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The Effect of Negative Polarity Items on Inference Verification
Anna Szabolcsi1, Lewis Bott, Brian McElree
1New York University.
Journal of Semantics
|September 28, 2011
Summary
Negative polarity items (NPIs) were predicted to aid inference verification. However, experiments found NPIs did not facilitate, and even slowed, processing, challenging scalar theories of NPI licensing.
Area of Science:
- Linguistics
- Psycholinguistics
- Cognitive Science
Background:
- Scalar theories propose negative polarity items (NPIs) are licensed by contexts strengthening propositions.
- A key prediction is that NPIs facilitate inference verification from sets to subsets.
- Previous research has not empirically tested this processing prediction.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the processing effects of NPIs on inference verification.
- To test the prediction that NPIs facilitate set-to-subset inference validation.
- To compare experimental results with predictions from scalar and non-scalar NPI licensing theories.
Main Methods:
- Three experiments were conducted, involving metalinguistic reasoning and self-paced reading tasks.
- Participants evaluated the validity of set-to-subset inferences.
- The presence or absence of an NPI in the premise was manipulated.
Main Results:
- Contrary to scalar theory predictions, NPIs did not facilitate inference verification.
- NPIs significantly slowed down reading times in the inference region.
- Results suggest NPI processing incurs a cost.
Conclusions:
- The findings challenge straightforward processing predictions of scalar NPI licensing theories.
- Results support theories positing processing costs for NPIs, such as Chierchia (2006) or non-scalar approaches.
- The magnitude of NPI processing cost may depend on pragmatic factors, as suggested by non-scalar theories.
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