scholarly journals I can't believe it's not lexical: Deriving distributed veridicality

2019 ◽  
Vol 29 ◽  
pp. 665
Author(s):  
Tom Roberts
Keyword(s):  
Lexical Semantics ◽  
Lexical Items ◽  
Clausal Negation ◽  
The Right ◽  
Clausal Complements ◽  
Excluded Middle ◽  
Linguistic Material

Given the assumption that selection is a strictly local relationship between a head and its complement, we expect the ability of a head to take a particular argument to be insensitive to linguistic material above that head. The verb believe poses a puzzle under this view: while believe ordinarily only permits declarative clausal complements, interrogative complements are allowed when believe occurs under clausal negation and can or will, and a veridical reading becomes available. I argue that this provides evidence that believe is not simply a standard Hintikkan representational belief verb, but rather is fundamentally question-embedding,and that the verb's lexical semantics, including an excluded middle presupposition, interact with the modal and negation to derive the veridicality of can't believe. I conclude that veridicality need not be lexical: the right mix of semantic ingredients can conspire to yield a veridical interpretation, even if those ingredients are distributed across multiple lexical items.

scholarly journals Structure and Ontology in Nonlocal Readings of Adjectives

2021 ◽  
pp. 65-99
Author(s):  
Marcin Morzycki
Keyword(s):  
General Theory ◽  
Crucial Role ◽  
Lexical Semantics ◽  
Aberrant Behavior ◽  
Compositional Semantics ◽  
Semantic Type ◽  
Way Of Thinking ◽  
Lexical Items ◽  
The Right

AbstractIn certain uses, adjectives appear to make the semantic contribution normally associated with adverbs. These readings are often thought to be a peripheral phenomenon, restricted to one corner of the grammar and just a handful of lexical items. I’ll argue that it’s actually considerably more general than is often recognized, and that it admits two fundamentally different modes of explanation: in terms of the syntactic machinery that undergirds these structures and in terms of the ontology of the objects manipulated by its semantics. Both modes of explanation have been suggested for some of the puzzles in this domain, and I’ll argue both are necessary. With respect to adjectives including average and occasional, the key insight is that their lexical semantics is fundamentally about kinds. But to arrive at a more general theory of adverbial readings, it is also necessary to further articulate the compositional semantics. In this spirit, I’ll argue that these adjectives actually have the semantic type of quantificational determiners like every. If this way of thinking about adverbial readings is on the right track, it instantiates a means by which these two distinct modes of explanation—and the distinct aspects of cognition they may ultimately be associated with—both play a crucial role in bringing about the apparently aberrant behavior of this class of adjectives.

scholarly journals Argumentationsanalyse. Grundtræk af en modulær sprogvidenskabelig tilgang

2017 ◽  
Vol 11 (21) ◽  
pp. 15
Author(s):  
Henning Nølke
Keyword(s):  
Lexical Semantics ◽  
Linguistic Theory ◽  
Modular Approach ◽  
Global Approach ◽  
High Complexity ◽  
Argumentative Discourse ◽  
Topos Theory ◽  
The Right ◽  
Linguistic Approach ◽  
Linguistic Material

In this article, the author presents some fundamentals of a modular linguistic approach to argumentation. Argumentation is seen as a matter of interpretation, and since interpretation phenomena depend on linguistic material as well as on context in the broad sense, genuine linguistic theory should be an integrated part of argumentation theory. A linguistic approach to argumentation should adopt instructional semantics as opposed to representational semantics and argumentative (discourse dynamic) seman-tics as opposed to referential semantics. In view of the high complexity of argumentation phenomena, rigour can be obtained only in a strictly modular approach. After a brief overview of the global approach, the author lays down some fundamental metho-dological and theoretical principles for modular studies. He then introduces three modules taking care of Lexical Semantics (the Topos Theory), Polyphony and Argu-mentative Functors. The three mini-theories involved are all inspired by the Theory of Argumentation in Language developed by the French linguists Oswald Ducrot and Jean-Claude Anscombre. Two recommendations for practitioners are formulated as conclusion: “To be efficient, use the right linguistic forms and structures!” and “To choose efficient forms, keep your eye on the purpose!”

scholarly journals Psycholinguistic Peculiarities of Contextual Realisation of Concept «MACHT» in Linguistic and Cultural Space of German’s

2019 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 321-340
Author(s):  
Олеся Скляренко ◽  
Аліна Акімова ◽  
Оксана Свириденко
Keyword(s):  
Self Esteem ◽  
Contextual Analysis ◽  
Social Characteristics ◽  
Successful Result ◽  
Communicative Behavior ◽  
Valuable Marker ◽  
A Chain ◽  
The Right ◽  
Value Preferences ◽  
Linguistic Material

Research actuality has determined the necessity to study the peculiarities of contextual realization of the concept ”MACHT” in German communicative and cultural area by means of using the results of free associative experiment and contextual analysis of proverbs and aphorisms that made it possible to find out value preferences and priorities of Germans. The purpose of the article is to identify psycholinguistic peculiarities of the concept “MACHT” in German communicative and cultural area by comparing the results of contextual analyses of proverbs and aphorisms based on the results of free associative experiment. To describe the results of linguistic material we used such methods as semantic cognitive concept modeling which allowed us to identify macro models and describe the frame model of the concept “MACHT” organization which we present as a chain-organized structure: the concept “MACHT”, macro frame “MACHT UND GESELLSCHAFT” and subframes “MACHT UND DAS POLITISCHE”, “MACHT UND DAS SOZIALE” “MACHT UND DAS HÄUSLICHE”. To find out the psycholinguistic peculiarities of conceptual realization we have used the methodology of free associative experiment. The findings of the conducted analysis reveal that the concept “MACHT” is manifested in German communicative and cultural area as the subframes “MACHT UND DAS POLITISCHE”, “MACHT UND DAS SOZIALE” “MACHT UND DAS HÄUSLICHE”, where a typical representative of power is characterized by valuable possibilities to direct other, have respect, prosperity and some social characteristics, such as: medical insurance, social help in case of unemployment, possibility to implement himself/herself into society while having the refuges status or being a single parent, have the right to have holidays and free time, the right for sexual preferences. Valuable marker is very important here as it forms axiological personality marker of self-esteem and reflects in reaction of free associative experiment in nominations and  markers of private properties, authority and keeping one’s own face in front of society and lifestyle. Conclusion. In this way the general prototype of an ideal power subject is seen as an ethnic and cultural carrier of the German linguistic and cultural studies concerning the power subject, its communicative behavior, personal features necessary for successful result of power object, his/her appearance and social state.

The communicative potential of verbs of “away-from” motion in English, German and Russian

2005 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 205-240 ◽  
Author(s):  
Serge Sharoff
Keyword(s):  
Social Interaction ◽  
Lexical Semantics ◽  
Functional Theory ◽  
Verbs Of Motion ◽  
Formal Definitions ◽  
Lexical Items

This paper proposes a model for describing lexical semantics within systemic-functional theory. Formal approaches to lexical semantics assume that words have meanings which exist independently from communication and are represented by means of (semi-) formal definitions. Functional approaches treat language as a tool for social interaction and, in the case of lexical semantics, assume that lexical items provide resources for realising the communicative intentions of the speaker. The paper explores problems occurring when uses of words in context are categorised according to pre-established sense distinctions and proposes a mechanism that uses systemic networks to describe meanings of lexical items as functions of their uses. The paper ends with a case study of uses of English, German and Russian verbs of motion, including options for their translation. The model is also tested empirically by considering word uses in an aligned parallel English-German-Russian corpus.

Dichaptic Scanning of Braille Letters by Skilled Blind Readers: Lateralization Effects

1996 ◽  
Vol 82 (3_suppl) ◽  
pp. 1071-1074 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carlo Semenza ◽  
Marina Zoppello ◽  
Ornella Gidiuli ◽  
Francesca Borgo
Keyword(s):  
Left Hemisphere ◽  
Right Hemisphere ◽  
Spatial Code ◽  
Cerebral Lateralization ◽  
Right Hand ◽  
Tactile Modality ◽  
The Right ◽  
Linguistic Material

Dichaptic scanning of Braille letters was studied in 14 skilled blind readers, using Posner's paradigm. A right-hand (left-hemisphere) advantage was found when letters could be matched on the basis of their names (Name Identity Condition), a genuinely linguistic task, while no effects of lateralization appeared when matching could be performed on the basis of perceptual identity (Perceptual Identity Condition) or on “Different” responses. This result provides information about the cerebral lateralization of Braille reading and casts doubts about the current claim that linguistic material, when presented in the tactile modality, is initially analysed in a spatial code by the right hemisphere.

scholarly journals A Perceptual Study of Phonological Variations in Pakistani English

2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 92
Author(s):  
Abdul Malik Abbasi ◽  
Mansoor Ahmed Channa ◽  
Innayatullah Kakepoto ◽  
Rida Ali ◽  
Misbeh Mehmood
Keyword(s):  
Language Learners ◽  
Second Language Learners ◽  
Lexical Stress ◽  
English As Second Language ◽  
Perceptual Judgments ◽  
Lexical Items ◽  
Accented English ◽  
The Right ◽  
Esl Learners ◽  
Stress Patterns

The present study examines the perceptual judgments of English lexical items and English lexical stress by Urdu ESL (Note 1) (English as Second Language) learners. The analysis discusses the different sound systems of both languages and their syllabification system coupled with the stress patterns. The stimuli of 50 high frequency English words were designed as data collection tool for counting the number of syllables and for marking lexical stress as follows: 9 monosyllabic, 11 disyllabic, 10 tri-syllabic, 10 four-syllabic and 10 five-syllabic words. All participating subjects were 40 under graduate students from the department of computer sciences, Sindh Madressatul Islam University (SMIU) Karachi. The findings of the study show English lexical items were syllabified with different numbers and primary stressed syllables were also marked with different places of the lexical items, however, data also show the correct syllabification and the right placement of lexical stress which is a strong evidence manifesting as Urdu-accented English perceived and produced by Urdu ESL learners. 

scholarly journals Patterns of discourse semantics

2015 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 43-66 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melani Schröter ◽  
Petra Storjohann
Keyword(s):  
Discourse Analysis ◽  
Financial Crisis ◽  
Political Discourse ◽  
Public Discourse ◽  
Lexical Semantics ◽  
Generic Matrix ◽  
Lexical Items ◽  
Newspaper Articles

Corpus-assisted analyses of public discourse often focus on the lexical level. This article argues in favour of corpus-assisted analyses of discourse, but also in favour of conceptualising salient lexical items in public discourse in a more determined way. It draws partly on non-Anglophone academic traditions in order to promote a conceptualisation of discourse keywords, thereby highlighting how their meaning is determined by their use in discourse contexts. It also argues in favour of emphasising the cognitive and epistemic dimensions of discourse-determined semantic structures. These points will be exemplified by means of a corpus-assisted, as well as a frame-based analysis of the discourse keyword financial crisis in British newspaper articles from 2009. Collocations of financial crisis are assigned to a generic matrix frame for ‘event’ which contains slots that specify possible statements about events. By looking at which slots are more, respectively less filled with collocates of financial crisis, we will trace semantic presence as well as absence, and thereby highlight the pragmatic dimensions of lexical semantics in public discourse. The article also advocates the suitability of discourse keyword analyses for systematic contrastive analyses of public/political discourse and for lexicographical projects that could serve to extend the insights drawn from corpus-guided approaches to discourse analysis.

The scope of even

2018 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 156-195 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shu-ing Shyu
Keyword(s):  
Mandarin Chinese ◽  
The Other ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
Semantics And Pragmatics ◽  
Lexical Items ◽  
Lexical Approach ◽  
The One ◽  
The Right

Abstract One of the issues in the study of even is concerned with the ambiguous scope interpretations contributed by the focus adverb even. There have been two main camps: the lexical approach and the scope approach. Unlike English, which does not have distinct lexical items for even, Mandarin Chinese (Chinese hereafter) utilizes two constructions to express the notion of even: (1) The lian … dou ‘including … all’ construction, and (2) focus adverbs, such as shenzhi. This paper aims to demonstrate that the lian … dou construction expresses the typical implicatures in even sentences predicted by the scope theory. The seemingly deviant cases that have been argued for a lexical NPI even by Rooth, however, either are not construed in lian … dou sentences or are possibly rendered in shenzhi sentences provided by the pragmatic accommodation of existential presuppositions. In particular, dou syntactically marks focus scope and quantifies over a focus domain consisting of the focused phrase and its alternatives in presupposition. The results of this study thus shed further light on the general discussion of even in the sense that: on the one hand, the scope theory can make the right predictions, as evidenced by lian … dou; and, on the other hand, pragmatic scalar inference of the existential implicatures should be taken into consideration. Ultimately the expression of even manifests interfaces of syntax, semantics, and pragmatics.

The Contribution of the Right Hemisphere to Lexical Semantics

1990 ◽  
pp. 42-114 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yves Joanette ◽  
Pierre Goulet ◽  
Didier Hannequin
Keyword(s):  
Right Hemisphere ◽  
Lexical Semantics ◽  
The Right

scholarly journals Moving beyond ‘Next Wednesday’: The interplay of lexical semantics and constructional meaning in an ambiguous metaphoric statement

2015 ◽  
Vol 26 (4) ◽  
pp. 633-656 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michele I. Feist ◽  
Sarah E. Duffy
Keyword(s):  
Lexical Semantics ◽  
Temporal Reference ◽  
Source Domain ◽  
Temporal Semantics ◽  
Final Interpretation ◽  
Lexical Items

AbstractWhat factors influence our understanding of metaphoric statements about time? By examining the interpretation of one such statement – namely, Next Wednesday’s meeting has been moved forward by two days – earlier research has demonstrated that people may draw on spatial perspectives, involving multiple spatially based temporal reference strategies, to interpret metaphoric statements about time (e.g. Boroditsky 2000; Kranjec 2006; McGlone and Harding 1998; Núñez et al. 2006). However, what is still missing is an understanding of the role of linguistic factors in the interpretation of temporal statements such as this one. In this paper, we examine the linguistic properties of this famous temporally ambiguous utterance, considered as an instantiation of a more schematic construction. In Experiment 1, we examine the roles of individual lexical items that are used in the utterance in order to better understand the interplay of lexical semantics and constructional meaning in the context of a metaphoric statement. Following up on prior suggestions in the literature, we ask whether the locus of the ambiguity is centred on the adverb, centred on the verb, or distributed across the utterance. The results suggest that the final interpretation results from an interplay of verb and adverb, suggesting a distributed temporal semantics analogous to the distributed semantics noted for the metaphoric source domain of space (Sinha and Kuteva 1995) and consistent with a constructional view of language (Goldberg 2003). In Experiment 2, we expand the linguistic factors under investigation to include voice and person. The findings suggest that grammatical person, but not grammatical voice, may also influence the interpretation of the Next Wednesday’s meeting metaphor. Taken together, the results of these two studies illuminate the interplay of lexical and constructional factors in the interpretation of temporal metaphors.

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