Investigating a shared mechanism in the priming of manner and quantity implicature

In the current paper, we investigate the existence of a shared derivation mechanism between manner and quantity implicature. As per the Gricean-inspired perspective, both manner and quantity implicature are derived in a substantially analogous fashion, relying on the consideration of alternative ways in which the speaker could have spoken, but didn’t. In contrast, other accounts (e.g., grammatical accounts) of quantity implicature consider manner implicature and quantity implicature to be distinct in their derivational mechanisms.Previous studies have found that quantity implicature can prime the derivation of subsequent quantity implicature both within and between quantity implicature subtypes in a structural priming paradigm, suggesting that ad hoc, numeral and some quantity implicature are governed by the same derivational mechanism. We have applied a structural priming paradigm to the case of manner implicature to investigate 1) whether manner implicature can be primed, 2) whether manner implicature can prime manner implicature and 3) whether manner implicature can be primed by quantity implicature. Through manner-manner priming, the paper addresses the psycholinguistic reality of manner. While quantity-manner priming probes the existence of a shared derivational mechanism between the phenomena.We show that manner implicature can prime manner implicature under certain experimental circumstances and that ad hoc quantity, but not some quantity implicature can also prime manner implicature, whereas some quantity implicature cannot

A Distinction Between Linguistic and Social Pragmatics Helps the Precise Characterization of Pragmatic Challenges in Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders and Developmental Language Disorder.

Purpose Children with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) and children with developmental language disorder (DLD) face challenges with pragmatics, but the nature and sources of these difficulties are not fully understood yet. The purpose of this study was to compare the competence of children with ASD and children with DLD in two pragmatics tasks that place different demands on theory of mind (ToM) and structural language. Method Twenty Spanish-speaking children with ASD, 20 with DLD, and 40 age- and language-matched children with neurotypical development were assessed using two pragmatics tasks: a linguistic pragmatics task, which requires competence with structural language, and a social pragmatics task, which requires competence with ToM as well. Results For linguistic pragmatics, the ASD group performed similarly to the DLD and language-matched groups, and performance was predicted by structural language. For social pragmatics, the ASD group performed lower than the DLD and language-matched groups, and performance was predicted both by structural language and ToM. Conclusions Children with ASD and children with DLD face difficulties in linguistic pragmatics tasks, in keeping with their structural language. Children with ASD face exceptional difficulties with social pragmatics tasks, due to their difficulties with ToM. The distinction between linguistic and social pragmatic competences can inform assessment and intervention for pragmatic difficulties in different populations.British Academy Project (SG-47135

Recognising and Protecting the Communication Rights of Autistic Children

•Autistic children are at risk of having their communication rights violated. This risk is heightened for autistic children with communication disability, which can emerge from factors inherent autism, co-occurring language disorders and societal barriers. This risk is also unacceptably high for autistic children from minority groups. • The autistic community, researchers, clinicians and policymakers must work together to promote the communication rights of all autistic children. In particular, Speech and Language Therapists (SLTs) can contribute valuable expertise to the development and implementation of impactful policies in this field. • We propose three areas of policy action to better protect the communication rights of autistic children: o Area 1: Promoting more Inclusive Communication practices in our society; o Area 2: Enabling the co-creation of communication support services with autistic children and other relevant stakeholders; o Area 3: Increasing the visibility, access and inclusivity of specialist services

Relations Between Bilingualism and Autistic-Like Traits in a General Population Sample of Primary School Children.

Some evidence suggests that bilingualism improves communication and cognitive skills which are often impaired in autism. However, diagnosing autism in bilinguals may suffer a cultural bias, which can affect the investigation of bilingualism and autism. Therefore, the current study investigates relations between autistic-like traits (ALTs) and bilingualism in a general population sample of 394 children (M age = 8;3). Within the high-scoring group on the ALT measure, monolinguals had significantly higher ALT scores than bilinguals. There were no differences between monolinguals and bilinguals in the low-scoring group. Across the whole sample, age and structural language skills accounted for 35% variance in ALTs, while bilingualism had no effect on ALTs. Furthermore, structural language skills explained more variance in ALTs among bilinguals than among monolinguals.Gates Cambridge Trus

The Contribution of Grammar, Vocabulary and Theory of Mind in Pragmatic Language Competence in Children with Autistic Spectrum Disorders.

Pragmatic Competence in Children with ASD and Other Developmental DisordersThe first author wants thank support from Grant GV/2015/092 by Conselleria de Educación, Cultura y Deporte of Generalitat Valenciana (Spain), Grant UJI-A2016-12 funded by Universitat Jaume I de Castelló, and the second author wants to thank support from AHRC (AH/N004671/1) and a British Academy Small Research Grant (SG-47135)

Parental Perceptions and Decisions Regarding Maintaining Bilingualism in Autism

Abstract: A growing body of evidence suggests that bilingual exposure does not negatively impact children on the autism spectrum. This study sought to illuminate parents’ perceptions and choices regarding maintaining bilingualism in autism. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 16 family members in England and Wales. Data were analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA). Although parents expressed positive attitudes towards bilingualism, these views were not always congruent with their language practices. Instead, several factors influenced decisions about language maintenance in autism, including the severity of the child’s autism, advice received, and the importance of English as the dominant societal language. This article calls for greater support for families in making language decisions that are suitable for the individual child and their family

Why only some adults reject under-informative utterances

Several studies have investigated how listeners generate scalar implicatures using the under-informative statement paradigm, where participants evaluate statements such as "Some of the cards have a star" as descriptions of situations in which all of the cards have a star. Rejection of the under-informative utterances is taken as evidence that participants have interpreted these sentences with a scalar implicature, to the effect that "Some but not all of the cards have a star". However, acceptance rates of under-informative utterances exceed 35% in many studies (Bott and Noveck, 2004; Guasti et al. 2005; Pouscoulous et al. 2007; i.a.). The aim of our experimental investigation is to examine the cognitive or personality profile of participants who reject under-informative utterances. We provide empirical evidence that age and working memory capacity significantly predict the rate at which under-informative utterances are rejected, but find little support for influence from a broad range of personality factors.SCOPUS: ar.jinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishe