The influence of only and even on online semantic interpretation
The influence of only and even on online semantic interpretation
Focus particles such as only and even indicate that the focused element(s) in a sentence should be contrasted with a set of contextually defined alternatives. Only indicates that properties assigned to the focus set are not shared by elements of the alternative set, whereas even indicates that the focus and alternative sets share the properties mentioned in the sentence.
Even has the additional function of marking the focused element as being low on a scale of alternatives ranked in terms of likelihood, thereby signaling that what is being described is somewhat surprising. Using eyetracking, we demonstrate that contrast information associated with only and even is rapidly processed online, with effects for even being delayed, as compared with only (Experiment 1).
This difference in time course was not driven by the underlying semantics of the sentence without the focus particle (Experiment 2) but was probably due to even's more complex semantic function.
678-683
Filik, Ruth
430d029e-fc90-4651-93d5-25eb6fb972fc
Paterson, Kevin B.
4da4f2c5-542a-4a64-9b7e-f4f8380a60e1
Liversedge, Simon P.
3ebda3f3-d930-4f89-85d5-5654d8fe7dee
2009
Filik, Ruth
430d029e-fc90-4651-93d5-25eb6fb972fc
Paterson, Kevin B.
4da4f2c5-542a-4a64-9b7e-f4f8380a60e1
Liversedge, Simon P.
3ebda3f3-d930-4f89-85d5-5654d8fe7dee
Filik, Ruth, Paterson, Kevin B. and Liversedge, Simon P.
(2009)
The influence of only and even on online semantic interpretation.
Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 16 (4), .
(doi:10.3758/PBR.16.4.678).
Abstract
Focus particles such as only and even indicate that the focused element(s) in a sentence should be contrasted with a set of contextually defined alternatives. Only indicates that properties assigned to the focus set are not shared by elements of the alternative set, whereas even indicates that the focus and alternative sets share the properties mentioned in the sentence.
Even has the additional function of marking the focused element as being low on a scale of alternatives ranked in terms of likelihood, thereby signaling that what is being described is somewhat surprising. Using eyetracking, we demonstrate that contrast information associated with only and even is rapidly processed online, with effects for even being delayed, as compared with only (Experiment 1).
This difference in time course was not driven by the underlying semantics of the sentence without the focus particle (Experiment 2) but was probably due to even's more complex semantic function.
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Published date: 2009
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Local EPrints ID: 146267
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/146267
PURE UUID: 905b2db2-5a38-46a7-a258-1f22b4da3786
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Date deposited: 21 Apr 2010 08:13
Last modified: 14 Mar 2024 00:54
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Author:
Ruth Filik
Author:
Kevin B. Paterson
Author:
Simon P. Liversedge
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