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Processing Attenuating NPIs in Indicative and Counterfactual Conditionals
1Institute of Cognitive Science, Osnabrück University, Osnabrück, Germany.
Negative polarity items (NPIs) are sensitive to conditional types. Hypothetical indicative conditionals degrade NPI licensing due to conditional perfection, unlike counterfactuals.
Area of Science:
- Linguistics
- Psycholinguistics
- Semantics
Background:
- Negative polarity items (NPIs) are licensed in various linguistic contexts, including conditional sentences.
- Theoretical accounts propose that the licensing of NPIs in conditional antecedents depends on pragmatic factors differentiating conditional types.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the licensing of attenuating NPIs, specifically 'all that', in different types of conditional antecedents.
- To test predictions regarding the influence of conditional perfection and veridicality on NPI licensing.
Main Methods:
- Three behavioral experiments were conducted.
- Experiment 1: Compared NPI licensing in hypothetical indicative vs. counterfactual conditionals.
- Experiment 2: Compared NPI licensing in hypothetical indicative vs. premise conditionals.
- Experiment 3: Investigated the strengthening of counterfactual conditionals and NPI licensing.
Main Results:
- NPI 'all that' was degraded in hypothetical indicative conditionals compared to counterfactual conditionals (Experiment 1).
- NPI 'all that' was degraded in hypothetical indicative conditionals compared to premise conditionals (Experiment 2).
- Comprehenders readily strengthen counterfactuals to biconditionals, and NPI licensing is compatible with antiveridical inferences (Experiment 3).
Conclusions:
- Hypothetical indicative conditionals are susceptible to conditional perfection, leading to degraded NPI licensing.
- Counterfactual conditionals, compatible with conditional perfection and antiveridical inferences, readily license NPIs.
- The study illuminates the interaction between NPI licensing, conditional semantics, pragmatics, and processing, particularly concerning veridicality.
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