6. Modelling temporal reasoning
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Alice G.B. ter Meulen
Abstract
The interaction of determiners with aspectual adverbs is subject to interesting constraints to structure information. This chapter presents an investigation based only on English data to clarify the logical properties of these constraints and study their effects in temporal reasoning, as a modus of indexical inference at the level of information structure. The interaction is analysed of determiners, interpreted as relations between subsets of the domain, and the dynamic DRT semantics of aspectual adverbs of Smessaert &and ter Meulen (2004). Temporal reasoning with aspectual adverbs constitutes a form of dynamic indexical inference. The causal interpretation of temporal information requires a partitioning of information structure into focus and common ground, not unlike what is known in quantifier theory.
Abstract
The interaction of determiners with aspectual adverbs is subject to interesting constraints to structure information. This chapter presents an investigation based only on English data to clarify the logical properties of these constraints and study their effects in temporal reasoning, as a modus of indexical inference at the level of information structure. The interaction is analysed of determiners, interpreted as relations between subsets of the domain, and the dynamic DRT semantics of aspectual adverbs of Smessaert &and ter Meulen (2004). Temporal reasoning with aspectual adverbs constitutes a form of dynamic indexical inference. The causal interpretation of temporal information requires a partitioning of information structure into focus and common ground, not unlike what is known in quantifier theory.
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Editors and contributors ix
- Foreword: Space and time in languages, cultures, and cognition xiii
- Introduction: Linguistic diversity in the spatio-temporal domain 1
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I. Representing location in space and time
- 1. Spatial relations in Hinuq and Bezhta 15
- 2. Pragmatically disambiguating space 35
- 3. The semantics of the perfect progressive in English 53
- 4. Drowning “into” the river in North Sámi 73
- 5. Cross-linguistic differences in expressing time and universal principles of utterance interpretation 95
- 6. Modelling temporal reasoning 123
- 7. Language-specific perspectives in reference to time in the discourse of Czech, English, and Hungarian speakers 135
- 8. More than “time” 157
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II. Space and time in language acquisition
- 9. L2 acquisition of tense-aspect morphology 181
- 10. Motion events in Japanese and English 205
- 11. ‘He walked up the pole with arms and legs’ 233
- 12. Caused motion events across languages and learner types 263
- 13. Spatial prepositions in Italian L2 289
- 14. Expressing simultaneity using aspect 325
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III. Dynamic relations in space and time domains
- 15. Variation in motion events 349
- 16. Italian motion constructions 373
- 17. A temporal approach to motion verbs 395
- 18. The role of grammar in the conceptualisation of ‘progression’ 417
- 19. The locative PP motion construction in Polish 437
- 20. Path salience in motion descriptions in Jaminjung 459
- Contents of the companion volume: Language, culture, and cognition 481
- Name index 483
- Subject index 487
- Language index 491
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Editors and contributors ix
- Foreword: Space and time in languages, cultures, and cognition xiii
- Introduction: Linguistic diversity in the spatio-temporal domain 1
-
I. Representing location in space and time
- 1. Spatial relations in Hinuq and Bezhta 15
- 2. Pragmatically disambiguating space 35
- 3. The semantics of the perfect progressive in English 53
- 4. Drowning “into” the river in North Sámi 73
- 5. Cross-linguistic differences in expressing time and universal principles of utterance interpretation 95
- 6. Modelling temporal reasoning 123
- 7. Language-specific perspectives in reference to time in the discourse of Czech, English, and Hungarian speakers 135
- 8. More than “time” 157
-
II. Space and time in language acquisition
- 9. L2 acquisition of tense-aspect morphology 181
- 10. Motion events in Japanese and English 205
- 11. ‘He walked up the pole with arms and legs’ 233
- 12. Caused motion events across languages and learner types 263
- 13. Spatial prepositions in Italian L2 289
- 14. Expressing simultaneity using aspect 325
-
III. Dynamic relations in space and time domains
- 15. Variation in motion events 349
- 16. Italian motion constructions 373
- 17. A temporal approach to motion verbs 395
- 18. The role of grammar in the conceptualisation of ‘progression’ 417
- 19. The locative PP motion construction in Polish 437
- 20. Path salience in motion descriptions in Jaminjung 459
- Contents of the companion volume: Language, culture, and cognition 481
- Name index 483
- Subject index 487
- Language index 491
