Negative Propositions Research Articles

Speaking of what is not: Hatibzâde and Taşköprizâde Kâsım on the existential import of negative propositions

ABSTRACT This paper undertakes an in-depth examination of the intriguing argument for the existential import of negative propositions by the fifteenth-century Ottoman scholar Hatibzâde Mehmed (d. 1496) and the counterarguments by his disciple, Taşköprizâde Kâsım (d. 1513). It argues that this discussion is a significant example of Ottoman scholars engaging in long-standing disputes concerning the nature and ontological ground of negative propositions, which date back to Plato and Aristotle. It is also intended to underline the need for considering not only logic texts but also works primarily associated with other disciplines in order to attain a comprehensive picture of logical discussions in the post-classical period of Islamic thought.

The Structure and Communicative Import of Selected Proverbs in Nzema Language and Culture

Adopting an Ethno-pragmatics framework, the current study aims to describe the sentential structures and communicative imports of selected proverbs in Nzema, a Kwa language of Ghana, West Africa. Using data obtained from primary and secondary sources, this study identifies the structural properties of the proverbs by further highlighting structures which contribute to the pragmatic interpretations of these proverbs. The findings revealed that structural properties such as conditional constructions, causative constructions, focus constructions, and simple, compound, and complex-embedded sentences are prevalent in the syntactic manifestation of Nzema proverbs; which make affirmative and negative propositions. Hence, it was observed that these structural features have a significant contribution to determining the pragmatic import of these proverbs, based on the Nzema social norms, values, beliefs, experiences, and cultural worldview. This research also underscores existing postulations that proverbs are ‘multi-layered’ in terms of their interpretations, and they rely heavily on metaphoric representations and contextual use in any situation. Additionally, it was also noted that the oral construction of proverbs in Nzema is grammatically insightful; and thus, provides a window to the syntactic description of the Nzema language.

극성의문문의 초점

This squib investigates the semantic value, discourse context, syntactic structure and prosody of a polar question with a focus (F-polQ) in Korean, e.g., JONF-i oassni? ‘Did JOHNF come?’, which has not been paid much attention to. First we observe that in generating an alternative set, an F-polQ goes with a focused declarative sentence (F-Decl) on the one hand, and in that its ordinary semantic value is the set of positive and negative propositions, {p, ￢p}, it goes with an ordinary polar question on the other. Based on this, this study shows that i) the alternative set of propositions generated by an F-polQ refers to the presupposed wh-question, just like an F-Decl does, and that ii) whereas the wh-Question that provides a proper context for an occurrence of a F-Decl originates from the hearer part, forming a question-answer dialogue, the wh-Question generated by a F-polQ, indicated by the prosody of L- phrase accent, originates from the speaker part. Additionally, it is suggested that the rising boundary tone H% indicates the source of the wh-question presupposed by the F-polQ is the speaker herself.

동사의 부정 정중형 ‘~ないです’의 기능

This study has examined ‘-naides’ form of Japanese verbs which is frequently used, even though it is non-normative expression. Description through ‘-naides’ form of verbs conveys negative proposition, briefly speaking, it performs the function of conveying fact. Unlike ‘-masen’ form, ‘-naides’ form of verbs cannot express volition, because it performs only the function of conveying fact, and accordingly, it is mainly used for description, rather than expressing volition or invitation. ‘-Naides’ form of verbs, which conveys negative proposition simply as fact, gives feelings of kindness, mildness, and familiarity, when compared to ‘-masen’ form, which is the expression of emphatic negation. This is why ‘-naides’ form of verbs is frequently used in daily life. Though ‘naides’ form of verbs is frequently used in daily life, how to teach it is a matter of contemplation. However, when taken into consideration the fact that, in daily life, there are many Japanese who think that ‘-masen’ form is somewhat stiff, it is believed that there is a need to refer to ‘-naides’ form at least in teaching conversation. It is also necessary to teach the learners who are already using it the fact that the acceptable level of ‘-naides’ form of verbs is low, in case there is a need to use literary style or to be formal, and that ‘-naides’ form of verbs cannot be used when expressing volition or invitation.

INFLUENCE OF DEMOGRAPHIC ATTRIBUTES ON THE PERFORMANCE OF ACADEMIC STAFF: A STUDY OF HIGHER EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS IN A PROVINCE OF INDIA

Purpose:The performance of employee is determined by several factors such as their motivation, commitment, development, satisfaction level in their job, positive work climate and so on. One of the important factors which would determine the performance of an employee is their demographic attributes such as age, gender, education, family status, promotion, length of service, designation, etc. and these factors are inherent in each employee. Demographic attributes are acknowledged to have a deep impact on the performance level of the employee in any organization. Based on this theoretical consideration, this paper is an attempt to investigate the influence of demographic attributes of the academic staff on the level of their performance. Methodology:Demographic attributes are measured by age, gender, educational qualification, experience and promotion and performance by research and development activities of the academic workforce. A stratified random sampling technique was applied for data collection and the study was conducted in Liberal Arts and Science Colleges in Tamil Nadu Province (India). A total of 656 academic workforces were responded from all four regions (East, West, North, and South). The statistical tools of Frequency distribution, Independent T-test and one-way ANOVA with Post hoc test were applied to test the significant variation, if any, between demographic variables and the performance level of the academic workforce. Findings:The results clearly show that demographic attributes of Age, Educational Qualification, Promotion and Length of Teaching Experience have significantly influenced the level of performance of the academic workforce. However, results indicate that gender of the respondent has not significantly influenced their performance level and both male and female academic workforce equally performed well. Implication: The results of this study contribute to theoretical support about the influence of demographic factors of academic staff on the level of their performance. It also supports empirically the proposed hypotheses that contribute to understanding the influence of personal and professional variables of academic staff and their performance. Further, the influence of personal and professional variables on the level of performance confirmed or negated propositions that existed in the review of the literature. Originality/Value: There is a lack of research work in the Indian higher education sector which establish the influence of demographic attributes on the performance level of the academic workforce and this study fills this gap. Understanding the influence of personal and professional attributes of academic staff on the level of their performance would enable the educational administrators to formulate appropriate composition of academic staff and imply in the HR planning and recruitment strategy and also in other HR policies to attract and retain the highly qualified and experienced academic workforce.

Believing processes during the COVID-19 pandemic in individuals with bipolar disorder: An exploratory study.

BACKGROUNDBelieving or “credition” refers to psychological processes that integrate the cognitions and emotions that influence our behavior. In the credition model by Angel and Seitz, four parameters are postulated: proposition, certainty, emotion and mightiness. It is assumed that believing processes are influenced by both the individual as well as socio-cultural factors and external circumstances. External or environmental circumstances can include threatening situations such as the ongoing pandemic. It has been hypothesized that believing processes related to the pandemic differ between individuals with bipolar disorder (BD) and healthy controls (HC).AIMTo investigate credition in individuals with BD during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.METHODSPsychiatrically stable individuals with BD (n = 52) and age- and sex matched HC (n = 52) participated in an online survey during the first lockdown of the COVID-19 pandemic. The survey took place between April 9th and June 4th, 2020, in Austria. Participants completed the Brief Symptom Inventory-18, the Beck Depression Inventory-II, the Altman Self-Rating Mania Scale, the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index and a dedicated Believing Questionnaire assessing four parameters of credition (proposition, certainty, emotion and mightiness). The MAXQDA software was used to analyze the qualitative data. Statistical analyses included analyses of variance, a multivariate analysis of variance and a multivariate analysis of co-variance.RESULTSIndividuals with BD reported significantly more negative propositions [F (1,102) = 8.89, P = 0.004, η2p = 0.08] and negative emotions [Welch´s F (1,82.46) = 18.23, P < 0.001, η2p = 0.18], while HC showed significantly more positive propositions [F (1,102) = 7.78, P = 0.006, η2p = 0.07] and emotions [F (1,102) = 14.31, P < 0.001, η2p = 0.12]. In addition, individuals with BD showed a higher incongruence between their propositions and their emotions [F (1,102) = 9.42, P = 0.003, η2p = 0.08] and showed strong correlations between the parameters of the Believing Questionnaire and their psychiatric symptoms (r = 0.51-0.77, all P < 0.001). Positive as well as negative emotions and propositions were associated with scores measuring symptoms of depression, anxiety and sleep quality.CONCLUSIONBelieving parameters were associated with psychiatric symptoms in BD during the pandemic. Findings broaden knowledge about the susceptibility of believing processes for ambient challenges in individuals with BD.

A semiotic approach to grammaticalization: modelling representational and interpersonal modality expressed by verbonominal patterns

This paper develops a framework capable of analysing modal qualifications coded by both canonical modal markers and grammaticalized expressions within a semiotic grammar approach (McGregor, 1997). We focus on grammatical constructions that developed from complement constructions containing the shell nouns need, way, chance, doubt, question and wonder, often preceded by a negative quantifier. We range the different types of modal qualification in a hierarchy. The top half subsumes mirativity and epistemic modality, which scope over propositions, and interpersonal deontic modality, which scopes over processes. The bottom half contains representational deontic and dynamic modality, which are internal to the proposition. We also address the neglected issue of the presence of polarity choices in the modal qualifications and in the propositions and processes. In particular, we argue that epistemic modality ascribes inherently positive degrees of likelihood to either positive or negative propositions, thus assessing the probability of occurrence versus non-occurrence of temporally located processes. This allows us to explain not only the semantic equivalence involved in NEG-raising, as in I think he did nothing wrong and I don't think he did anything wrong, but also, more broadly, between pairs like there's no chance she will cry and there's no doubt she will not cry. Finally, the proposed semantic model puts us in a position to propose structural analyses of the interpersonal and representational qualifications of propositions and processes within the broad outlines of McGregor's (1997) Semiotic Grammar.

Tourism and Community Perception: Quest of Sustainability from Happiness Paradigm

Change is normally phenotypic and influenced by external environment however transformation is genotypic and irreversible which mostly comes from within. Social change and transformation might also be triggered by external stimulus that may be intentional or accidental. Tourism has emerged globally as one of the powerful external but intentional agents of modern society for socio-economic transformation. Namche Bazar, the gateway to Mt. Everest, experienced tremendous socio-economic transformation (genotypic) due to tourism otherwise it would simply be a seasonal resting place for Sherpa shepherds and nomads. The dichotomy of discourses on tourism lies on perspectives: tourism as a symbol of modern society or postmodernity versus tourism as a vehicle of imperialism. The former view depicts tourism as an agent of economic prosperity whereas the later claims that tourism consumes and despoils destinations’ image and essence. The imperialistic discourse on tourism is entirely built on negative hypothesis. In tourism, phenotypic impact is rather superficial and can be restored if perceived negatively unlike genotypic. Amid these positive and negative propositions, a third paradigm emerged with sustainability variant that hooked up the two juxtaposed hypotheses as an alternative model of mass tourism. It portrayed tourism as a double-edged dagger that insists on efficient and effective manipulation of tourism for positive implications. The ‘sustainable tourism’ – a buzzword among tourism academia - stands in favor of planned, managed, controlled and responsible tourism. However, the crux of sustainable tourism lies in the quantification and measurement of sustainability. A sustainability premise of a stakeholder at the destination might be unsustainable for the other as like of economists and environmentalists for example. The incongruity perspectives have troubled the tourism academia to quantify, measure and analyze the indicators of sustainable tourism from unanimous parameters. This study is, therefore, an attempt to analyze the sustainability of a tourism destination via happiness (hedonic as well as eudaemonic) parameters of the community people, one of the main stakeholders in the destination and yet do not directly thrive on tourism business. The paper is directed by a thematic proposition ‘the more the happiness level of stakeholders, the better will be the sustainability situation of the destination’.

Logischer Holismus und Wittgensteins „praktische Wende“

AbstractLogical Holism and Wittgenstein’s ‘Practical Turn’. – Logical holism is the idea that each elementary proposition belongs to a system and is logically connected to other propositions of that system. In this paper I explore this idea and draw its connections to the nature of negative propositions and the ‘problem of recognition’ on the basis of Wittgenstein’sNachlass.In the first section I argue that in January 1930 the idea leads Wittgenstein to a better understanding of how the negative feature is expressed in propositions, thereby raising the problem of recognition to which he is not yet able to find a proper solution. In the second section I explore how the problem still persists during Wittgenstein’s ‘practical turn’. What he now calls the ‘problem of representation’ forces him to change again his conception of propositions. In the final section I argue that this change is mainly due to the modification of his conception of hypotheses which urges a solution to the problem of representation, though the problem remains unsolved in January 1930.

Что говорят негативные суждения о существовании?

How to read negative existential claims? This question has been intensively dis­cussed in philosophy. The problem of these propositions is that under standard reading they say something contradictory, i.e. that something that somehow ex­ists does not exist. If so, then all such propositions must be false or having no truth value. But intuitively many of them are true. In this article different so­lutions to the problem of negative existential propositions are critically observed: for instance, the solution consisting in the acceptance of double existence, exis­tence of abstract entities along with material objects, events, states etc., or the so­lution of W.V.O. Quine who treats names as predicates. The author aligns with situationism, the position based on the idea of relativity of existence. From this point of view any existence is an existence in some situation – spacio-temporal section of some world. Situationism presupposes that entities denoted by names like “Pegasus” belong to reality (or the world in question) like normal objects with spatio-temporal features.

A cognitive linguistic approach to the analysis of fantasy text characters

This article aims to suggest a procedure of analyzing fantasy text characters focusing on their evaluative component. The said procedure is based on the methodology of cognitive linguistics, namely the basic frames theory. Basic frames are schematic mental structures that form the backbone of our informational system. The frames consist of propositional schemas containing static and dynamic characteristics of a character under scrutiny. The empirical data of the research are represented by descriptions of characters in a series prototypical for fantasy genre – legendarium by J. R.R. Tolkien which includes the novels The Silmarillion, The Hobbit, and The Lord of the Rings. In his books, the writer created not only an alternative universe with its geography and mythology but also versatile characters who belong to different “races” – Elves, Men, Hobbits, Dwarves, Ents, and Orcs. The race affiliation of a protagonist exposes his/her peculiar traits of character, worldview, and way of life making it easier for the writer to describe them. So analyzing the evaluation of characters one should take into consideration both common features shared by all representatives of a race portraying it as a homogeneous entity – eidos (a holistic non-segmented image) and unique individual features of the protagonist – logos (an image where its constituents are singled out). Consequently, the evaluation of a character may be mathematically represented as a summary coefficient equal to the ratio of logical and eidetic coefficients. The former is calculated as the ratio of positive and negative propositions describing the personal qualities of a protagonist, the latter is the ratio of positive and negative propositions describing the race to which the character belongs. The article contains a detailed analysis of the six races of Tolkien’s legendarium and two representatives of each race which enabled to outline their generalized portraits and determine summary evaluations which makes it clear that some characters are “better” and some are “worse” than average representatives of their race.

SOME OCCURENCES OF NEGATION IN TURKISH

Kutupsallık bilgisel nesnel kiplik çerçevesinde tanımlanmaktadır. Bilgisel kiplik ise konuşucunun bir olay-durumunun gerçekleşip gerçekleşmemesinden emin olup olmadığını kodlamayı sağlamaktadır. Dik bu tanımlamalardan hareketle olumsuzluğun anlambilimsel ve edimbilimsel açıdan ele alınması gerektiğini ve daha kapsamlı bir olumsuzluk türü ölçeği oluşturulması gerektiğini ileri sürmektedir. Buna göre tümce, önerme, yüklemleme, yüklem ve kurucu olmak üzere beş çözümleme düzeyi belirlemiştir. Edimzsözel olumsuzluk, edimsel eylemlerin olumsuzlanmasıyla elde edilmektedir. Önermesel kutupsallıkta, konuşucu bağlamda verilen ya da sezdirilen, olumlu ya da olumsuz bir önermeyi onaylamakta ya da reddetmektedir. Her iki durumda da konuşucu önermenin doğruluğu hakkındaki kişisel değerlendirmesini sunar. Yüklemlemenin olumsuzlanması ise,belli bir olay durumunun gerçekleşmemesinin nesnel olarak sunulduğu bir yapı olarak kabul edilmektedir. Bu tür olumsuzluk yalnızca yüklem üzerinde etkilidir ve eğer bu yüklem bir yüklemlemede kullanılırsa önermeyi olumsuz yapamamaktadır. Olumsuz bildirimlere ulaşmanın çok farklı bir yolu da kurucu olumsuzlama ya da sıfır-niceleme yoluyla olumsuzluktur. Bu ayrımlar göz önünde bulundurulduğunda, çalışmanın amacı dillerdeki olumsuzluk olgusunun İşlevsel Dilbilgisi (Dik 1997) çerçevesinde nasıl açıklandığının ortaya konması ve bu bağlamda Türkçedeki kimi olumsuzluk görünümlerinin açığa çıkartılması olarak belirlenmiştir. Bu amaç doğrultusunda öncelikle olumsuzluğun ne olduğu ve hangi düzlemlerde işlediği ele alınacak, ardından Türkçedeki olumsuzluk incelenecektir. Türkçenin olumsuzluğu Dik’in belirttiği 5 düzlemde de kullandığı gözlemlenmiştir. Ancak Türkçede olumsuzluk üzerine yapılan çalışmaların daha çok {-mE} ve {değil} birimleri üzerine odaklanması özellikle yüklem ve kurucu düzeyindeki olumsuzluğun incelenmesini geri plana itmiştir.

Система реєстрації прав Торренса: її «принципи» і переважаючий принцип справедливості (Torrens System: Its 'Principles' and the Overriding Principle of Fairness)

Система реєстрації прав Торренса: її «принципи» і переважаючий принцип справедливості (Torrens System: Its 'Principles' and the Overriding Principle of Fairness)

The Scope of the Focus Particle ʾInnamā in the Qurʾān

According to traditional Arabic grammar, the particle ʾinnamā has two functions: it serves as an emphatic particle (ḥarfu taʾkīd) or as a particle of restriction (ḥarfu ḥaṣr) denoting “only.” Our research focuses on the restrictive function of ʾinnamā, particularly its scope. Scholars typically explain that ʾinnamā is restricted to clause-initial position, while it always effects the last component in that clause. Our examination raised several findings regarding this particle: First, sentences introduced by ʾinnamā are often categorical statements discussing what it takes to be a believer, an unbeliever; of being God, the Devil or the Prophet. It is therefore comparatively easy to interpret and paraphrase them as conditionals or “if... then” statements. Also, these universal affirmative or negative propositions lend themselves as premises for further deductions that might be drawn from them. Second, the scope of ʾinnamā is versatile ‒ it can be a noun phrase, a prepositional phrase or a verbal phrase followed by its direct object, a relative clause or a complete sentence. These distinctions are not always clear-cut; in some cases there is a choice between two possible domains or scopes, depending on the structure of the ʾinnamā clause. In most cases, however, the verses allow one interpretation only, which is reducible to a genuine symbolic form of modern logic notation.

Conceiving existence: on Hume’s argument against the distinctness of the idea of existence

ABSTRACTThere are two questions concerning Hume’s doctrine of existence which have not yet found any persuasive answer: (a) What is his argument in favour of the thesis that there is no distinct idea of existence? (b) What are the semantic and metaphysical consequences of this thesis within his philosophical framework? This paper mainly aims to answer question (a). In order to do that, I will first explain why some reconstructions suggested by interpreters such as Cummins and Bricke are problematic. One of them relies on exegetically dubious presumptions; the other departs too much from Hume’s text. Then, I will offer my own reconstruction that makes maximal use of some principles which are very familiar to Hume’s readers, including the principle stating the similarity between perceptions and their images. After that, I will discuss a potential objection to my reconstruction and make a brief remark on question (b), arguing that, as opposed to numerous interpreters’ concerns, Hume’s thesis that there is no distinct idea of existence does not by itself prevent him from being able to conceive negative existential propositions.

Is the C&amp;lt;SUP&amp;gt;*&amp;lt;/SUP&amp;gt;-Algebraic Approach to Quantum Mechanics an Alternative Formulation to the Dominant One?

Since 1947 a foundation of Quantum Mechanics (QM) on functional analysis was suggested by Segal. By defining the C*-algebra of the observables, then the Gelfand-Naimark-Segal theorem faithfully represents this algebra into Hilbert space. In the 70’s Emch has reiterated this formulation and improved it. Recently Strocchi improved it even more. First, he suggested an axiomatization of the paradigmatic Dirac-von Neumann’s formulation of QM to which he addresses two basic criticisms, i.e. a weak linkage with the experimental basis of theoretical physics and the obscurity about the separation mark between classical mechanics and QM. Afterwards, through an analysis of the experimental basis of a physical theory he suggests an explanation of Segal’s restriction of the operators to be bounded. Eventually, he represents this algebra into Hilbert space and at last, by means of Weyl algebra he obtains the symmetries of the dynamics of a particle theory. In fact, several characteristic features of this formulation correspond to those determined by the two choices which are the alternative ones to the choices of the dominant formulation. It is a problem-based theory, since it starts rather from than axioms a problem (i.e. the indeterminacy); then, it argues through both doubly negated propositions and an ad absurdum proof. Moreover, its theoretical development is similar to that of an alternative classical theory since it put, before the geometry, the algebra; the bounded operators are represented by a polynomial algebra; which pertains to constructive mathematics. Eventually, he obtains the symmetries of the theory. The problems to be overcome in order to accurately re-construct his formulation according to the two alternative choices which are listed. It is concluded that rather an alternative role, it plays a complementary role to the paradigmatic formulation.

The syntax of yes and no by Anders Holmberg

Reviewed by: The syntax of yes and no by Anders Holmberg Satu Manninen The syntax of yes and no. By Anders Holmberg. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2016. Pp. 250. ISBN 9780198701859. $99 (Hb). This monograph is a crosslinguistic investigation of the syntax of yes/no questions and their answers. The idea is that answers to these questions, even when they consist of a single word, are derived by ellipsis from a full sentential expression. Because the elided constituent is identical to the constituent in the preceding question, the syntax of answers turns out to be very much the same as the syntax of questions. The discussions and proposals are based on data from 136 languages, out of which a handful (English, Swedish, Finnish, Chinese, Thai, and Welsh) are selected for closer analysis. The languages have been examined in relation to two parameters of variation, namely, if answer particles (as in 1a) or echoed verbs (1b) are used, and how negative questions (2) are answered. (1) (2) The idea that verb-echo answers are derived from sentential expressions by movement and ellipsis is uncontroversial and receives support from the fact that in many languages the verb is inflected for tense and agreement. A movement-and-ellipsis analysis is also available for other questions, including alternative (Do they want tea or coffee?) and wh-questions (What do they want?). The fact that single-word answers to these questions are case-marked indicates that they are part of sentential structure. Verb-echo answers to yes/no questions may then look like 3, while single-word answers to alternative and wh-questions look like 4. (3) (4) The idea that even particle answers are derived by ellipsis from a sentential expression may seem less straightforward, and it contradicts the idea put forward by, for example, Krifka (2013) that answer particles are clause substitutes. Holmberg aims to show that the ellipsis analysis has wider coverage and more explanatory power, since it is able to capture both verb-echo and particle answers to yes/no questions, as well as answers to other types of questions. Based on Hamblin 1958, 1973, H hypothesizes that knowing the meaning of a question means knowing the set of alternative statements that can constitute its answers. In neutral yes/no questions, the set of alternative statements is restricted to p and ￢p, a positive proposition and its negation, and in negative questions to ￢p and ￢(￢p), a negative proposition and its negation. To capture the idea that a question puts a set of alternative propositions before the addressee and asks them to choose the [End Page 240] one that is the true alternative, H proposes that a question contains an open question variable in the IP. The variable moves, overtly or covertly, to the C-domain in order to take sentential scope. In direct questions, the CP is embedded under Q[uestion]-force, which contributes an invitation to the addressee to assign a value to the variable. The addressee does this by answering the question: the answer contains something that makes value assignment possible. In yes/no questions, H argues, the relevant property is polarity: answer particles like yes and no are viewed as sentential operators that can apply to a question with an open polarity variable [±Pol] and assign a value, [+Pol] or [−Pol], to it. What answers are possible in negative questions is shown to follow from the idea that a yes/no question contains a polarity variable [±Pol] and that the answer to the question assigns a value, [+Pol] or [−Pol], to the variable. The division of languages into those that follow the truth-based as opposed to the polarity-based answer system (i.e. languages where the truth of a negative alternative is confirmed by uttering Yes, and languages where it is confirmed by uttering No) is argued to be a consequence of differences in syntactic structure and, specifically, differences in the syntax of negation: truth-based answers are utilized in languages and constructions that have low negation, polarity-based answers in languages and constructions lacking low negation. Polarity and negation are viewed as two distinct properties, and the ‘wrong’ type of answer to a negative...

Is Mandarin Chinese a Truth-Based Language? Rejecting Responses to Negative Assertions and Questions.

This paper addresses the central question of whether Mandarin Chinese (MC) is a canonical truth-based language, a language that is expected to express the speaker's disagreement to a negative proposition by means of a negative particle followed by a positive sentence. Eight native speakers of MC participated in an oral Discourse Completion Task that elicited rejecting responses to negative assertions/questions and broad focus statements (control condition). Results show that MC speakers convey reject by relying on a combination of lexico-syntactic strategies (e.g., negative particles such as bù, méi(yǒu), and positive sentences) together with prosodic (e.g., mean pitch) and gestural strategies (mainly, the use of head nods). Importantly, the use of a negative particle, which was the expected outcome in truth-based languages, only appeared in 52% of the rejecting answers. This system puts into question the macroparametric division between truth-based and polarity-based languages and calls for a more general view of the instantiation of a reject speech act that integrates lexical and syntactic strategies with prosodic and gestural strategies.

存在否定命題の問題について

存在否定命題の問題について

Empowering Women: A Multi-perspective Discourse Analysis of Women’s Dignity and Equality in Qur’an

According to Qur’an, God’s divine merit-demerit system never allows for any biased treatment towards men or women. Dignity instead is what God has granted on all children of Adam. The present article, hence, sought to trace back women’s dignity and equality to the discourse of Qur’an working on a sample of 11 Surahs. The discourse analysis was based on combinatory perspectives of text linguistics, pragmatics, and rhetoric. The results revealed that the most salient marked discoursal devices of women’s equality and dignity were the techniques such as parallelism, anaphoric repetitions, juxtaposition of the believers’ attributes, emphatic negative propositions. In addition, the sometimes situated hierarchical pattern of relationship between men and women were not indicative of any unfair evaluation of either gender. Instead, the yardstick was the amount of the believers’ efforts in the way of God’s “forgiveness and reward”.