Linguistic inter-understanding gives evidence in favor of the mental models theory: Induction and comprehension

Miguel López-Astorga

doi:10.18012/arf.2016.35229

Abstract

Linguistic inter-understanding is a communicative phenomenon that is well known and that has been studied in detail. It basically consists of the fact that an individual speaking a language is able to understand another person speaking a different language, and this without deeply knowing this last language or being able to express himself/herself in it. The phenomenon, which is especially frequent in the case of very similar languages, occurs because of certain inferential processes that can happen in the human mind when people try to interpret information in a distinct language. In this way, the main aim of this paper is to show how such processes are very akin to some of those that the mental models theory attributes to the human reasoning ability, and that hence linguistic inter-understanding can be considered as evidence that this last theory is, at least partially, correct.

Highlights

Linguistic interunderstanding is a very interesting phenomenon that deserves to be considered from very different points of views
The main aim of this paper is to show how such processes are very akin to some of those that the mental models theory attributes to the human reasoning ability, and that linguistic interunderstanding can be considered as evidence that this last theory is, at least partially, correct
That a SNP carries out inductions such as those described by the mental models theory when he/she tries to interpret a text written in Portuguese can be noted if we pay attention to the fact that, while that person may not understand certain words alone and without context, it does be possible that he/she does that when those very words are part of a general and wider paragraph

Summary

INTRODUCTION

Linguistic interunderstanding is a very interesting phenomenon that deserves to be considered from very different points of views As it is known, it refers to the possibility to understand what another person is saying or has written without the need to deeply know his/her language. In accordance with what has been said, the aim is to clearly make it evident that these last inferences are of one of the types indicated by the mental models theory This implies that it will be supported here that it appears that this theory can even to predict the circumstances in which a word or a sentence in other language can be understood, that is, in which linguistic interunderstanding can happen. Those processes are, those to which the inferences involved in the action of interunderstanding appear to refer

THE MENTAL MODELS THEORY AND ITS ICONIC SCENARIOS

Inductive processes in the understanding of Portuguese from Spanish

CONCLUSIONS