Tractable versus Intractable Reciprocal Sentences
In J. Bos & S. Pulman (eds.), Proceedings of the International Conference on Computational Semantics 9 (2011)
| Abstract | In three experiments, we investigated the computational complexity of German reciprocal sentences with different quantificational antecedents. Building upon the tractable cognition thesis (van Rooij, 2008) and its application to the verification of quantifiers (Szymanik, 2010) we predicted complexity differences among these sentences. Reciprocals with all-antecedents are expected to preferably receive a strong interpretation (Dalrymple et al., 1998), but reciprocals with proportional or numerical quantifier antecedents should be interpreted weakly. Experiment 1, where participants completed pictures according to their preferred interpretation, provides evidence for these predictions. Experiment 2 was a picture verification task. The results show that the strong interpretation was in fact possible for tractable all but one-reciprocals, but not for exactly n. The last experiment manipulated monotonicity of the quantifier antecedents. | |||||||||
| Keywords | reciprocal expressions Strong Meaning Hypothesis (in)tractability computational semantics | |||||||||
| Categories | ||||||||||
| Options |
|
|||||||||
Download options| PhilPapers Archive |
Upload a copy of this paper Check publisher's policy on self-archival Papers currently archived: 5,653 |
| External links |
  Try with proxy. |
| Through your library | Configure |
Similar books and articlesOliver Bott, Fabian Schlotterbeck & Jakub Szymanik (forthcoming). Interpreting Tractable Versus Intractable Reciprocal Sentences. In Proceedings of the International Conference on Computational Semantics.
Jakub Szymanik (2009). The Computational Complexity of Quantified Reciprocals. In Peter Bosch, David Gabelaia & Jérôme Lang (eds.), Lecture Notes on Artificial Intelligence 5422, Logic, Language, and Computation 7th International Tbilisi Symposium on Logic, Language, and Computation. Springer.
Jakub Szymanik (2010). Computational Complexity of Polyadic Lifts of Generalized Quantifiers in Natural Language. Linguistics and Philosophy 33 (3):215-250.
Hana Filip & Gregory N. Carlson (2001). Distributivity Strengthens Reciprocity, Collectivity Weakens It. Linguistics and Philosophy 24 (4):417-466.
Sivan Sabato & Yoad Winter (2012). Relational Domains and the Interpretation of Reciprocals. Linguistics and Philosophy 35 (3):191-241.
Jakub Szymanik (2009). Quantifiers in TIME and SPACE. Computational Complexity of Generalized Quantifiers in Natural Language. Dissertation, University of Amsterdam
Yoad Winter (2001). Plural Predication and the Strongest Meaning Hypothesis. Journal of Semantics 18 (4):333-365.
Jakub Szymanik (2007). A Note on Some Neuroimaging Study of Natural Language Quantifiers Comprehension. Neuropsychologia 45 (9):2158-2160.
Grant Ramsey & Robert Brandon (2011). Why Reciprocal Altruism is Not a Kind of Group Selection. Biology and Philosophy 26 (3):385-400.
Jakub Szymanik & Marcin Zajenkowski (2011). Contribution of Working Memory in the Parity and Proportional Judgments. Belgian Journal of Linguistics 25:189-206.
Nina Gierasimczuk & Jakub Szymanik (2009). Branching Quantification V. Two-Way Quantification. Journal of Semantics 26 (4):329-366.
Michael J. Shaffer & Jeremy Morris (2010). The Epistemic Inadequacy of Ersatzer Possible World Semantics. Logique et Analyse 53:61-76.
Makoto Kanazawa (1994). Weak Vs. Strong Readings of Donkey Sentences and Monotonicity Inference in a Dynamic Setting. Linguistics and Philosophy 17 (2):109 - 158.
Valentina Sala, Laura Macchi, Marco D'Addario & Maria Bagassi (2011). Children's Acceptance of Underinformative Sentences: The Case of Some as a Determiner. Thinking and Reasoning 15 (2):211-235.
Analytics
Monthly downloads |
Added to index2010-11-30Total downloads14 ( #83,010 of 548,984 )Recent downloads (6 months)1 ( #63,327 of 548,984 )How can I increase my downloads? |
My notes
Discussion
