中国英语学习者预设与等级含义的加工机制

Processing Presuppositions and Scalar Implicatures by Mandarin Chinese Speakers of English

预设与等级含义的推导涉及语义和语用信息,二者虽同处语义-语用这一外接口之上,但又存在差异。本研究采用黑箱范式,以语用推导的生成和消除为研究视角,考察中国英语学习者解读预设和等级含义的加工机制。研究结果表明,尽管二语者与母语者的总体加工模式存在相似之处,但是二语者解读预设和等级含义的加工机制存在差异,这说明预设和等级含义分属两种不同的推导类型。本研究通过展示二语者在语义-语用接口上复杂的加工行为,期望为实验语义-语用研究和基于"接口假说"的二语习得研究带来新的借鉴和启发。

Interpreting presuppositions and scalar implicatures involves semantic and pragmatic information.The two types of inferences are both situated at the same external interface,i.e.,semantics-pragmatics interface,sharing similarities and differences.By employing a covered-box picture-selection task,the present research aims to investigate the processing mechanism(including generating and suspending)of interpreting presuppositions and scalar implicatures by Chinese learners of English.The results from the native speaker group and the learner group both indicate that presuppositions and scalar implicatures have distinctive processing mechanisms,suggesting that the two belong to different types of inferences.The paper hopes to provide new insights to experimental semantic and pragmatic research,as well as to second language acquisition studies that are based on the Interface Hypothesis.