Indeterminacy and coercion effects
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Roberto G. de Almeida
Abstract
Central to the investigation of the biological and cognitive capacities underlying human language is to determine how hypothetically distinct linguistic and non-linguistic computational systems interact to yield the representation of the meaning of a sentence. The focus of our chapter is on the comprehension of “indeterminate” sentences, that is, sentences seemingly semantically incomplete – albeit grammatical – such as “The man began the book”. While one might understand such a sentence as referring to an event that the man began doing with the book, the actual event cannot be determined. We contend that the interpretation of indeterminate sentences relies on the identification of structurally determined gaps which function to signal higher, non-linguistic cognitive mechanisms to trigger pragmatic inferences. These inferences serve to enrich the output of the linguistic system to give the sentence a meaning fitting with a particular context. Psycholinguistic and neuroimaging (fMRI) data are discussed supporting the view that the source of sentence enrichment is pragmatic – not analytic lexical-semantic decompositions – beyond linguistic computations per se.
Abstract
Central to the investigation of the biological and cognitive capacities underlying human language is to determine how hypothetically distinct linguistic and non-linguistic computational systems interact to yield the representation of the meaning of a sentence. The focus of our chapter is on the comprehension of “indeterminate” sentences, that is, sentences seemingly semantically incomplete – albeit grammatical – such as “The man began the book”. While one might understand such a sentence as referring to an event that the man began doing with the book, the actual event cannot be determined. We contend that the interpretation of indeterminate sentences relies on the identification of structurally determined gaps which function to signal higher, non-linguistic cognitive mechanisms to trigger pragmatic inferences. These inferences serve to enrich the output of the linguistic system to give the sentence a meaning fitting with a particular context. Psycholinguistic and neuroimaging (fMRI) data are discussed supporting the view that the source of sentence enrichment is pragmatic – not analytic lexical-semantic decompositions – beyond linguistic computations per se.
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Interfaces in a biolinguistic perspective 1
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Part I. Syntax, semantics
- Single cycle syntax and a constraint on quantifier lowering 13
- A constraint on remnant movement 31
- Language and conceptual reanalysis 57
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Part II. Features and interfaces
- Decomposing force 89
- Function without content 117
- The association of sound with meaning 141
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Part III. Phonology, syntax
- Towards a bottom-up approach to phonological typology 169
- The emergence of phonological forms 193
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Part IV. Language development
- Non-native acquisition and language design 217
- Interface ingredients of dialect design 239
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Part V. Experimental studies
- What sign languages show 265
- Indeterminacy and coercion effects 277
- Computation with doubling constituents 303
- Concealed reference-set computation 339
- Index 363
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Interfaces in a biolinguistic perspective 1
-
Part I. Syntax, semantics
- Single cycle syntax and a constraint on quantifier lowering 13
- A constraint on remnant movement 31
- Language and conceptual reanalysis 57
-
Part II. Features and interfaces
- Decomposing force 89
- Function without content 117
- The association of sound with meaning 141
-
Part III. Phonology, syntax
- Towards a bottom-up approach to phonological typology 169
- The emergence of phonological forms 193
-
Part IV. Language development
- Non-native acquisition and language design 217
- Interface ingredients of dialect design 239
-
Part V. Experimental studies
- What sign languages show 265
- Indeterminacy and coercion effects 277
- Computation with doubling constituents 303
- Concealed reference-set computation 339
- Index 363
