NotesFAQContact Us
Collection
Advanced
Search Tips
Back to results
Peer reviewed Peer reviewed
Direct linkDirect link
ERIC Number: EJ1292209
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2021
Pages: 19
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1547-5441
EISSN: N/A
A Collective-Distributive Pragmatic Scale and the Developing Lexicon
Grinstead, John; Padilla-Reyes, Ramón; Nieves-Rivera, Melissa
Language Learning and Development, v17 n1 p48-66 2021
A locus of the difference in meaning between distributive and collective sentences can be the quantifiers that modify their subjects. A current theoretical account of distributive and collective sentences claims that sentences with quantifiers such as "the" in English, or "los" in Spanish, in subject position and an indefinite direct object, modified by "a" in English, or "una" in Spanish, are ambiguous as to whether they are distributive or collective, all things being equal. In contrast, the same sentences with "each"/"cada" in subject position are unambiguously distributive. This account claims that sentences with quantifiers such as "the"/"los" in subject position come to be interpreted collectively, and not distributively, because the distributive meaning could more informatively be constructed using the unambiguous "each"/"cada" quantifier. This is the same neo-Gricean reasoning that accounts for the Quantity Implicature that arises for "some," given the informativeness of "all." On this account, collective and distributive interpretations are intrinsically linked, which predicts that even children's non-adult-like collective and distributive interpretations should nonetheless be statistically associated, which we confirm in a sample of Puerto Rican Spanish-speaking children. We further propose that growth occurs both internal to lexical items, in terms of denotative content, as well as externally, within the lexicon in quantifier networks. Such networks have traditionally been expressed in formal semantics as pragmatic scales. We claim that the growth of both of these lexical dimensions are indexed by general lexical growth and show that a statistical association obtains between them in our sample.
Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 530 Walnut Street Suite 850, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Tel: 215-625-8900; Fax: 215-207-0050; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: National Science Foundation (NSF), Directorate for Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences (SBE)
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Puerto Rico
Identifiers - Assessments and Surveys: Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test
Grant or Contract Numbers: NSF1551903