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Linguistics Seminar - Nicole Gotzner - New date TBC due to the upcoming strike action
26 February 2020, 4:00 pm–6:00 pm
Probing the role of focus in implicature computation.
Event Information
Open to
- All
Availability
- Yes
Organiser
-
Richard Breheny
Location
-
G152 Wakefield StreetLondonWCIN 1PFUnited Kingdom
Nicole Gotzner: Probing the role of focus in implicature computation
In this talk, I will present a series of experiments testing the role of focus in implicature computation. I will first show how focus activates alternatives in online processing. I then present evidence that focal pitch accents encourage implicature computation by (i) making relevant alternatives salient and (ii) providing a strong cue that an inference should be derived. Overall, the findings indicate that focus feeds directly into the implicature generation mechanism, above and beyond its role in activating alternatives. I will discuss some possibilities on how two model the role of focus in Neo-Gricean and grammatical accounts of implicature.
About the Speaker
Nicole Gotzner
at Leibniz-Zentrum Allgemeine Sprachwissenschaft, Berlin