Quantifier scope ambiguities exist in sentences such as "Some student likes every teacher", in which "some student" could refer to a particular student, or to a different student for each teacher. These ambiguities have traditionally been investigated in the generative literature by relying on intuitions of native speakers to introspect on which interpretations are and are not available. Such studies tend to ignore extra-syntactic factors such as prosody and information structure because such sentences are typically read silently. There is currently a growing body of evidence, however, suggesting that extra-syntactic information, especially sentence prosody, is relevant for determining which scope interpretations are available. This project investigates the complex phenomenon of quantifier scope in Russian focusing on the role of prosodic cues in determining the interpretation(s) of potentially scopally ambiguous sentences. The project will conduct experiments in which native speakers are presented with such sentences under different prosodic patterns. The goal is to determine whether the distinct intonations result in different scope interpretations.
The experimental results obtained in this project will contribute to the description of the intonational of Russian and clarify the status of quantifier scope ambiguities that have been much debated in the recent literature on Russian syntax. The results will further the field's understanding of quantifier scope in relation to less well understood aspects prosody. The project's focus on the interaction of prosody, syntax, and semantics contributes to the growing body of work investigating interface effects in language, particularly the relationship between prosody and meaning. It also highlights the need for experimental research methods to answer linguistic questions.
