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An Experimental Investigation into the Scope Assignment of Japanese and Chinese Quantifier-Negation Sentences

Publication ,  Journal Article
Chen, Y
Published in: Languages
March 1, 2024

Quantifier-Negation sentences such as all teachers did not use Sandy’s car are known to allow an inverse scope interpretation in English. However, there is a lack of experimental evidence to determine whether this interpretation is allowed in equivalent sentences in Japanese and Chinese. To address this issue, this study conducted a sentence–picture matching truth value judgment experiment in both Japanese and Chinese. The data suggested that Japanese Quantifier-Negation sentences do allow inverse scope readings, which suggests that the subject may be interpreted within the scope of negation. In contrast, Chinese Quantifier-Negation sentences prohibit inverse scope readings, which is in accordance with the strong scope rigidity consistently observed in this language. This paper also discussed how to develop a valid experiment for investigating scope ambiguities.

Duke Scholars

Published In

Languages

DOI

EISSN

2226-471X

Publication Date

March 1, 2024

Volume

9

Issue

3

Related Subject Headings

  • 4704 Linguistics
  • 4703 Language studies
 

Citation

APA
Chicago
ICMJE
MLA
NLM

Published In

Languages

DOI

EISSN

2226-471X

Publication Date

March 1, 2024

Volume

9

Issue

3

Related Subject Headings

  • 4704 Linguistics
  • 4703 Language studies