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Psycholinguistic studies of ellipsis and comparatives--aiming for theorizing about syntax and semantics interfaces

Research Project

Project/Area Number 16K02712
Research Category

Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)

Allocation TypeMulti-year Fund
Section一般
Research Field Linguistics
Research InstitutionFukuoka University

Principal Investigator

ITO MASUYO  福岡大学, 人文学部, 教授 (10289514)

Project Period (FY) 2016-04-01 – 2020-03-31
Project Status Completed (Fiscal Year 2019)
Budget Amount *help
¥4,160,000 (Direct Cost: ¥3,200,000、Indirect Cost: ¥960,000)
Fiscal Year 2018: ¥1,170,000 (Direct Cost: ¥900,000、Indirect Cost: ¥270,000)
Fiscal Year 2017: ¥1,430,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,100,000、Indirect Cost: ¥330,000)
Fiscal Year 2016: ¥1,560,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,200,000、Indirect Cost: ¥360,000)
Keywords比較 / 程度形容詞 / 程度意味論 / phrasal comparatives / maximality / scalar implicature / 選言 / disjunction / 比較構文 / gradable 形容詞 / 日本語 / 言語獲得 / 言語心理学
Outline of Final Research Achievements

This study examines whether Japanese-speaking children are able to interpret predicative comparatives with the phrasal complement. The results show that until 6 years of age, children seem to have difficulty interpreting comparatives. I propose that their poor performance stems from the difficulty with the notion of Maximality, and therefore, with the notion of the maximum degree, essential to the (degree) semantic analysis of comparatives. We also raise the possibility that children younger than 6 take relative gradable adjectives as “extreme” or “categorical” adjectives. This study also examined whether Japanese-speaking children are able to calculate informational strength associated with the connectives ka and ya ‘or’. The children were found to assign non-adult-like interpretations to ka and ya.

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

統語論や意味論研究の進展によって、発達言語心理学研究も新たな報告がされている。しかし、比較文や、量や程度(語用論的情報量を含む)の比較に関わる先行研究については、英語を母語とする子供から得られた結果が主に報告されており、それ以外の言語を対象とした研究は限定的である。そのため、英語とは異なる言語類型的特徴をもつ日本語を対象とした研究から、発達言語心理学研究及び、理論研究への貢献を目指した。

Report

(5 results)
  • 2019 Annual Research Report   Final Research Report ( PDF )
  • 2018 Research-status Report
  • 2017 Research-status Report
  • 2016 Research-status Report
  • Research Products

    (9 results)

All 2020 2019 2017 Other

All Int'l Joint Research (3 results) Journal Article (2 results) (of which Int'l Joint Research: 1 results,  Peer Reviewed: 1 results) Presentation (3 results) (of which Int'l Joint Research: 3 results) Book (1 results)

  • [Int'l Joint Research] MIT(米国)

    • Related Report
      2019 Annual Research Report
  • [Int'l Joint Research] MIT(米国)

    • Related Report
      2018 Research-status Report
  • [Int'l Joint Research] MIT(米国)

    • Related Report
      2017 Research-status Report
  • [Journal Article] A note on the interpretation of the Japanese connectives ka and ya 'or'2019

    • Author(s)
      Masuyo Ito
    • Journal Title

      福岡大学研究部論集

      Volume: 19 Pages: 23-28

    • NAID

      120006731968

    • Related Report
      2019 Annual Research Report
  • [Journal Article] Maximality trouble? Japanese-speaking children's interpretation of comparatives2019

    • Author(s)
      Masuyo Ito and Ken Wexler
    • Journal Title

      New trends in language acquisition within the generative perspective

      Volume: 印刷中

    • Related Report
      2018 Research-status Report
    • Peer Reviewed / Int'l Joint Research
  • [Presentation] Japanese-speaking children's interpretation of ka and ya 'or'2019

    • Author(s)
      Masuyo Ito
    • Organizer
      Semantics and Philosophy in Europe Colloquium 11
    • Related Report
      2019 Annual Research Report
    • Int'l Joint Research
  • [Presentation] Japanese-speaking children's interpretation of ka and ya 'or'2019

    • Author(s)
      Masuyo Ito
    • Organizer
      Japanese and Korean Linguistics 27
    • Related Report
      2019 Annual Research Report
    • Int'l Joint Research
  • [Presentation] Maximality trouble?: Japanese-speaking children's interpretation of comparatives2017

    • Author(s)
      Masuyo Ito and Kenneth Wexler
    • Organizer
      GALA 13
    • Related Report
      2017 Research-status Report
    • Int'l Joint Research
  • [Book] New Trends in Language Acquisition within the Generative Perspective2020

    • Author(s)
      Masuyo Ito, Kenneth Wexler, Jill de Villiers, Jessica Kotfila, Tom Roeper, Pedro Guijarro-Fuentes, Cristina Suarez-Gomez
    • Total Pages
      335
    • Publisher
      Springer
    • Related Report
      2019 Annual Research Report

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Published: 2016-04-21   Modified: 2022-02-21  

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