Numerical Quantifiers Research Articles

Prosodic Phrasing and Multiple Spell-Out by Phase: Evidence from Floating Numeral Quantifier Constructions in Korean and Japanese

Prosodic Phrasing and Multiple Spell-Out by Phase: Evidence from Floating Numeral Quantifier Constructions in Korean and Japanese

Predication and edge effects

This paper investigates the properties of syntactic edges, with special attention being paid to two central issues in cyclic syntax: the domain and the nature of cyclicity. This paper argues for the premise that predication domains form a Spell-out domain, and that Spell-out results in order preservation of the predication domain. It is shown that elements externally merged at the edge of a predication domain observe a special ordering restriction, the Edge Generalization. The ordering restriction is explained by the interaction of two premises of cyclic syntax, coupled with a theory of probe-goal Search. Empirical evidence for the proposal comes from various sub-extraction phenomena out of edges of predication domains in Korean and Japanese. In particular, the interactions between floating numeral quantifier constructions and (primary and secondary) predication constructions are closely examined. The current proposal poses some interesting challenges to the proposition-based-phase system: it argues against the claim that only strong phases undergo Spell-out, and that edges are spelled out separately from the complement. The proposal also has some implications for the structure and typology of resultative and depictive predicates, and for the finer-grained structure of VP including aspectual adverbs and small clause complements.

Semantic and Pragmatic Factors Influencing Deaf and Hearing Students' Comprehension of English Sentences Containing Numeral Quantifiers

This research contrasted deaf and hearing students' interpretive knowledge of English sentences containing numeral quantifier phrases and indefinite noun phrases. A multiple-interpretation picture task methodology was used to assess 305 participants' judgments of the compatibility of sentence meanings with depicted discourse contexts. Participants' performance was assessed on the basis of hearing level (deaf, hearing) and grade level (middle school, high school, college). The deaf students were predicted to have differential access to specific sentence interpretations in accordance with the relative derivational complexity of the targeted sentence types. Hypotheses based on the pressures of derivational economy on acquisition were largely supported. The results also revealed that the deaf participants tended to overactivate pragmatic processes that yielded principled, though non-target, sentence interpretations. Collectively, the results not only contribute to the understanding of English acquisition under conditions of restricted access to spoken language input, they also suggest that pragmatic factors may play a broad role in influencing, and compromising, deaf students' reading comprehension and written expression.

Le changement de construction des numéraux supérieurs à « cinq » en vieux slave [The New Syntax of Numerals Higher Than ‘5’ in Old Church Slavonic (OCS)

The New Syntax of Numerals Higher Than ‘ 5’ in Old Church Slavonic (OCS) In the new syntactic pattern of numerals higher than ‘ 5’, the quantified noun agrees with the numeral, instead of being a complement in the Genitive plural. The new pattern is limited to oblique cases, and the majority of instances in OCS are found in prepositional phrases. This leads to the following hypothesis : in prepositional phrases with prepositions governing the Genitive case, the quantified noun in the Genitive, governed by the numeral, was reanalyzed as governed by the preposition, and promoted to the status of head of the numeral phrase, the numeral becoming a modifier, as is the case for smaller numerals from ‘ 1’ to ‘ 4’. The extension to non prepositional oblique cases seems to be secondary. The immediate model, however, are not the smaller numerals, but the quantifiers of indefinite quantity such as koliko, which are characterized by a structural opposition between [ Quant. NGen.] in the direct cases, the quantifier being the head, and [ Quant. x Nx] in the oblique cases, where the quantified noun is the head and the quantifier an agreeing modifier. This structural opposition is old, and probably inherited for this type of non numeral quantifiers, it is found also in Latin (Nom. Acc. quantum argenti, but Abl. quanto argento, with determiner quantus agreeing with the head argento : the quantified noun argenti, which is a modifier in the direct cases, is promoted to the status of head of the noun phrase in the oblique cases). The coexistence of two syntactic patterns for the quantifiers of indefinite quantity, in Slavic or in Latin, is justified from the semantic point of view, it is used to differenciate the function of evaluation (‘ how big ?’) and the function of quantification (‘ how many / how much ?’) of the same morphemes quantus/ quantum, kolikъ/ koliko. The numerals higher than ‘ 5’ borrowed this model through reanalysis in prepositional phrases : for numerals this syntactic duality is not meaningful, it merely reproduces that of the model. It is not necessary to assume with Žolobov 2006 that complex numerals such as ‘ 20’, ‘ 30’ played a role in the extension of the new syntactic pattern.

Heat-related Mortality and Heat Watch-warning Systems in the United States: Recent Developments

O-29A1-1 Background/Aims: Heat watch-warning systems have increased in coverage, and in some US locales, have now been operational for over 15 years. Heat-related mortality has decreased over the last few decades, partially as a result of increased awareness, but it is still statistically significant in many locations. We present recent research results on several projects that assess these changes as well as projected future changes, and the spatiotemporal variability in heat-related mortality across the United States. Methods: Trends are assessed using both the synoptic climatological methodology, utilized in the authors' heat watch-warning systems, and the Heat Stress Index, a numerical quantifier of the severity of heat relative to location. Estimates of heat-related mortality are developed for 40 large US cities, using climate models for 3 decades over the next hundred years and various emissions scenarios. Results: Over the past 30 years, the heat-mortality relationship has tended to converge across the United States, with areas in the warmer climates experiencing generally slight increases in mortality response, and areas in colder locations, which were historically more sensitive, experiencing more significant decreases. On a seasonal level, there is an asymmetry in heat-related mortality, with most cities exhibiting the largest increases before the summer solstice; in some cases in the southern United States, the hottest days in late summer exhibit a mortality decrease. Heat-mortality relationships are much more consistent across larger cities than smaller cities. Conclusion: The impacts of an anticipated climate change will vary among urban areas. The results show an increase in excessive heat event days and increased heat-attributable mortality across the cities with the most pronounced increase in the Southeast and Northeast. An evaluation to determine how various intervention activities would ameliorate this rise shows that public health responses and a nationalization of heat warning systems can dramatically lessen the increase posed by a climate change.

A Study on the Syntax and Semantics of Noun Phrases with Numeral Classifiers in Korean

This paper examines the syntax and semantics of noun phrases with numeral quantifiers in Korean. Pointing out the syntactic properties of these noun phrases, I propose their syntactic structure and provide some syntactic motivation for the proposed structure. Also I examine the semantic properties of these noun phrases while pointing out their semantic ambiguities, i.e. cardinal vs. partitive reading of the numeral quantifier. Raising some problems of Y-S Jung (1997)`s analysis, I propose the analysis on the basis of Diesing (1992). Depending on the position of the noun phrases at the LF, they can have different interpretations. Noun phrases and CIPs adjoined to the MP (mood phrase) are mapped to the restrictive clause (R)and the operator (Q), respectively, in the tripartite logical representation. Consequently this gives rise to the presupposition of the existence of the entity denoted by the noun and the partitive reading of the numeral classifier. On the other hand, if the noun phrase with the CIP remains VP internally at the LF, the numeral classifier functions as a cardinality predicate, along with no presupposition of the entity denoted by the noun.

Island Repair by Pseudo-Resumption

This paper deals with island effects from Korean that can be neutralized by the presence of overt resumptive pronouns as well as NQs (numeral quantifiers) and BPs (body-parts) within islands. I show that this phenomenon can receive a reasonable explanation from a re-exploration of island phenomena pursued in Hornstein, Lasnik and Uriagereka (2003). I confirm their Ross-type LCA-based approach: island effects do not result from movement, and movement from islands is permitted just in case a phonetically null trace does not result. Thus, resumptive pronouns are regarded as residues of movement just as traces are. I newly suggest that elements like NQs and BPs in Korean behave as a kind of resumptives, called pseudo-resumptives, in that they can compensate the phonetic gaps inside islands resulting from movement of their hosts. This also leads to a claim that an NQ or a BP forms a constituent with its host in Korean.

Teaching and Learning Guide for: Pragmatics: From Theory to Experiment and Back Again

Teaching and Learning Guide for: Pragmatics: From Theory to Experiment and Back Again

The Semantic Properties of Numeral Quantifier Constructions in English and Korean and Their Translational Equivalents

The Semantic Properties of Numeral Quantifier Constructions in English and Korean and Their Translational Equivalents

Dynamic properties of selected repolarization descriptors

A number of morphological indices have been proposed to characterize electrocardiographic patterns of ventricular repolarization mostly studying spatial and temporal patterns of T waves. Comparisons between different clinical populations exist but data on the suitability of the T-wave descriptors to characterize and quantify physiologic regulations of ventricular repolarization are lacking. To initiate such investigations, a study was conducted comparing the influence of provoked heart rate changes on the duration of QT interval, the roundness of T wave loop expressed by the relative T wave area, and on the 3-dimensional QRS-T angle. A population of 40 healthy subjects (18 women, mean age 30.4 ± 8.1 years) was studied. In each subject, provocative tests involving changes from strict supine to unsupported sitting and to unsupported standing positions were repeated twice during each of 3 separate monitoring days. Continuous 12-lead electrocardiograms were obtained during the provocative tests. The speed of the adaptation of the repolarization descriptors to heart rate changes was characterized by λ parameters of previously published exponential decay model of R-R interval related hysteresis. The comparisons showed that the adaptation of QT interval to heart rate changes was much slower than that of the investigated T-wave morphological descriptors: the mean (SD) values of λ parameters were 5.01 ± 1.13, 12.72 ± 8.66, and 12.90 ± 11.37 for QT interval, QRS-T angle, and relative T-wave area, respectively ( P < .001 for the difference between QT interval and both morphological descriptors). The study suggests that the different numerical quantifiers of vertricular repolarization that may be derived from standard electrocardiographic tracings likely represent separate and distinct physiologic entities.

Indeterminate Numeral Quantifiers, 'Some' and 'Many' Readings, and Questions in Japanese

The Japanese indeterminate numeral quantifier (wh-Cl) can directly combine with a quantificational particle kα or mo, forming, e.g., nan-nin-kα ‘what-Cl person -kα’ or nan-nin-mo ‘what-Cl person -mo’. This paper focuses on the empirical evidence that the former gives rise to a ‘some’ reading while the latter a ‘many’reading, and discusses, from semantic and pragmatic perspectives, how these readings are formally derived. Semantically, we assume, in accord with Hamblin (1973), that the indeterminate numeral quantifier (NQ) is a set of alternatives. Following Jayaseelan (2001), ka is treated as a disjunction operator that takes a set of alternatives and produces a disjunction of it. Adopting Shimoyama’s (2006) direct restrictor view of indeterminate phrase quantification, we derive the ‘some’ reading of the indeterminate NQ-kα. In contrast, the ‘many’ reading of an indeterminate NQ-mo is attributed to the pragmatics of mo, which triggers a presupposition like English even (Karttunen and Peters 1979).

Movement With or Without vP-Internal Scrambling

This squib conducts a scrutiny examination on recent work of scrambling in constructions with Numeral Quantifiers. Giving special concerns to Miyagawa (1989, 2007) and Ko (2007), this squib observes that syntax must allow two ways of moving an object out of VP on its way to a higher domain. This postulation not only compensates some odd accounts in the aforementioned work but also accommodates a number of counter-examples arising from the work. At the same time, it also sheds a new light on other aspects of syntax, particularly pertaining to the presence or absence of intermediate traces (Chomsky and Lasnik (1993)) and to a nature of semantic mapping on syntax (Diesing (1992, 1996), Kiss (1995) and Chomsky (2001), to name a few).

Issues in the study of floating universal numeric quantifiers

In the Germanic and Romance languages (among others) a universal quantifier can combine with a numeral and form a floating quantifier. I refer to these quantifiers as universal numeric quantifiers or simply ∀NumQ. The following examples from Dutch and Romanian demonstrate this phenomenon:Dutcha. Alle drie de studenten hebben het boek gelezen.all three the students have the book readb. De studenten hebben alle drie het boek gelezen.the students have all three the book readRomaniana. Toţi trei studenţi-i au citit carte-a.all three students the have read book theb. Studenţi-i au citit toţi trei carte-a.students the have read all three book theThe aim of this article is to show three things: that a ∀NumQ occupies the same position as a bare universal quantifier, namely, the head position of a Quantifier Phrase; that a ∀NumQ must be base-generated in Q° in its entirety and cannot be derived by moving a numeral from a position inside DP up to Q°; that the derivation or rather creation of a ∀NumQ can easily be understood if one combines aspects of the theory of word formation in Di Sciullo and Williams (On the definition of word, MIT Press, 1987) with the theory of the morphology of numerals in Booij (The construction of Dutch numerals, University of Leiden, 2008).

On the nominal-internal distributive interpretation in Japanese

This paper examines one type of distributive interpretation in Japanese available only in sentences containing a numeral quantifier (NQ) with the distributive affix zutsu in a pre-nominal position. I propose that what appears to be the simple complex of an NQ with the distributive affix actually turns out to be a relative clause, which must appear within the NP. I further show that simple NQs can also be located inside the NP. The fundamental premise of my proposal is the predicative nature of NQs in Japanese (Miyagawa in structure and case marking in Japanese, 1989; Ueda in Oriental linguistics, 1986). The property of NQs in point allows us to account for the availability of the interpretation in question in Japanese.

Magnitude and parity as complementary attributes of quantifier statements

Magnitude and parity as complementary attributes of quantifier statements

Improving methodology of quantifier comprehension experiments

Recently, research devoted to computational modeling of uantifier comprehension has been extensively published in this ournal.McMillan, Clark,Moore,Devita, andGrossman (2005)using euroimaging methods examined the pattern of neuroanatomical ecruitment while subjects were judging the truth-value of stateents containing natural language quantifiers. The authors were onsidering two standard types of quantifiers: first-order (e.g., all”, “some”, “at least 3”) and higher-order quantifiers (e.g., “more han half”, “an even number of”). They presented the data showing hat all quantifiers recruit the right inferior parietal cortex, which s associated with numerosity, but only higher-order quantifiers ecruit the prefrontal cortex, which is associated with executive esources, like working memory. In the latest paper Troiani, Peelle, lark, and Grossman (2009) assessed quantifier comprehension in atients with corticobasal degeneration (CBD) and healthy subects. They compared numerical quantifiers, like “at least 3”, which equire magnitude processing, and logical quantifiers, like “some”, hich can be understood using a simple form of perceptual logic. heir findings are consistent with the claim that numerical quantier comprehension depends on a lateral parietal–dorsolateral refrontal network, but logical quantifier comprehension epends instead on a rostromedial prefrontal–posterior cingulate etwork. According to the authors of the mentioned studies, their results erify a particular computational model of natural language quanifier comprehension posited by linguists and logicians (see e.g., an Benthem, 1986). One of the authors of the present coment has challenged this statement by invoking differences – issed in (McMillan et al., 2005) – between logical (expressibil-

Jako Jan jechał samotrzeć przez las półczwarta dnia - czyli o dawnych sposobach wyrażania relacji ilościowych

A comparison of old and present indexes for quantitative assessment shows very significant lexical and formal differences. A quantification manner, inherited from the Proto-Slavic language, was unstable and multidimensional, which was apparent in Old Polish texts, whose old complex structures already had a synthesized form, but nevertheless, their inflections still revealed a primary structure. Lack of formal stabilization, which was still noticeable in the Middle Polish period, made numerals and numerical structures directly reflect mathematical operations they had been founded upon. Complex numerical structures often expressed arithmetical operations explicite: 1) addition, e.g. thirty and five, two and twenty, 2) subtraction, e.g. a hundred without one, 3) multiplication, e.g. three-fold one hundred thousand. An essential feature of such structures was stimulation of utterance recipient’s mental activity. One-word numerals in a form of composites, which were constructed on a basis of a mechanism of subtraction, i.e. collective numerals like samotrzeć ‘one in a group of three’, and partitive like półczwarta ‘four minus half, enforced similar behavior. Disappearance of the above mentioned structures and lexemes occurred in New Polish period in result of numerous linguistic tendencies, among which the most vital trend in the history of a language was communication improvement and reduction of mental activity to a necessary minimum, as well as in effect of a tendency to simplify a system. Only the items that directly determine a sequence of numbers in an arithmetic system have remained in the Polish language from a formally and formatively varied class of lexemes naming numbers, i.e. cardinal numbers have specialized as numerical quantifiers supported only residually by collective numbers with greatly restricted context.

Presuppositional Compositionality with Japanese "mo"

No abstract.

Directionality in numeral quantifiers: the case of "up to"

No abstract.

Is it logical to count on quantifiers? Dissociable neural networks underlying numerical and logical quantifiers

The present study examined the neural substrate of two classes of quantifiers: numerical quantifiers like “at least three” which require magnitude processing, and logical quantifiers like “some” which can be understood using a simple form of perceptual logic. We assessed these distinct classes of quantifiers with converging observations from two sources: functional imaging data from healthy adults, and behavioral and structural data from patients with corticobasal degeneration who have acalculia. Our findings are consistent with the claim that numerical quantifier comprehension depends on a lateral parietal-dorsolateral prefrontal network, but logical quantifier comprehension depends instead on a rostral medial prefrontal-posterior cingulate network. These observations emphasize the important contribution of abstract number knowledge to the meaning of numerical quantifiers in semantic memory and the potential role of a logic-based evaluation in the service of non-numerical quantifiers.