Interactions between Dynamic Effects and Alternative-Based Inferences in the Study of Meaning

意义研究中动态效应与基于替代的推理之间的相互作用

基本信息

批准号：
AH/V003526/1
负责人：
Yasutada Sudo
金额：
$ 36.12万
依托单位：
University College London
依托单位国家：
英国
项目类别：
Research Grant
财政年份：
2021
资助国家：
英国
起止时间：
2021 至无数据
项目状态：
未结题

来源：
https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=AH%2FV003526%2F1
关键词：
Interactions between Dynamic Effects Alternative

项目摘要

Several open questions exist about how the division of labour between Semantics (the conventional aspect of meaning associated with words and other expressions) and Pragmatics (kinds of meaning that arise due to principles of conversation and general reasoning) is to be understood. Two empirical domains are of particular interest here. First, dynamic effects (DEs): when a linguistic expression affects the interpretation of another one following it, we say that a DE obtains. E.g. in (1) the interpretation of the pronoun "it" is affected by (resolved to) the indefinite "a Ferrari", as it is dependent on it.(1) Bill owns a Ferrari. It is parked outside.Second, alternative-based inferences (ABIs): if a sentence's inference arises by negating (an aspect of the meaning of) an alternative sentence, it is alternative-based. E.g. the scalar implicature of (2) that Helen did not eat both a steak and a salad arises by negating the alternative to (2) with "and" instead of "or".(2) Helen ate a steak or a salad.The two domains have given rise to two similar debates. (i) While there is consensus that both DEs and ABIs involve a combination of semantics and pragmatics, it is controversial what role each one plays. (ii) It is debated whether the characterisation of (1) and (2) and related phenomena as involving DEs or ABIs is correct to begin with. This gives rise to the broader issue whether a dynamic perspective and in addition an alternative-based perspective should be adopted at all. To address debate (i), this project adopts the working hypothesis that indeed one should adopt both perspectives. Based on this it investigates a hitherto largely neglected empirical domain, namely the non-trivial interaction of DEs and ABIs; non-trivial insofar as taking a particular dynamic perspective has immediate consequences for which alternative-based perspective one needs to take and vice versa. As such the theoretical consequences of the combined investigation of DEs and ABIs are profound. Apart from contributing to the individual theoretical debates about DEs and ABIs, it will offer novel and important insights into the nature of the semantics-pragmatics interface. Moreover, the success of such an approach contributes to debate (ii), as it will bolster a view that adopts both the dynamic and the alternative-based perspective. To substantiate the theoretical perspective sketched, the project adopts a broad variety of experimental measures for data collection promising new insights into the debates. Moreover, it extends the empirical coverage of the theory beyond simple spoken language by taking a cross-modal view. It does so by investigating the influence of gesture on DEs and ABIs and their visualisation in sign languages. The novelty and originality of this project thus lie in its empirical focus, both novel and broad at once, the ensuing theoretical implications and the variety of experimental methods used for investigation.

关于如何理解语义学（与单词和其他表达方式相关的意义的传统方面）和语用学（由于会话和一般推理的原则而产生的意义种类）之间的分工，存在几个悬而未决的问题。这里有两个经验领域特别令人感兴趣。首先，动态效应（DE）：当一种语言表达影响其后的另一种语言表达的解释时，我们说获得了 DE。例如。 (1) 代词“it”的解释受到不定“a Ferrari”的影响（解析为），因为它依赖于 it。(1) Bill 拥有一辆 Ferrari。它停在外面。第二，基于替代的推理（ABI）：如果一个句子的推理是通过否定替代句子（含义的一个方面）而产生的，那么它是基于替代的。例如。 (2) 的标量含义是海伦没有同时吃牛排和沙拉，这是通过用“和”而不是“或”来否定 (2) 的替代项而产生的。(2) 海伦吃了牛排或沙拉。两个域引起了两个类似的争论。 (i) 虽然人们一致认为 DE 和 ABI 都涉及语义和语用的结合，但两者各自扮演的角色存在争议。 (ii) 对于涉及 DE 或 ABI 的 (1) 和 (2) 以及相关现象的描述是否正确存在争议。这就引发了一个更广泛的问题：是否应该采用动态视角以及基于替代的视角。为了解决争论（i），该项目采用了一个工作假设，即人们确实应该采纳这两种观点。在此基础上，它研究了迄今为止很大程度上被忽视的经验领域，即 DE 和 ABI 的非平凡相互作用；就采取特定的动态视角而言，这一点并不重要，因为它会对人们需要采取的基于替代的视角产生直接影响，反之亦然。因此，DE 和 ABI 联合研究的理论后果是深远的。除了促进有关 DE 和 ABI 的个人理论辩论之外，它还将为语义-语用学接口的本质提供新颖且重要的见解。此外，这种方法的成功有助于引发辩论（ii），因为它将支持采用动态和替代视角的观点。为了证实所提出的理论观点，该项目采用了各种各样的实验措施来收集数据，有望为辩论提供新的见解。此外，它通过采取跨模态的观点，将理论的实证覆盖范围扩展到简单的口语之外。它通过研究手势对 DE 和 ABI 的影响及其在手语中的可视化来实现这一目标。因此，该项目的新颖性和独创性在于其既新颖又广泛的实证重点、随之而来的理论含义以及用于调查的实验方法的多样性。