Language Research

A Comparative Study of Scalar Implicature Comprehension in 5-7 Monolingual Persian-speaking Children and Adults

Arezou Khani; Ali Jamali; Tayebeh Khoshbakht

Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript, Available Online from 17 August 2024

https://doi.org/10.22059/jolr.2024.372068.666877

Abstract

Comparative study of scalar implicature comprehension in 5-7 mono-lingual Persian-speaking children Research showed that children need two important pragmatic skills to understand Simile: ... Read More Comparative study of scalar implicature comprehension in 5-7 mono-lingual Persian-speaking children Research showed that children need two important pragmatic skills to understand Simile: understanding the intended similarity and deriving a scalar implicature. However, the second skill has not been studied yet by Iranian researchers. The aim of the present study was to investigate the ability of mono-lingual Persian-speaking children aged 5 to 7 years old and adults in understanding scalar implicature. To this aim, 30 Persian-speaking children 5, 6 and 7 years old were selected through semi- random method and were compared with 10 adults. The groups were investigated and compared on a first experiment which was a form of similarity judgment task and on a second experiment, which was in a form of a game. In the first experiment, subjects should understand "x is like a y" as an expression of similarity. In the second experiment, the subjects received metaphors (“Nina is a rabbit”) and similes (“Nina is like a rabbit) as clues to select one of a three images (a rabbit, a girl or a rabbit-looking girl). The results showed that 5 years old children were able to understand the implicature “x is not a y”, whereas 6-7 years old children performed like adults. The results showed that children from the early childhood were able to understand and extract scalar implicature and the literal meaning of simile and metaphor decreased by increasing age.Taken together, the results of the research showed that preschool children from the age of 5 are able to understand graded implication and the performance of 7-year-old children is similar to the performance of adults. Also, one of the most important reasons that young children are able to extract graded implication in simile comprehension tasks compared to other graded expressions is that the frequency of categorical and comparative sentences in child-centered speech is high due to their educational role and their learning compared to other quantifiers. (such as some and all) or logical conjunctions (such as "or" and "and") occur earlier Keywords: Scalar implicature, simile, metaphor, mono-lingual Persian-speaking children.

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The Cognitive Study of the Effect of Cultural Artifacts on the Metaphorical Comprehension of Time Concept in Persian

Amir Ali Khoshkhoonejad; Abbas Ali Ahangar; Pakzad Yousefian; Mehrdad Mazaheri

Volume 11, Issue 1 , October 2020, , Pages 73-94

https://doi.org/10.22059/jolr.2019.275105.666470

Abstract

In different cultures, people use space to make linguistic representations of time. In general, there are two different approaches toward deictic time expressions: a Moving Time Metaphor ... Read More In different cultures, people use space to make linguistic representations of time. In general, there are two different approaches toward deictic time expressions: a Moving Time Metaphor and a Moving Ego Metaphor. In the Moving Time metaphor, time is conceived as moving forward, while in a Moving Ego Metaphor, a moving observer is conceptualized. The purpose of this research is to explore the effect of cultural artifacts on metaphorical comprehension of time expressions in Persian language. In this regard, following Duffy and Feist (2014), the present study was carried out based on the ambiguous question: Wednesday's Meeting suggested by McGlone and Harding (1998). The first experiment directly explores the relationship between responses to the Wednesday's Meeting question in two calendar and meta-language conditions. The second experiment examines the special cultural relations between space and time and the role of the Persian orthography direction in the time reasoning. In the third experiment, based on circular representations of time, the role of the analog clock in resolving the ambiguity is examined from the Noon's Meeting question. This was done by comparing the responses of the participants with the clockwise clock and counterclockwise clock. To this end, 40 Persian speakers were selected from the students of Sistan and Baluchestan University. Chi-square test (using SPSS software) was used for statistical analysis. The findings of this study show that the viewpoint of individuals about the motion of events in time is not only due to their experience in space movement, but also is rooted in their interactive patterns of cultural artifacts as well. In addition, the results show that in interpreting ambiguous metaphorical time expressions, individuals automatically access spatial representations of time and use them. The participants who encountered with reverse space-time mappings had an interference in their responses, reflected through their time reasoning. Consequently, they provide a more precise form of representations of time than merely symbolic speech. Hence, cultural artifacts play an important role in the cognitive process of embodiment, which not only help to recognize embodiment, but also affect it.

Metaphor; A Survey on the Factors Related to Semantic Comprehension; their Effectiveness and Psychological Reliability

Leila Erfaniyan Qonsoli; Shahla Sharifi

Volume 5, Issue 2 , March 2015, , Pages 77-96

https://doi.org/10.22059/jolr.2015.54186

Abstract

The present study is a randomized pilot project that intends to test the Graded Salience Hypothesis (Giora, 1997), to investigate the major factors contributing to understanding meaning. ... Read More

The morphology and semantics of the diminutive suffix “cheh” in Persian

Reza Moghaddamkia; Akram Shafiei

Volume 4, Issue 2 , March 2014, , Pages 161-180

https://doi.org/10.22059/jolr.2014.50280

Abstract

The diminutive function is defined as any morphological device that adds the meaning "small" (in size) and some other connotative meanings such as expressing emotions, contempt, imitation, ... Read More

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Keywords = Metaphor

A Comparative Study of Scalar Implicature Comprehension in 5-7 Monolingual Persian-speaking Children and Adults

Abstract

The Cognitive Study of the Effect of Cultural Artifacts on the Metaphorical Comprehension of Time Concept in Persian

Abstract

Metaphor; A Survey on the Factors Related to Semantic Comprehension; their Effectiveness and Psychological Reliability

Abstract

The morphology and semantics of the diminutive suffix “cheh” in Persian

Abstract