ERIC Number: EJ1370667
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2022
Pages: 28
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0163-853X
EISSN: EISSN-1532-6950
Available Date: N/A
"He May Certainly Have Forgotten": Processing of Nested Epistemic Expressions
Discourse Processes: A Multidisciplinary Journal, v59 n8 p591-618 2022
This article presents a series of three experiments investigating the processing of nested epistemic expressions, utterances containing two epistemic modals in one clause, such as "he 'certainly may' have forgotten." While some linguists claim that in a nested epistemic expression one modal is semantically embedded within the scope of the other modal based on the word order, it is possible that in daily conversation the scope of nested modals may not be thoroughly processed, leading to a "good-enough" interpretation that is not sensitive to the word order of the two modals. This study used probability judgment tests to investigate people's interpretation of nested epistemic expressions, and the effect of word order was not observed. This result fails to support the scope account of the nested epistemic expressions and suggests a holistic processing mechanism in line with the good-enough processing framework.
Descriptors: Epistemology, Expressive Language, Language Styles, Linguistic Input, Adults, Word Order, Linguistic Theory, Inferences, Probability, Sentences, College Students
Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 530 Walnut Street Suite 850, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Tel: 215-625-8900; Fax: 215-207-0050; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) (DHHS/NIH)
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: California
Grant or Contract Numbers: 1R01HD10051601A1
Author Affiliations: N/A