The Grammar of Polarity

Pragmatics, Sensitivity, and the Logic of Scales

Nonfiction, Reference & Language, Language Arts, Linguistics
Cover of the book The Grammar of Polarity by Michael Israel, Cambridge University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Michael Israel ISBN: 9781139152419
Publisher: Cambridge University Press Publication: May 5, 2011
Imprint: Cambridge University Press Language: English
Author: Michael Israel
ISBN: 9781139152419
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Publication: May 5, 2011
Imprint: Cambridge University Press
Language: English

Many languages include constructions which are sensitive to the expression of polarity: that is, negative polarity items, which cannot occur in affirmative clauses, and positive polarity items, which cannot occur in negatives. The phenomenon of polarity sensitivity has been an important source of evidence for theories about the mental architecture of grammar over the last fifty years, and to many the oddly dysfunctional sensitivities of polarity items have seemed to support a view of grammar as an encapsulated mental module fundamentally unrelated to other aspects of human cognition or communicative behavior. This book draws on insights from cognitive/functional linguistics and formal semantics to argue that, on the contrary, the grammar of sensitivity is grounded in a very general human cognitive ability to form categories and draw inferences based on scalar alternatives, and in the ways this ability is deployed for rhetorical effects in ordinary interpersonal communication.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Many languages include constructions which are sensitive to the expression of polarity: that is, negative polarity items, which cannot occur in affirmative clauses, and positive polarity items, which cannot occur in negatives. The phenomenon of polarity sensitivity has been an important source of evidence for theories about the mental architecture of grammar over the last fifty years, and to many the oddly dysfunctional sensitivities of polarity items have seemed to support a view of grammar as an encapsulated mental module fundamentally unrelated to other aspects of human cognition or communicative behavior. This book draws on insights from cognitive/functional linguistics and formal semantics to argue that, on the contrary, the grammar of sensitivity is grounded in a very general human cognitive ability to form categories and draw inferences based on scalar alternatives, and in the ways this ability is deployed for rhetorical effects in ordinary interpersonal communication.

More books from Cambridge University Press

Cover of the book Transforming Modern Macroeconomics by Michael Israel
Cover of the book String Theory: Volume 2, Superstring Theory and Beyond by Michael Israel
Cover of the book Regulating Long-Term Care Quality by Michael Israel
Cover of the book Next Generation Systematics by Michael Israel
Cover of the book Introduction to Cosmology by Michael Israel
Cover of the book Introduction to Optics by Michael Israel
Cover of the book Frontiers of Strategic Alliance Research by Michael Israel
Cover of the book The Social Process of Globalization by Michael Israel
Cover of the book Introduction to Quantum Effects in Gravity by Michael Israel
Cover of the book The Cambridge Companion to Slavery in American Literature by Michael Israel
Cover of the book India in the World Economy by Michael Israel
Cover of the book Boilerplate Clauses, International Commercial Contracts and the Applicable Law by Michael Israel
Cover of the book Human Rights in International Relations by Michael Israel
Cover of the book Koenig and Schultz's Disaster Medicine by Michael Israel
Cover of the book Personal Identity by Michael Israel
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy