scholarly journals Adjectival scales and three types of implicature

2018 ◽  
Vol 28 ◽  
pp. 409
Author(s):  
Nicole Gotzner ◽  
Stephanie Solt ◽  
Anton Benz
Keyword(s):  
Semantic Distance ◽  
Scalar Implicature ◽  
Gradable Adjectives ◽  
Standard Of Comparison ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Negative Strengthening

In this work, we explore the relationship between three different inferencestriggered by gradable adjectives. In particular, we look at scalar implicature andtwo competing inferences occuring under negation - scale reversal (indirect scalarimplicature) and a type of manner implicature called negative strengthening. In aseries of experiments, we test a variety of adjectival scales and explore correlationsbetween different inferences. Our results show that some scales are more likelyto generate scalar implicature while others lean more towards generating negativestrengthening. The extent to which scalar implicature and scale reversal correlate forthe same scales, in turn, is lower than expected. We discuss our findings with respectto the mechanisms underlying the three types of inferences and factors accountingfor differences across scales, with a focus on semantic distance, boundedness, thetype of standard of comparison and adjectival extremeness.

scholarly journals The determination of fatigue limits under alternating stress conditions

1914 ◽  
Vol 90 (620) ◽  
pp. 411-425 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Infinite Number ◽  
Fatigue Tests ◽  
Test Results ◽  
Railway Company ◽  
Standard Of Comparison ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Pull Tests ◽  
Push And Pull ◽  
The Relationship

In the year 1867 A. Wöhler, locomotive superintendent of a railway company in Berlin, exhibited at the Paris Exhibition the results of some experiments on the endurance of metals, and was thereupon engaged by the Prussian Government to carry out the more exhaustive enquiry into this subject with which his name is always associated. The results of his labours were published in 1871, and were highly appreciated, but few additional experiments were made until the subject was again taken up successively by Sir Benjamin Baker, Reynolds and Smith, Rogers, Stanton and bairstow, Eden, Rose and Cunningham, and Prof. Hopkinson. All these experiments are confined either to fatigue bending or to push and pull tests, using only steel or iron, whereas the present ones include a large number of torsion fatigue tests on various metals. Until comparatively recently there was no satisfactory standard of comparison for fatigue tests, the determination of the asymptote or limiting fatigue stress for an infinite number of revolutions from a few irregular test results leading to very uncertain conclusions, so much so that by some it was considered very doubtful whether there were any real fatigue limits, while others adopted as standards of comparison the fatigue stresses which would cause fractures at the millionth repetition. The first problem which had to be investigated was therefore to ascertain the relationship between the intensities of fatigue stresses and the numbers of repetitions of these stresses which would cause fracture; and, should this relationship be found to indicate the existence of a limiting stress for an infinite number of revolutions, or more briefly of a fatigue limit, then the next step would have to be its exact determination.

scholarly journals Gradable adjectives, vagueness, and optimal language use: A speaker-oriented model

2015 ◽  
Vol 24 ◽  
pp. 23 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ciyang Qing ◽  
Michael Franke
Keyword(s):  
Degree Distribution ◽  
Language Use ◽  
Gradable Adjectives ◽  
New Model ◽  
Comparison Class ◽  
Exact Degree ◽  
Standard Of Comparison ◽  
The Way

<p>This paper addresses two issues that arise in a degree-based approach to the semantics of positive forms of gradable adjectives such as tall in the sentence “John is tall” (e.g., <span>Kennedy &amp; McNally 2005</span>; <span>Kennedy 2007</span>): First, how the standard of comparison is contextually determined; Second, why gradable adjectives exhibit the relative-absolute distinction. Combining ideas of previous evolutionary and probabilistic approaches (e.g., <span>Potts 2008</span>; <span>Franke 2012</span>; <span>Lassiter 2011</span>; <span>Lassiter &amp; Goodman 2013</span>), we propose a new model that makes exact and empirically testable probabilistic predictions about speakers’ use of gradable adjectives and that derives the relative-absolute distinction from considerations of optimal language use. Along the way, we distinguish between vagueness and loose use, and argue that, within our approach, vagueness can be understood as the result of uncertainty about the exact degree distribution within the comparison class.</p>

scholarly journals Different scalar terms are affected by face differently

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-43 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marina Terkourafi ◽  
Benjamin Weissman ◽  
Joseph Roy
Keyword(s):  
Scalar Implicature ◽  
Scalar Implicatures ◽  
Future Experimentation ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Diversity Research

Abstract Research on the effect of face-orientation on scalar implicatures has claimed that face-threatening contexts are one type of context in which scalar implicatures are not warranted. However, that research has been based on the two staples of scalar implicature research, some and or. Given research on scalar diversity has shown that these terms are rather exceptional in inducing high rates of scalar implicatures, we believe it is time for a reassessment. We explored the relationship between scalar implicatures and face concerns by means of an experiment involving eight types of scalar terms in face-boosting and face-threatening contexts. While our results showed that some and or reliably tended to induce scalar implicatures in both types of contexts, confirming the findings of scalar diversity research in this respect, we failed to replicate previous findings that face-threatening contexts do not induce scalar implicatures. We discuss reasons for these findings and how face concerns should be implemented for future experimentation in this vein.

Effect of Temperature and Flange Support on Critical Pressure of Conical Acrylic Windows Under Short Term Pressure Loading

1972 ◽  
Vol 94 (4) ◽  
pp. 853-861
Author(s):  
J. D. Stachiw
Keyword(s):  
Critical Pressure ◽  
Effect Of Temperature ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Ambient Temperatures ◽  
Seating Arrangement ◽  
Hydrostatic Loading ◽  
Percent Increase ◽  
Standard Of Comparison ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Percent Decrease

Temperature and the seating arrangement in the flange have a significant effect on the critical pressure of conical acrylic windows. Over 400 acrylic windows with 90 deg conical angle were used in this study to establish experimentally the relationship between thickness to minor diameter ratio (t/D), temperature, seating arrangement in the flange, and critical pressure under short term hydrostatic loading. The data indicates that utilizing 70 deg F as standard of comparison, there is, approximately 20 percent increase in critical short term pressure when 32 deg F, and 20 percent decrease when 90 deg F ambient temperatures are utilized, respectively. It was also found that the short term critical pressure of some conical acrylic windows is influenced by the seating arrangement in the flange. As a rule, an increase in the ratio of minor window diameter to minor flange opening diameter (D/Df) raised the short term critical pressure of windows with t/D ≥ 0.375 significantly. For windows with t/D < 0.375, it did not raise the critical pressure.

scholarly journals On degree minimizers in Spanish

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 69-86
Author(s):  
Isabel Pérez-Jiménez ◽  
Silvia Gumiel-Molina ◽  
Norberto Moreno-Quibén
Keyword(s):  
Minimum Standard ◽  
Gradable Adjectives ◽  
Standard Of Comparison ◽  
Scalar Structure ◽  
Selection Of ◽  
Closed Scale

The goal of this paper is to provide both a description and an explanation of the combination of minimizers (ligeramente 'slightly') with gradable adjectives in Spanish. According to Kennedy & McNally (2005) these elements are degree items that are sensitive to the scalar structure of adjectives and are combined with closed scale, minimum standard adjectives. Unexpected combinations, according to this semantics, are considered as cases of coercion. In this paper we propose that minimizers create derived adjectives. They are modifiers of the adjective's granularity, which allow the selection of the standard of comparison to take into account a greater number of degree distinctions. From this proposal, this article shows that unexpected combinations of ligeramente with gradable adjectives, such as un cine ligeramente lleno ‘a slightly crowded cinema’, can be explained without the need to propose that a coercion process takes place.

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.

The Prehistory of Upper Pleistocene and Recent Cattle. Part I: East Mediterranean, with Reference to North-West Europe

1970 ◽  
Vol 35 ◽  
pp. 236-266 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. R. Jarman
Keyword(s):  
Evolutionary Genetics ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
East Mediterranean ◽  
North West ◽  
Small Areas ◽  
History Of ◽  
Standard Of Comparison ◽  
Relative Potential ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Detailed Work

There is a considerable literature concerning the prehistory and palaeontology of cattle, both at the infra- and inter-species levels. In spite of the wealth of published material, however, deficiencies remain. The majority of the publications concern small areas of study, and few general syntheses are available; the few syntheses which do exist, such as those of Reed (1961) and Zeuner (1963) do not do justice to the information at present available. Most of the detailed work is concentrated in North-West Europe, and developments in many fields, particularly those of evolutionary genetics and economic prehistory, have rendered obsolete many of the premises underlying published hypotheses. This is true for nearly all discussions of animals in their relationships with prehistoric man, but a general reassessment of the situation is available (Higgs and Jarman, 1969) while Payne (1969) has treated the sheep-goat group in particular. The work concerning cattle may conveniently be divided into two overlapping groups. First there are those studies which are primarily concerned with palaeontological considerations, with the description of specimens from a taxonomic and ecological point of view. The second group comprises investigations into the relationship between man and cattle and because of the prevailing climate of thought has concentrated overwhelmingly on the domestication of cattle and their subsequent exploitation. Thus the ‘Man and Cattle’ Symposium (Mourant and Zeuner, 1963) contains papers concerned with the history of the relationship from the Neolithic to the present day. Mesolithic and Pleistocene cattle are not discussed in any detail, and are only mentioned as a standard of comparison by which changes may be recognized. This assessment of the relative potential importance of the evidence is the product of the preferred hypothesis of the time, and before discussing the evidence offered for the domestication of cattle and their later history, it is important to understand the formative influence of the theoretical framework underlying the data.

scholarly journals Scalar diversity and negative strengthening

2018 ◽  
Vol 60 ◽  
pp. 191-203
Author(s):  
Anton Benz ◽  
Carla Bombi ◽  
Nicole Gotzner
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Study ◽  
Experimental Research ◽  
Great Variability ◽  
Scalar Implicature ◽  
Single Mechanism ◽  
Negative Strengthening

In recent years, experimental research has demontrated great variability in the ratesof scalar inferences across different triggering expressions (Doran et al. 2009, 2012, van Tielet al. 2016). These studies have been taken as evidence against the so-called uniformity assumption,which posits that scalar implicature is triggered by a single mechanism and that thebehaviour of one scale should generalize to the whole family of scales. In the following, wepresent an experimental study that tests negative strengthening for a variety of strong scalarterms, following up on van Tiel et al. (2016). For example, we tested whether the statementJohn is not brilliant is strengthened to mean that John is not intelligent (see especially Horn1989). We show that endorsement rates of the scalar implicature (e.g., John is intelligent butnot brilliant) are anti-correlated with endorsements of negative strengthening. Further, wedemonstrate that a modified version of the uniformity hypothesis taking into account negativestrengthening is consistent with van Tiel et al.’s data. Therefore, variation across scales may bemore systematic than suggested by the van Tiel et al. study.Keywords: Scalar diversity, scalar implicature, manner implicature, negative strengthening,inferencing task.

scholarly journals Comparisons of Equality With German so…wie, and the Relationship Between Degrees and Properties

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vera Hohaus ◽  
Malte Zimmermann
Keyword(s):  
Semantic Analysis ◽  
Semantic Category ◽  
Gradable Adjectives ◽  
Polarity Item ◽  
Type D ◽  
European Languages ◽  
Scope Ambiguities ◽  
Uniform Manner ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Semantic Properties

Abstract We present a compositionally transparent, unified semantic analysis of two kinds of so…wie-equative constructions in German, namely degree equatives and property equatives in the domain of individuals or events. Unlike in English and many other European languages (Haspelmath & Buchholz 1998, Rett 2013), both equative types in German feature the parameter marker so, suggesting a unified analysis. We show that the parallel formal expression of German degree and property equatives is accompanied by a parallel syntactic distribution (in predicative, attributive, and adverbial position), and by identical semantic properties: Both equative types allow for scope ambiguities, show negative island effects out of context, and license the negative polarity item überhaupt ‘at all’ in the complement clause. As the same properties are also shared by German comparatives, we adopt the influential quantificational analysis of comparatives in von Stechow (1984ab), Heim (1985, 2001, 2007), and Beck (2011), and treat both German equative types in a uniform manner as expressing universal quantification over sets of degrees or over sets of properties (of individuals or events). Conceptually, the uniform marking of degree-related and property-related meanings is expected given that the abstract semantic category degree (type $d$) can be reconstructed in terms of equivalence classes, i.e., ontologically simpler sets of individuals (type $\langle e,t\rangle $) or events (type $\langle v,t\rangle $). These are found in any language, showing that whether or not a language makes explicit reference to degrees (by means of gradable adjectives, degree question words, degree-only equatives) does not follow on general conceptual or semantic grounds, but is determined by the grammar of that language.

Semantic Distance in Memory Structure: The Retrieval of Conceptual Relationships

1983 ◽  
Vol 35 (4) ◽  
pp. 553-570 ◽  
Author(s):  
Colin Berry ◽  
Carl Grove
Keyword(s):  
Hierarchical Model ◽  
Semantic Distance ◽  
Memory Model ◽  
Regression Analyses ◽  
Cast Doubt ◽  
The Times ◽  
Normative Criteria ◽  
Conceptual Relationships ◽  
The Relationship

Four experiments are described which aim to distinguish the relative contributions of measures of semantic distance based on formal and normative criteria. Experiment I replicates a previous finding by Collins and Quillian (1969) that sentence confirmation RTs support a hierarchically-organised memory model. Experiments II and III minimised the role of syntactic processes and examined the times taken to “see the relationship” between pairs of concepts. The results also supported a hierarchical model but cast doubt upon the formal distinction between superset and property relationships. Experiment IV showed similar results using only property relationships of the “has” form. Multiple regression analyses of the data indicate that “number of intervening links” is a more consistent predictor of RT than “associative” measures of semantic relatendness and confirm strong linearity effects consistent with a hierarchical model of storage.

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