Discourse under control in ambiguous sentences
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Vincenzo Moscati
Abstract
Sentences with more than one logic operator may be ambiguous between different interpretations and a recent research question is whether children have access to all the possible readings available to adults. Early studies focused on the interpretation of nominal quantifiers and negation, suggesting that children may have only a subset of the possible meanings of a logically ambiguous sentence. In this paper, we extend the inquiry to the interactions between modals and negation. We report on two experiments. In the first, we tested children’s interpretation of the Italian modal potere followed by clausal negation, a construction which results unambiguous in the adult language and not compatible with a reading expressing impossibility. In a second experiment, we manipulated the context in order to evaluate the effects of the Question Answer Requirement (Husley et al. 2004) on children’s scope assignment.
Abstract
Sentences with more than one logic operator may be ambiguous between different interpretations and a recent research question is whether children have access to all the possible readings available to adults. Early studies focused on the interpretation of nominal quantifiers and negation, suggesting that children may have only a subset of the possible meanings of a logically ambiguous sentence. In this paper, we extend the inquiry to the interactions between modals and negation. We report on two experiments. In the first, we tested children’s interpretation of the Italian modal potere followed by clausal negation, a construction which results unambiguous in the adult language and not compatible with a reading expressing impossibility. In a second experiment, we manipulated the context in order to evaluate the effects of the Question Answer Requirement (Husley et al. 2004) on children’s scope assignment.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Preface vii
- List of contributors ix
- Introduction 1
- The development of conversational competence in children with Specific Language Impairment 19
- The impact of literal meaning on what-is-said 43
- Discourse under control in ambiguous sentences 63
- Pragmatic children 79
- Adult response uniformity distinguishes semantics from pragmatics 101
- Numerals and scalar implicatures 129
- Meaning in the objects 151
- Blocking modal enrichment ( tatsächlich ) 177
- The hepatitis called … 199
- The role of QUD and focus on the scalar implicature of most 221
- Index 239
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Preface vii
- List of contributors ix
- Introduction 1
- The development of conversational competence in children with Specific Language Impairment 19
- The impact of literal meaning on what-is-said 43
- Discourse under control in ambiguous sentences 63
- Pragmatic children 79
- Adult response uniformity distinguishes semantics from pragmatics 101
- Numerals and scalar implicatures 129
- Meaning in the objects 151
- Blocking modal enrichment ( tatsächlich ) 177
- The hepatitis called … 199
- The role of QUD and focus on the scalar implicature of most 221
- Index 239
