IF 1.1 3区文学 0 LANGUAGE & LINGUISTICS

Lingua

Pub Date : 2025-07-14 DOI: 10.1016/j.lingua.2025.104007

Yu-Ching Tseng

This study examines homophonous ambiguity in Mandarin adverbs, particularly their ability to function as speaker-oriented, subject-oriented, and manner modifiers. The ambiguity arises when an adverb can be interpreted in multiple ways within the same sentence. In neutral contexts, these interpretations can coexist without contradiction; however, when contextual information highlights conflicts between them, sentences often become semantically incoherent. By analyzing sentence acceptability ratings and interpretation consistency provided by native Mandarin speakers, the data reveal that conflicting contextual cues lead to interpretive conflict and reduced comprehensibility. The study applies Bidirectional Optimality Theory (BiOT) to model how syntactic and semantic constraints interact to produce and interpret ambiguous adverbial structures. BiOT explains how conflicting interpretations compete and how listeners resolve ambiguity by filtering out incoherent readings. The findings suggest that Mandarin speakers rely on lexico-pragmatic association, contextual expansion, and pragmatic inference to navigate ambiguity, and that speaker-oriented adverbs play a crucial role in structuring discourse. This study contributes to linguistic theory by offering a formalized approach to Mandarin adverbial modification and ambiguity resolution, highlighting the role of context and discourse in meaning selection.

本研究考察了汉语副词中的同音歧义，特别是它们作为说话人导向、主语导向和方式导向的能力。当一个副词在同一个句子中可以有多种解释时，歧义就产生了。在中性语境中，这些解释可以共存而没有矛盾；然而，当上下文信息强调它们之间的冲突时，句子往往变得语义不连贯。通过分析以普通话为母语的人提供的句子可接受度评分和口译一致性，数据表明语境线索冲突导致口译冲突和可理解性降低。本研究运用双向最优性理论（BiOT）来模拟句法和语义约束如何相互作用产生和解释歧义状语结构。BiOT解释了相互矛盾的解释是如何相互竞争的，以及听众是如何通过过滤掉不连贯的阅读来解决歧义的。研究结果表明，汉语使用者通过词汇语用关联、语境扩展和语用推理来引导歧义，并且以说话人为导向的副词在语篇结构中起着至关重要的作用。本研究为汉语状语修饰和歧义消解提供了一种形式化的方法，强调了语境和话语在意义选择中的作用，从而为语言学理论做出了贡献。

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引用次数: 0

Pragmatics of second person address variation in New Zealand Sign Language 新西兰手语中第二人称称呼变化的语用学研究

IF 1.1 3区文学 0 LANGUAGE & LINGUISTICS

Lingua

Pub Date : 2025-07-11 DOI: 10.1016/j.lingua.2025.104009

Rachel McKee , Mireille Vale , George Major , Sara Pivac Alexander , Miriam Meyerhoff

Expansion of contexts and purposes for the use of New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL) and the affordances of online video communication modes have led to the emergence of new genre features which have not yet been described. Focusing on contemporary online informative videotexts in NZSL, we take a variationist pragmatics lens to examining variation in second person address between index-finger and whole-hand pointing forms. Forms of address are significant in the construction of social relations between speakers and addressees, having the potential to index dimensions of status, social distance and speaker stance. This study used mixed methods to investigate the use and social indexicality of a whole-hand pronominal variant in NZSL, including analysis of its distribution and associated factors in a dataset of online videotexts and data from other genres and time periods. Metapragmatic insight of NZSL signers about contextual and social motivations for the use of whole-hand pointing address enriches our interpretation of observations in the video data. In addition to confirming that the whole-hand form of address is a modern usage, participants identified four other associations with this form: genre, mode, politeness, and Māori context. We conclude that the typical use of whole-hand address in these informative online videos is a feature re-mediated from in-person public speaking contexts, which is now associated with and replicated in the online modality of this public address genre.

新西兰手语（NZSL）使用的语境和目的的扩展以及在线视频通信模式的支持导致了尚未描述的新类型特征的出现。着眼于当代新西兰语的在线信息视频文本，我们采用变异语用学的视角来研究食指和全手指向形式之间第二人称称呼的变异。称呼形式在构建说话人和被说话人之间的社会关系中具有重要意义，具有指示地位、社会距离和说话人立场维度的潜力。本研究采用混合方法调查了NZSL中全手代词变体的使用和社会索引性，包括分析其在在线视频文本数据集中的分布和相关因素，以及来自其他类型和时间段的数据。NZSL签字人对使用全手指向地址的语境和社会动机的元语用洞察丰富了我们对视频数据中观察到的解释。除了确认全手称呼是一种现代用法外，参与者还确定了与这种称呼的其他四种联系：类型、模式、礼貌和Māori语境。我们得出的结论是，在这些信息丰富的在线视频中，全手演讲的典型使用是一种从面对面的公共演讲环境中重新中介的特征，现在与这种公共演讲类型的在线模式相关联并复制。

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引用次数: 0

An Experimental Investigation into Voice Mismatches in Pseudogapping: Insights from Acceptability Judgments and Processing 伪窃听中语音不匹配的实验研究：来自可接受性判断和处理的见解

IF 1.1 3区文学 0 LANGUAGE & LINGUISTICS

Lingua

Pub Date : 2025-07-03 DOI: 10.1016/j.lingua.2025.104006

Sang-Hee Park , Jungsoo Kim

This paper investigates the acceptability and processing of the pseudogapping construction, focusing on the puzzle of voice mismatch between the antecedent and elliptical clauses (e.g., My problem will be looked into by Tom, but he won’t yours.). While syntactic accounts predict ungrammaticality for such mismatches, semantic accounts suggest that they should be acceptable. Through two acceptability judgment experiments and a self-paced reading experiment, we examine how these mismatches interact with factors that are known to influence ellipsis: information structure and the syntactic complexity of the antecedent. Results of the acceptability judgment experiments indicate that voice mismatch consistently lowers acceptability, with its impact varying by interaction with information structure and antecedent complexity. The self-paced reading experiment further shows that voice mismatch leads to longer reading times both at and before the ellipsis site. In addition, information structure and antecedent complexity independently influence processing, with the latter also modulating the effects of voice mismatch. These findings suggest that pseudogapping is not entirely resistant to syntactic mismatches; however, its judgment and processing are shaped by factors beyond syntactic identity.

本文研究了伪重叠结构的可接受性和处理，重点研究了先行句和省略句之间语音不匹配的难题（例如，Tom会研究我的问题，但他不会研究你的问题）。虽然句法解释预测了这种不匹配的不语法性，但语义解释表明它们应该是可以接受的。通过两个可接受性判断实验和一个自定节奏阅读实验，我们研究了这些不匹配如何与已知影响省略的因素相互作用：信息结构和先行词的句法复杂性。可接受性判断实验结果表明，语音失配会持续降低可接受性，其影响随信息结构和前词复杂性的相互作用而变化。自定速阅读实验进一步表明，语音不匹配导致省略号和省略号前的阅读时间延长。此外，信息结构和前件复杂性独立影响加工，后者也调节语音不匹配的影响。这些发现表明，伪标记并不完全抵抗语法不匹配；然而，它的判断和加工受到句法同一性以外的因素的影响。

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引用次数: 0

Projecting incongruity in turn and action: the TCU-medial particle ha in Chinese conversation 轮流与行动的不协调投射：汉语会话中的tcu -中间粒子ha

IF 1.1 3区文学 0 LANGUAGE & LINGUISTICS

Lingua

Pub Date : 2025-07-03 DOI: 10.1016/j.lingua.2025.103999

Yaxin Wu , Ying Hu , Elliott M. Hoey

This study investigates the interactional function of the particle ha in TCU-medial position in Chinese talk-in-interaction. While ha is generally recognized as a modal particle that solicits affirmation or confirmation in sentence-final position, and functions as a theme indicator, politeness marker, or filler in sentence-medial position, our analysis of naturally occurring conversational data reveals a distinct interactional use. Specifically, speakers deploy ha in mid-TCU to project relations of inconsistency, adversativeness, contrast, or unexpectedness between components within the same TCU. When occurring in responsive turns, ha also serves to foreshadow disalignment and/or disaffiliation with the prior speaker’s action. This projectability contributes to the organization of turn-taking by helping recipients anticipate the forthcoming incongruity and orient toward a possible transition-relevance place. In doing so, ha affords recipients additional processing time to prepare a response that is interactionally fitted to the projected stance or action. This study contributes to our understanding of grammar-in-interaction and projection in turn construction and action. Data are presented in Chinese with English translation.

本研究探讨了汉语谈话互动中tcu -中间位粒子ha的互动功能。虽然ha通常被认为是在句末位置请求肯定或确认的情态助词，并且在句中位置用作主题指示、礼貌标记或填充词，但我们对自然发生的会话数据的分析揭示了其独特的交互用法。具体来说，讲话者在TCU的中间部署它，以显示同一TCU内组件之间的不一致、对应性、对比或意外关系。当发生在响应性回合时，这也预示着与前一个说话者的动作不一致和/或不一致。这种可投射性通过帮助接受者预测即将到来的不协调并朝向可能的过渡相关位置，有助于组织轮流。在这样做的过程中，它为接受者提供了额外的处理时间来准备一个与预期的立场或动作相互适应的反应。本研究有助于我们对互动语法和投射的理解，进而对结构和动作的理解。资料以中文呈现，并附有英文翻译。

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引用次数: 0

How animacy impacts word order in Austrian Sign Language (ÖGS): Evidence from sentences with inanimate subject arguments 有生命性如何影响奥地利手语的语序（ÖGS）：来自无生命主语论证的句子的证据

IF 1.1 3区文学 0 LANGUAGE & LINGUISTICS

Lingua

Pub Date : 2025-07-02 DOI: 10.1016/j.lingua.2025.104003

Julia Krebs

Cross-linguistic evidence shows that the animacy of event participants may impact the syntactic structure in language production. This study examines the effect of animacy on word order and the previously observed preference for subject-initial orders in Austrian Sign Language (ÖGS). Therefore, word order in two sets of transitive sentences with inanimate subject arguments was tested by a production task. In particular, word order was examined in structures with an inanimate subject and an animate object argument, as well as in sentences with two inanimate arguments. Deaf fluent signers were asked to sign event descriptions elicited by stimuli that included a picture illustrating the subject argument, a picture showing the object argument, and a verb presented as a written gloss. Data analysis provides support for SOV as the basic order in ÖGS and demonstrates the robustness of the subject preference, even in sentences with inanimate subject arguments. Furthermore, while animacy does not override the subject preference in ÖGS, the data suggest that it may still influence word order in this language.

跨语言证据表明，事件参与者的活力可能会影响语言生成中的句法结构。本研究考察了动画对词序的影响，以及之前观察到的奥地利手语中对主体首字母顺序的偏好（ÖGS）。因此，用生产任务测试了两组具有无生命主论点的及物句的语序。特别地，在有一个无生命的主语和一个有生命的宾语的结构中，以及在有两个无生命的论点的句子中，研究了语序。聋哑流利的手语者被要求在刺激物引发的事件描述上签名，这些事件描述包括一张说明主体论点的图片，一张显示客体论点的图片，以及一个以书面形式呈现的动词。数据分析为SOV作为ÖGS中的基本顺序提供了支持，并证明了主语偏好的鲁棒性，即使在具有无生命主语参数的句子中也是如此。此外，虽然在ÖGS中，动画并没有超越主题偏好，但数据表明，它仍然可能影响该语言中的词序。

引用次数: 0

Language interference in Mandarin Chinese-English simultaneous interpreting: insights from multi-dimensional syntactic complexity 汉英同声传译中的语言干扰：来自多维句法复杂性的洞察

IF 1.1 3区文学 0 LANGUAGE & LINGUISTICS

Lingua

Pub Date : 2025-06-30 DOI: 10.1016/j.lingua.2025.104005

Rui Xie , Yao Yao , Wenkang Zhang , Andrew K.F. Cheung

Simultaneous interpreting (SI), a cognitively demanding task that requires real-time language comprehension and production, is influenced by source speech complexity. While extensive research has utilized mean dependency distance (MDD) to examine interpreted language, the interaction between MDD and genre in SI remains underexplored. Through the lens of cross-linguistic interference, this study investigates the influence of MDD in Mandarin Chinese source speech on the syntactic complexity of English output in SI, with a focus on the moderating effect of genre. We used the Presser Corpus, a parallel corpus of professionally interpreted press conferences that encompasses six sub-corpora across three genres: economics, healthcare, and politics/governance. The results reveal that the MDD of the source speech strongly affects the syntactic complexity of the SI output, especially at the clausal level. Pairwise comparisons indicated that the relationship between source speech MDD and syntactic complexity in interpreted outputs exhibits genre-dependent variability, as significant positive correlations were discovered in healthcare and politics/governance genres. These findings provide insights into the interplay of dependency distance and genre in shaping task difficulty and cognitive effort in Mandarin Chinese–English SI. The results have theoretical and practical implications for interpreter training and professional practice.

同声传译是一项需要实时理解和产生语言的认知要求较高的任务，它受源语复杂性的影响。虽然广泛的研究利用平均依赖距离（MDD）来研究解释语言，但MDD与语言类型之间的相互作用仍未得到充分探讨。本研究通过跨语言干扰的视角，探讨了汉语普通话源语中言语缺陷对科学探究中英语输出句法复杂性的影响，重点研究了体裁的调节作用。我们使用了Presser语料库，这是一个由专业解释的新闻发布会组成的平行语料库，包含了三种类型的六个子语料库：经济、医疗保健和政治/治理。结果表明，源语音的MDD强烈影响SI输出的句法复杂性，特别是在小句层面。两两比较表明，源语音MDD与解释输出中的句法复杂性之间的关系表现出体裁依赖的变异性，因为在医疗保健和政治/治理体裁中发现了显著的正相关。研究结果揭示了依赖距离和体裁对汉语-英语科学探究任务难度和认知努力的影响。研究结果对口译培训和专业实践具有理论和实践意义。

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引用次数: 0

Lexical-semantic and morphological co-development in L2 Chinese: a complex network approach 二语汉语词汇、语义和形态的共同发展：一个复杂的网络研究方法

IF 1.1 3区文学 0 LANGUAGE & LINGUISTICS

Lingua

Pub Date : 2025-06-26 DOI: 10.1016/j.lingua.2025.104004

Jian Li , Heng Chen

Using a complex network approach, this study explores the co-development of lexical-semantic knowledge and morphological awareness in second language (L2) Chinese learners. By tracking specific network metrics—such as the steady decline in density (ND) alongside non-monotonic shifts in weighted average degree (WAD) in the lexical-semantic networks, and the persistent rise in average degree (AD) in the word-formation networks—across three proficiency levels, we show how learners move from breadth-focused vocabulary growth toward deeper semantic integration, while their characters show enhanced compounding productivity and cohesive morphological linking. A strong correlation between these two competences is observed, with pivotal characters serving as critical links between the networks. While lexical-semantic knowledge and morphological awareness in L2 Chinese learners co-develop with increasing proficiency, they remain distinct from those of native Chinese speakers. These findings underscore the necessity of integrated, targeted, and stage-specific instructional strategies to facilitate the development of learners’ lexical competence. The study also provides practical insights for teaching Chinese as a foreign language (TCFL) through quantitative and visual analyses of L2 development.

本研究采用复杂网络研究方法，探讨了第二语言汉语学习者词汇语义知识和形态意识的共同发展。通过跟踪特定的网络指标，如词汇语义网络中密度（ND）的稳步下降以及加权平均程度（WAD）的非单调变化，以及构词法网络中平均程度（AD）的持续上升，我们展示了学习者如何从以广度为重点的词汇增长向更深层次的语义整合转变，同时他们的特征显示出增强的复合生产力和内聚形态连接。这两种能力之间存在很强的相关性，关键特征是网络之间的关键联系。虽然二语汉语学习者的词汇语义知识和词形意识是随着熟练程度的提高而共同发展的，但它们与汉语母语者仍然存在差异。这些发现强调了综合的、有针对性的、有阶段的教学策略对于促进学习者词汇能力发展的必要性。本研究还通过对二语发展的定量和可视化分析，为对外汉语教学提供了实用的见解。

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引用次数: 0

Is there a polarity-prominent language? A typological perspective on Dagaare verbal systems 有没有一种极端突出的语言？Dagaare语言系统的类型学研究

IF 1.1 3区文学 0 LANGUAGE & LINGUISTICS

Lingua

Pub Date : 2025-06-24 DOI: 10.1016/j.lingua.2025.103988

Isaac N. Mwinlaaru

To date, the three-tier typology of verbal systems into tense-prominent, aspect-prominent and mood-prominent proposed by Shankara Bhat at the end of the twentieth century seems to have stuck. The present study reveals a novel type of prominence in Dagaare (Niger-Congo: Mabia/Gur), namely polarity prominence. The study shows that distinctions in tense, mood and modality are cast in terms of polarity. First, the tense category of futurity makes positive and negative distinctions in both future and non-future. Second, indicative and imperative moods are essentially distinguished by polarity markers unique to each mood, and the sub-types of each mood are shades of polarity. This polarity-based mood distinction extends beyond the verbal domain to the domain of clause final particles and focus marking, establishing polarity concord between items of the verbal group and periphery elements of the clause. In addition, the interaction between polarity and modality enacts a cline of polarity from full positivity to full negation with a median modality in the mid region. The study also demonstrates that, although Dagaare verb morphology encodes perfective/imperfective aspectual distinction, aspect is not a competing candidate for prominence in the language. The study reveals that a robust empirical framework of prominence needs to go beyond verbal inflection and as well incorporate finiteness into the criteria of prominence.

到目前为止，Shankara Bhat在20世纪末提出的语言系统的三层类型，即时态突出，方面突出和情绪突出，似乎仍然存在。本研究揭示了Dagaare（尼日尔-刚果：Mabia/Gur）的一种新型日珥，即极性日珥。研究表明，时态、语气和情态的区别是根据极性来表现的。首先，将来时的时态范畴对将来时和非将来时进行了肯定和否定的区分。第二，指示语气和祈使语气本质上是由每个语气特有的极性标记来区分的，每个语气的子类型都是极性的阴影。这种基于极性的语气区分从动词性领域扩展到子句末助词和焦点标记领域，在动词性组项和子句外围元素之间建立极性协调。此外，极性和模态之间的相互作用使极性从完全正性到完全负性发生变化，中间区域有一个中间模态。该研究还表明，尽管Dagaare动词形态编码了完成/不完成的方面区分，但方面并不是语言中突出的竞争候选人。研究表明，一个强大的突出的经验框架需要超越语言的变化，并将有限性纳入突出的标准。

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引用次数: 0

Dynamics of scope ambiguities: comparative analysis of human and large language model performance in Korean 范围模糊的动态：韩语中人类和大型语言模型性能的比较分析

IF 1.1 3区文学 0 LANGUAGE & LINGUISTICS

Lingua

Pub Date : 2025-06-20 DOI: 10.1016/j.lingua.2025.103998

Myung Hye Yoo , Sanghoun Song

This study investigates how native Korean speakers and large language models (LLMs) resolve scope ambiguities and integrate them with discourse information, focusing on interactions between negation and quantificational phrases (QPs). The objectives were twofold: (i) to determine whether the general preference for surface scope interpretations and integration with discourse information persists in complex syntactic constructions in Korean, which require refined processing, and (ii) to assess how well LLMs comprehend and integrate semantic structures compared with human performance. The results showed a preference for surface scope among Korean speakers but did not rigidly hold against the inverse scope, particularly influenced by object QPs or long-form negation, even when contexts favor an inverse scope. LLMs developed by OpenAI—GPT-3.5 Turbo, GPT-4 Turbo, and GPT-4o—align with human judgments, mainly favoring surface scope interpretations when contexts favor the inverse scope. However, when the context supports an inverse scope, discrepancies in the handling of syntactic nuances are evident. This model tends to overgeneralize the inverse scope in specific configurations in which humans typically find the inverse scope more accessible. These findings highlight the challenges of mimicking human linguistic processing and the need for further refinement of language models to improve their interpretive accuracy.

本研究探讨了母语为韩语者和大型语言模型（llm）如何解决范围歧义并将其与话语信息相结合，重点研究了否定和定量短语（qp）之间的相互作用。研究的目的有两个：(i)确定在复杂的韩语句法结构中，对表面范围解释和话语信息整合的普遍偏好是否仍然存在，这需要进行精细的处理；（ii）评估法学硕士与人类相比在理解和整合语义结构方面的表现如何。结果显示，韩语使用者偏好表面范围，但并不严格反对反向范围，特别是受对象QPs或长形式否定的影响，即使上下文倾向于反向范围。由OpenAI-GPT-3.5 Turbo、GPT-4 Turbo和gpt - 40 -开发的llm与人类的判断一致，当上下文有利于逆范围时，主要倾向于表面范围解释。但是，当上下文支持反向作用域时，处理语法细微差别的差异就很明显了。该模型倾向于在特定配置中过度概括逆作用域，在这种配置中，人们通常会发现逆作用域更容易访问。这些发现强调了模仿人类语言处理的挑战，以及进一步完善语言模型以提高其解释准确性的必要性。

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引用次数: 0

Perspective-taking in referential discourse among Mandarin-speaking children during three-party conversations 普通话儿童三方对话中指称语篇的换位思考

IF 1.1 3区文学 0 LANGUAGE & LINGUISTICS

Lingua

Pub Date : 2025-06-19 DOI: 10.1016/j.lingua.2025.104002

Xiaobei Zheng , Yageng Li

During conversations, individuals continuously need to take others’ perspectives to constrain the referential domain. The present study specifically investigates how 3-year-old Mandarin-speaking children take the visual perspectives of two partners in three-party communications. In two experiments, two speakers took turns instructing children to identify objects on a shelf, using critical nouns that semantically matched two identical referents from the child’s visual perspective. However, one of these referents might not be visible to the speakers. The critical nouns were presented in the form of bare nouns, allowing for definite or generic interpretations in the Mandarin context, leading to a competition between single and dual references. In Experiment 1, when both speakers only saw one shared candidate object, children preferred definite interpretations, using their partners’ perspectives to narrow the referential domains. However, in Experiment 2, one of the speakers could see both candidate objects while the other could see only the shared one. Results showed that children tended to interpret both partners’ discourse similarly and preferred generic interpretations. Additionally, eye-tracking data indicated that children implicitly processed each partner’s visual perspective. This research sheds light on visual perspective-taking strategies among 3-year-old children in a Mandarin context and provides insight into how children integrate multiple perspectives in communication.

在对话过程中，个体不断需要从他人的角度来约束引用域。本研究专门调查了三岁的普通话儿童在三方交流中如何看待两个伙伴的视觉视角。在两个实验中，两位说话者轮流指导孩子们识别架子上的物品，他们使用的关键名词在语义上与孩子视觉上看到的两个相同的指代物相匹配。然而，其中一个参照物可能对说话者不可见。关键名词以裸名词的形式呈现，允许在普通话语境中进行明确或一般的解释，导致单指和双指之间的竞争。在实验1中，当两个说话者只看到一个共同的候选物体时，孩子们更喜欢明确的解释，利用他们同伴的观点来缩小参考范围。然而，在实验2中，一个说话者可以看到两个候选对象，而另一个只能看到共享的对象。结果表明，儿童倾向于相似地解读双方的话语，并倾向于通用的解读。此外，眼球追踪数据表明，孩子们隐式地处理了每个伴侣的视觉视角。本研究揭示了三岁儿童在普通话环境下的视觉视角策略，并为儿童如何在交流中整合多种视角提供了见解。

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引用次数: 0

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