Publications

Degano, M., Marty, P., Ramotowska, S., Aloni, M., Breheny, R., Sudo, Y., & Romoli, J. (2025). The ups and downs of ignorance. Natural Language Semantics. 

Wang, D.P. , Sadrzadeh, M. Stanojević,  M., Chow, W-Y., & Breheny, R. (2025). Extracting structure from an LLM - how to improve on surprisal-based models of Human Language Processing. Proceedings of COLING2025.

Qin, E., Sun, C., & Breheny, R. (2025). Does ‘a couple’ pattern with scalars or numbers - Insights from inference and ‘so’ tasks. In Tyler Knowlton, Florian Schwarz, Anna Papafragou (eds) Experiments in Linguistic Meaning, Vol. 3 .

Gotzner, N., Harris, J.A., Breheny, R., Sharvit, Y. (2024). Alternatives in Grammar and Cognition. Palgrave Studies in Pragmatics, Language and Cognition. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-76676-3.

Erbach, K., Alexandropoulou, S. Breheny, R., Mayr, C. Romoli, J.,  Sudo, Y. (2024). Putting summative predicates into context. In Proceedings of the Amsterdam Colloquium  2024. 

Alexandropoulou, S., Erbach, K., Breheny, R., Mayr, C., Romoli, J., Sudo, Y. (2024). Non-maximality effects in gestural plural predication. In Proceedings of the Amsterdam Colloquium  2024. 

Wang, D., Sadrzadeh, M., Stanojević, M., Chow, W-Y., and Breheny, R. (2024). How can large language models become more human?. In Proceedings of the Workshop on Cognitive Modeling and Computational Linguistics, pages 166–176, Bangkok, Thailand. Association for Computational Linguistics..  

Marty, P. Romoli, J., Sudo, Y & Breheny, R. (2024). Probing the probe: why inference tasks may inflate response rates for Scalar Implicature. In N. Gotzner et al. eds, Alternatives: Theoretical and Empirical Perspectives. Palgrave Studies in Pragmatics, Language and Cognition.

Marty, P., Romoli, J., Sudo, Y., van Tiel, B. & Breheny, R. (2024) Scalar Inferencing, Polarity and Cognitive Load. Glossa Psycholinguistics. 

Marty, P., Romoli, J., Sudo, Y & Breheny, R. (2024). Implicature priming, salience, and context adaptation. Cognition. 

Marty, P., Romoli, J., Sudo, Y & Breheny, R. (2024). What makes an inference robust? Journal of Semantics. 

Sun, C. & Breheny, R. (2023). A corpus-based examination of Scalar Diversity. J. of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory and Cognition. DOI: 10.1037/xlm0001278 

Jiang, Y., Ren, R., Shen, Y., Breheny, R., Marty, P., Sudo, Y. (2023). Plural priming revisited: inverse preference and spillover effects. In Proceedings of the Amsterdam Colloquium  2022.

Ramotowska, Sonia, Paul Marty, Jacopo Romoli, Yasutada Sudo & Richard Breheny. (2023). Diversity with universality. In Proceedings of the Amsterdam Colloquium  2022.

Augurzky, P., Bonnet, M., Breheny, R., Cremers, A., Ebert, C., Mayr, C., Romoli, J., Steinbach, M., Sudo, Y. (2023). Putting plurals in context. In Proceedings of Sinn und Bedeutung. 

Sun, C. & Breheny, R. (2022). The role of Alternatives in the interpretation of scalars and numbers – insights from the inference task. Semantics and Pragmatics

Marty, P., Romoli, J., Sudo, Y & Breheny, R. (2021). Negative Free Choice. Semantics & Pragmatics

Tian, Y., van Tiel, B., Clin, E., & Breheny, R. (2021). Representing polar questions. J. of Psycholinguistic Research - Special Issue on Negation and Polarity

Wang, S., Sun, C., Tian, Y & Breheny, R. (2021). Verifying negative sentences. J. of Psycholinguistic Research - Special Issue on Negation and Polarity 

Zheng, X. & Breheny, R. (2021). Investigating the basis of memory-based effects on common ground.  Language Cognition & Neuroscience.

Symeonidou, I, Ferguson, H., Dumontheil, I., Breheny, R. (2020)  Adolescents are delayed at inferring complex social intentions in others, but not basic (false) beliefs: An eye movement investigation. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology 

Sun, C., Rothschild, D. & Breheny, R. (2020). Exploring the existential/universal ambiguity in singular donkey sentences. Proceedings of Sinn & Bedeutung, 24.

Sun, C. & Breheny, R. (2020) Another look at the online processing of scalar inferences: an investigation of conflicting findings from visual-world eye-tracking studies. Language, Cognition and Neuroscience. 

Salter, G. & Breheny, R. (2019) Removing shared information improves 3- to 4-year-olds’ performance on a change of location explicit false belief task. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology. 

Breheny, R. (2019). Language Processing, Relevance and Questions. In K. Scott, B. Clark & R. Carston (eds), Relevance: Pragmatics and Interpretation. CUP. 

Breheny, R. (2019) Scalar implicatures in a Gricean cognitive system. In N. Katos & C. Cummins (eds). Handbook of Experimental Semantics and Pragmatics. OUP. 

Tian, Y. & Breheny, R. (2019) Pragmatics and negative sentence processing. In N. Katos & C. Cummins (eds). Handbook of Experimental Semantics and Pragmatics. OUP.

Sun, C., Tian, Y. & Breheny R. (2018) A link between local enrichment and scalar diversity. Frontiers in Psychology.  9: 2092

Sun, C. & Breheny, R. (2018) Shared mechanism underlying unembedded and embedded enrichments: Evidence from enrichment priming. Proceedings of Sinn & Bedeutung 22. 

Breheny, R., Klinedinst, N., Romoli, J., & Sudo, Y. (2018).  The symmetry problem: Current theories and prospects. Natural Language Semantics

Tian, Y., Ferguson, H. & Breheny, R. (2016). Processing negation in context - why andwhen we represent the positive argument. Language Cognition and Neuroscience. 31 (5), 683-698.

Symeonidou, I., Dumontheil, I., Chow, W-Y., & Breheny, R. (2016) Development of online use of theory of mind in adolescence: an eye-tracking study.. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology.149, 81-97

Tian, Y. & Breheny, R. (2015). The dynamic pragmatic view of negation processing. To appear in Larrivee, P. & Lee, C. (eds) Negation and negative polarity : Cognitive and experimental perspectives. Springer.

Breheny, R. E. T., Ferguson, H. J., Katsos, N. (2013). Taking the epistemic step: Toward a model of on-line access to conversational implicatures. Cognition 126(3), 423-440. 

Breheny, R. E. T., Ferguson, H. J., Katsos, N. (2013). Investigating the timecourse of accessing conversational implicatures during incremental sentence interpretation.Language and Cognitive Processes

Parr, N., Breheny, R. E. T. (2012). Semantic Bootstrapping and the Role of Meta-cognition. BUCLD 36 Proceedings. Cascadilla Press.

Breheny, R. (2011). Experimentation-Based Pragmatics. In Bublitz, W., Norrick, N. (Eds.). Handbook of Pragmatics: Volume 1 Foundations of Pragmatics ( ). Mouton – de Gruyter.

Ferguson, H. J., Breheny, R. E. T. (2012). Listeners' eyes reveal spontaneous sensitivity to others' perspectives. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology.

Ferguson, H., BREHENY, R. (2011). Eye movements reveal the time-course of anticipating behaviour based on complex, conflicting desires. Cognition 119(2), 179-196.

Tian, Y., BREHENY, R., Ferguson, H. J. (2010). Why we simulate negated information: A dynamic pragmatic account. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology 63(12), 2305-2312.

Katsos, N., Breheny, R. (2010). Two experiments and some suggestions on the meaning of scalars and numerals. In Németh T, E., Bibok, K. (Eds.). The Role of Data at the Semantics-Pragmatics Interface ( Vol. 9 pp.125-160). Berlin, Germany De Gruyter

Breheny, R. (2009). Meaning. In Cummings, L. (Ed.). The Routledge Pragmatics Encyclopedia ( ). Routledge.

Breheny, R. (2009). Radical Pragmatics. In Cummings, L. (Ed.). The Routledge Pragmatics Encyclopedia ( ). Routledge.. 

Breheny, R. (2008). A New Look at the Semantics and Pragmatics of Numerically Quantified Noun Phrases. Journal of Semantics 25(2), 93-139.

Breheny, R. (2006). Communication and folk psychology. Mind and Language 21(1), 74-107. 

Breheny, R. (2006). 'Non-specific Specifics and the Source of Existential Closure of Exceptional-Scope Indefinites'. UCL.

Breheny, R. (2006). Pragmatic Analyses of Anaphoric Pronouns: Do Things Look Better in 2-D? In García-Carpintero, M., Macia, J. (Eds.). Two-Dimensional Semantics ( pp.22-37). Oxford OUP

Breheny, R., Katsos, N., Williams, J. (2006). Are generalised scalar implicatures generated by default? An on-line investigation into the role of context in generating pragmatic inferences. COGNITION 100(3), 434-463.

Breheny, R. (2005). Exhaustivity, Homogeneity & Definiteness. Amsterdam Colloquium. ( Vol. 15 pp.59-65). Amsterdam Universiteit van Amsterdam.

Breheny, R. (2005). Some scalar implicatures really aren't quantity implicatures - but "some"'s are. Sinn & Bedeutung. ( Vol. 9 pp.57-71).

Breheny, R., Adger, D. (2005). Commentary on 'exaption and linguistic explanation'.Lingua 115, 1673-1677.

Katsos, N., Breheny, R., Williams, J. (2005). The Interaction of Structural and Contextual Constraints During the On-line Generation of Scalar Inferences. 27th Annual Conference of the Cognitive Science Society. ( Vol. 27 ). Laurence Erlbaum and Associates.

Breheny, R. (2004). 'Indefinites and Anaphoric Dependence - A Case for Dynamic Semantics or Pragmatics?'. In Reimer, M., Bezuidenhout, A. (Eds.). Descriptions and Beyond ( pp.455-483). OUP.

Breheny, R. (2003). A lexicalist account of implicit (bound) context dependence. Proceedings from Semantics and Linguistic Theory XIII. ( pp.55-73). Ithaca, US CLC Publications, Cornell University.

Breheny, R. (2003). On Bindability. Amsterdam Colloquium. ( Vol. 14 pp.81-87). Amsterdam Universiteit van Amsterdam.

Breheny, R. (2003). On the Dynamic Turn in the Study of Meaning and Interpretation. In Jaroslav, P. (Ed.). Meaning: The Dynamic Turn  (pp.69-89). Elsevier.

Breheny, R. (2002). Exceptional-Scope Indefinites and Domain Restriction. Sinn & Bedeutung. ( Vol. 7 pp.38-52). Konstanz Universit¨at Konstanz.

Breheny, R. (2002). Non-dynamic analyses of anaphoric pronouns: Do things look better in 2-D? Sinn & Bedeutung. (Vol. 6 pp.17-29). Osnabrueck University of Osnabrueck.

Breheny, R. (2002). The Current State of (Radical) Pragmatics in the Cognitive Sciences. Mind and Language 17(1&2), 169-187.

Breheny, R. (2001). Meaning, Communication and Theory of Mind. Cognitive Science Society. ( Vol. 23 pp.128-133). London Laurence Erlbaum and Associates.