Semantics

AbstractDuring acquisition, children must learn both the meanings of words and how to interpret them in context. For example, children must learn the logical semantics of the scalar quantifier some and its pragmatically enriched meaning: ‘some but not all’. Some studies have shown that ‘scalar implicature’ – that some implies ‘some but not all’ – poses a challenge even to nine-year-olds, while others find success by age three. We asked whether reports of children's successes might be due to the computation of exclusion inferences (like contrast or mutual exclusivity) rather than scalar implicatures. We found that young children (N = 214; ages 4;0–7;11) sometimes compute symmetrical exclusion inferences rather than asymmetric scalar inferences. These data suggest that a stronger burden of evidence is required in studies of implicature; before concluding that children compute implicatures, researchers should first show that children exhibit sensitivity to asymmetric entailment in the task.

scholarly journals C-Reactive Protein in Human Atherogenesis: Facts and Fiction

2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 ◽  
pp. 1-6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oliver Zimmermann ◽  
Kefei Li ◽  
Myron Zaczkiewicz ◽  
Matthias Graf ◽  
Zhongmin Liu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cardiovascular Disease ◽  
Experimental Work ◽  
Species Differences ◽  
Experimental Studies ◽  
Published Data ◽  
Causative Role ◽  
C Reactive Protein ◽  
Reactive Protein ◽  
Human Material

The role of C-reactive protein (CRP) in atherosclerosis is controversially discussed. Whereas initial experimental studies suggested a pathogenic role for CRP in atherogenesis, more recent genetic data from Mendelian randomization trials failed to provide evidence for a causative role of CRP in cardiovascular disease. Also, experimental results from laboratories all over the world were indeed contradictory, partly because of species differences in CRP biology and partly because data were not accurately evaluated. Here we summarize the published data from experimental work with mainly human material in order to avoid confusion based on species differences in CRP biology. Experimental work needs to be reevaluated after reconsideration of some traditional rules in research: (1) in order to understand a molecule’s role in disease it may be helpful to be aware of its role in physiology; (2) it is necessary to define the disease entity that experimental CRP research deals with; (3) the scientific consensus is as follows: do not try to prove your hypothesis. Specific CRP inhibition followed by use of CRP inhibitors in controlled clinical trials may be the only way to prove or disprove a causative role for CRP in cardiovascular disease.

scholarly journals Mechanisms of flame stabilisation at low lifted height in a turbulent lifted slot-jet flame

2015 ◽  
Vol 777 ◽  
pp. 633-689 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shahram Karami ◽  
Evatt R. Hawkes ◽  
Mohsen Talei ◽  
Jacqueline H. Chen
Keyword(s):  
Flame Propagation ◽  
Mixture Fraction ◽  
Turbulent Transport ◽  
Experimental Studies ◽  
Leading Edge ◽  
Basic Structure ◽  
Plane Motion ◽  
Flame Propagation Velocity ◽  
Jet Flame ◽  
The Rich

A turbulent lifted slot-jet flame is studied using direct numerical simulation (DNS). A one-step chemistry model is employed with a mixture-fraction-dependent activation energy which can reproduce qualitatively the dependence of the laminar burning rate on the equivalence ratio that is typical of hydrocarbon fuels. The basic structure of the flame base is first examined and discussed in the context of earlier experimental studies of lifted flames. Several features previously observed in experiments are noted and clarified. Some other unobserved features are also noted. Comparison with previous DNS modelling of hydrogen flames reveals significant structural differences. The statistics of flow and relative edge-flame propagation velocity components conditioned on the leading edge locations are then examined. The results show that, on average, the streamwise flame propagation and streamwise flow balance, thus demonstrating that edge-flame propagation is the basic stabilisation mechanism. Fluctuations of the edge locations and net edge velocities are, however, significant. It is demonstrated that the edges tend to move in an essentially two-dimensional (2D) elliptical pattern (laterally outwards towards the oxidiser, then upstream, then inwards towards the fuel, then downstream again). It is proposed that this is due to the passage of large eddies, as outlined in Su et al. (Combust. Flame, vol. 144 (3), 2006, pp. 494–512). However, the mechanism is not entirely 2D, and out-of-plane motion is needed to explain how flames escape the high-velocity inner region of the jet. Finally, the time-averaged structure is examined. A budget of terms in the transport equation for the product mass fraction is used to understand the stabilisation from a time-averaged perspective. The result of this analysis is found to be consistent with the instantaneous perspective. The budget reveals a fundamentally 2D structure, involving transport in both the streamwise and transverse directions, as opposed to possible mechanisms involving a dominance of either one direction of transport. It features upstream transport balanced by entrainment into richer conditions, while on the rich side, upstream turbulent transport and entrainment from leaner conditions balance the streamwise convection.

scholarly journals Revisiting Kelvin Helmholtz Instabilities and von Kármán Vortices in Canopy Turbulence

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tirtha Banerjee ◽  
Frederik De Roo ◽  
Rodman Linn
Keyword(s):  
Longitudinal Velocity ◽  
Experimental Studies ◽  
Canopy Turbulence ◽  
Main Theme ◽  
Eddy Simulation ◽  
Von Karman ◽  
Karman Vortex ◽  
The Rich ◽  
Layer Flow ◽  
Von Kármán

Abstract. Studying turbulence in vegetation canopies is important in the context of a number of micrometeorological and hydrological applications. While recent focus has shifted more towards exploring different kinds of canopy heterogeneities, there are still gaps in the existing knowledge on the multiple types of dynamics involved in the case of horizontally homogeneous canopies. For example, experimental studies have indicated that turbulence in the canopy sublayer (CSL) can be divided into three regimes. In the deep-zone, the flow-field is dominated by von Kármán vortex streets and interrupted by strong sweep events. The second zone near the canopy top is dominated by attached eddies and Kelvin-Helmholtz waves associated with the velocity inflection point in the mean longitudinal velocity profile. Above the canopy, the flow resembles classical boundary layer flow. In this study, these different kinds of dynamics are studied together by means of a large eddy simulation (LES). The main theme of this work is to address the question whether the parametrization of the canopy by a distributed drag force in numerical simulations instead of placing real solid obstacles is consistent with the three layer conceptual model. Unique techniques such as measures from information theory and coupled oscillator analysis are used to extract the coherent structures associated with the two motions. It can be stated that a better understanding of the rich dynamics associated with the simplest case of canopy turbulence can lead to more efficient simulations and more importantly improve the interpretation of more complex scenarios.

scholarly journals Another argument for embedded scalar implicatures based on oddness in downward entailing contexts

2015 ◽  
pp. 564
Author(s):  
Giorgio Magri
Keyword(s):  
Common Knowledge ◽  
Scalar Implicature ◽  
Scalar Implicatures ◽  
The Matrix ◽  
Downward Entailing ◽  
The Common ◽  
The Right

In Magri (2009), I argue that a sentence such as 'Some Italians come from a warm country' sounds odd because it triggers the scalar implicature that not all Italians come from a warm country, which mismatches with the common knowledge that all Italians come from the same country. If this proposal is on the right track, then oddness can be used as a diagnostic for scalar implicatures. In this paper, I use this diagnostic to provide one more argument that scalar implicatures are computed not only at the matrix level but also in embedded position. The argument is based on a puzzling pattern of oddness in downward entailing contexts.

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