Chapter 11. Interpretation of numerals under memory load by Vietnamese speakers
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Andreas Haida
Abstract
Numerals show an ambiguity between a weak, ‘at least’ meaning and a strong, ‘exactly’ meaning. The Gricean approach takes the weak meaning to be basic and derives the strong meaning as implicature, thus assimilates numerals to other scalar items. The Fregean approach, in contrast, takes the strong meaning of numerals to be basic and derives the weak meaning via type shifting operations. This paper gives a brief summary of these two approaches, followed by a report on a dual-task experiment which is designed to test how Vietnamese speakers interpret numerals under different memory loads. The goal of this experiment is to replicate the results of Marty et al. (2013) which can be interpreted as supporting the Fregean approach. It turns out that this goal could not be achieved, and we give some speculations as to why it was not.
Abstract
Numerals show an ambiguity between a weak, ‘at least’ meaning and a strong, ‘exactly’ meaning. The Gricean approach takes the weak meaning to be basic and derives the strong meaning as implicature, thus assimilates numerals to other scalar items. The Fregean approach, in contrast, takes the strong meaning of numerals to be basic and derives the weak meaning via type shifting operations. This paper gives a brief summary of these two approaches, followed by a report on a dual-task experiment which is designed to test how Vietnamese speakers interpret numerals under different memory loads. The goal of this experiment is to replicate the results of Marty et al. (2013) which can be interpreted as supporting the Fregean approach. It turns out that this goal could not be achieved, and we give some speculations as to why it was not.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Preface vii
- Chapter 1. Introduction 1
-
Section A. Phonetics and phonology
- Chapter 2. Intonation in southern Vietnamese interrogative sentences 9
- Chapter 3. Vietnamese dialects 31
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Section B. Morphology and syntax
- Chapter 4. A more perfect unification 69
- Chapter 5. Illusory islands 81
-
Section C. Semantics
- Chapter 6. Temporal reference in Vietnamese 115
- Chapter 7. Semantics of Vietnamese đã 141
- Chapter 8. (In)definiteness of Vietnamese noun phrases 155
- Chapter 9. Scalar implicatures and the semantics of wh- indefinites in Vietnamese 181
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Section D. Language aquisition and use
- Chapter 10. Vietnamese children’s interpretation of definite noun phrases 215
- Chapter 11. Interpretation of numerals under memory load by Vietnamese speakers 241
- Chapter 12. Gender in Vietnamese 253
- Chapter 13. Effects of grammatical roles and parallelism on referential form production in Vietnamese spoken and written narratives 275
- Index 301
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Preface vii
- Chapter 1. Introduction 1
-
Section A. Phonetics and phonology
- Chapter 2. Intonation in southern Vietnamese interrogative sentences 9
- Chapter 3. Vietnamese dialects 31
-
Section B. Morphology and syntax
- Chapter 4. A more perfect unification 69
- Chapter 5. Illusory islands 81
-
Section C. Semantics
- Chapter 6. Temporal reference in Vietnamese 115
- Chapter 7. Semantics of Vietnamese đã 141
- Chapter 8. (In)definiteness of Vietnamese noun phrases 155
- Chapter 9. Scalar implicatures and the semantics of wh- indefinites in Vietnamese 181
-
Section D. Language aquisition and use
- Chapter 10. Vietnamese children’s interpretation of definite noun phrases 215
- Chapter 11. Interpretation of numerals under memory load by Vietnamese speakers 241
- Chapter 12. Gender in Vietnamese 253
- Chapter 13. Effects of grammatical roles and parallelism on referential form production in Vietnamese spoken and written narratives 275
- Index 301
