1,512 research outputs found
Collectivity, distributivity, and the interpretation of numerical expressions in child and adult language
No full textSentences containing plural numerical expressions (e.g., two boys) can give rise to two interpretations (collective and distributive), arising from the fact that their representation admits of a part-whole structure. We present the results of a series of experiments designed to explore children’s understanding of this distinction and its implications for the acquisition of linguistic expressions with number words. We show that preschoolers access both interpretations, indicating that they have the requisite linguistic and conceptual machinery to generate the corresponding representations. Furthermore, they can shift their interpretation in response to structural and lexical manipulations. However, they are not fully adult-like: unlike adults, they are drawn to the distributive interpretation, and are not yet fully aware of the lexical semantics of each and together, which should favor one or another interpretation. This research bridges a gap between a well-established body of work in cognitive psychology on the acquisition of number words and more recent work investigating children’s knowledge of the syntactic and semantic properties of sentences featuring numerical expressions.Peer reviewe
Entretiens avec Julien Gaillard
No full textEntretiens avec Julien Gaillard, locuteur du patois de Valjouffrey, en vue d'explicitation de vocabulaire, syntaxe et prononciation
All together now: disentangling semantics and pragmatics with together in child and adult language
No full textThe way in which an event is packaged linguistically can be informative about the number of participants in the event and the nature of their participation. At times, however, a sentence is ambiguous, and pragmatic information weighs in to favor one interpretation over another. Whereas adults may readily know how to pick up on such cues to meaning, children – who are generally naïve to such pragmatic nuances – may diverge and access a broader range of interpretations, or one disfavored by adults. A number of cases come to us from a now well established body of research on scalar implicatures and scopal ambiguity. Here, we complement this previous work with a previously uninvestigated example of the semantic-pragmatic divide in language development arising from the interpretation of sentences with pluralities and together. Sentences such as Two boys lifted a block (together) allow for either a Collective or a Distributive interpretation (one pushing event vs. two spatio temporally coordinated events). We show experimentally that children allow both interpretations in sentences with together, whereas adults rule out the Distributive interpretation without further contextual motivation. However, children appear to be guided by their semantics in the readings they access, since they do not allow readings that are semantically barred. We argue that they are unaware of the pragmatic information adults have at their fingertips, such as the conversational implicatures arising from the presence of a modifier, the probability of its occurrence being used to signal a particular interpretation among a set of alternatives, and knowledge of the possible lexical alternatives.This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Language Acquisition on 02 July 2015, available online: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10489223.2015.1067319.Peer reviewe
Which account of wh-/quantifier interaction should everyone adopt? A new take on a classic developmental puzzle
No full textQuantifiers are expressions that denote number and quantity. When quantifiers interact with each other or with other logical expressions in a sentence, the resulting interpretation may be ambiguous. In this paper, we focus on young chilren’s understanding of the interaction of the universal quantifiers every and each with wh-expressions (who, which) in questionsPeer reviewe
Étude des protéines « Plant Mobile Domain », à l'interface entre espèce modèle et plante à intérêt agronomique afin de comprendre leur rôle au cours du processus de maturation du fruit de la tomate
No full textDans le noyau des cellules eucaryotes, l’ADN forme un complexe avec les protéines histones appelé la chromatine. Les modifications de la chromatine, dites épigénétiques, influencent la transcription des gènes. Ces modifications ont aussi un rôle dans la répression des éléments transposables (ETs). Chez Arabidopsis thaliana, les protéines MAINTENANCE OF MERISTEM (MAIN), MAIN-LIKE 1 (MAIL1) et MAIL2 appartiennent à la famille des Plant Mobile Domain (PMD). Les protéines MAIN et MAIL1 interagissent ensemble ainsi qu’avec PROTEIN PHOSPHATASE 7-LIKE (PP7L) afin de réguler la transcription des gènes et réprimer les ETs. Le rôle de MAIL2 dans la cellule reste inconnu. Un homologue de MAIL2, SlPMD2, existe chez Solanum lycopersicum (tomate). Le but de ma thèse a été de décrire plus en détail le mode d’action de MAIN et MAIL1, de comprendre le rôle de MAIL2 dans la cellule et d’explorer le rôle de SlPMD2 chez la tomate. J’ai pu démontrer que MAIN et MAIL1 sont impliquées dans la répression de plusieurs ETs de manière indirecte via le contrôle de la transcription de ICRORCHIDIA 1 (MORC1) qui est un important facteur épigénétique. J’ai pu démontrer par des approches de biochimie que MAIN et MAIL1 interagissent avec la chromatine principalement dans le promoteur de gènes et que ces protéines empêchent la déposition sur certains de ces gènes de la marque épigénétique répressive H3K27me3 par la voie Polycomb. De plus, j'ai montré qu'un motif spécifique d'ADN, que j'ai appelé motif MAIL1-MAIN (M1M), est enrichi dans les régions génomiques liées par MAIN et MAIL1 et pourrait peut-être recruter ces protéines. Par des analyses phénotypiques et transcriptomiques j’ai montré que MAIL2 est requis pour le développement de la graine et pour la bonne transcription de certains gènes. J'ai identifié dans le promoteur de certains de ces gènes dérégulés un motif d'ADN que j'ai appelé le motif MAIL2 (M2M). J’ai pu montrer que dans la tomate SlPMD2 est également requis pour le bon développement de la graine et qu’il contrôle l’expression de plusieurs gènes dans la fleur Enfin, je présente des données préliminaires suggérant que SlPMD2, qui est l'homologue de MAIL2 chez la tomate, est impliqué dans le développement et la germination des graines, très probablement en contrôlant l'expression de gènes spécifiques. Comme chez A. thaliana, j'ai identifié un motif ADN, très similaire au motif M2M, dans le promoteur de plusieurs gènes qui sont misrégulés chez le mutant slpmd2. Dans l'ensemble, mes résultats suggèrent que les protéines PMD pourraient être recrutées dans des régions génomiques spécifiques par le biais d'un motif d’ADN conservé au cours de l'évolution afin d'assurer la correcte expression des gènes, potentiellement en antagonisant la voie Polycomb chez les Angiospermes.In the nucleus of eukaryotic cells, DNA interacts with histone proteins to form a complex called chromatin. Epigenetic modifications of chromatin influence gene transcription. These modifications also play a role in silencing of transposable elements (TEs). In Arabidopsis thaliana, the MAINTENANCE OF MERISTEM (MAIN), MAIN-LIKE 1 (MAIL1) and MAIL2 proteins belong to the Plant Mobile Domain (PMD) family. MAIN and MAIL1 interact with each other and with PROTEIN PHOSPHATASE 7-LIKE (PP7L) to regulate gene transcription and repress TEs. The role of MAIL2 into the cell remains nknown. A homolog of MAIL2, SlPMD2, exists in Solanum lycopersicum (tomato). The aim of my thesis was to describe in more details the mode of action of MAIN and MAIL1, to understand the role of MAIL2 within the cell and to explore the role of SlPMD2 in tomato. I was able to demonstrate that MAIN and MAIL1 are indirectly involved in the silencing of several TEs, by controlling MICRORCHIDIA 1 (MORC1) transcription, which is an important epigenetic factor. Using biochemical approaches, I showed that MAIN and MAIL1 interact with chromatin mainly in gene promoters, and that these proteins prevent the deposition of H3K27me3 mediated by the Polycomb pathway. In addition, I found that a specific DNA motif, called the MAIL1-MAIN (M1M) motif, is enriched at genomic regions targeted by the PMD proteins. Besides, phenotypic and transcriptomic analyses showed that MAIL2 is required for seed development and for the correct expression of several genes, a fraction of them carrying another specific DNA motif called MAIL2 motif (M2M) in their promoter. Finally, I present preliminary data suggesting that SlPMD2, which is the MAIL2 counterpart in tomato, is involved in seed development and germination, most likely by controlling the expression of specific genes. Like in A. thaliana, I identified a DNA motif, which is highly similar to the M2M motif, in the promoter of several genes that are misregulated in the slpmd2 mutant. Altogether, my results suggest that PMD proteins might be recruited at specific genomic regions through an evolutionary conserved DNA motif to ensure the proper expression of genes, possibly by antagonizing the Polycomb pathway in Angiosperms
Toponymes de Valjouffrey
No full textDessins des montagnes visibles de la vallée de Valjouffrey et annotation des toponymes selon leur appelation ancienne
Léviathan: A Forgotten Nouvelle by Julien Green
No full textJulien Green's nouvelle Leviathan (1926)1 tends to merit only a few passing
references in critical works on the author. This is regrettable because this early
work in a literary output spanning the years 1920 to 1995 (at least!) can be seen to
orchestrate in embryonic form many of the themes and preoccupations which
have become permanent features of Green's landscape. It may even be considered
a microcosm of his work as a whole
Julien Green's journals and autobiographic writings
No full textJulien Green (1900-1998) was the famous novelist of the 20th century. He was dealing with spiritual and moral dilemmas in his novels, which were among others due to his life experience with several faiths. He was also the author of an extensive diary and autobiographical works. He was keeping diary from young age and covers almost the entire 20th century. His aim was not to describe events, rather to let his thoughts, observations and dilemmas took shape. This work aims to explore that angle of Green's work and reveal its character. It will thematically examine specific centers of interest through this work, focusing on the relationship that exists between the diaries and autobiographical prose, whether by consensus or differences in the content, but also in the form of works. The final goal is to transcribe a specific form of statements about himself, which Julien Green created. Keywords autobiography, introspection, christianity, history, intimac
Julien Green's journals and autobiographic writings
No full textJulien Green (1900-1998) was the famous novelist of the 20th century. He was dealing with spiritual and moral dilemmas in his novels, which were among others due to his life experience with several faiths. He was also the author of an extensive diary and autobiographical works. He was keeping diary from young age and covers almost the entire 20th century. His aim was not to describe events, rather to let his thoughts, observations and dilemmas took shape. This work aims to explore that angle of Green's work and reveal its character. It will thematically examine specific centers of interest through this work, focusing on the relationship that exists between the diaries and autobiographical prose, whether by consensus or differences in the content, but also in the form of works. The final goal is to transcribe a specific form of statements about himself, which Julien Green created. Keywords autobiography, introspection, christianity, history, intimac
Julien Green et la hantise de l’imposture
No full textYoung author of a religious pamphlet, Julien Green suspected an ethical and aesthetic imposture in this literary positioning. The desire for truth allows him to profess his faith, but the autobiographical confidences are subjected to complex requirements. For his novels, gushing out from the depths of the psyche, he rejects the catholic label: the spiritual sense of a writing that explores the darkness of the human condition paradoxically depends on the renunciation of any apologetic purpose
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