Scales in language processing and acquisition: Semantic and pragmatic contributions to implicature computation

目前的项目旨在通过研究语言处理和习得中的大量此类表达，为长期存在的关于Horn标度及其替代形式的性质的争论提供新的线索。首要目标是开发一种新的标度和含义模型，以解释这些表达方式之间的可变性。我们将考察(A)对于不同的Horn尺度，能够在多大程度上保留作为隐含计算基础的单一机制，以及(B)构成隐含计算基础的备选方案的种类。一个主要的焦点将集中在形容词喇叭音阶的解释上，它在语义学上已经得到了很好的研究，但在语用学上仍然没有得到充分的探索。我们将使用各种心理语言学方法以及概率建模工具，以整合语义和语用理论以及认知科学的见解。这个项目代表了第一次大规模的尝试，以测试各种尺度是如何被处理的，以及尺度的语义和语用表征是如何同步发展的。

The current project seeks to shed new light on long-standing debates about the nature of Horn scales and alternatives, by investigating a large number of such expressions in language processing and acquisition. The overarching goal is to develop a new model of scales and implicature, that accounts for variability among such expressions. We will examine (a) the extent to which a single mechanism underlying implicature computation can be retained for different Horn scales and (b) the kinds of alternatives that constitute the basis for implicature computation. A major focus will lie on the interpretation of adjectival Horn scales, which have been well-studied in semantics but remain underexplored in pragmatics. We will employ a variety of psycholinguistic methods as well as probabilistic modeling tools in order to integrate insights from semantic and pragmatic theory and cognitive science. This project represents the first large-scale attempt at testing how various scales are processed and how semantic and pragmatic representations of scales develop in tandem.