Semantics-pragmatics Interface Research Articles

Irish autonomous verbs in a semantic-pragmatic interface: Some reflections on information structure-driven valency reduction

Autonomous verbs in Irish are special verb forms incompatible with the surface realization of a subject. Previous studies have suggested to postulate empty categories such as pro, PRO or expletive pro to fill the subject position (cf. Stenson 1989; McCloskey 2007; Bondaruk/ Charzyńska-Wóicjk 2003), thus rejecting the idea that these verbs might be classified as completely subjectless. A series of syntactic tests bear out the hypothesis that, at least for Irish, these verbs behave as actually lacking a subject. I first suggest correlating this state of affairs to the fact that, with autonomous verbs, no argument role to be promoted to subject position is selected at the valency level, although it is “implied” in the unfolding of the event. Secondly, I argue that both valency reduction and syntactic non-realization of an argument role is driven by information structural constraints; notably, the focal nature of autonomous verbs (as advocated elsewhere, cf. Nolan 2012) causes the subject (together with the argument role it is associated with) to be informationally downgraded, thereby leading to its suppression in the sentence. The position held in this paper is that autonomous verbs of the Irish type epitomize an interesting phenomenon of semantic-pragmatic interface, with the pragmatic level of the utterance “mediating” between the semantic and the syntactic level; in such a perspective, the pragmatic (information structural) level of an utterance would determine either the number and type of argument roles a verb can take in a particular discourse context (cf. DuBois 1987; Goldberg 2006) and their syntactic encoding.

Non-doxastic Attitude Reports, Information Structure, and Semantic-Pragmatic Interface

AbstractTruth conditions of sentences ascribing non-doxastic propositional attitudes seem to depend on the information structure of the embedded clause. In this paper, we argue that this kind of sensitivity is a semantic phenomenon rather than a pragmatic one. We report four questionnaire studies which explore the impact of the information structure on the truth conditions of non-doxastic attitude ascriptions from different perspectives. The results of the first two studies show that the acceptability of those ascriptions can be affected by some structural modifications of the embedded clause, in particular, when we replace a simple form by an equivalent complex conjunctional form (‘p and q’). However, it is possible that different evaluations of such ascriptions have a pragmatic source, namely, the ascriptions with embedded conjunction imply that the agent’s attitude transfers to both conjuncts. In the second pair of studies, we further investigate the nature of this implication which can be classified as ‘Conjunction Elimination’ (CE) in the scope of an attitude verb. The results show that CE-inferences in the context of non-factive non-doxastic attitude ascriptions are not easily cancellable and hence of a semantic rather than pragmatic nature. The results are not conclusive when it comes to the factive non-doxastic attitudes. We conclude our findings by some considerations about a potential source of the observed difference between non-factive and factive attitude verbs and the significance of our general findings to the semantic theory of non-doxastic attitude ascriptions.

Slurs in Ordinary Language: Their Properties and Developments

Slurs are derogatory and offensive linguistic expressions that pose difficulties in the study of names in philosophy of language. Their dual nature as descriptive and expressive has piqued the interest of philosophers working in this field. Philosophers of language, primarily centered on Williamson, have debated the properties, origins, interpretation of slurs, and their implications on philosophical topics such as non-truth-conditional meaning, the semantics-pragmatics interface, and the interplay between descriptiveness and expressiveness. This paper first defines slurs and describes their associated properties before delving into their sources, mechanisms, and functions, with the goal of elucidating current slur developments and providing references for future research on slur phenomena in Eastern Asia.

Temporal constraints on (non-)epistemic readings: Further evidence from Korean

This paper investigates how modal readings are affected by temporal interpretation in natural language sentences, by taking a close look at the Korean swu- construction which can receive multiple modal readings. Previous work on the swu- construction has attributed its modal readings to syntactic structures (e.g. Ha 2007; Chung 2007; Kim 2010) or lexical ambiguity (e.g. Mun 2016; Lee 2017). I discuss empirical and theoretical problems with these approaches, and provide a non-ambiguity analysis, following Kratzer’s (1981, 1991) view that distinct modal readings are contextually determined. I argue that the modal readings are determined by modal-temporal interactions at the semantics-pragmatics interface. Utilizing Condoravdi’s (2002) notions of Temporal Perspective (TP) and Temporal Orientation (TO), I provide a novel empirical finding that the non-epistemic readings are available only with future TOs while the epistemic modal reading is not temporally constrained in the swu- construction. I develop a compositional analysis of the temporal interpretation, and account for the (un)availability of (non-)epistemic readings in terms of the temporal constraints on the modal bases, along the same line as Condoravdi (2002) and Rullmann & Matthewson (2018). The analysis proposed in this paper is shown to be empirically and theoretically superior to the previous analyses of the swu- construction, and provides further crosslinguistic support for the theory of modal-temporal interactions proposed by Rullmann & Matthewson (2018).

“Won’t you?” reverse-polarity question tags in American English as a window into the semantics-pragmatics interface

We model the conventional meaning of utterances that combine two distinct clause types: a (positive) declarative or imperative (in rare cases, interrogative) anchor and a (negative) interrogative tag, such as won’t you?. We argue that such utterances express a single speech act, and in fact, a single conventional update of the conversational scoreboard. The proposed model of this effect is a straightforward extension of prior proposals for the semantics of declaratives, imperatives, and preposed-negation interrogatives. Ours is the first unified account of these phenomena that addresses the sentential force of these utterances and outlines how the speech act effects arise from the scoreboard update and contextual factors. We enrich the conversational scoreboard, interpreted as a model of sentential force, to include graded commitments and non-at-issue meanings. A consequence of our model is that modified utterances can create “blended” speech acts which share some, but not all, properties with the unmodified utterances. The proposal has implications for models of other utterance modifiers, as well as for negative interrogatives and negation in general, and for imperative/jussive constructions.

Optionality in semantic-pragmatic interface of bilingualism? Bare numeral constructions in Tibetan and Chinese bilinguals’ grammar

Bare numeral constructions (BNCs) can be anaphoric in Chinese but not Tibetan. Since the interpretation of BNCs requires a specific context, we consider it to involve a semantic-pragmatic interface, which has been argued to be vulnerable to crosslinguistic transfer for bilinguals (e.g., Sorace 2005, 2011). This study conducted a controlled sentence-picture matching truth value judgment task to examine whether Tibetan-Chinese bilinguals show crosslinguistic influence when interpreting BNCs in both languages. The data suggests that crosslinguistic effects did occur among some bilinguals. However, there were more bilinguals who successfully differentiated the two languages regarding the interpretation of BNCs. Our findings imply that early bilinguals may not necessarily show optionality in interface phenomena.

Quotation as an interface phenomenon

Abstract In this introduction, we outline the notion of quotation and shed light on the question of how quotations and the different readings quotations adopt can be theoretically implemented with a particular focus on the semantic-pragmatic interface. We then present the individual contributions to this special issue and how they contribute new observations from various theoretical angles to the general issues revolving around the topic of quotation as an interface phenomenon.

Searching for the unit of meaning: Knowledge construction in university small group talk

AbstractPrevious research has extensively addressed the relationship between collaborative knowledge construction and communicative language use. For interactive academic talk, a broad range of socio-cultural factors has been investigated to examine group dynamics for the construction of disciplinary or linguistic knowledge. What has been overlooked, however, is a focus on the basic unit of meaning for a cognitive interpretation of knowledge structures. This study is aimed to bridge the research gap by examining the semantic–pragmatic interface involved in collaborative knowledge construction in a Higher Educational setting. Using a specialized corpus of university small group talk, this study conducts an empirical linguistic inquiry into the participants’ discursive practice of drawing particular lexical concepts to invoke and manipulate knowledge structures for meaning negotiation. The research findings contribute to understanding the relationship between linguistically represented knowledge and the way language users conceptualize the academic world.

On the semantic-pragmatic interface of Igbo verbs of perception

This study examines some semantic-cum-pragmatic issues in realising the senses of the Igbo verbs of perception. The specific objective of the study is to find out how the gap between linguistic meaning and speaker’s meaning is filled and enriched through the context; and how the contextual features underpin what an utterance communicates using some Igbo verbs of perception. The verbs involved are hụ́(see), lé(look at), nụ́(hear), gè(listen), mètụ́(touch), nụ́(ụ̄tọ̄) (taste) and nụ́(ísì) (smell). By adopting a combination of the Cognitive Semantics approach and Neo-Griceanism, a corpus-based analysis of the Igbo verbs of perception was carried out in different contexts of usage. An audio text was transcribed, and the Antconc concordance software was used on the transcribed text for this purpose. The study’s findings indicate that the senses of Igbo verbs of perception depend significantly on some pragmatic features of the verbs’ contexts of usage. This is because the pragmatic features determine the verbs’ referents, which are established only in specific contexts. However, without the establishment of these contexts, the utterance would not make sense.

Epistemic reasoning in pragmatic inferencing by non-native speakers: The case of scalar implicatures

Scalar implicatures involve inferring the use of a less informative term (e.g. some) to mean the negation of a more informative term (e.g. not all). A growing body of recent research on the derivation of scalar implicatures by adult second language (L2) learners shows that while they are successful in acquiring the knowledge of scalar implicatures, a property at the semantics–pragmatics interface, it remains controversial as to which mechanism, default or non-default, could account for L2 learners’ derivation of scalar implicatures. The present study used an online self-paced reading task to address this issue by examining the role of the speaker’s knowledge state in the interpretation of the existential quantifier some by Chinese-speaking learners of English in incremental sentence processing. Results showed that both L2 and native participants demonstrated comparable online sensitivity to the speaker’s knowledge state. Critically, when the scalar implicature was computed in situations where the speaker was more likely to know whether the statement with the stronger alternative was true, it gave rise to measurable reading latency, indicative of increased processing costs. We conclude by arguing that our findings are compatible with the context-driven models within the Gricean tradition.

Bare Root Infinitives in German

The aim of this paper is to show how linguistic and literary studies can benefit from a joint work about linguistic structures in poetry. Firstly, the analysis of poetry has an important impact on linguistic theory as it leads our attention to specific structures and meanings that so far have not been considered. Secondly, a close linguistic analysis can reveal hitherto overlooked facets of meaning which have a great significance for the overall interpretation of a poem. We focus on Bare Root Infinitives (BRIs) in German. As they lack the features for tense, mood, person and number, they are more flexible in meaning than finite forms. When looking at poetry, besides the well-known deontic and bouleticmeanings (cf. Reis 1995, 2003; Gärtner 2014) a third meaning that we call reactive meaning stands out. Remarkably, this reactive meaning can also be found in everyday language. Its specific semantic properties show that a semantic analysis of BRIs in the style of Kaufmann (2012) is adequate: modality, but not non-referentiality, is a “hard-wired” semantic property of BRIs. The specific case study of the poem ‘muster fixieren’ (‘fixating patterns’) by Nico Bleutge reveals how the restricted context of the poem interacts with the different interpretations of BRIs to arrive at a complex text interpretation. Keywords: bare root infinitives, semantic-pragmatic interface, poetry, modality, pragmatic enrichment, semantics

Crosslinguistic influence on L2 implicature computation for determiners

Abstract This paper explores the extent to which L1-Korean L2-English speakers’ L1 influences the computation of conversational implicatures for the definite and demonstrative determiners the and that in English. Both the and that denote unique referents, but that carries implication of contrast (Roberts, 2002). Following Submaxim 2 of the Gricean Quantity Maxim, using that instead of unmarked the implicates that the referent is being implicitly contrasted with other members of the same noun. Korean has no equivalent for the and the demonstrative ku ‘that’ is situated on the semantic scale between the and that. This partial overlap could influence L1-Korean L2-English speakers’ implicature computation even though ku also carries implication of contrast. Acceptability judgment data indicate that unlike native speakers, L2 speakers did not show sensitivity to infelicitous use of that, indicating difficulty computing implicatures. Results are discussed in terms of crosslinguistic influence at the semantics-pragmatics interface in L2 acquisition.

Making meaning withbe able to: modality and actualisation

This article sheds new light on the usage constraints ofbe able to, by combining empirical evidence from theBritish National Corpus(BNC, Davies 2004–) with theoretical insights on the semantics–pragmatics interface. First, we show thatbe able todoes not, contrary to the general assumption, express only ‘ability’ but it shares most of the root meanings usually associated with the possibility modalscanandcould(Coates 1983: 124). The data analysis shows that what is called ‘opportunity’ in Depraetere & Reed's (2011) taxonomy is the most frequent meaning ofbe able to. We then turn to the notion of actualisation, which is often claimed to be the main distinguishing feature betweenbe able toandcan/could. The qualitative analysis of the BNC dataset provides the empirical evidence, lacking in previous research, for the claim that actualisation is indeed a defining property of the modal periphrastic form. Starting from a reassessment of the semantics–pragmatics interface in terms of a fourfold distinction, we argue that actualisation is a generalised conversational implicature and constitutes conventional pragmatic meaning (that is, conventional non-truth-conditional meaning).

The computation and suspension of presuppositions by L1-Mandarin Chinese L2-English speakers

The Interface Hypothesis proposes that second language (L2) learners, even at highly proficient levels, often fail to integrate information at the external interfaces where grammar interacts with other cognitive systems. While much early L2 work has focused on the syntax–discourse interface or scalar implicatures at the semantics–pragmatics interface, the present article adds to this line of research by exploring another understudied phenomenon at the semantics–pragmatics interface, namely, presuppositions. Furthermore, this study explores both inference computation and suspension via a covered-box picture-selection task. Specifically, this study investigates the interpretation of the presupposition trigger stop and stop under negation. The results from 38 native English speakers and 41 first language (L1) Mandarin Chinese learners of English indicated similar response patterns between native and L2 groups in computing presuppositions but not in suspending presuppositions. That is, L2 learners were less likely to suspend presuppositions than native speakers. This study contributes to a more precise understanding of L2 acquisition at the external interface level, as well as computation and suspension of pragmatic inferences.

Semantics without semantic content

I argue that semantics is the study of the proprietary database of a centrally inaccessible and informationally encapsulated input–output system. This system's role is to encode and decode partial and defeasible evidence of what speakers are saying. Since information about nonlinguistic context is therefore outside the purview of semantic processing, a sentence's semantic value is not its content but a partial and defeasible constraint on what it can be used to say. I show how to translate this thesis into a detailed compositional‐semantic theory based on the influential framework of Heim and Kratzer. This approach situates semantics within an independently motivated account of human cognitive architecture and reveals the semantics–pragmatics interface to be grounded in the underlying interface between modular and central systems.

Allostructions revisited

An important recent innovation in Construction Grammar (CxG) has been to assume the existence of a general underspecified construction underlying two or more alternating constructions, which themselves are considered to be formally and functionally related allostructions of the general construction. Despite this novel proposal, the meaning side of the general construction has either been neglected or couched in a single-layered view of meaning that does not adequately distinguish semantics from pragmatics. Building on state-of-the-art developments at the semantics-pragmatics interface, this article proposes an account whereby the distinction between the meaning of the general construction and the meaning of the allostructions aligns with the distinction between encoded (semantic) and inferred (pragmatic) meaning. We argue in favor of an allostructional account for two grammatical alternations which have previously been treated as an epiphenomenon of two underlying independent constructions: the German ditransitive alternation and the English genitive alternation. While demonstrating the fruitfulness of an allostructional analysis for these two new cases, we also provide critical observations about the wider applicability of allostructional analyses. In particular, we argue that an allostructional analysis proves to be trivial for Lambrechtian ‘allosentences’.

Dutch thetic and sentence-focus constructions on the semantics-pragmatics interface

Abstract This article studies the various uses of a Dutch thetic and sentence-focus construction, viz. the Syntactic Inversion with Filler Insertion Construction (henceforth: SIFIC), e.g. Er loopt een man over straat (‘There is a man walking across the street’). The article investigates whether theticity and sentence-focus are semantically encoded meanings of the SIFIC or pragmatically inferred senses. SIFIC tokens (N = 750) were extracted from the Dutch SoNaR Corpus and annotated for five factors. The analysis shows that the SIFIC can have information-structural uses that are diametrically opposed to theticity and sentence-focus, i.e. topic-comment structure, predicate-focus articulation and categorical judgment. It is argued that theticity and sentence-focus can therefore not be regarded as the encoded semantics of the SIFIC, but should rather be analyzed as default senses of the construction. Based on similar cross-linguistic findings the article takes issue with the assumption that most languages have dedicated thetic and sentence-focus constructions.

The influence of first language at the semantics–pragmatic interface

Abstract Definite and demonstrative determiners in English share the same central semantics of uniqueness (e.g., Hawkins, 1991; Ionin, Baek, Kim, Ko, & Wexler, 2012; Wolter, 2006), but the computation of the semantics is constrained by different discourse conditions and determined by pragmatic knowledge, which pertains to the interface between semantics and pragmatics. This paper investigates whether L2 learners may have persistent difficulty in acquiring properties involving the semantics-pragmatics interface, by exploring the acquisition of L2 English definite and demonstrative determiners by advanced and near-native L1 Chinese learners of English. It also examines whether acquisition results are influenced by the learners’ L1 Chinese, which lacks an article system but allows demonstrative determiners. The results from a forced-choice written task show that advanced learners were unable to distinguish between the two determiners in different discourse conditions; near-native-level L1 Chinese learners displayed a native-like preference for the definite determiner, but not for the demonstrative determiner. It is argued that convergence at the semantics-pragmatics interface is not impossible for L2 learners, but (un)acquirability may be constrained by asymmetries in the L1–L2 realizations of semantics-pragmatics mappings. The findings raise interesting questions for future research into factors that can influence the acquisition of external interfaces.

Theory-driven statistical modeling for semantics and pragmatics: A case study on grammatically generated implicature readings

Computational probabilistic modeling is increasingly popular in linguistics, but its relationship with linguistic theory is ambivalent. We argue here for the potential benefit of theory-driven statistical modeling, based on a case study situated at the semantics-pragmatics interface. Using data from a novel experiment, we employ Bayesian model comparison to evaluate the predictive adequacy of four models that differ in the extent to and manner in which grammatically generated candidate readings are taken into account in four probabilistic pragmatic models of utterance and interpretation choice. The data provide strong evidence for the idea that the full range of potential readings made available by recently popular grammatical approaches to scalar-implicature computation might be needed, and that classical Gricean reasoning may help manage the manifold ambiguity introduced by grammatical approaches to these. The case study thereby shows a way of bridging linguistic theory and empirical data with the help of probabilistic pragmatic modeling as a linking function.

Meaning in Context and Contextual Meaning: A Perspective on the Semantics-Pragmatics Interface Applied to Modal Verbs

Cet article propose une approche du sens pragmatique qui repose sur la distinction entre le sens veri-conditionnel et le sens non veri-conditionnel. Tout en reconnaissant que des processus d’inference dits pragmatiques (tels que la saturation et l’enrichissement pragmatique libre) contribuent autant a l’identification de l’explicature ou de « ce qui est dit », qu’ils contribuent au sens implique, l’hypothese mise en avant est qu’on parvient a un modele plus elegant si le contenu veri-conditionnel plutot que l'inference pragmatique est pris comme base pour la denotation du concept « pragmatique » et des distinctions conceptuelles connexes. Une distinction claire doit etre posee entre une denotation du terme « pragmatique », globalement formelle, qui renvoie au contexte linguistique et non-linguistique (« sens en contexte »), et une denotation plus fonctionnelle du meme terme, qui saisit un type de sens (« sens contextuel »). Cette distinction n’est pas toujours explicitee dans les analyses et, par consequent, la « pragmatique » renvoie a des phenomenes tres divers. Dans la boite a outils terminologiques presentee ici, « pragmatique » est utilise pour designer un sens contextuel bien restreint : le concept est reserve pour la couche non veri-conditionnelle du sens contextuel, qui englobe bien plus que le sens implicite (« implicatures »), alors que les facettes veri-conditionnelles du sens contextuel relevent de la semantique.