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Plural mass nouns and the construal of individuation : Crosslinguistic evidence from verbal and nonverbal behaviour in labelling and non-labelling contexts

Athanasiadou, Ifigeneia and Athanasopoulos, Panos LU (2017) In Cognitive Semantics 3. p.62-94
Abstract
Considering the third time frame of the thinking-for-speaking hypothesis (tfs), online language use affects subsequent nonverbal categorical perception preferences (Slobin 2003); according to the universalist view, nonverbal cognitive thinking is arranged in universal conceptual structures underlying surface crosslinguistic differentiations (Imai & Gentner 1997). In the present study, we examined crosslinguistic differences in the expression of noun countability in Greek and English speakers. In a verbal task, Greek speakers pluralized mass nouns more than English speakers; consistent with the universal object/substance ontological distinction, both Greek and English speakers differentiated between objects and substances in a nonverbal... (More)
Considering the third time frame of the thinking-for-speaking hypothesis (tfs), online language use affects subsequent nonverbal categorical perception preferences (Slobin 2003); according to the universalist view, nonverbal cognitive thinking is arranged in universal conceptual structures underlying surface crosslinguistic differentiations (Imai & Gentner 1997). In the present study, we examined crosslinguistic differences in the expression of noun countability in Greek and English speakers. In a verbal task, Greek speakers pluralized mass nouns more than English speakers; consistent with the universal object/substance ontological distinction, both Greek and English speakers differentiated between objects and substances in a nonverbal object matching task, selecting shape for objects and material for substances. However, only in Greek speakers pluralizing mass nouns in the verbal task significantly predicted their preferences for matching substances by shape in the nonverbal task. The findings are discussed considering whether linguistic context differentially affects the performance of speakers crosslinguistically and in specific tasks. (Less)
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author
and
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
thinking-for-speaking, conceptualization, plural mass nouns, universal ontology, syntax
in
Cognitive Semantics
volume
3
pages
62 - 94
publisher
Brill
external identifiers
  • scopus:85064527166
ISSN
2352-6416
DOI
10.1163/23526416-00301003
language
English
LU publication?
no
id
3d6308de-c678-4be6-8fbc-4fdfa8d560f8
date added to LUP
2024-02-29 13:52:17
date last changed
2024-03-07 10:23:24
@article{3d6308de-c678-4be6-8fbc-4fdfa8d560f8,
  abstract     = {{Considering the third time frame of the thinking-for-speaking hypothesis (tfs), online language use affects subsequent nonverbal categorical perception preferences (Slobin 2003); according to the universalist view, nonverbal cognitive thinking is arranged in universal conceptual structures underlying surface crosslinguistic differentiations (Imai & Gentner 1997). In the present study, we examined crosslinguistic differences in the expression of noun countability in Greek and English speakers. In a verbal task, Greek speakers pluralized mass nouns more than English speakers; consistent with the universal object/substance ontological distinction, both Greek and English speakers differentiated between objects and substances in a nonverbal object matching task, selecting shape for objects and material for substances. However, only in Greek speakers pluralizing mass nouns in the verbal task significantly predicted their preferences for matching substances by shape in the nonverbal task. The findings are discussed considering whether linguistic context differentially affects the performance of speakers crosslinguistically and in specific tasks.}},
  author       = {{Athanasiadou, Ifigeneia and Athanasopoulos, Panos}},
  issn         = {{2352-6416}},
  keywords     = {{thinking-for-speaking; conceptualization; plural mass nouns; universal ontology; syntax}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  pages        = {{62--94}},
  publisher    = {{Brill}},
  series       = {{Cognitive Semantics}},
  title        = {{Plural mass nouns and the construal of individuation : Crosslinguistic evidence from verbal and nonverbal behaviour in labelling and non-labelling contexts}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/23526416-00301003}},
  doi          = {{10.1163/23526416-00301003}},
  volume       = {{3}},
  year         = {{2017}},
}