October 16 th 2015, Budapest Workshop on Linguistic and Cognitive aspects of Quantification

Transcription

1 October 16 th 2015, Budapest Workshop on Linguistic and Cognitive aspects of Quantification

2 The semantics and the acquisition of the distributive marker po, which is notorious, (common to Slavic and has very broad distribution); our focus po combining with numerals in different argument positions (subject and object)

3 What is the semantics of po? How do adults and children understand sentences with po combining with numerals (po-numerals)?

4 a universal distributive quantifier (each) a distributive-share marker (Choe 1987) a distance-distributive marker (Zimmermann 2002) a pluractional marker (Newman 1990, Lasersohn 1995)?

5 Part 1: po is not a universal quantifier Part 2: po quantifies over events Part 3: experiment Part 4: discussion

6 Distributive Collective (i) Three kids are riding a horse.

7 Most of the data come from the languages with the universal distributive quantifier (e.g. each) (i) Three kids are riding a horse. Distributive: each of the three kids is riding a horse

8 PO IS NOT A UNIVERSAL QUANTIFIER

9 (1) Tri devojčice drže dva balona. three girls hold two balloons Three girls hold two balloons. collective: together distributive: separately/each

10 (2) Tri devojčice drže po dva balona. three girls hold po two balloons Three girls hold two balloons separately/each. Three girls hold two balloons at separate locations/time intervals. # collective: together distributive: separately/each distributive: at separate locations/time intervals

11 participant distributive Three girls hold two balloons separately/each. > distribution is over event participants (girls) (cf. Cable 2014)

12 event-distributive Three girls hold two balloons at separate locations/time intervals. > distribution is over locations/times

13 (2) [Devojčice] key drže [po dva balona] share girls hold po two balloon (3) [Each girl] key holds [two balloons] share -Share is what is distributed -Key is distributed over

14 (2) [Devojčice] key drže [po dva balona] share girl hold po two balloon po attaches to the share (what is distributed)

15 (3) [Each girl] key hold [two balloons] share each (determiner-like) attaches to the key (the NP over which the distribution takes place)

16 x [x is a girl] [( y) y is 2 balloons x holds y] [Each girl] [holds two balloons]. [Devojčice] [drže po dva balona]. girls hold po two balloons

17 (3) Each girl holds two balloons. Exhaustivity (goup of girls needs to be exhausted) Atomicity (the group of girls needs to be partitioned into atoms)

18 (3) Each girl holds two balloons. Context A: Mary and Jane hold 2 balloons together and Rose holds 2 balloons Context B: Mary and Jane hold 2 balloons each while Rose is holding 2 kites

19 (2) Devojčice drže po dva balona. girls hold po two balloon no exhaustivity requirement (the group of girls needs not be exhausted) no atomicity requirement (the group of girls needs not be partitioned in atoms)

20 (2) Devojčice drže po dva balona girls hold po two balloon Context A: Mary and Jane hold 2 balloons together and Rose holds 2 balloons Context B: Mary and Jane hold 2 balloons each while Rose is holding 2 kites

21 Differences Spatial/temporal distribution Non-exhaustive context Non-atomic context po each, UQ or DD (floated)

22 one way of salvaging the key-share view: exhaustivity requirement is over events (the key is always an event - spatiotemporal argument) hard to disprove or test

23 G1: No atomic partitioning requirement Participants in the described events do not have to be atomically partitioned (they can also be partitioned into groups or not partitioned at all). G2: No exhaustivity requirement The group of participants in the event needs not be exhausted ( exhaustively distributed over ). This holds even in the case where the distribution is over atomic participants.

24 po is not a universal distributive quantifier po attaches to what is distributed (distshare)

25 PO QUANTIFIES OVER EVENTS

26 Claim po systematically involves distribution over spaces/times participant-distribution follows from event-distribution

27 (1) Tri devojčice drže po dva balona (2) Three girls each hold two balloons. Each of the three girls holds two balloons. participant-distributive (exhaustive and atomic)

28 (1) Tri devojčice drže po dva balona (2) Three girls each hold two balloons. Some (but not necessary all) girls holds two balloons in groups or individually. participant-distributive (not exhaustive and not atomic)

29 (1) Tri devojčice drže po dva balona. (2) Three girls each hold two balloons. Three girls hold two balloons at separate locations or/and time intervals. event-distributive

30 po semantically combines first with a numeral (n) and then with an NP and there must be at least two events that involve an NP of the cardinality n (cumulation of events involving nnp, ex. po 2 balloons)

31 [[po]] = n. Q <e,t>. P <e, t>. e. e * nq & e nq & x. Q(x) = 1 & P(x)(e) = 1

32 Tri devojčice drže po dva balona three girls hold po two balloons - A plurality of events constructed out of single events involving 2 balloons

33 hold-event agent theme e 1 Mary b 1 +b 2 e 2 Jane b 3 +b 4 e 3 Rose b 5 +b 6 *hold-event_ agent-sum theme-sum e 1 +e 2 Mary+Jane b 1 +b 2 +b 3 +b 4 e 1 +e 2 +e 3 Mary+Jane+Rose b 1 +b 2 + b 3 +b 4 +b 5 +b 6 - at least two events involving 2 balloons

34 hold-event agent theme e 1 Mary+Jane+Rose b 1 +b 2 e 2 Mary+Jane+Rose b 3 +b 4 e 3 Mary+Jane+Rose b 5 +b 6 *hold-event_ agent-sum theme-sum e 1 +e 2 +e 3 Mary+Jane+Rose b 1 +b 2 + b 3 +b 4 +b 5 +b 6 - at least two events involving 2 balloons

35 po is not a universal distributive quantifier like each, since it does not require atomic partitioning of the group of participants or exhaustive distribution over participants po quantifies over spatiotemporal units (events) quantification over events derives so-called quantification over participants the participants can but need not be atomic or exhausted

36 ACQUISITION

37 Do children know that po yields: event-distributive readings (distribution over space/time) participant-distributive readings (events involving atomic participants) and syntactically attaches to what is distributed (distributive share, cf. Choe 1987)?

38 (1) po-object sentences Tri devojčice drže po dva balona. three girls hold po two balloon Three girls are (each) / separately holding two balloons. (2) po-subject sentences Po tri devojčice drže dva balona. po three girls hold two balloon Three girls are holding each of two balloons. (3) double-po sentences Po tri devojčice drže po dva balona. po three girls hold po two balloon Three girls are holding two balloons at separate locations.

39 Subject-distributive (SD) (1) Tri devojčice drže po dva balona. three girls hold po two balloons Three girls are (each) / separately holding two balloons.

40 Object-distributive (OD) Po tri devojčice drže dva balona. po three girls hold two balloons Three girls are holding each of two balloons.

41 Event-distributive (ED) (3) Po tri devojčice drže po dva balona. po three girls hold po two balloons Three girls are holding two balloons at separate locations.

42 SD OD ED po-object YES NO YES po-subject NO YES YES double-po NO NO YES

43 Children: N=19, between ages 6;8 and 7;6 (MA= 6.5, SD = 0.5,10 girls) Adults: N=17, f=12, MA= 35.5, sd=8.8

44 54 test items 18 distracters block design (24 items) balanced across subjects TVJT

45 H1: All po-sentences allow eventdistributive readings. H2: The position of po determines the type of a participant-distributive reading of the sentence (subject-distributive or object-distributive).

46 po-object po-subject double-po SD OD ED

47 The syntactic position of po determines the participant-distributive reading of its sentence (supporting H2)

48 Object-distributive readings (OD) were accepted significantly less than all other readings (unpredicted)

49 the information structure hypothesis: Left-most peripheral positions are suitable topics (Godjevac 2003) Nonspecific NPs are not suitable candidates for topics po-phrases are nonspecific (Choe 1987)

50 Well formed: (1)a. Tri devojčice drže po dva balona. three girls hold po two balloons b. [ TopP [tri devojčice] 1 [ IP t 1 drže po dva balona] ]

51 Ill-formed (2) Po tri devojčice drže dva balona. po three girls hold two balloons po-phrase is non-specific (unsuitable topic) and occupies the left-most position (topic position)

52 Adults do not like po-initial sentences and not OD contexts

53 prediction: [ TopP [dva balona] 1 [ IP po tri devojčice drže t 1 ] ] two balloons po three girls hold

54 po-object po-subject double-po SD OD ED

55 G1:Children accept both participantdistributive and event-distributive readings G2:Children are not sensitive to the locus of po G3:Children do not like distributing subjects alone (without objects)

56 G1 and G2 children do not know the meaning of po G3: Children do not like distributing subjects alone (without objects) Why?

57 Children Adults po-object po-subject double-po 20.2% vs. 47.1%, 2 (1) = 16.4, p < 0.001

58 sentences with two numerals involve scope relations between two nnps the inverse scope construal (objectdistributive) is disprefered to surface scope (subject-distributive)

59 But our analysis of distributivity in Serbian does not rely on scope - the scope of two nnps is not relevant for the resulting (participant) distributive reading

60 Could it be that scope is relevant for children? NO

61 The truth-conditions of double-po sentences are very problematic for scopal analysis, but follow from event quantification Children accept double-po sentences at high rates

62 (3) Po three girls hold po two balloons - true in the scenario: every day, three girls together hold two balloons > follows from event quantification analysis but not from scopal analysis

63 thematic prominence of arguments, may be more important for children than scope relations (Lee 2003, É. Kiss et al. 2012)

64 Hierarchy of thematic roles in children (Lee 2003; cf. É. Kiss et al. 2012) ACTOR > LOCATION > PATIENT

65 Children at age 6: know that po yields event-distributive and participant-distributive readings; have no problems with double-po sentences and ED reading Claim: po quantifies over events and participants-distribution should be reduced to event-distribution

66 Acquisition: How to further experimentaly investigate this claim Temporal distribution with po Theory: Other instances of po

67 locative preposition (spatiotemporal meaning) Attaches also to: numerals po tri (po three) weak quantifiers po mnogo (po many) bare singular nouns po brod (po boat) verbs, adverbs, adjectives systematically introduces spatiotemporal separation/grouping/distribution (among other meanings)

68 THANK YOU! Thanks to Ana Bosnić for data collection