Objective
One very basic dichotomy in language is that between presupposed and non-presupposed information. Someone who utters the sentence It stopped raining implies that it was raining before, but this is not asserted: the speakers choice of words indicates that h e is taking it for granted that it was raining before; his statement is that it stopped. Languages offer a variety of means for marking the distinction between presupposed and non-presupposed content. Examples are transition verbs (stop, begin) and focus particles (too, even). These devices play a key role in communication, for they serve to signal the division between backgrounded information and the main point of an utterance. In linguistics and philosophy, presuppositions have been studied for decades, but experimental psychologists seem to have overlooked the phenomenon, and nothing is known about how presuppositions are processed.
The proposed project would be the first to address the question how and when children learn to deal with presuppositions. The project consists of three studies. The first is a corpus study whose aim is to investigate when and how children learn to use presupposition-inducing expressions. The second is an experimental study designed to determine when children become attuned to t he fact that presuppositions exhibit so-called projection behaviour, which is widely agreed to be their distinctive property. The third study uses a lexical-learning paradigm to assess if young children (2-3 and 4-5 years) can spontaneously distinguish between presupposed and non-presupposed information.
The project is to be carried out at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology (Leipzig), which ranks among the best environments worldwide for research in language acquisition, especially with the proposed methodologies. The project will provide the applicant with a unique training opportunity in corpus research and experimental research with very young children.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- humanities languages and literature linguistics
- social sciences sociology anthropology
- social sciences psychology psycholinguistics
- humanities philosophy, ethics and religion philosophy
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
FP6-2005-MOBILITY-5
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Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Coordinator
MUENCHEN
Germany
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.