Publications [#376822] of Yunchuan Chen

Papers Published

1. Chen, Y, An Experimental Investigation into the Scope Assignment of Japanese and Chinese Quantifier-Negation Sentences, Languages, vol. 9 no. 3 (March, 2024), pp. 111-111, MDPI AG [doi] .
   (last updated on 2025/02/03)

   Abstract:
   Quantifier-Negation sentences such as all teachers did not use Sandy’s car are known to allow an inverse scope interpretation in English. However, there is a lack of experimental evidence to determine whether this interpretation is allowed in equivalent sentences in Japanese and Chinese. To address this issue, this study conducted a sentence–picture matching truth value judgment experiment in both Japanese and Chinese. The data suggested that Japanese Quantifier-Negation sentences do allow inverse scope readings, which suggests that the subject may be interpreted within the scope of negation. In contrast, Chinese Quantifier-Negation sentences prohibit inverse scope readings, which is in accordance with the strong scope rigidity consistently observed in this language. This paper also discussed how to develop a valid experiment for investigating scope ambiguities.