Abstract
The interpretation of language is a complex phenomenon. One of the best established models maintains that language interpretation arises from the interaction of two major components. On the one hand, sentences are assigned truth conditions, which provide a characterization of propositional content and constitute the domain of semantics. On the other hand, use of propositional content (i.e., truth conditions) in concrete communication is governed by pragmatic norms. In speaking, not only do we pay attention to truth conditional content, we also aim at being cooperative and at saying something relevant to the situation. One way to study this intricate interplay between semantics and pragmatics is by looking at the way adults and children interpret logical words, for example, connectives and quantifiers. In particular, we would like to concentrate on Scalar Implicatures, inferences that we draw when we interpret sentences including certain logical words and that allow one to go beyond what is literally said in the sentence. For example, following Grice and much literature inspired by him, it can be argued that if a speaker says ‘Some students passed the exam’ the hearer is likely to assume that the speaker intended to convey that ‘Some students passed the exam, but not all did’. The addition of ‘but not all did’ is not, however, part of the truth conditions, but an implicature that arises from the way we use language.
Corresponding author.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Chierchia, G. (2001). Scalar ‘Implicatures and Polarity Phenomena’. Ms. University of Milano-Bicocca.
Chierchia, G., Crain, S., Guasti, M. T., Gualmini A., and Meroni L., (2001). ‘The acquisition of disjunction: Evidence for a grammatical view of scalar implicatures.’ In Proceedings of the 25th Boston University Conference on Language Development: 157–68. Sommerville, MA: Cascadilla Press.
Crain, S., Gualmini A., and Meroni, L. (2000). ‘The acquisition of logical Words.’ LOGOS and Language 1: 49–59.
Crain, S. and McKee, C. (1985). ‘The acquisition of structural restrictions on anaphora.’ Proceedings of NELS 15: 94–110.
Crain, S., and Thornton, R. (1998). Investigations in Universal Grammar: A Guide to Experiments on the Acquisition of Syntax and Semantics. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press.
Gazdar, G. (1979). Pragmatics: Implicature, Presuppositions and Logical Form. New York: Academic Press.
Grice, P. (1975). ‘Logic and conversation.’ In P. Cole and J. Morgan (eds), Syntax and Semantics. Volume 3: Speech Acts. New York: Academic Press.
Also in Paul Grice (1989), Studies in the Way of Words. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Grodzinsky, Y., and Reinhart, T. (1993). The innateness of binding and coreference. Linguistic Inquiry 24: 69–101.
Gualmini, A., Crain, S., and Meroni, L. (2000). ‘Acquisition of disjunction in conditional sentences.’ Proceedings of the 24th Boston University Conference on Language Development: 367–78.
Gualmini, A., Meroni, L., and Crain, S. (2001). ‘The inclusion of disjunction in child grammar: Evidence from modal verbs.’ Proceedings of NELS 30: 247–57. Amherst, MA: GLSA, University of Massachusetts.
Horn, L. (1972). On the Semantic Properties of Logical Operators in English. Ph.D. Dissertation, UCLA.
Horn, L. (1989). A Natural History of Negation. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Kadmon, N., and Landman F. (1993). ‘Any.’ Linguistics and Philosophy 16: 353–422.
Krifka, M. (1995). ‘The Semantics and Pragmatics of Polarity Items.’ Linguistic Analysis 25: 209–57.
Ladusaw, W. (1979). Negative Polarity Items as Inherent Scope Relations. Ph.D. Dissertation, University of Texas at Austin.
Levinson, S. C. (2000). Presumptive Meaning. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Noveck, I. (2001). When children are more logical than adults: Experimental investigations of scalar implicature. Cognition 78: 165–88.
Paris, S. (1973). Comprehension of language connectives and propositional logical relationships. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology 16: 278–91.
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Copyright information
© 2004 Palgrave Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Chierchia, G., Guasti, M.T., Gualmini, A., Meroni, L., Crain, S., Foppolo, F. (2004). Semantic and Pragmatic Competence in Children’s and Adults’ Comprehension of Or . In: Noveck, I.A., Sperber, D. (eds) Experimental Pragmatics. Palgrave Studies in Pragmatics, Language and Cognition. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230524125_13
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230524125_13
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Print ISBN: 978-1-4039-0351-8
Online ISBN: 978-0-230-52412-5
eBook Packages: Palgrave Language & Linguistics CollectionEducation (R0)