13 - On Interpretation: Minimal ‘Lowering’

Summary

Introduction

In psycholinguistics, the investigation of grammatical aspects of interpretation has lagged behind the study of parsing. Ambiguity in the interpretation of a phrase has not generally been studied except in the case of lexical ambiguity. The present chapter will explore the preferences perceivers exhibit when a phrase might be interpreted in more than one way, focusing on the interpretation of Determiner Phrases (DPs). This will allow us to address the issue of whether the referential interpretation of a DP and its thematic interpretation must go hand in hand, occurring simultaneously, or whether these interpretation processes are initially (potentially) distinct. What is meant by “early” interpretation of a phrase (see the introductory chapter of this volume) is completely unclear until this issue of interpretive separability, or non-separability, has been resolved.

Two recent developments in linguistic theory open up a promising avenue to pursue in the investigation of semantic interpretation. The first development, critical to the arguments presented here, is Diesing's (1992) Mapping Hypothesis, which establishes a constraint between syntax and interpretation. DPs outside VP (at L(ogical) F(orm), in English) are presupposed or quantificational; the VP is identified as the “nuclear scope,” where asserted and thus focal information typically appears. Hence, only DPs within VP get an existential interpretation – essentially an interpretation where a new entity (one not presupposed in context or by shared background assumptions of the speaker and hearer) is introduced into discourse.