Proceedings Published by the LSA (Linguistic Society of America)
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New experimental evidence against the similarity approach to conditionals
Full text linkThe similarity approach to conditionals (Stalnaker 1968; Lewis 1973) predicts Reciprocity to be valid: whenever A > B, B > A and A > C are true, B > C is true too (where A > B denotes if A would B). We ran an experiment to test the validity of this rule. Strikingly, half of our participants judged the rule invalid, i.e. judged in at least one scenario that it does not preserve truth. Our data also challenge Kratzer’s (2012) and Fine’s (2012) semantics of conditionals, but we show that McHugh’s (2022; 2023) aboutness approach can account for our data
Non-de dicto construals as a unified phenomenon
Full text linkThe interpretation of expressions in the scope of intensional operators μ is not always relativized to the quantificational domain of μ. The literature has identified several such phenomena, subsumed here under ‘non-de dicto (NDD)’- construals. Based on novel data, we argue contra most existing accounts that (i) different kinds of NDD-construals (der re and transparent construals of predicates) must be derived by the same mechanism, (ii) this mechanism should involve replace- ment of meanings of the sub-constituents of the clause embedded by the intensional operator, (iii) replacement is constrained in that different replacements cannot lead to different answers to the QUD, and (iv) NDD-construals are not grammatically individuated, i.e., they do not ‘live off’ a structure distinct from the one that yields us meanings without NDD. We then sketch a proposal that captures these properties
On approximative degree morphology in Finnish: A comparison of two suffixes
Full text linkThis paper discusses two approximative suffixal morphemes in Finnish, -hkO and -VhtAvA which, at first glance, both seem to resemble English -ish. However, I show that these two suffixes differ systematically in their distribution and semantics, and operate on different kinds of scales. I propose that -hkO, which attaches to gradable adjectives, signals proximity to a standard on a gradable scale provided by the adjective that -hkO modifies. In contrast, I claim that -VhtAvA, which attaches to nouns, signals proximity to a prototypical/canonical denotation of the noun that -VhtAvA modifies. Thus, the two approximative degree morphemes in Finnish wear their scale structure on their sleeve, so to speak. Evidence from comparatives and superlatives, as well as constraints on the order in which these suffixes can be stacked, supports the proposed analysis.
Insensitivity to truth-value in negated sentences: does linear distance matter?
Full text linkAffirmative sentences are comprehended more quickly when they are true vs. false but this facilitation is often reduced or absent in negative sentences, yielding a so-called negation-by-truth-value interaction. The reduced sensitivity to truth-value has been attributed to processing difficulties triggered by negation. We investigated whether difficulties such as these were eased when comprehenders were given more time to process the negator. Specifically, we compared negated sentences in which the negator immediately preceded an adjectival predicate vs. occurred earlier in the sentence, separated by several words from the predicate. The results of two sentence-picture matching tasks replicated previous findings of increased processing difficulties in negative vs. affirmative sentences, as well as the negation-by-truth-value interaction. However, we did not find evidence that sensitivity to truth-value was modulated by the distance between the negator and the predicate. Our findings suggest that, when sentences are presented in isolation, having more time to process a negator does not confer a measurable comprehension advantage
Are second language speakers more pragmatically tolerant? Explaining the differences in scalar implicature generation between L2 and L1
Full text linkChildren’s difficulties with Scalar Implicature (SI) generation have been argued to stem from their tolerance towards pragmatic violations rather than from issues with the inferential process per se (Katsos & Bishop 2011). Ternary judgment tasks have been used to support this view. In these tasks, when presented with underinformative sentences, children, as well as adults, choose an intermediate option between acceptance and rejection, thus demonstrating sensitivity to underinformativeness. Some recent studies show that adult second language (L2) speakers also generate SIs at lower rates. In this work, we investigated whether pragmatic tolerance, possibly emerging because of limited language exposure, could explain the difference between (adult) L2 and L1 speakers. Contrary to our expectations, neither our L1 control group nor our L2 groups (L2 High and L2 Low Proficiency) consistently selected the intermediate option when judging underinformative sentences. However, the L2 Low Proficiency group showed a significantly higher tendency to accept underinformative sentences compared to the L1 group. Hence, our results do not support the hypothesis that L2 speakers are more pragmatically tolerant than L1 speakers. However, our findings show that, despite the adoption of a ternary judgment task, low-proficient L2 speakers display a strong tendency to interpret underinformative sentences literally. We argue that this tendency in the L2 can be attributed to the increased cognitive effort involved in SI generation
Less-comparatives must be less ambiguous than exactly-differentials, experimental data shows
Full text linkScope mobility of comparative operators has been claimed to surface in a narrow class of specific cases where intensional verbs are combined with less-comparatives or exactly-differentials. Though not uncontroversial and dependent on subtle judgments, this type of ambiguity influenced subsequent compositional semantic analyses of comparatives and was also used as a diagnostics for scope mobility of the comparative operator in cross-linguistic studies. We use judgment data from three acceptability rating experiments to empirically test the (un)availablity of this ambiguity in German and English. We discover an empirical difference between exactly-differentials and less-comparatives which is unexpected under the standard approach to the semantics of comparatives. We discuss the theoretical implications of our findings and highlight recent proposals that can account for our data
Making claims, decisions, and other things
Full text linkThis paper analyzes complex attitude predicates such as make the claim that S. The proposal is couched in the the idea that propositional attitudes are built from content-bearing individuals (e.g. Moulton 2009; Moltmann 2020). I argue that the singular definite in this construction refers to a definite kind in the sense of Dayal 2004, specifying the type of result rather than the result itself. This immediately explains a range of phenomena including non-anaphoricity, no instantiation in negative contexts, and apparent non-uniqueness in quantified contexts. A compositional analysis is developed, building up from the individual parts, in which this constructions takes a definite kind argument and denotes the creation of its instances
Transphobic legislation and the linguist: The case of Florida’s Subsection 3
Full text linkThis paper joins critical sociolinguistic approaches to the law by examining legislation limiting trans-affirming language use, especially in schools, with a focus on Florida Statute §1000.071. Subsection (3) of this law prohibits most transgender teachers from sharing their pronouns with students. The analysis begins by extracting the linguistic claims made in legal defense of §1000.071: 1) that it is “false” to refer to a trans woman as she or Ms. because pronouns function to categorize humans according to “biological sex” (as the state defines it); and 2) that children will be confused and their educations disrupted if trans teachers are allowed to share their pronouns. An in-depth review of linguistic research demonstrates that Florida’s assertions about how pronouns work are incorrect, and the discussion addresses some of the ways linguists might be both implicated in the transphobic ideas about language promoted by Florida’s government and well-positioned to support trans communities at a time of escalating institutional transphobia
Of "of" from \u27from\u27; Rethinking the partitive cycle
No full textThis paper argues that, in the history of English, of was reanalyzed from having a ‘path-from-source’ meaning to a ‘part-of’ meaning. This departs from pre- vious claims that the change was a matter of grammaticalization. While some have characterized reanalysis (i.e. a change in structure without a change in overt real- ization) and grammaticalization (i.e. when a form becomes more grammatical) as at least potentially overlapping in nature, this paper follows definitions that separate the two as receiver driven and sender driven phenomena respectively. In this light, and with other characteristics of the two phenomena in mind, the change in the realization of partitive expressions in English is cast in a new light and argued to account for the change seen in the history of English
Access to contextually-determined states in the interpretation of English stative participles
Full text linkStative passive participles (SPPs) differ in acceptability for different verbs: cf. The boxes are flattened/\#kicked. However, examples like those with kicked can be felicitous in very specific contexts, e.g. when box-kicking is an item to be checked off of a list: what will be called a \u27Job is Done\u27 (JiD) interpretation. An unresolved question in the prior literature is whether JiD is eventive or stative. This question takes on added significance in the context of recent work on the interpretation of SPPs. We argue that JiD is indeed stative, and show that this analysis has numerous consequences for understanding the syntax and interpretation of SPPs