Semantic Adaptation to the Interpretation of Gradable Adjectives via Active Linguistic Interaction

Autor/inn/en	Pezzelle, Sandro; Fernández, Raquel
Titel	Semantic Adaptation to the Interpretation of Gradable Adjectives via Active Linguistic Interaction
Quelle	In: Cognitive Science, 47 (2023) 2, (30 Seiten) PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0364-0213
DOI	10.1111/cogs.13248
Schlagwörter	Semantics; Form Classes (Languages); Cognitive Processes; Communication (Thought Transfer) + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Semantik; Analytischer Sprachbau; Cognitive process; Kognitiver Prozess; Communication; thought; Kommunikation; Gedanke
Abstract	When communicating, people adapt their linguistic representations to those of their interlocutors. Previous studies have shown that this also occurs at the semantic level for vague and context-dependent terms such as quantifiers and uncertainty expressions. However, work to date has mostly focused on passive exposure to a given speaker's interpretation, without considering the possible role of active linguistic interaction. In this study, we focus on gradable adjectives "big" and "small" and develop a novel experimental paradigm that allows participants to ask clarification questions to figure out their interlocutor's interpretation. We find that, when in doubt, speakers do resort to this strategy, despite its inherent cognitive cost, and that doing so results in higher semantic alignment measured in terms of communicative success. While not all question-answer pairs are equally informative, we show that speakers become better questioners as the interaction progresses. Yet, the higher semantic alignment observed when speakers are able to ask questions does not increase over time. This suggests that conversational interaction's key advantage may be to boost coordination without committing to long-term semantic updates. Our findings shed new light on the mechanisms used by speakers to achieve semantic alignment and on how language is shaped by communication. (As Provided).
Anmerkungen	Wiley. Available from: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030. Tel: 800-835-6770; e-mail: cs-journals@wiley.com; Web site: https://www.wiley.com/en-us
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2024/1/01