Factive and counterfactive interpretation of embedded clauses in aphasia and its relationship with lexical, syntactic and general cognitive capacities

Zimmerer, V. C.; Varley, R. A.; Deamer, F.; Hinzen, W.

Abstract

In factive clausal embedding ([He knows [that it is warm outside]]), the embedded clause is presupposed to be true. In non-factive embedding ([He thinks [that it is warm outside]]) there is no presupposition, and in counterfactive embedding ([It only seems [that it is warm outside]]) the embedded clause is presupposed to be false. These constructions have been investigated as a window into the complexity of language and thought, and there are disputes as to the relative contributions of lexical, syntactic or non-verbal resources in their interpretation. We designed a sentence-picture matching task to test comprehension of these constructions in a group of aphasic participants and in non-brain-damaged controls. In particular, we tested the capacity to reach a factive or counterfactive interpretation. In factive interpretation trials, participants with aphasia performed nearly as well as controls, while in counterfactive interpretation trials they performed significantly worse. Accuracy in factive and counterfactive interpretation trials correlated with other syntactic and lexical measures. Only performances on counterfactive trials correlated with non-verbal reasoning measures. Exploratory regression models suggest that verbal and non-verbal scores were separate factors. Results indicate that a disruption of counterfactive interpretation in aphasia is linked to reduction of syntactic and/or conceptual-propositional capacities.

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Aug 15, 2018
• Online Publication Date: Aug 23, 2018
• Publication Date: Feb 1, 2019
• Deposit Date: Sep 21, 2021
• Journal: Journal of Neurolinguistics
• Print ISSN: 0911-6044
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 49
• Pages: 29-44
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jneuroling.2018.08.002
• Keywords: Cognitive Neuroscience; Linguistics and Language; Arts and Humanities (miscellaneous); Experimental and Cognitive Psychology
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/7816051
• Additional Information: This article is maintained by: Elsevier; Article Title: Factive and counterfactive interpretation of embedded clauses in aphasia and its relationship with lexical, syntactic and general cognitive capacities; Journal Title: Journal of Neurolinguistics; CrossRef DOI link to publisher maintained version: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jneuroling.2018.08.002; Content Type: article; Copyright: Crown Copyright © 2018 Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.