scholarly journals Comparative modified numerals revisited: scalar implicatures, granularity and blindness to context

2018 ◽  
Vol 28 ◽  
pp. 21 ◽  
Author(s):  
Émile Enguehard
Keyword(s):  
Scalar Implicatures ◽  
Basic Pattern ◽  
Modified Numerals

We present a theory of the pragmatics of comparative modified numerals such as “more than~5”. Our proposal is based on the assumption that they trigger alternatives derived from discrete “granularity scales”. This is sufficient to explain the basic pattern of scalar implicatures from comparative numerals; we then show how extra assumptions of blind exhaustification and QUD uncertainty refine the prediction in that we can explain how and when comparative numerals trigger irrelevance inferences.

Hierarchical switching in a multi-dimensional task space is not induced by specific task cues

2001 ◽  
Vol 209 (2) ◽  
pp. 105-117 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Kleinsorge ◽  
Herbert Heuer ◽  
Volker Schmidtke
Keyword(s):  
Specific Task ◽  
Task Space ◽  
Basic Pattern ◽  
Task Representation ◽  
Switching Mechanism ◽  
Factorial Combination ◽  
Individual Task ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The Way

Summary. When participants have to shift between four tasks that result from a factorial combination of the task dimensions judgment (numerical vs. spatial) and mapping (compatible vs. incompatible), a characteristic profile of shift costs can be observed that is suggestive of a hierarchical switching mechanism that operates upon a dimensionally ordered task representation, with judgment on the top and the response on the bottom of the task hierarchy ( Kleinsorge & Heuer, 1999 ). This switching mechanism results in unintentional shifts on lower levels of the task hierarchy whenever a shift on a higher level has to be performed, leading to non-shift costs on the lower levels. We investigated whether this profile depends on the way in which the individual task dimensions are cued. When the cues for the task dimensions were exchanged, the basic pattern of shift costs was replicated with only minor modifications. This indicates that the postulated hierarchical switching mechanism operates independently of the specifics of task cueing.

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.

The religious significance of women's scarification among the Tiv

Africa ◽  
1975 ◽  
Vol 45 (3) ◽  
pp. 316-326 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bruce Lincoln
Keyword(s):  
Basic Pattern ◽  
Religious Significance ◽  
Opening Paragraph

Opening ParagraphAn elaborate and exceedingly beautiful pattern of scarification is found on the stomachs of Tiv women (see Figs. 1–8). These scars are applied around the time of puberty, and the same basic pattern is placed on the stomach of each girl. Occasionally these scars are referred to as ‘the circumcision of women’, but for the most part they are said to be meaningless, having only an aesthetic significance. Such statements need not necessarily be accepted at face value, though, as deeper meanings may be forgotten, deliberately concealed, or so commonly known as to be thought unworthy of mention. It is the purpose of this paper, written by a historian of religions, rather than an anthropologist or Africanist, to explore the possibility that these patterns carry some greater importance than is commonly recognized.

A comparative study of the life histories of Nematodirus battus and N. filicollis, nematode parasites of sheep

Parasitology ◽  
1959 ◽  
Vol 49 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 374-386 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. J. Thomas
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Intestinal Mucosa ◽  
Related Species ◽  
Life Histories ◽  
Basic Pattern ◽  
Culture Methods ◽  
Closely Related Species ◽  
Nematode Parasites ◽  
History Of ◽  
Comparative Description

1. The life history of N. battus is described, and a comparative description of the life history of N. filicollis is given.2. The life histories of these two species are compared with those of N. spathiger and N. helvetianus, two closely related species, and are shown to follow the same basic pattern, with minor variations in timing which appear to be specific in nature, and not related to differences in culture methods or host species.3. The pathogenesis of Nematodirus species is discussed and related to the migration of larvae into the intestinal mucosa during development.

Ageing in an aged society: experiences and attitudes of Catholic order members towards population ageing and older people

2013 ◽  
Vol 35 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-36 ◽  
Author(s):  
MARC LUY ◽  
PRISKA FLANDORFER ◽  
PAOLA DI GIULIO
Keyword(s):  
General Population ◽  
Older People ◽  
General Public ◽  
Positive Attitude ◽  
Multivariate Analyses ◽  
Population Ageing ◽  
Intergenerational Solidarity ◽  
Basic Pattern ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Aged Society

ABSTRACTPopulation ageing occurs in all industrialised societies and is the demographic phenomenon that currently gets the highest attention from scientists, policy makers and the general public. The main aim of this paper is to broaden our understanding of its societal consequences, such as ageism and intergenerational solidarity. Our study is based on the 2008 investigation of attitudes towards population ageing and older people in seven European countries of Schoenmaeckerset al.We replicate their analysis in a specific human subpopulation in which the process of population ageing started earlier and is much more advanced than in the general societies: the members of Catholic orders. The study compares the attitudes of 148 nuns and monks from three Bavarian monasteries to those of the western German general population using descriptive and multivariate analyses in the context of the debate around population ageing in Germany. We discuss the specific characteristics of order members that might influence their attitudes and also take a brief look at their views on possible political strategies to solve the problems connected with the demographic changes. Our results confirm the findings of Schoenmaeckerset al.and reveal that worldly and monastic populations show an identical basic pattern of a positive attitude towards older people while at the same time considering population ageing a worrisome development. However, order members evaluate older people's abilities and their role in society more positively. This result gives rise to the optimistic perspective that in an aged population the younger and older generations can build a well-functioning society.

Priming enrichment in children

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alice Rees ◽  
Ellie Carter ◽  
Lewis Bott
Keyword(s):  
Ad Hoc ◽  
Scalar Implicatures ◽  
Target Trial ◽  
Priming Effects ◽  
Adult Sample

Sentences can be enriched by considering what the speaker does not say but could have done. Children, however, struggle to derive one type of such enrichments, scalar implicatures. A popular explanation for this is that they do not know the appropriate alternatives to use to generate the implicature. Namely, children are unaware of the scalar relationship between some and all. We conducted a priming study with N = 72 children, aged 5;1 years, and an adult sample, N = 50, to test this hypothesis. Participants were exposed to prime trials of strong, alternative or weak sentences involving quantifier sentences or ad hoc expressions, and then saw an ambiguous target trial that they could choose to enrich. Consistent with previous studies, children were reluctant to derive implicatures. However, there were two novel findings. (1) Children responded with twice the rate of ad hoc implicature responses than adults, suggesting that the implicature was the developmentally prior interpretation for ad hoc expressions. (2) Children showed robust priming effects, suggesting that children are aware of the scalar relationship between some and all, even if they choose not to derive the implicature.

scholarly journals Against Grammatical Computation of Scalar Implicatures

2006 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 361-382 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. Russell
Keyword(s):  
Scalar Implicatures

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 The Basic Values of Humanity in an Indonesian Language Textbook used in Junior High Schools

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miftakhul Huda ◽  
Eko Purnomo
Keyword(s):  
High Schools ◽  
Women's Rights ◽  
Junior High ◽  
Freedom Of Speech ◽  
Qualitative Approach ◽  
Junior High Schools ◽  
Women’S Rights ◽  
Basic Pattern ◽  
Curriculum Relevance

This study seeks to identify the basic values of humanity presented in the Indonesian language textbook used in Junior High Schools. This study used a qualitative approach, with a textbook as a case study (specifically the Indonesian language textbook for the seventh, eighth, and ninth grades). The data considered took the form of words, phrase, sentences, discourse, and pictures showing the basic values of humanity. Data was collected a questionnaire which was subsequently analyzed. First, data were firstly classified according to the taxonomy and characteristic. Then codes were assigned to the different classifications. Then referential comparison techniques were used to measure the structure of basic values of humanity in the textbooks. This was followed by the construction of a basic pattern and the validation of the data. The research identified fifteen main points, they were scientific perspective, materials concept explication, curriculum relevance, interesting, increasing motivation, stimulating students’ activities, illustrative, understandable, supporting the other subjects, respecting individual differences, stabilizing values, protecting men and women’s rights, appreciation towards achievements, supporting freedom of speech, and respecting the essence of human being. From those fifteen main points, four points need to be improved, they are: stimulating students’ activities, illustrative, protecting men and women’s rights, and supporting freedom of speech. Keywords: humanity values, textbook, Indonesian language

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