Online interpretation of scalar quantifiers: insight into the semantics-pragmatics interface

Yi Ting Huang1, Jesse Snedeker

  • 1Department of Psychology, William James Hall, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA. huang@wjh.harvard.edu

Cognitive Psychology
|November 4, 2008
PubMed
Summary

This study on scalar implicature found that pragmatic meanings are processed after semantic meanings, causing delays in language comprehension. This suggests a lag between semantic and pragmatic processing during sentence understanding.

Related Concept Videos

Introduction to Scalars01:21

Introduction to Scalars

Many familiar physical quantities can be specified completely by giving a single number and the appropriate unit. For example, "a class period lasts 50 min," or "the gas tank in my car holds 65 L," or "the distance between the two posts is 100 m." A physical quantity that can be specified completely in this manner is called a scalar quantity. The word "scalar" is a synonym for "number." Time, mass, distance, length, volume, temperature, and energy are some examples of scalar quantities.
Scalar...
Relating Angular And Linear Quantities - I01:09

Relating Angular And Linear Quantities - I

If the rotational definitions are compared with the definitions of linear kinematic variables from motion along a straight line and motion in two and three dimensions, we can observe a mapping of the linear variables to the rotational ones.
When comparing the linear and rotational variables individually, the linear variable of position has physical units of meters, whereas the angular position variable has dimensionless units of radians, as it is the ratio of two lengths. The linear velocity...
Relating Angular And Linear Quantities - II01:05

Relating Angular And Linear Quantities - II

In the case of circular motion, the linear tangential speed of a particle at a radius from the axis of rotation is related to the angular velocity by the relation:
Scalar Notation01:28

Scalar Notation

Scalar notation is a useful method for simplifying calculations involving vectors. When vectors are added or subtracted, their components can be added or subtracted separately using scalar notation. For instance, force, a vector quantity, can be broken down into its x and y components, called rectangular components, and then the magnitude and direction of these components can be determined using trigonometric functions.
Consider a man pulling a rope from a hook in the northeast direction. The...
Agonism and Antagonism: Quantification01:14

Agonism and Antagonism: Quantification

When drugs are administered, they can elicit either an agonist or antagonist effect on the body. Agonism occurs when a drug activates a specific receptor, triggering a biological response. On the other hand, antagonism happens when a drug binds to the same receptors but blocks their activation, thereby preventing a biological response.
To quantify these effects, researchers use a dose-response curve, which provides valuable information about the potency and efficacy of a drug. Potency refers to...
Interpretations of Partial Derivatives01:14

Interpretations of Partial Derivatives

A surface defined by a function of two variables can be visualized as a vast, uneven terrain, where each point is identified using Cartesian coordinates. The elevation of the terrain at any point is determined by a function that assigns a height value to every pair of horizontal coordinates. This representation allows the surface to be studied in terms of how its height varies across different directions.At a specific point on this terrain, understanding how the height changes requires...