Intonational encoding of double negation in Catalan

In this paper we shall explore the phenomenon of double negation (DN) in a negative concord language like Catalan from an inferential perspective. According to recent developments within the generative approach to the theory of sentential grammar, a proper account of this phenomenon requires an anal...

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Authors: Espinal i Farré, M. Teresa, Prieto Vives, Pilar, 1965-
Format: article
Status:Versión aceptada para publicación
Publication Date:2011
Country:España
Institution:Universitat Pompeu Fabra
Repository:Repositorio Digital de la UPF
OAI Identifier:oai:repositori.upf.edu:10230/27932
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/10230/27932
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.pragma.2011.03.002
Access Level:Open access
Keyword:Double negation
Intonation
Procedural meaning
Catalan
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spelling Intonational encoding of double negation in CatalanEspinal i Farré, M. TeresaPrieto Vives, Pilar, 1965-Double negationIntonationProcedural meaningCatalanIn this paper we shall explore the phenomenon of double negation (DN) in a negative concord language like Catalan from an inferential perspective. According to recent developments within the generative approach to the theory of sentential grammar, a proper account of this phenomenon requires an analysis of the lexical, syntactic, and semantic conditions involved. Yet this model only attempts to account for the phenomenon of DN if two negative operators or two strong negative quantifiers are involved within a syntactic structure. In order to investigate the syntactic and prosodic conditions that affect DN interpretation in a question–answer (Q–A) dialogue in Catalan, we conducted a set of perception experiments with Central Catalan listeners. Our study supports the hypothesis that different formal conditions in the Q and A utterances (specifically, a command negative wh- Q combined with a contradictory intonational contour in the A) affect the corresponding interpretation, and that intonation encodes procedural restrictions on the proposition expressed. Results from these perception experiments confirm that the intonation contour of the negative word ningú ‘nobody’ is the key factor triggering a DN interpretation. This paper aims to contribute to our current knowledge of the prosody–meaning interface in the interpretation of negative constructions within recent work on the intonational phonology of Catalan and Relevance Theory.An earlier version of this study was presented at the Workshop on Procedural Meaning (October 2009, Madrid), and at the XX Colloquium on Generative Grammar (March 2010, Barcelona). We are grateful to C. Beyssade, B. Clark, V. Escandell, A.M. Falaus, O. Fernández Soriano, T. Fretheim, B. Gili-Fivela, M.P. D’Imperio, M. Leonetti, C. de la Mota, P. Roseano, and D. Wilson, as well as to two reviewers of the Journal of Pragmatics for very insightful comments on some of the topics raised in this article. We would also like to thank the colleagues who participated in the perception experiments, namely: N. Argemí, M. Alemany, A. Bartra, E. Bonet, J. Borràs, T. Cabré, D. Casals, R. Craviotto, V. Crespo, F. Foguet, R. Gauchola, A. Gavarro´ , G. Gómez, P. Huedo, M. Llobet, J. Mascaró, M. Massanell, M. Nadeu, X. Obradors, C. Pons, Meritxell Pons, Miquel Pons, C. Queralto´ , E. Ramírez, D. Recasens, J.M. Serra, J. Solà, X. Torres, I. Vallès, M.M. Vanrell, A. Víctor, and X. Villalba. Michael Kennedy-Scanlon deserves special thanks for improving the English manuscript. This research has been funded by two research grants awarded by the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación, namely HUM2006-13295-C02-01FILO, FFI2009-07648/FILO and CONSOLIDER-INGENIO 2010 Programme CSD2007-00012, and by two grants awarded by the Generalitat de Catalunya to both the Centre de Lingüística Teòrica (2009SGR-1073) and the Grup d’Estudis de Prosòdia (2009SGR-701). The first author also acknowledges an ICREA Acadèmia award.Elsevier201720172011info:eu-repo/semantics/articleinfo:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersionapplication/pdfapplication/pdfhttp://hdl.handle.net/10230/27932http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.pragma.2011.03.002reponame:Repositorio Digital de la UPFinstname:Universitat Pompeu FabraInglésJournal of Pragmatics. 2011 July; 43(9): 2392-2410info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/2PN/HUM2006-13295-C02-01info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/3PN/FFI2009-07648info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/2PN/CSD2007-00012© Elsevier http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.pragma.2011.03.002info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccessoai:repositori.upf.edu:10230/279322026-06-12T07:21:37Z
dc.title.none.fl_str_mv Intonational encoding of double negation in Catalan
title Intonational encoding of double negation in Catalan
spellingShingle Intonational encoding of double negation in Catalan
Espinal i Farré, M. Teresa
Double negation
Intonation
Procedural meaning
Catalan
title_short Intonational encoding of double negation in Catalan
title_full Intonational encoding of double negation in Catalan
title_fullStr Intonational encoding of double negation in Catalan
title_full_unstemmed Intonational encoding of double negation in Catalan
title_sort Intonational encoding of double negation in Catalan
dc.creator.none.fl_str_mv Espinal i Farré, M. Teresa
Prieto Vives, Pilar, 1965-
author Espinal i Farré, M. Teresa
author_facet Espinal i Farré, M. Teresa
Prieto Vives, Pilar, 1965-
author_role author
author2 Prieto Vives, Pilar, 1965-
author2_role author
dc.subject.none.fl_str_mv Double negation
Intonation
Procedural meaning
Catalan
topic Double negation
Intonation
Procedural meaning
Catalan
description In this paper we shall explore the phenomenon of double negation (DN) in a negative concord language like Catalan from an inferential perspective. According to recent developments within the generative approach to the theory of sentential grammar, a proper account of this phenomenon requires an analysis of the lexical, syntactic, and semantic conditions involved. Yet this model only attempts to account for the phenomenon of DN if two negative operators or two strong negative quantifiers are involved within a syntactic structure. In order to investigate the syntactic and prosodic conditions that affect DN interpretation in a question–answer (Q–A) dialogue in Catalan, we conducted a set of perception experiments with Central Catalan listeners. Our study supports the hypothesis that different formal conditions in the Q and A utterances (specifically, a command negative wh- Q combined with a contradictory intonational contour in the A) affect the corresponding interpretation, and that intonation encodes procedural restrictions on the proposition expressed. Results from these perception experiments confirm that the intonation contour of the negative word ningú ‘nobody’ is the key factor triggering a DN interpretation. This paper aims to contribute to our current knowledge of the prosody–meaning interface in the interpretation of negative constructions within recent work on the intonational phonology of Catalan and Relevance Theory.
publishDate 2011
dc.date.none.fl_str_mv 2011
2017
2017
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dc.identifier.none.fl_str_mv http://hdl.handle.net/10230/27932
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.pragma.2011.03.002
url http://hdl.handle.net/10230/27932
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.pragma.2011.03.002
dc.language.none.fl_str_mv Inglés
language_invalid_str_mv Inglés
dc.relation.none.fl_str_mv Journal of Pragmatics. 2011 July; 43(9): 2392-2410
info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/2PN/HUM2006-13295-C02-01
info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/3PN/FFI2009-07648
info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/2PN/CSD2007-00012
dc.rights.none.fl_str_mv © Elsevier http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.pragma.2011.03.002
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
rights_invalid_str_mv © Elsevier http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.pragma.2011.03.002
eu_rights_str_mv openAccess
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dc.publisher.none.fl_str_mv Elsevier
publisher.none.fl_str_mv Elsevier
dc.source.none.fl_str_mv reponame:Repositorio Digital de la UPF
instname:Universitat Pompeu Fabra
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reponame_str Repositorio Digital de la UPF
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