Emmy Noether Project

Overview

The DFG funded project ‘Scales in language processing and acquisition: Semantic and pragmatic contributions to implicature computation’ (SPA) investigates the meaning of scalar expressions. Scales are hidden behind many words. If something is large, it could also be huge, for example. The project SPA will shed new light on long-standing debates about the nature of scales, by investigating a large number of such expressions in language processing and acquisition. The overarching goal is to develop a new model of scales and implicature, that accounts for variability among such expressions. We will examine (a) the extent to which a single mechanism underlying implicature computation can be retained for different scales and (b) the kinds of alternatives that constitute the basis for implicature computation. A major focus will lie on the interpretation of adjectival scales, which have been well-studied in semantics but remain underexplored in pragmatics. We will employ a variety of psycholinguistic methods as well as probabilistic modeling tools in order to integrate insights from semantic and pragmatic theory and cognitive science. This project represents the first large-scale attempt at testing how various scales are processed and how semantic and pragmatic representations of scales develop in tandem. An overview of specific research questions and subprojects is provided below.

https://gepris.dfg.de/gepris/projekt/441607011

Kickoff workshop

Current members

Prof. Nicole Gotzner (PI)

Charlotte Uhlemann (PhD student)

Maria Stella Vila Avilla (student research assistant)

Mercator fellows

Prof. Ira Noveck

Prof. Louise McNally

Project-related output

Edited volumes

Gotzner, N., Harris, J., Breheny, R. & Sharvit, Y. (2025). Alternatives in Grammar and Cognition. Palgrave studies in Pragmatics, Language and Cognition, Palgrave Macmillan.

Gotzner, N. & Sauerland, U. (2022). Measurement, numerals and scales. Palgrave studies in Pragmatics, Language and Cognition, Palgrave Macmillan.

Papers

Gotzner, N. (2025). The measurement mechanism: A new theory of the lower- and upper-bounded meaning of gradable adjectives . DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.33509.92645/1

Lacina, R. & Gotzner, N. (2024). Exploring scalar diversity through priming: A lexical decision study with adjectives. Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society, 46(46).

Lacina, R., Sturt, P., & Gotzner, N. (2024). The comprehension of broad focus: Probing alternatives to verb phrases. In Topics at the Grammar-Discourse Interface. Language Science Press.

Lacina, R., Alexandropoulou, S., Ronai, E., & Gotzner, N. (2024). Scalar alternative activation in implicature processing: A lexical decision study with antonyms and negation. PsyArXiv.

Gotzner, N. & Mazzarella, D. (2024). Negative strengthening: Interplay of evaluative polarity and scale structure. Journal of Semantics. 

Alexandropoulou, S.* & Gotzner, N.* (2024). Negation, polarity and scale structure: Different inferences of gradable adjectives. Journal of Semantics. 

Alexandropoulou, S. & Gotzner, N. (2024). Gradable adjective interpretation under negation: The role of competition. Glossa: General.

Gotzner, N. & Lacina, R. (2023). Generating and selecting alternatives for scalar implicature computation: The Alternative Activation Account and other theories. To appear in Alternatives: Theoretical and empirical perspectives. Palgrave studies in Pragmatics, Language and Cognition, Palgrave Macmillan.

Korsheed, A. & Gotzner, N. (2023). A closer look at variability in scalar implicature processing. Frontiers in Psychology, 8, doi.org/10.3389/fcomm.2023.1187970.

Lacina, R.,  Šimík, R., & Gotzner, N. (2023). “Czech” the Alternatives: A Probe Recognition Study of Focus and Word Order.  Proceedings of Sinn und Bedeutung (SuB). Preprint: https://psyarxiv.com/gqrnb/

Gotzner, N. & Romoli, J. (2022). Meaning and alternatives. Invited submission to Annual Review of Linguistics, 8, 213-234. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-linguistics-031220-012013.

Gotzner, N. & Spalek, K. (2022). Expectations about upcoming discourse referents: Effects of pitch accents and focus particles in German language production. International Review of Pragmatics 14, 77–94.

Alexandropoulou, S., Herb, M, Discher, H. & Gotzner, N. (2022). Incremental pragmatic interpretation of gradable adjectives: The role of standards of comparison. In Proceedings of Semantics and Linguistic Theory (SALT), 32.

Gotzner, N. (2022). Voll Krifka! Intensification, modification and commitment. In Repp, S. & Trinh, T. (eds.): For Manfred from his Students. 27-36, Universitäts- und Stadtbibliothek Köln.

Gotzner, N. & Kiziltan, S. (2022). She is brilliant! Distinguishing different readings of relative gradable adjectives. Gotzner, N. and Sauerland, U. (ed.): Measurement, numerals and scales.

Gotzner, N. & Benz, A. (2022). Implicatures in non-monotonic environments. Proceedings of Sinn und Bedeutung (SuB), 26.

Alexandropoulou, S.* &  Gotzner, N.* (2022). Negation, polarity & scale structure: Different inferences of gradable adjectives. Proceedings of Sinn und Bedeutung (SuB), 26.

Bleotu, C., Benz, A. & Gotzner, N. (2022). Romanian 5-year-olds derive global but not local implicatures with quantifiers embedded under epistemic adverbs: Evidence from a shadow-playing paradigm. Proceedings of Sinn und Bedeutung (SuB), 26.

Bleotu, C., Benz, A. & Gotzner, N. (2021). Shadow Playing with Romanian 5-Year-Olds. Epistemic Adverbs Are a Kind of Magic!. Proceedings of Empirical investigations in linguistic meaning (ELM), 59-70, DOI: https://doi.org/10.3765/elm.1.4866.

Invited talks

Gotzner, N. Strategic language use with vague expressions, 9.3.2025, General Linguistics Seminar, Oxford University. 

Gotzner, N. Vagueness in language (inauguration lecture). Workshop on the role of loopholes in communication, 29.9.2023-30.9.2023, Osnabrück University.

Gotzner, N. Alternatives in theory and language processing. Invited talk, 10.5.2023. Distinguished speaker series, Saarbrücken University, Saarbrücken.

Gotzner, N. Valence, subjectivity and pragmatic inferences. Invited talk, 10.5.2023. Ruhr-Universität Bochum University, Bochum.

Gotzner, N. All you ever wanted to know about scales but were afraid to ask. Invited talk, 22.9.- 23.9.2022. Biennial XPRAG, Pavia.

Gotzner, N. Salar meaning and the Semantics/Pragmatics Interface. Invited talk, 14.9.- 16.9.2022. Sinn und Bedeutung, Prag.

Gotzner, N. Measurement scales and Horn scales. Invited talk, 16.5.- 18.5.2022. COSAQ workshop, ILLC, Amsterdam.

Gotzner, N. Vagueness, valence and pragmatic reasoning: Novel challenges for the Semantics/Pragmatics-Interface. Invited talk, 13.4.2022. Discourse in Philosophy Colloquium, ILLC, Amsterdam.

Gotzner, N. The measurement mechanism: The role of scale structure in implicature computation. Invited talk, 9.8.-13.8.2021. ESSLLI Workshop on Rationality and Exhaustification. Utrecht University.

Gotzner, N. & Alexandropoulou, S. The measurement mechanism: The role of scale structure in implicature computation,  27.4.2021. LACRE Series, Cardiff University. 

Gotzner, N. The use and interpretation of gradable adjectives. Invited talk, Bochum Language Colloquium, 28.1.2021, Ruhr University Bochum.

Conference presentations (selected)

Uhlemann, C. & Gotzner, N. (2024). Scale structure predicts children’s adjective productions: A corpus study on English and German. Workshop on the role of loopholes in polite communication, 7.8.20248.8.2024, UC Irvine. / Stanford University, Palo Alto. / 10th International Conference of the German Cognitive Linguistics Association, 2.9.-3.9.2024, Osnabrück University. 

Alexandropoulou, S. & Gotzner, N. (2024). The effect of standards on scalar implicature processing of gradable adjectives: A web-based eye-tracking study. Experiments in Linguistic Meaning (ELM) conference, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, June 12-14, 2024. / Poster presented at the 37th Annual Conference on Human Sentence Processing, University of Michigan, An Arbor, May 16-18, 2024. / Poster presented at the CORE Workshop on Unpacking Efficient Communication, Barcelona, April 18-19, 2024.

Lacina, R., Alexandropoulou, S., Ronai, E., & Gotzner, N. (2023). Priming scalar alternatives. Talk given at Colloquium in Sentence Processing, University of Potsdam, 28.6.2023, Potsdam.Alexandropoulou, S., and Gotzner, N. (2023). The role of standard of comparison in adjective interpretation: A web-based visual world study. (with Nicole Gotzner). Talk given at the Eye-Tracking & Language Processing Conference,7.-8.12. 2023, Athens.

Alexandropoulou, S., and Gotzner, N. (2023). The role of standard in the processing of scalar inferences of adjectives: A web-based visual world eye-tracking study. Pre-registered poster, XPRAG X, 20.9.2023-22.9.2023, Paris.

Lacina, R., Alexandropoulou, S., Ronai, E., and Gotzner, N. (2023). The Priming of Informationally Weaker Alternatives: Antonyms and Negation. Poster, XPRAG X, 20.9.2023-22.9.2023, Paris.

Lacina, R., Alexandropoulou, S., Ronai, E., and Gotzner, N. (2023). Which alternatives are relevant in scalar implicature processing? A priming study with antonyms and negation. Poster presented at the 45th Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society, Sydney, Australia, July 26 – 29.

Lacina, R., Alexandropoulou, S., Ronai, E., and Gotzner, N. (2023). Priming Scalar Alternatives under Negation and by Antonyms in Lexical Decision. Poster at the 29th Architectures and Mechanisms for Language Processing conference, 31.8.-2.9., San Sebastian. 

Lacina, R., Husband, E.M., & Gotzner, N. (2022). The Representation of Focus Alternatives in Pseudoclefts: A Probe Recognition Study. Pre-registration poster to be presented at the 9th Experimental Pragmatics Conference, September 22 – 23 Pavia, Italy.

Alexandropoulou, S., Herb, M., Discher, H. & Gotzner, N. (2022). Incremental processing of scalar inferences: The role of comparison standards. 22.9.- 23.9.2022. Biennial XPRAG, Pavia.

Bleotu, C., Benz, A. & Gotzner, N. (2022). Global implicatures and QuD: An experimental investigation. 22.9.- 23.9.2022. Biennial XPRAG, Pavia.

Lacina, R.,  Šimík, R., & Gotzner, N. (2022). “Czech” the Alternatives: A Probe Recognition Study of Focus and Word Order.  Poster presented at the 27th Sinn und Bedeutung Conference, September 14 – 16 Prague, Czech Republic.

Lacina, R., Sturt, P., & Gotzner, N. The Comprehension of Broad Focus: Probing Roothian Alternatives. Poster given at CogSci2022, July 27 - 30, Toronto, Canada.

Mehlhase, F., Gotzner, N. & Herbst, U. More than just words - The use and influence of discourse particles in the negotiation process. International Association for Conflict Management (IACM) Conference, 10.07.-13.7.2022, Ottawa, Canada.

Mehlhase, F., Gotzner, N. & Herbst, U. More than just words - The use and influence of discourse particles in the negotiation process. International conference on group decision and negotiation (GDN), 12.6.-16.6.2022, virtual.

Alexandropoulou, S., Herb, M., Discher, H., Gotzner N. Incremental pragmatic interpretation of gradable adjectives: The role of standards of comparison. Poster/alternate talk given at the SALT32, El Colegio de México, June 8 - 10, Mexico City, Mexico. 

Alexandropoulou, S., Herb, M., Discher, H., Gotzner, N. Incremental processing of scalar implicatures of adjectives: The role of lexical semantics. Talk given online at the 42nd Annual Meeting of the Department of Linguistics (AMGL42), Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, May 6-8, 2022, Thessaloniki, Greece.

Lacina, R., Šimík, R., & Gotzner, N. Focus and word order: The representation of alternatives in Czech. Poster presented virtually at the 35th Annual Human Sentence Processing Conference, March 24 – 26, Santa Cruz, CA, USA.

Lacina, R., Sturt, P., & Gotzner, N. Probing alternatives to focused VP-constituents: A test of the Roothian approach. Poster presented virtually at the 35th Annual Human Sentence Processing Conference, March 24 – 26, Santa Cruz, CA, USA.

Alexandropoulou, S. & Gotzner, N. Measurement scales and competition between alternatives. Talk given online at the 44th Annual Conference of the German Linguistics Society (workshop on “Change of State Verbs – Empirical and Theoretical Perspectives”), February 23 - 25, Tübingen, Germany.

Lacina, R., Sturt, P., & Gotzner, N. Alternatives in Broad-scope Focus: Testing Rooth’s Theory on VP-constituents. Talk given online at the 44th Annual Conference of the German Linguistics Society, February 23 - 25, Tübingen, Germany.

Alexandropoulou, S & Gotzner, N. Negation, polarity and scale structure: Different inferences of gradable adjectives. 8.10.-10.10.2021. Sinn und Bedeutung, University of Cologne.

Gotzner, N. & Benz, A. Implicatures in (non-) monotonic environments. 8.10.-10.10.2021. Sinn und Bedeutung, University of Cologne.

Bleotu, C., Benz, A. & Gotzner, N. Children derive some global implicatures, but almost no local implicatures with quantifiers embedded under epistemic adverbs: Evidence from a shadow-playing paradigm. 8.10.-10.10.2021. Sinn und Bedeutung, University of Cologne.

Lacina, R., Gotzner, N.  & Sturt, P. Alternatives in broad-scope focus: Testing Rooth’s theory on VP-constituents, AMlaP, 6.9.-8.9.2021, Paris.

Bleotu, C., Benz, A. & Gotzner, N. Children derive some global implicatures, but almost no local implicatures with quantifiers embedded under epistemic adverbs: Evidence from a shadow-playing paradigm (poster), XPRAG Italy, 8.-9.7.2021, University of Turin.

Alexandropoulou, S & Gotzner, N. The measurement mechanism: The role of scale structure in implicature computation, Workshop on Scales, degrees and implicature, 26.5.-28.5.2021, Potsdam University. 

Lacina, R. & Gotzner, N. The alternative activation theory: A unified account of the processing of focus and implicatures, Workshop on Scales, degrees and implicature, 26.5.-28.5.2021, Potsdam University. 

Key objectives (O) and research questions (RQ):

O1. Developing a new model of

          (a) the representation of different Horn scales

          (b) the mechanisms underlying implicature computation across different Horn scales

RQ1: How are different Horn scales mentally represented?

O2. Investigating the relation between alternative access and implicature computation 

RQ2: To what extent does the activation of alternatives predict implicature computation?

O3. Investigating how children acquire the semantics and pragmatics of scales 

RQ3: How can children’s variable successes in computing implicatures be explained? 

Overview of subprojects:

Our project is concerned with long-standing debates on the nature of alternatives and the relative contributions of semantics and pragmatics to computing implicature. We will employ established psycholinguistic methods to tackle these debates in a novel way and develop new experimental paradigms to investigate the interplay between the semantics and pragmatics of scales in close connection. We will apply these experimental paradigms to study a variety of different Horn scales, including connectives, quantifiers, and adjectives with different semantic scale structures (based on the sets of items from van Tiel et al., 2016 and Gotzner et al., 2018a). This will allow us to gain a better understanding of the nature of such expressions and the conversational principles underlying implicated meaning. Our project is split into four subprojects, which investigate the processing and acquisition of the semantics and pragmatics of different Horn scales in comparison. More specifically, subproject (1) investigates the representation of Horn scales and the relation between alternative activation and implicature computation in adults. Subprojects (2a) and (2b) investigate the acquisition of associations between scale-mates and the acquisition of adjectival semantics. Subproject (3) investigates the interplay of scalar implicature and negative strengthening. Finally, subproject (4) models the experimental data in an RSA framework. 

Our core technique to determine activated alternatives is semantic priming and, in addition, we will employ eye-tracking to study the online processing of implicature in adults. The acquisition projects will focus on children’s knowledge of different semantic and pragmatic aspects of scales, using priming, truth value judgment, and picture selection tasks. In our experimental investigations, we focus on 4- to 5-year-olds, who know the basic semantics of scales but often fail to compute implicatures. Further, we will look into the course of adjective acquisition and scale structure from age 1 to 5, using corpora from the CHILDES database. All projects taken together will allow us to gain unique insights into the representations of Horn scales and alternatives in children and adults.