Time Perception and Sentence Processing: Research on the recent models of Aspectual Coercion / Temporal Coercion

• Grant number: 16/13920-9
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• Start date: March 01, 2017
• End date: February 28, 2019
• Field of knowledge: Linguistics, Literature and Arts - Linguistics - Psycholinguistics
• Principal Investigator: Thiago Oliveira da Motta Sampaio
• Grantee: Thiago Oliveira da Motta Sampaio
• Host Institution: Instituto de Estudos da Linguagem (IEL). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil
• Associated scholarship(s): 18/10008-2 - Processing and categorization of event duration in sentence reading, BP.TT

Abstract

The duration of linguistic events is an important factor to understand the role of some aspectual, semantic and pragmatic phenomena of language, for instance, Aspectual Coercion. Verbs are usually inserted in temporal contexts that are compatible with their duration [the girl danced for three minutes]. Coercion occurs when there is an aspectual/temporal mismatch between the verb and its context [the girl sneezed (several times) for three minutes]. In order to explain aspectual coercion, linguists use the concepts of punctual (fast) events and durative (measurable) events. In theoretical linguistics, the mainstream hypothesis proposes that the comprehension of coerced sentences requires a reanalysis of punctual verbs to an iterative meaning. Several psycholinguistic studies corroborate this hypothesis. Human sentence processing experiments report an increase of the reading and reaction times for coerced sentences. However, some new hypotheses have been proposed in the last few years. For instance, Dölling (2014) develop a new event classification table in with nine kinds of coercion can be observed. Another hypothesis has been proposed by Sampaio, França & Maia (2014) and Sampaio (2015), interfacing sentence processing and time perception processing. In this model, it is possible to observe coercion effects for durative events in subtractive contexts [Subtractive Coercion: during some seconds, the chef cooked the meat] and iterative contexts [Iterative Coercion: during some hours, the artist sang the song at the theater]. The present project aims at investigating the influence of Time Perception in Human Sentence Processing and in the cognitive mechanism underlying aspectual/temporal coercion using psycholinguistic methods of measuring reading behavior. (AU)

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

DA MOTTA SAMPAIO, THIAGO OLIVEIRA; FRANCA, ANIELA IMPROTA. Even duration semantics in online sentence processing. LETRAS DE HOJE-ESTUDOS E DEBATES EM LINGUISTICA LITERATURA E LINGUA PORTUGUESA, v. 53, n. 1, p. 59-69, JAN-MAR 2018. (16/13920-9)

THIAGO OLIVEIRA DA MOTTA SAMPAIO; ANIELA IMPROTA FRANÇA. Semântica da duração de eventos no processamento online de sentenças. Letras de Hoje, v. 53, n. 1, p. 59-69, 2018-03-00. (16/13920-9)