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3. Two ʺmanyʺ- words in Italian? : on molto-tanto and cross-linguistic differences in quantificationGreta Mazzaggio, Penka Stateva, 2023, original scientific article Abstract: This article investigates the variability in the meaning of vague quantifiers across different languages, focusing on Italian’s m(any)-words molto and tanto. The aim was to replicate a previous analysis conducted on Slovenian m-words – precej and veliko – examining whether the Italian ones exhibit a similar pragmatic strengthening effect. Using a sentence-picture verification task, we tested 88 Italian monolingual participants on their evaluation of sentences of the form “Quantifier X are Y”. Our results showed that, unlike Slovenian speakers, Italian speakers do not exhibit a difference in the evaluation of molto and tanto, suggesting that the two words have the same numerical bound and are interchangeable as amount modifiers. Our analysis suggests that there are underlying semantic distinctions between molto and tanto that require further investigation. These findings contribute to our understanding of the variability in the use of quantifiers across languages and highlight the importance of examining subtle differences in meaning when studying vague quantifiers.
Keywords: cross-linguistic differences, pragmatics, quantification, semantics, vague quantifiers
Published in RUNG: 03.10.2023; Views: 824; Downloads: 8
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8. Pragmatic aspects in multilingual communication : what experimental research tells usGreta Mazzaggio, 2022, published scientific conference contribution abstract Abstract: This course will discuss how communicating in two or more languages might impact multiple cognitive domains and how this can have an effect on pragmatic abilities. We will move from studies in the field of Experimental Pragmatics, discussing the most recent theories in the field and examining the apparently discordant empirical data. We will discuss the pragmatic advantages and disadvantages of bilinguals and we will analyze the different methodological choices that we must consider when designing a study with this population. Is it enough to speak about “bilinguals”? Does proficiency play a role? How to test L2 proficiency? We will answer these kinds of questions and we will discuss potential future directions in the field. At the end of the course you will understand that there are many aspects yet to be defined and studied on the topic of bilingualism and pragmatics, a topic that is becoming more and more important in this multicultural and multilingual world we live in.
Keywords: experimental pragmatics, multilingualism, bilingualism
Published in RUNG: 06.09.2022; Views: 1107; Downloads: 6
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9. The atypical pattern of irony comprehension in autistic childrenFrancesca Panzeri, Greta Mazzaggio, Beatrice Giustolisi, Silvia Silleresi, Luca Surian, 2022, original scientific article Abstract: Nonliteral language understanding has always been recognized as problematic in autistic individuals. We ran a study on 26 autistic children (mean age = 7.3 years) and 2 comparison groups of typically developing children, 1 matched for chronological age, and 1 of younger peers (mean age = 6.11 years) matched for linguistic abilities, aiming at assessing their understanding of ironic criticisms and compliments, and identifying the cognitive and linguistic factors that may underpin this ability. Autistic participants lagged behind the comparison groups in the comprehension of both types of irony, and their performance was related to mindreading and linguistic abilities. Significant correlations were found between first-order Theory of Mind (ToM) and both types of irony, between second-order ToM and ironic compliments, and between linguistic abilities and ironic criticisms. The autistic group displayed an interesting, and previously unattested in the literature, bimodal distribution: the great majority of them (n = 18) displayed a very poor performance in irony understanding, whereas some (n = 6) were at ceiling. We discuss these results in terms of two different profiles of autistic children.
Keywords: irony, autism spectrum disorder, experimental pragmatics, theory of mind, irony comprehension
Published in RUNG: 05.05.2022; Views: 1419; Downloads: 0
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