Testing theories of temporal inferences: evidence from child language. Cremers, A., Kane, F., Tieu, L., Kennedy, L., Sudo, Y., Folli, R., & Romoli, J. Glossa: a Journal of Generative Linguistics, 3(1):1–21, 2018. ![Testing theories of temporal inferences: evidence from child language [pdf]](https://bibbase.org/img/filetypes/pdf.svg "pdf")
Paper abstract bibtex 1 download Sentences involving past tense verbs, such as ``My dogs were on the carpet'', tend to give rise to the inference that the corresponding present tense version, ``My dogs are on the carpet'', is false. This inference is often referred to as a cessation or temporal inference, and is generally analyzed as a type of implicature. There are two main proposals for capturing this asymmetry: one assumes a difference in informativity between the past and present counterparts (Altshuler & Schwarzschild 2013), while the other proposes a structural difference between the two (Thomas 2012). The two approaches are similar in terms of empirical coverage, but differ in their predictions for language acquisition. Using a novel animated picture selection paradigm, we investigated these predictions. Specifically, we compared the performance of a group of 4–6-year-old children and a group of adults on temporal inferences, scalar implicatures arising from ``some'', and inferences of adverbial modifiers under negation. The results revealed that overall, children computed all three inferences at a lower rate than adult controls; however they were more adult-like on temporal inferences and inferences of adverbial modifiers than on scalar implicatures. We discuss the implications of the findings, both for a developmental alternatives-based hypothesis (e.g., Barner et al. 2011; Singh et al. 2016; Tieu et al. 2016; 2018), as well as theories of temporal inferences, arguing that the finding that children were more (and equally) adult-like on temporal inferences and adverbial modifiers supports a structural theory of temporal inferences along the lines of Thomas (2012).
@article{Kane:2018,
abstract = {Sentences involving past tense verbs, such as ``My dogs were on the carpet'', tend to give rise
to the inference that the corresponding present tense version, ``My dogs are on the carpet'', is
false. This inference is often referred to as a cessation or temporal inference, and is generally
analyzed as a type of implicature. There are two main proposals for capturing this asymmetry:
one assumes a difference in informativity between the past and present counterparts (Altshuler
& Schwarzschild 2013), while the other proposes a structural difference between the two
(Thomas 2012). The two approaches are similar in terms of empirical coverage, but differ in
their predictions for language acquisition. Using a novel animated picture selection paradigm,
we investigated these predictions. Specifically, we compared the performance of a group of
4--6-year-old children and a group of adults on temporal inferences, scalar implicatures arising
from ``some'', and inferences of adverbial modifiers under negation. The results revealed that
overall, children computed all three inferences at a lower rate than adult controls; however
they were more adult-like on temporal inferences and inferences of adverbial modifiers than
on scalar implicatures. We discuss the implications of the findings, both for a developmental
alternatives-based hypothesis (e.g., Barner et al. 2011; Singh et al. 2016; Tieu et al. 2016; 2018), as
well as theories of temporal inferences, arguing that the finding that children were more (and
equally) adult-like on temporal inferences and adverbial modifiers supports a structural theory
of temporal inferences along the lines of Thomas (2012).},
author = {Cremers, Alexandre and Kane, Frances and Tieu, Lyn and Kennedy, Lynda and Sudo, Yasutada and Folli, Raffaella and Romoli, Jacopo},
date-added = {2020-06-30 22:45:38 +0100},
date-modified = {2020-07-24 22:27:51 +0200},
journal = {{Glossa: a Journal of Generative Linguistics}},
number = {1},
pages = {1--21},
title = {Testing theories of temporal inferences: evidence from child language},
url = {https://pureadmin.qub.ac.uk/ws/portalfiles/portal/164005464/604_11749_1_PB.pdf},
volume = {3},
year = {2018},
bdsk-url-1 = {https://pureadmin.qub.ac.uk/ws/portalfiles/portal/164005464/604_11749_1_PB.pdf}}
Downloads: 1
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There are two main proposals for capturing this asymmetry: one assumes a difference in informativity between the past and present counterparts (Altshuler & Schwarzschild 2013), while the other proposes a structural difference between the two (Thomas 2012). The two approaches are similar in terms of empirical coverage, but differ in their predictions for language acquisition. Using a novel animated picture selection paradigm, we investigated these predictions. Specifically, we compared the performance of a group of 4–6-year-old children and a group of adults on temporal inferences, scalar implicatures arising from ``some'', and inferences of adverbial modifiers under negation. The results revealed that overall, children computed all three inferences at a lower rate than adult controls; however they were more adult-like on temporal inferences and inferences of adverbial modifiers than on scalar implicatures. We discuss the implications of the findings, both for a developmental alternatives-based hypothesis (e.g., Barner et al. 2011; Singh et al. 2016; Tieu et al. 2016; 2018), as well as theories of temporal inferences, arguing that the finding that children were more (and equally) adult-like on temporal inferences and adverbial modifiers supports a structural theory of temporal inferences along the lines of Thomas (2012).","author":[{"propositions":[],"lastnames":["Cremers"],"firstnames":["Alexandre"],"suffixes":[]},{"propositions":[],"lastnames":["Kane"],"firstnames":["Frances"],"suffixes":[]},{"propositions":[],"lastnames":["Tieu"],"firstnames":["Lyn"],"suffixes":[]},{"propositions":[],"lastnames":["Kennedy"],"firstnames":["Lynda"],"suffixes":[]},{"propositions":[],"lastnames":["Sudo"],"firstnames":["Yasutada"],"suffixes":[]},{"propositions":[],"lastnames":["Folli"],"firstnames":["Raffaella"],"suffixes":[]},{"propositions":[],"lastnames":["Romoli"],"firstnames":["Jacopo"],"suffixes":[]}],"date-added":"2020-06-30 22:45:38 +0100","date-modified":"2020-07-24 22:27:51 +0200","journal":"Glossa: a Journal of Generative Linguistics","number":"1","pages":"1–21","title":"Testing theories of temporal inferences: evidence from child language","url":"https://pureadmin.qub.ac.uk/ws/portalfiles/portal/164005464/604_11749_1_PB.pdf","volume":"3","year":"2018","bdsk-url-1":"https://pureadmin.qub.ac.uk/ws/portalfiles/portal/164005464/604_11749_1_PB.pdf","bibtex":"@article{Kane:2018,\n\tabstract = {Sentences involving past tense verbs, such as ``My dogs were on the carpet'', tend to give rise\nto the inference that the corresponding present tense version, ``My dogs are on the carpet'', is\nfalse. This inference is often referred to as a cessation or temporal inference, and is generally\nanalyzed as a type of implicature. There are two main proposals for capturing this asymmetry:\none assumes a difference in informativity between the past and present counterparts (Altshuler\n& Schwarzschild 2013), while the other proposes a structural difference between the two\n(Thomas 2012). The two approaches are similar in terms of empirical coverage, but differ in\ntheir predictions for language acquisition. Using a novel animated picture selection paradigm,\nwe investigated these predictions. Specifically, we compared the performance of a group of\n4--6-year-old children and a group of adults on temporal inferences, scalar implicatures arising\nfrom ``some'', and inferences of adverbial modifiers under negation. The results revealed that\noverall, children computed all three inferences at a lower rate than adult controls; however\nthey were more adult-like on temporal inferences and inferences of adverbial modifiers than\non scalar implicatures. We discuss the implications of the findings, both for a developmental\nalternatives-based hypothesis (e.g., Barner et al. 2011; Singh et al. 2016; Tieu et al. 2016; 2018), as\nwell as theories of temporal inferences, arguing that the finding that children were more (and\nequally) adult-like on temporal inferences and adverbial modifiers supports a structural theory\nof temporal inferences along the lines of Thomas (2012).},\n\tauthor = {Cremers, Alexandre and Kane, Frances and Tieu, Lyn and Kennedy, Lynda and Sudo, Yasutada and Folli, Raffaella and Romoli, Jacopo},\n\tdate-added = {2020-06-30 22:45:38 +0100},\n\tdate-modified = {2020-07-24 22:27:51 +0200},\n\tjournal = {{Glossa: a Journal of Generative Linguistics}},\n\tnumber = {1},\n\tpages = {1--21},\n\ttitle = {Testing theories of temporal inferences: evidence from child language},\n\turl = {https://pureadmin.qub.ac.uk/ws/portalfiles/portal/164005464/604_11749_1_PB.pdf},\n\tvolume = {3},\n\tyear = {2018},\n\tbdsk-url-1 = {https://pureadmin.qub.ac.uk/ws/portalfiles/portal/164005464/604_11749_1_PB.pdf}}\n\n","author_short":["Cremers, A.","Kane, F.","Tieu, L.","Kennedy, L.","Sudo, Y.","Folli, R.","Romoli, J."],"key":"Kane:2018","id":"Kane:2018","bibbaseid":"cremers-kane-tieu-kennedy-sudo-folli-romoli-testingtheoriesoftemporalinferencesevidencefromchildlanguage-2018","role":"author","urls":{"Paper":"https://pureadmin.qub.ac.uk/ws/portalfiles/portal/164005464/604_11749_1_PB.pdf"},"metadata":{"authorlinks":{"cremers, a":"https://alexandrecremers.com/papers/","romoli, j":"https://www.jacoporomoli.com/publications/"}},"downloads":1},"search_terms":["testing","theories","temporal","inferences","evidence","child","language","cremers","kane","tieu","kennedy","sudo","folli","romoli"],"keywords":[],"authorIDs":["2TMyPMzvAxj6qkKWD","46ke6c5XsRevBTqo6","5LhA3wndhFLQ3hSLW","5TrsDfDDhhHqohbza","5b772b948722ba10000000c6","5ded28aa9d5885de0100002e","5defcc93090769df0100004d","5df3c8e6580920de010000cd","5df446c496bfa7de010000f8","5e0237284a106ede010000b0","6tdbFYkYtBXhJ6xWy","A5LGLzGDhrPQ78r2S","AR5auk45aaYT92Ba5","BP8fKfQPBYFgu2jDC","C7ugQRbRguERfFcCT","CKhuXRB4NczdLdmKK","F7QNQ47BTGfqGCzxG","G9Ld5Mt7PEST8mY7p","Jn9e4CGZkksr4MyiT","KqHAcspX3r96SEgkD","LJRnH8f2g3zx2uLiW","NKMbuoW32NHk9yy9Q","QhrMyvhTCm4DhfWLR","Qn3aoWhjPqg7FkGGK","QuocuCM3BrMsFFbyQ","T7BPjsEvgtYeewBdT","TDSdrKHmhfh7k9qN2","TucJ7Hy3CoaWSQXxY","YpzdN2XSYdMj5JyDv","ZmQP2LxuMCPvKtE36","ZqamCJ8xomnMPFtqB","aKm7G66Kw99nHPfDH","bjiPNspgrPyKT3XmT","c6LYakajqzPNHZNNW","cJk6mfedugAchrwLo","ccc6DxoXEoXufCPNL","cvat9umu6EgXLprWm","cwYzAxXRHEdDr8vsf","fQgTKqbnAJHwia63T","gRtFrxLsRipgdmpaC","hspdRwtZcpRZadfW4","izTQtnuPoQFqh3XmS","jbiFYfDfCwv48xmjd","mtnL8So43Pn8dhtdJ","n6yxzGTKC8BK4Xnay","pBhkofsQfdWzwbfaZ","pNmSCcXK5xrS4B44B","pvhzTvnerq8koENAY","qMjTCXz3KDYkuBdoc","tGv2mAzenvkQeCBg7","vw4DbLvk2YyZ4sLf5","xdYZoGCTqTBeYFif8"],"dataSources":["RBYmb5LreBfKTjPno","GACK8fHq24gbaRazm","RcdE3bytcCGmdNfWD","zL4MixWwA35FP7qrP","DiqyQpp5ps9F8Cah4","3RXCuCgrxw38ZCvNr","qPdT3zqkoJgwvF4se","SjxTe3k2DTi5Xd679","zA3o7JA88DqAqwDdu","pBzAorRHEDcEtcD4w","ZpuTJ2Q2bkWfjy6T9","zXjbvhdz7MgsXeJg9","hp6Q8qAkhNuhd7xLB"]}