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Related Experiment Videos

The language user as an arithmetician

T Pollmann1, C Jansen

  • 1Department of Dutch Language and Literature, Utrecht University, Netherlands. pollmann@let.ruu.nl

Cognition
|May 1, 1996
PubMed
Summary

The study reveals that Dutch approximative expressions like "two, three books" use specific number intervals. This preference for certain numbers in language and commerce is linked to cognitive processing.

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Area of Science:

  • Linguistics
  • Cognitive Science
  • Psychology

Background:

  • Approximative expressions using numeral pairs are common in Dutch, e.g., 'twee, drie boeken' (two, three books).
  • The selection of number pairs in these expressions is not random and is influenced by various factors.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To analyze the construction of approximative expressions with two numerals in Dutch.
  • To identify the factors influencing the choice of number words in these expressions.
  • To explain the cognitive basis for the observed number preferences.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of language materials from large corpora of Dutch texts.
  • Examination of number intervals in approximative expressions.
  • Application of the triple-code model of human number processing.

Main Results:

  • The interval between numbers in approximative expressions is restricted to specific values (1, 2, 2.5, or 5, multiplied by powers of 10).
  • These 'favourite numbers' play a significant role in daily life, including currency, pricing, and auctions.
  • The findings support the existence of an analogue magnitude code in human number processing.

Conclusions:

  • The choice of numbers in Dutch approximative expressions is systematic and linked to cognitive biases.
  • Human cognition can perform quantity calculations independently of formal counting systems.
  • The triple-code model provides a framework for understanding these number preferences.

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