Scalar alternative activation for implicature processing : a
lexical decision study with antonyms and negation

J 2026

Scalar alternative activation for implicature processing : a lexical decision study with antonyms and negation

LACINA, Radim; Stavroula ALEXANDROPOULOU; Eszter RONAI a Nicole GOTZNER

Základní údaje

Originální název

Scalar alternative activation for implicature processing : a lexical decision study with antonyms and negation

Autoři

LACINA, Radim ; Stavroula ALEXANDROPOULOU; Eszter RONAI a Nicole GOTZNER

Vydání

Language and Cognition, Cambridge (United Kingdom), Cambridge University Press, 2026, 1866-9808

Další údaje

Jazyk

angličtina

Typ výsledku

Článek v odborném periodiku

Obor

60203 Linguistics

Stát vydavatele

Velká Británie a Severní Irsko

Utajení

není předmětem státního či obchodního tajemství

Odkazy

Plný text článku

Impakt faktor

Impact factor: 1.400 v roce 2024

Označené pro přenos do RIV

Ano

Organizační jednotka

Filozofická fakulta

Klíčová slova anglicky

adjectives; antonyms; lexical decision task; negation; priming; scalar implicature

Štítky

rivok

Příznaky

Mezinárodní význam, Recenzováno

Změněno: 24. 3. 2026 10:28, Mgr. Ester Gaja Pučálková, Ph.D.

Anotace

V originále

Scalar words such as warm may give rise to inferences such as warm but not hot. Under standard accounts, such scalar implicatures are derived by negating stronger alternatives. In processing, weaker scale-mates (warm) prime stronger ones (hot), suggesting that the latter are used in implicature processing (De Carvalho et al., 2016. Frontiers in Psychology, 7, 1500; Ronai & Xiang, 2023. Experiments in Linguistic Meaning, 2, 229–240). We test whether the activation of alternatives holds when no implicature is expected to arise and examine what kinds of alternatives form the basis from which scalar implicature derivation proceeds. We employ two manipulations: negation and antonymy. In line with an account derived from the theoretical treatments of implicature (e.g., Horn, 1972. On the semantic properties of logical operators in English), negating scale-mates cancelled the activation of strong terms (hot). Contrary to these accounts, however, antonyms activated the same targets. In a joint analysis, we found that negation interacted with both scale-mate primes and antonym primes. We explain these findings within the Alternative Activation Account (Gotzner, 2017. Alternative sets in language processing: How focus alternatives are represented in the mind), which assumes an initial activation of a broad cohort of associated expressions and their subsequent grammatical and contextual narrowing.

Přiložené soubory

scalar-alternative-activation-for-implicature-processing-a-lexical-decision-study-with-antonyms-and-negation.pdf

Citovat

LACINA, Radim; Stavroula ALEXANDROPOULOU; Eszter RONAI a Nicole GOTZNER. Scalar alternative activation for implicature processing : a lexical decision study with antonyms and negation. Language and Cognition. Cambridge (United Kingdom): Cambridge University Press, 2026, roč. 18, č. 1, s. 1-22. ISSN 1866-9808. Dostupné z: https://doi.org/10.1017/langcog.2026.10060.

@article{2550605,
   author = {Lacina, Radim and Alexandropoulou, Stavroula and Ronai, Eszter and Gotzner, Nicole},
   article_location = {Cambridge (United Kingdom)},
   article_number = {1},
   doi = {https://doi.org/10.1017/langcog.2026.10060},
   keywords = {adjectives; antonyms; lexical decision task; negation; priming; scalar implicature},
   language = {eng},
   issn = {1866-9808},
   journal = {Language and Cognition},
   title = {Scalar alternative activation for implicature processing : a lexical decision study with antonyms and negation},
   url = {https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/language-and-cognition/article/scalar-alternative-activation-for-implicature-processing-a-lexical-decision-study-with-antonyms-and-negation/AF9F8BC1150FC555403AB36A27246D42},
   volume = {18},
   year = {2026}
}

TY  - JOUR
ID  - 2550605
AU  - Lacina, Radim - Alexandropoulou, Stavroula - Ronai, Eszter - Gotzner, Nicole
PY  - 2026
TI  - Scalar alternative activation for implicature processing : a lexical decision study with antonyms and negation
JF  - Language and Cognition
VL  - 18
IS  - 1
SP  - 1-22
EP  - 1-22
PB  - Cambridge University Press
SN  - 18669808
KW  - adjectives
KW  - antonyms
KW  - lexical decision task
KW  - negation
KW  - priming
KW  - scalar implicature
UR  - https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/language-and-cognition/article/scalar-alternative-activation-for-implicature-processing-a-lexical-decision-study-with-antonyms-and-negation/AF9F8BC1150FC555403AB36A27246D42
N2  - Scalar words such as warm may give rise to inferences such as warm but not hot. Under standard accounts, such scalar implicatures are derived by negating stronger alternatives. In processing, weaker scale-mates (warm) prime stronger ones (hot), suggesting that the latter are used in implicature processing (De Carvalho et al., 2016. Frontiers in Psychology, 7, 1500; Ronai & Xiang, 2023. Experiments in Linguistic Meaning, 2, 229–240). We test whether the activation of alternatives holds when no implicature is expected to arise and examine what kinds of alternatives form the basis from which scalar implicature derivation proceeds. We employ two manipulations: negation and antonymy. In line with an account derived from the theoretical treatments of implicature (e.g., Horn, 1972. On the semantic properties of logical operators in English), negating scale-mates cancelled the activation of strong terms (hot). Contrary to these accounts, however, antonyms activated the same targets. In a joint analysis, we found that negation interacted with both scale-mate primes and antonym primes. We explain these findings within the Alternative Activation Account (Gotzner, 2017. Alternative sets in language processing: How focus alternatives are represented in the mind), which assumes an initial activation of a broad cohort of associated expressions and their subsequent grammatical and contextual narrowing.
ER  -

LACINA, Radim; Stavroula ALEXANDROPOULOU; Eszter RONAI a Nicole GOTZNER. Scalar alternative activation for implicature processing : a lexical decision study with antonyms and negation. \textit{Language and Cognition}. Cambridge (United Kingdom): Cambridge University Press, 2026, roč.~18, č.~1, s.~1-22. ISSN~1866-9808. Dostupné z: https://doi.org/10.1017/langcog.2026.10060.

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