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Some but not all dispreferred turn markers help to interpret scalar terms in polite contexts

Author

Listed:
  • Jean-François Bonnefon

    (CLLE-LTC - Cognition, Langues, Langage, Ergonomie - EPHE - École Pratique des Hautes Études - PSL - Université Paris Sciences et Lettres - UT2J - Université Toulouse - Jean Jaurès - UT - Université de Toulouse - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique)

  • Ethan Dahl
  • Thomas M. Holtgraves

Abstract

In polite contexts, people find it difficult to perceive whether they can derive scalar inferences from what others say (e.g., does "some people hated your idea" mean that not everyone hated it?). Because this uncertainty can lead to costly misunderstandings, it is important to identify the cues people can rely on to solve their interpretative problem. In this article, we consider two such cues: Making a long Pause before the statement, and prefacing the statement with Well. Data from eight experiments show that Pauses are more effective than Wells as cues to scalar inferences in polite contexts—because they appear to give a specific signal to switch expectations in the direction of bad news, whereas Well appears to give a generic signal to make extra processing effort. We consider the applied value of these findings for human–human and human–machine interaction, as well as their implications for the study of reasoning and discourse

Suggested Citation

  • Jean-François Bonnefon & Ethan Dahl & Thomas M. Holtgraves, 2015. "Some but not all dispreferred turn markers help to interpret scalar terms in polite contexts," Post-Print halshs-01400237, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:journl:halshs-01400237
    DOI: 10.1080/13546783.2014.965746
    as

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