The role of non-categorical relations in establishing focus alternative sets

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Jördens, K.A.; Gotzner, N.; Spalek, K.: The role of non-categorical relations in establishing focus alternative sets. In: Language and cognition 12 (2020), Nr. 4, S. 729-754. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/langcog.2020.21

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To cite the version in the repository, please use this identifier: https://doi.org/10.15488/13330

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Sum total of downloads: 33




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Abstract: 
Categorisation is arguably the most important organising principle in semantic memory. However, elements that are not in a categorical relation can be dynamically grouped together when the context provides a common theme for these elements. In the field of sentence (and discourse) comprehension, alternatives to a focused element can be thought of as a set of elements determined by a theme given in the utterance context. According to Alternative Semantics (Rooth, 1985, 1992), the main function of linguistic focus is to introduce a set of alternatives to the focused element within an utterance. Here, we will investigate the contribution of the utterance context to the composition of focus alternative sets. Specifically, we test whether a focus alternative set can contain elements that belong to different taxonomic categories (i.e., that are not closely semantically related). Using a behavioural probe recognition experiment, we show that participants activate elements from another taxonomic category than the focused element as part of sentence comprehension. This finding suggests that the composition of a focus alternative set is not simply based on semantic relations between the members of the set and the focused element, but that contextual relations also play a crucial role.
License of this version: CC BY 4.0 Unported
Document Type: Article
Publishing status: publishedVersion
Issue Date: 2020
Appears in Collections:Philosophische Fakultät

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pos. country downloads
total perc.
1 image of flag of United States United States 15 45.45%
2 image of flag of Germany Germany 12 36.36%
3 image of flag of Ireland Ireland 2 6.06%
4 image of flag of No geo information available No geo information available 1 3.03%
5 image of flag of Russian Federation Russian Federation 1 3.03%
6 image of flag of Indonesia Indonesia 1 3.03%
7 image of flag of United Kingdom United Kingdom 1 3.03%

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