mccarrell - 'why boys will be boys and girls will be girls; understanding colloquial tautologies
TRANSCRIPT
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7/26/2019 McCarrell - 'Why Boys Will Be Boys and Girls Will Be Girls; Understanding Colloquial Tautologies'
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Journal of Psycholinguistic Research, VoL 19, No. 2, 1 990
W h y B o y s W il l B e B o y s a n d G i rls W il l B e G ir ls
U n d e r s t a n d i n g C o l l o q u i a l T a u t o l o g i e s
R a y m o n d W . G i b b s J r . 1 a n d N a n c y S. M c C a r r e lP
Accepted February 20, 1990
What do tautological phrases such as
B o y s
w l l
be boys , A promi se i s a p romi se , o r War i s wa r
mean and how are they understood? rhe se phrases literally appear to be uninformative, yet speakers
fi equently u se such expressions in conversation and listeners have little difficulty comprehen ding
them. Understand ing nom inal tautologies requires that listeners/readers infer the speaker s attitude
toward the noun phrase (e.g., boys ) mentioned in the sentence. The purpose of the present studies
was to investigate the role o f context, syntactic form, and lexical content in the interpretation of
nominal tuatologies. Two studies are reported in wh ich subjects rated the acceptability of different
tautological constructions either alone (Experiment 1) or with supporting contextual information
(Experiment 2). The results of these studies provide evidence that colloquial tautologies can be
interpreted differently in different contexts, but that there are imp ortant regularities in the syntactic
form and lexical content of these phrases which influence how they are und erstood. O ur findings
highlight the importance o f speakers~listeners stereotypical und erstanding of peopIe, activities, and
concrete objects in the use and understanding o f different tautological expressions. The implications
of this research fo r psycholinguistic theories of conversational inference and indirect language use
are discussed.
INTRODUCTION
Cons ide r t he fo l l ow ing b r i e f exchang e be tween two pa ren t s . A mo ther a sks he r
husband D i d t he c h il d r e n e v e r c le an up t he i r r oom s . ' The fa the r shakes h i s
head and responds 'We l l , boys wi l l be boys . At f i rs t g l ance , t he f a the r s
response t o h i s w i fe s q ues t ion seem s nonsen s i ca l . The ph rase B o y s w i l l b e
b o y s i s t rue by v i r tue of i t s log ical form alone (as a nominal t au to logy) and ,
super f i c i a l l y , con t r i bu t es no new in fo rmat ion t o t he conversa t i on . Bu t t he u t -
Program i n Expe r i ment a l Psychol ogy , C l a rk K e r r Ha l l , Un i ve rs i ty o f Ca l ifo rn i a , San t a Cruz , San t a
Cruz , Cal i fornia 95064.
125
0090-6905/90/0300-0125506.00/0 9 1990 Plenum PublishingCorporation
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2 6 G i b b s a n d M c C a r r e l l
terance ' Boys w i l l be boys is readily interpretable and most listeners would
agree that the father intended to convey a part icular meaning, something l ike
Boys will be unruly and that i t is often diff icult to get them to do what you
w a n t. W hat linguistic and extra-linguistic information does a hea rer rely on to
recognize that the father's response
B o y s w i ll b e b o y s
is not redund ant and
actually conveys specific meaning?
Our interest in this article was to investigate p eo ple 's com preh ens ion of
colloquial tautologies, such as 'Boys wi l l be b o y s Diam onds are diamonds,
Business is business, and A prom ise i s a p rom i se . Nominal tautologies are found
with surprising frequ enc y in eve ryd ay speech , l iterature (e.g . , Gertrude S tein's
f amous l ineA
rose i s a rose i s a rose) ,
and advertising (e.g.,
M o t o r o i l is m o t o r
oi l ) . Various rese arch ers in linguistics and philo sop hy have considered th e prob-
lem of interpreting tautological sentences (Brown & Levinson, t978; Fraser ,
I988; Grice, I9 75, 19 78; I_evinson, 19 83; W ierzbicka, 1987, 1988), but the
com prehen sion of tautological sentences has no t previously been expe rime ntally
examined. Although the related topic of understanding indirect and nonliteral
discourse has bee n wid ely investigated b y psycholinguists in recen t ye ars (Clark,
1985; Gibbs, 19 84 , 198 6), there has been n o emphasis on interpreting conv er-
sational statements that are obviously true due to their logical form. We specif-
ically exam ined how system atic differences am ong types o f nom inal tautologies
affecte d jud gm en ts of their acceptability. Th e results o f our studies h ighlight
the impo rtance o f differe nt pragmatic, semantic, and synta ctic information on
the interpretation of colloquial tautologies.
There are two main theoretical approaches to interpreting nominal tauto-
logies. Perhaps the most influential model is that proposed by Grice (1975,
1978) in his writings on how listeners derive inferences during utterance inter-
pretation. Grice noted that mu ch o f the information that is conveyed from speaker
to listener in conversation is implied, rather than asserted. For example, a speaker
asserts nothing new when he says that
Business i s bus iness ,
but he implies
something about business in this phrase which is intended to be understood by
the listener. Grice argued that speakers and listeners exp ect each oth er to inter-
pret their utterances as if the y w ere acting in a rational, and cooperative m ann er.
He recog nized several kinds o f cooperation w hich he grou ped into the m axim s
of Quanti ty (ma ke yo ur contribution as informative as neede d); Q uali ty (do not
say what you believe to be false); Relevance (be relevant) ; and Manner (be
perspicuous, avoid ambiguity). A lthou gh Grice (1975, 19 78 ) did no t argue that
this list is exhaustive, he suggests that these ma xim s describe the no rm s speakers
operate with in conversation.
In G rice's approach, conversational inference (or im pl ica tur e ) involves
taking the meaning of the sentence uttered, in conjunction with background
kno wledg e, inference rules, and the above set of general pragm atic m axim s, to
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Und erstanding olloquial Tautologies
27
w o r k o u t w h a t t h e s p e a k e r m i g h t h a v e m e a n t . F o r th e c o n v e r s a t io n d e s c r i b e d
a b o v e , t h e f a t h e r ' s r e m a r k
'Boys will be boys
f l o u t s t h e m a x i m o f Q u a n t i t y
b e c a u s e t h e a s s e rt io n o f a t a u t o l o g y i s n o t in f o r m a t i v e w h e n t a k e n l i t er a ll y . Y e t
i t i s c l e a r tha t de s p i t e t he a ppa r e n t f a i l u r e o f c oope r a t i on , m os t l i s te ne r s no r m a l l y
a s s u m e t h at t h e s p e a k e r i s c o o p e r a t i v e a t s o m e d e e p e r le v e l . W e d o t h is n o r m a l l y
b y i n f e r r i n g t h a t t h e s p e a k e r i s t r y i n g t o r e m i n d u s o f s o m e b e l i e f o r a t t i t u d e
a b o u t b o y s , n a m e l y t h a t b o y s a r e o f t e n u n r u l y ( L e v i n s o n , 1 9 8 3 ) .
A c c o r d i n g t o G r i c e o n e o f th e d e f i n i n g f e a t u r e s o f c o n v e r s a t i o n a l i n f e r e n c e
i s t h a t n o i m p l i c a t u r e c a n b e d e d u c e d f r o m t h e e x p l i c i t c o n t e n t o f t h e u t t e r a n c e
a l o n e . T h a t i s , w e c a n n o t s t ri c tl y d e r i v e t h at b o y s ar e u n r u l y f r o m Boys wi l l
be boys
a p a rt fr o m t h e s p e c i fi c c o n t e x t a t h a n d a n d a n y b a c k g r o u n d k n o w l e d g e
s h a r e d b y s p e a k e r s a n d l i s t e n e r s . T h e G r i c e a n p r o p o s a l , w h i c h w e r e f e r t o a s
t he
pragmatic view,
s ugg e s t s the n t ha t t he i n t e r p r e ta t i on o f nom i na l t a u t o l og i e s
i s c o n t e x t - d e p e n d e n t w i t h d i f f e r e n t m e a n i n g s a t t a c h e d t o t h e s a m e t a u t o l o g y
d e p e n d i n g o n t h e c o n v e r s a ti o n a l c o n t e x t a n d t h e s h a r e d b e l i e f s o f t h e p a r ti c ip a n t s
( L e v i n s o n , 1 9 8 3 ) .
M o s t d i s c u s s i o n s o f l in g u i s t ic t a u t o l o g i e s , f o l l o w i n g G r i c e , h a v e e x p l i c i tl y
a s s um e d t ha t t he i n t e rp r e t a t ion o f u t te r a nc e s s u c h a s Boys will be boys a n d A
promise is a promise c h a n g e s f r o m o n e s i t u a t i o n t o a n o t h e r ( B r o w n & L e v i n s o n ,
1 9 7 8 ; F r a s e r , 1 9 8 8 ; L e v i n s o n , 1 9 8 3 ) .
Bo ys w ill be boys
m i g h t c o n v e y t he i d e a
t ha t boys a r e un r u l y i n one c on t e x t , bu t c a n e xp r e s s t he no t i on t ha t l i t t l e boys
a r e c u t e a nd a do r a b l e i n a d i f f e r e n t c on t e x t o f u s e . R e c e n t c r it i c s o f t he p r a g m a t i c
v i e w h a v e a l t e rn a t i v e ly a r g u e d t h a t t h e r e i s a g o o d d e a l o f r e g u l a r it y i n th e
i n te r p re t a ti o n o f c o l l o q u i a l t a u t o lo g i e s b e c a u s e t h e s e p h r a s e s a r e t o s o m e e x t e n t
l a n g u a g e - s p e c i f ic ( W i e r z b i c k a , 1 9 8 7 ) . T h i s a p p r o a c h , w h i c h w e ' l l r e f e r t o a s
the semantic a c c o u n t , s u g g e s t s t h at t h e m e a n i n g s o f c o l lo q u i a l t a u t o l o g i e s m u s t
be e xp l i c i t l y s pe l l e d ou t i n a pp r op r i a t e s e m a n t i c r e p r e s e n t a t i ons f o r d i f f e r e n t
p h r a s e s i n d i f fe r e n t l a n g u a g e s . F o r e x a m p l e , W i e r z b i c k a ( 1 9 8 7 ) n o t e d th a t n o m -
i na l t a u t o l og i e s s uc h a s
Bo ys w ill be boys
a r e s i m p l y n o t u s e d i n F r e n c h , G e r m a n ,
o r R u s s i a n . T h u s , t h e F r e n c h s e n t e n c e Les garcons seront les (des? ) garcons
( i .e . , T h e b o y s w i l l b e t h e b o y s ) w o u l d b e s i m p l y i n c o m p r e h e n s i b le . I f t h e
v a r i e t y o f i n t e rp r e t at io n s f o r s e n t e n c e s s u c h a s Boy s will be boys a n d A husband
is a husband
w e r e s i m p l y d u e t o a p r a g m a t i c p r o c e s s o f c o n v e r s a t i o n a l i m p l i -
c a t u r e , t he n the a c c e p t a b i l i t y o f s uc h ph r a s e s s hou l d be ide n t i c a l i n d i f fe r e n t
l a ngua g e s . B u t t he e x t r e m e va r i a t i on i n t he in t e r p r e t a ti on o f nom i na l t a u t o l og i e s
i n d i f f e r e n t l a ngua ge s s ugge s t t ha t t he s e ph r a s e s a r e pa r t l y c onve n t i ona l a nd
l a n g u a g e - s p e c i f i c . E a c h t a u t o l o g y h a s a s p e c i f ic m e a n i n g t h at c a n n o t b e p r e -
d i c t ed in t e rm s o f a n y u n i v e r sa l p r a g m a t i c m a x i m s ( W i e r z b i c k a , 1 9 8 7 ) .
T h e s e m a n t i c v i e w p r o p o s e s t h a t E n g l i s h n o m i n a l t a u t o l o g i e s c a n b e d i s -
t i ngu i s he d i n t e r m s o f t he i r d i f fe r e n t s yn t a c t i c pa t te r n s a nd t he i r d i f f e re n t nom -
i na l c l a s s i f ic a t i ons ( W i e r z b i c k a , 1987 ) . F o r e xa m pl e , t a u t o l o g i e s o f t he s yn t a c t i c
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28 i b b s a n d McCarrell
f o r m N ( a b s t ra c t - s in g u I a r ) i s N ( a b s t r a c t- s i n g u l a r ) ( e . g . ,
War is war, Politics is
politics,
a n d
Business is business ,
c o n v e y a s o b e r , m o s t l y n e g a t i v e , a t t i t u d e
t o w a r d c o m p l e x h u m a n a c t i v i t i e s t h a t m u s t b e u n d e r s t o o d a n d t o l e r a t e d . T a u -
t o l o g i e s o f t h e f o r m N ( p l u r a l ) w i l l b e N ( p l u r a l ) r e f e r t o s o m e n e g a t i v e a s p e c t s
o f t h e t o p i c , b u t a l s o c o n v e y a n i n d u l g e n t a t t i t u d e t o w a r d t h i s r e l a t i v e l y u n -
c h a n g e a b l e n e g a t i v e a s p e c t ( e . g . , Boys will be boys . P h r a s e s s u c h a s Rapists
will be rapists o r Murderers will be murderers s e e m l e s s a c c e p t a b l e b e c a u s e i t
i s u n l i k e l y t h a t t h e s p e a k e r w o u l d w i s h t o c o n v e y a n a t t i t u d e o f i n d u l g e n c e
t o w a r d t h e t o p i c ( i . e . , r a p i s t s a n d m u r d e r e r s ) . I n g e n e r a l , c o n t r a r y t o t h e p r a g -
m a t i c v i e w , a s e m a n t i c a p p r o a c h t o n o m i n a l t a u t o l o g i e s p r o p o s e s t h a t t h e s p e -
c i f i c s y n t a c t i c f o r m a n d l e x i c a l c o n t e n t o f d i f f e r e n t p h r a s e s c o n t r i b u t e s i g n i f i c a n t
s e m a n t i c i n f o r m a t i o n t o t h e i r i n t e r p r e t a t i o n a n d a c c e p t a b i l i t y .
O u r a p p r o a c h t o c o l l o q u i a l t a u t o l o g i e s i s a h y b r i d t h e o r y t h a t c a p t u r e s
a s p e c t s o f t h e p r e v i o u s l y d e s c r i b e d v i e w s . W i t h in t h is f r a m e w o r k , t h e s y s t e m a t i c
a n d c o n v e n t i o n a l m e a n i n g a s s o c i a t e d w i t h t a u t o l o g i c a l c o n s t r u c t io n s v a r i e s d e -
p e n d i n g o n t h e s p e a k e r / l is t e n e r s c o n c e p t u a l k n o w l e d g e o f th e o b j e c t s n o u n s
r e f e rr e d t o i n t h e t a u t o l o g y . F o l l o w i n g F r a s e r ( 1 9 8 8 ) , o u r a c c o u n t f ir s t s p e c i f i e s
t h a t a n E n g l i s h n o m i n a l t a u t o l o g y s i g n a l s t h a t t h e s p e a k e r i n t e n d s t h a t t h e l i s t e n e r
r e c o g n i z e ( a ) t h a t t h e s p e a k e r h o l d s s o m e v i e w o r a t t i t u d e t o w a r d a l l p e o p l e ,
a c t i v i t i e s , o r o b j e c t s r e f e r r e d b y t h e n o u n p h r a s e , ( b ) t h a t t h e s p e a k e r b e l i e v e s
t h a t t h e l i s t e n e r c a n r e c o g n i z e t h i s p a r t i c u l a r v i e w , a n d ( c ) t h a t t h i s v i e w i s
r e l e v a n t to th e c o n v e r s a t i o n . T h e v e r y f o r m o f n o m i n a l t a u t o l o g i e s s i g n a l s t h at
t h e s p e a k e r i n t e n d s t o c o n v e y t h e b e l i e f t h a t th e p a r ti c ip a n t s s h a r e a v i e w a b o u t
s o m e a s p e c t o f t h e n o u n m e n t i o n e d i n th e t a u t o l o g y a n d w i s h e s t o b r i n g t h is
b e l i e f t o th e l i s t e n e r s a t t e n t io n . T h e p a r t i c u l a r b e l i e f s a b o u t a n o u n t h a t a s p e a k e r
w i s h e s t o c o n v e y w i l l d e p e n d p a r t l y o n c o n t e x t . F o r i n s ta n c e , i n d i f fe r e n t c ir -
c u m s t a n c e s a s p e a k e r m a y s t a t e t h a t Business is business t o c o n v e y e i th e r t h a t
b u s i n e s s i s c o m p e t i t i v e ( a n e g a t i v e a t t r i b u t i o n ) o r t h a t b u s i n e s s i s f i n a n c i a l l y
r e w a r d i n g ( a p o s i t i v e a t t r i b u t i o n ) .
H o w e v e r , c o n t e x t a l o n e i s i n s u f f i c i e n t f o r e x p l a i n i n g t h e e x a c t i n t e r p r e t a -
t i o n s l i s t e n e r s / r e a d e r s g i v e t o c o l l o q u i a l t a u t o l o g i e s . S p e a k e r s a n d l i s t e n e r s s h a r e
i n f o r m a t i o n a b o u t t h e p a r t i c u l a r s o c i a l s i t u a t i o n a t h a n d , b u t t h e y a l s o m u t u a l l y
a s s u m e s p e c i f i c s te r e o t y p i c a l u n d e r s ta n d i n g s o f p e o p l e , a c t iv i t ie s , a n d o b j e c t s
( c f. P u t n a m , 1 9 7 5 ) . T h i s s t e re o t y p i c a l k n o w l e d g e i s d i r e c t ly u s e d i n i n te r p re t in g
e x a c t l y w h a t s p e a k e r s m e a n w h e n t h e y r e fe r to d i f f e re n t p e o p l e , a c t iv i t ie s , a n d
o b j e c t s i n n o m i n a l t a u t o l o g i e s . L i s t e n e r s s h o u l d o f t e n i n t e r p r e t Boy s will be boys
t o m e a n t h at b o y s a r e u n r u l y n o t j u s t b e c a u s e o f th e s p e c i f i c c o n v e r s a t io n a l
c o n t e x t , b u t b e c a u s e o f t h e a s s u m p t i o n t h a t t h e s p e a k e r s h a r e s a s i m i l a r s te r -
e o t y p e a b o u t b o y s . O n t h e o t h e r h a n d , t h e r e a r e m a n y o b j e c t s a n d a c t i v i t i e s f o r
w h i c h p e o p l e p o s s e s s w e a k e r s t e r e o t y p e s . W h e n s p e a k e r s r e f e r t o o b j e c t s s u c h
a s h a t s , b e d s , o r f o o d s u c h a s c a r r o t s , i n t a u t o l o g i c a l p h r a s e s , t h e y s e e m l e s s
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Understanding olloquial Ta utologies
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l i k e l y t o e v o k e s p e c i f i c a t t i t u d e s a b o u t t h e s e o b j e c t s b e c a u s e p e o p l e g e n e r a l l y
d o n ' t h a v e s t r o n g s t e r e o t y p e s f o r t h e m . P e o p l e m a y c e r t a i n l y h a v e s t r o n g p r o -
t o t y p i c a l r e p r e s e n t a t i o n s f o r p a r t i c u l a r o b j e c t s a n d e v e n t s ( R o s c h & M e r v i s ,
1 9 7 5 ) , b u t t h e y d o n o t h a v e a s d e t a i l e d s t e r e o t y p i c a l a t t i t u d e s t o w a r d s c o n c r e t e
o b j e c t s s u c h a s h a t s , b e d s , o r c a r ro t s ( D a h l g r e n , 1 9 8 5 ) . P h r a s e s s u c h a s A ha t
i s a ha t
o r
C arro t s w i l l be c arro t s
s e e m l e s s a c c e p t a b le a s m e a n i n g f u l t a u t o lo g i e s
t h a n d o p h r a s e s s u c h a s Bus ine s s i s bus ine s s o r Boy s w i l l be boy s t h a t m e n t i o n
p e o p l e o r a c t iv i t ie s f o r w h i c h s p e a k e r s /l i st e n e r s h a v e s t r o n g s t e r e o t y p e s . T h e s e
o b s e r v a t i o n s s u g g e s t t h a t p e o p l e ' s s t e r e o t y p i c a l a t t i t u d e s t o w a r d t h e p e o p l e ,
a c t i v i t i e s , o r o b j e c t s r e f e r r e d t o b y t h e n o u n p h r a s e s i n n o m i n a l t a u t o l o g i e s
s h o u l d p l a y a n i m p o r t a n t r o l e i n t h e u s e a n d a c c e p t a b i l i t y o f t h e s e c o l l o q u i a l
e x p r e s s i o n s .
A t h ir d a s p e c t o f o u r a p p r o a c h t o n o m i n a l t a u t o l o g i e s c o n c e r n s t h e s y n t a c t i c
f o r m o f th e s e p h r a s es . F o l l o w i n g W i e r z b i c k a ( 1 9 8 7 ) , w e e x p e c t e d th a t t h e sy n -
t a c t i c f o r m o f a n o m i n a l t a u t o l o g y s h o u l d h a v e a n e f f e c t o n h o w s t e r e o t y p i c a l
i n f o rm a t i o n a b o u t p e o p l e , a c t iv i t ie s , a n d o b j e c t s ar e e v o k e d . C o n s i d e r t h e d if -
f e r e n c e b e t w e e n
A boy i s a boy
a n d
B o y s w i l l b e b o y s .
T h e s i n g u l a r n o m i n a l
t a u t o l o g y e x p r e s s e s t h e i d e a o f t o k e n i n d i f f e r e n c e ( W i e r z b i c k a , 1 9 8 7 ) , o r
t h a t a n y o n e i n s t a n c e o f a c o n c e p t i s e q u i v a l e n t t o a n y o t h e r . H o w e v e r , m o d a I
c o n s t r u c t io n s e x p r e s s a m o r e n e g a t i v e s e n s e t h a t o u r s t e r e o t y p i c a l u n d e r s t a n d i n g
o f t h e n o u n t o p i c w i l l r e m a i n u n c h a n g e d i n t h e f u t u r e a n d t h a t w e s h o u l d b e
a c c e p t i n g o f t h is s o m e t i m e s u n p l e a s a n t f a c t. T h e s e d i f fe r e n c e s i n th e s y n t a c t i c
f o r m s o f n o m i n a l t a u t o l o g i e s s h o u l d a l s o i n f l u e n c e t h e m e a n i n g a n d i n t e rp r e t-
a b i l i t y o f t h e s e s t a t e m e n t s .
A p r i m a r y m o t i v a t i o n f o r t h e p r e s e n t s t u d i e s w a s t o e x p l o r e w h y s o m e
t a u t o l o g i c a l p h r a s e s s e e m m e a n i n g f u l o r a c c e p t a b l e w h i l e o t h e r t a u t o l o g i e s a r e
l e ss m e a n i n g f u l a n d r a r e ly a p p e a r i n e v e r y d a y s p e e c h . N o t a l l t a u t o lo g i c a l p h r a s e s -
a r e c o l l o q u i a l a n d m a n y l o g i c a l l y t r u e , r e d u n d a n t s e n t e n c e s o f t h e f o r m s A X
is a X
o r
X s w i l l b e X s
d o n o t c o n v e y m u c h i n fo r m a t io n a b o u t a sp e a k e r ' s
b e l i e f s o r a t ti tu d e t o w a r d t h e n o u n m e n t i o n e d . O u r a i m w a s t o e m p i r i c a ll y
e s t a b li s h s o m e c o n s t r a in t s f o r a t h e o r y o f n o m i n a l t a u t o l o g i e s t h a t c o u l d m o t i v a t e
w h y s o m e t y p e s o f t a u t o lo g i c a l s e n t e n c e s s e e m e d m o r e a c c e p t a b l e th a n o t h e r s.
W e r e p o r t tw o e x p e r i m e n t s i n v e s t i g a t in g t h e ro l e s o f c o n t e x t , n o u n t y p e , a n d
s y n t a c t ic fo r m o n p e o p l e ' s u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f n o m i n a l t a u t o l o g i e s . S u b j e c t s w e r e
a s k e d t o r a t e t h e a c c e p t a b i l i t y a n d a f f e c t i v e q u a l i t y o f s y s t e m a t i c a l l y g e n e r a t e d
t a u t o l o g ic a l p h r a s e s b o t h w i t h o u t a n y c o n t e x tu a l i n f o r m a t i o n ( E x p e r i m e n t 1 ) a n d
i n d i f f e r e n t c o n t e x t s ( E x p e r i m e n t 2 ) . T h e a c c e p t a b i l i t y r a t i n g s r e f l e c t e d s u b j e c t s '
i n t u i ti o n s a b o u t t h e c o m p r e h e n s i b i l i t y o f d i f f e r e n t ta u t o l o g i e s a n d th e a f f e c t
r a ti n g s m e a s u r e d s u b j e c t s ' i n t u it io n s a b o u t th e p o s i t i v e / n e g a t iv e v a l e n c e f o r d i f -
f e r e n t t a u t o l o g i c a l p h r a s e s . O u r g e n e r a l h y p o t h e s i s w a s t h a t t h e r e s h o u l d b e
s p e c i f i c i n te r a c ti o n s b e t w e e n c o n t e x t , n o u n t y p e , a n d s y n t a c t i c fo r m i n s u b j e c t s '
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13 i b b s a n d McCarreU
a c c e p t a b i l i ty j u d g m e n t s f o r n o m i n a l t a u t o l o g i e s . A l t h o u g h a p ra g m a t i c v i e w
w o u l d p r e d i c t th a t c o n t e x t s h o u l d b e t h e p r i m a r y i n f lu e n c e o n t h e i n t e rp r e ta t io n
o f n o m i n a l t a u t o l o g i e s , a n d t h e s e m a n t i c v i e w w o u l d p r e d i c t t h a t d if f e re n t s y n -
t a c ti c f o r m s a n d d i f fe r e n t t y p e s o f n o u n s a f f e c t t h e c o m p r e h e n s i o n o f t a u t o lo g i e s ,
n e i t h e r o f t h e s e a p p r o a c h e s i s s u f f i c i e n t t o a c c o u n t f o r s p e c i f i c i n t e r a c t i o n s
b e t w e e n t h e s e v a r i o u s s o u r c e s o f li n g u i st ic a n d e x t ra - li n g u i st ic i n f o r m a t i o n .
E X P E R I M E N T
T h e a i m o f E x p e r i m e n t 1 w a s t o g a t h e r e v i d e n c e a b o u t p e o p l e s i n t e rp r e -
t a t io n s f o r n o m i n a l t a u t o l o g i e s w i t h o u t b i a s i n g c o n t e x t u a l i n f o r m a t i o n . D i f f e r e n t
t a u t o l o g i c a l p h r a s e s w e r e p r e s e n t e d t o s u b j e c t s i n e i t h e r p l u r a l s y n t a c t i c f o r m
( e . g . ,
Boys are boys
s i n g u la r s y n t a c t ic f o r m ( e . g . , A
boy is a boy ,
o r a s m o d a l
c o n s t r u c t i o n s ( e . g . , Boys wil l be boys . E a c h s y n t a c t i c f o r m c o n t a i n e d e i t h e r
h u m a n r o l e n o u n s ( e . g . ,
boys, doctors, teachers ,
a b s t r a c t n o u n s i n v o l v i n g h u -
m a n a c t i v i t i e s ( e . g . , war , spor t s , p romises , o r c o n c r e t e n o u n s r e f e r r i n g t o
o r d i n a r y o b j e c t s ( e . g . , f lowers, diamonds, beds . T h e s u b j e c t s t a s k w a s t o f ir s t
r a te t h e a c c e p t a b i l i t y o r i n t e r p r e t a b i l it y o f e a c h t a u t o l o g i c a l p h r a s e a n d t h e n t o
r a te t h e a f f e c t i v e m e a n i n g o f th e s e p h r a s e s ( i .e . , t h e d e g r e e t o w h i c h e a c h p h r a s e
c o n v e y e d a p o s i t i v e o r n e g a t i v e a t t r i b u t i o n a b o u t t h e n o u n ) . W e a s s u m e d , f o l -
l o w i n g D a h l g r e n ( 1 9 8 5 ) , t h a t s u b j e c t s s h o u l d p o s s e s s e s m o r e s t e r e o t y p i c a l
k n o w l e d g e f o r h u m a n n o u n s a n d a b s tr a c t n o u n s t h a n t h e y w o u l d f o r c o n c r e t e
n o u n s . A l t h o u g h p e o p l e k n o w a g o o d d e a l a b o u t c o n c r e t e o b j e c t s , t h e y d o n o t
u s u a l l y h a v e s p e c i f i c s t e r e o t y p e s t h a t p o l a r i z e e i t h e r n e g a t i v e l y o r p o s i t i v e l y ,
t h e i r a t t i t u d e s a b o u t t h e s e o b j e c t s . C o n s e q u e n t l y , w e e x p e c t e d t h a t s u b j e c t s
s h o u l d g e n e r a l l y f i n d t au t o l o g i e s w i t h h u m a n r o le a n d a b s t r a c t n o u n s t o b e m o r e
i n te r p re t a b le t h an t h e y w o u l d p h r a s e s c o n t a i n i n g c o n c r e t e n o u n s . A t th e s a m e
t i m e , w e p r e d i c t e d a n i n t e r a c t i o n b e t w e e n n o u n t y p e a n d s y n t a c t i c f o r m s u c h
t h at s o m e n o u n s ( e . g . , h u m a n r o l es ) sh o u l d b e v i e w e d a s q u i te a c c e p t a b l e in
s o m e s y n t a c t ic f o r m s ( e . g . , m o d a l c o n s t r u c t io n s ) , b u t l e s s s o w h e n p r e s e n t e d i n
o t h e r f o r m s ( e . g . , s i n g u l a r c o n s t r u c t i o n s ) .
M e t h o d
Subjects
T h i r t y - si x U n i v e r s i t y o f C a l if o rn i a , S a n t a C r u z , u n d e r g r a d u a t e s p a r t ic i p a te d
i n t h e e x p e r i m e n t . T h e y e i t h e r r e c e i v e d p a y m e n t f o r t h e i r p a r t i c i p a t i o n o r c r e d i t
f o r a c o u r s e r e q u i r e m e n t . A l l o f th e s u b j e c t s w e r e n a t i v e E n g l i s h s p e a k e r s .
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Understanding
olloquial Tautologies
3
M a t er i a l s a n d D es i g n
The s t imu lus mate r i a ls we re cons t ruc ted i n two s t eps. F i r st , 12 nouns w ere
se l ec t ed fo r each o f t h ree noun t ypes : human ro l e ( e . g . , boys, teachers, or
doc tors , concre t e ( e . g . , books , f lowers , or hats , and abs t rac t (e .g . , war, re-
ligion, or divorce . Each o f t hese 36 nouns w ere t hen i n se r t ed i n to t h ree syn t ac t i c
fo rms o f t au to log i es : s i ngu l a r ( e . g . , A boy i s a boy , plura l (e .g . , B o ys a r e
boys , a n d m o d a l ( e . g . , B o ys w i l l b e b o ys . The resu l t ing 108 nominal t au to-
logies were d iv ided in to three counterbalanced l i s t s of mater ia l s . Each l i s t con-
t a ined 36 t au to log i ca l s en t ences fo rmed by fac to r i a l l y c ros s ing t he t h ree noun
types wi th t he t h ree syn t ac t i c fo rms . Acros s t he t h ree l i s t s o f s t imu l i , each o f
t he 36 i nd iv idua l nouns appeared equa l l y o f t en i n bo th t he d i f f e ren t noun t ype
and sy n t ac t i c fo rm cond i t i ons . Exam ples o f t he s t imu l i in t he d i f f e ren t experi -
me n ta l cond i ti ons a re p resen t ed i n Appen d ix A .
P r o c e d u r e
S ub jec ts w ere r and om ly as s igned t o r ece ive one o f t he t h ree l is ts o f s t imu l i
t ha t we re p resen t ed i n a book l e t a l ong wi th a wr i t t en s e t o f i n s truc t ions . The 36
phrases i n each l is t we re r a ndo m ly o rde red . S ub j ec t s we re i n s truc t ed to ca re fu l l y
read and m ake tw o d i f f e ren t j udgm en t s abou t each ph rase i n t he i r book l e t . The i r
f ir s t t a sk wa s t o r a t e the '% cce p t ab i l i t y o f each ph rase on a 7 -po in t s ca le
( w h e re 1 m e a n t t h a t t h e p h r a se w a s u n a c c e p t a b l e a n d 7 m e a n t t h a t t h e p h r as e
w a s h i g h l y a c c e p t a b l e ) . A c c e p t a b i l i t y w a s e x p l a in e d a s r e f le c t in g h o w
easy i t wa s t o i n te rp re t t he ph rase . S ub j ec ts were t hen i n s t ruc t ed t o j udge each
phrase fo r t he a t t i t ude a supposed speaker o f t he ph rase migh t be t ry ing t o
com mu nica t e . Th i s r a ti ng w as a l so t o be m ade on a 7 -po in t s ca le r ang ing f rom
1 ind i ca ti ng t hat t he speaker m ean t t o con vey a h igh ly nega t i ve a t t it ude towa rd
the ph rase , t o 3 o r 4 w here t he speaker me an t t o conv ey a neu t ra l a tt it ude t oward
the ph rase , t o 7 i nd i ca t i ng t ha t t he speaker mean t t o communica t e a h igh ly
pos i t ive a t t i tude toward the phrase .
R E S U L T S N D D I S C U S S I O N
Accep t ab i l i t y Ra t i ngs . The mean accep t ab i l i t y r a t i ngs fo r each noun t ype
in each syn tact ic form , averag ed across subject s , a re presen ted in Table 1 . The
m ean s t andard e r ro r fo r t hese r a t ings was + . 06 .
A n ana lys i s o f va r i ance on t hese da t a i nd i ca ted a s i gn i f ican t e f f ec t o f noun
type , F (2 , 46 ) - -4 0 . 6 7 , p < . 001 . A l though t he va r i a t ion i n sub j ec t s' r a t ings fo r
t he d i f f e ren t syn t ac t i c fo rms was on ly marg ina l l y s i gn i f i can t , F (2 , 46 )= 2 . 45 ,
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132
Syntactic Form
Gib b s an d Me arre l l
T a b l e I . M ean Acceptability Ratings in Experiment 1
ll
Noun Type
Human Abstract Concrete Means
Modal 5.71 4.23 3.04 4.32
Plural 4.63 4.77 3.92 4.44
Singular 4.64 4.86 4.56 4.69
Means 4.99 4.62 3.84
p < . 1 0 , t h e in t e ra c ti o n o f n o u n t y p e a n d s y n t a c ti c f o r m w a s r e li a b le , F ( 4 ,
92) = 16 .85 , p < .001 .
F u r the r e xa m ina t ion o f the i nd iv idua l c e l l m e a ns u s ing F i sc h e r s LS D t e s ts
showe d tha t sub je c t s f ound t a u to log ie s w i th huma n r o l e a nd a bs t r a c t nouns to
be m or e a c c e p ta b le t ha n t a u to log ie s c on ta in ing c onc r e t e nouns (p < .0 1 ) . Th e
h ighe r r a t i ng f o r t a u to log ie s w i th huma n r o l e nouns c ompa r e d to ph r a se s w i th
a bs tr a ct nouns w a s on ly m a r g ina l ly re l i a b le ( p < .10 ) . S ub je c t s ge ne r a l ly f ound
ta u to log ies i n s ingu lar syn ta c t i c f o r m to be mo r e a c c e p ta b l e t han th e y d id m oda l
f o r ms ( p < .0 5 ) , bu t t he d i f f e r e nc e be twe e n s ingu la r a nd p lu ra l f o r m s wa s no t
s t a ti s ti c a lly r e li a b l e . Th e nou n type X syn ta c t i c f o r m in t e r a c tion wa s p r ima r i ly
due to va r i a t i on in sub je c t s r a ti ngs f o r mo da l syn ta c t i c fo r m s w i th d i f f e r e n t
type s o f nouns . S ub je c t s f ound t a u to log ie s w i th huma n r o l e nouns to be mor e
acceptable in m odal form s than in e i ther s ingular or plura l syn tact ic form s (p < .01
f o r bo th c ompa r i sons ) . Howe ve r , t he me a n r a t i ngs f o r t a u to log ie s w i th a bs t r a c t
o r c onc r e t e nouns w e r e s ign i f i c a n t ly l owe r whe n p r e se n te d in moda l f o r ms tha n
in e i the r p lura l o r s ingula r syntac t ic forms (/9 < .05 for each com par iso n) . M ost
no ta b ly , t he se da t a showe d tha t sub je c t s f ound moda l ph r a se s w i th huma n r o l e
nouns to be m or e a c c e p ta b le t ha n a ny o the r t ype o f t a u to logy ( p < . 01 f o r a l l
c ompa r i sons ) .
ffect Ra tings
The me a n a f f e c t r a t i ngs a r e shown in Ta b le I I . The a ve r a ge s t a nda r d e r r o r
o f the me a n f o r t he se r a ti ngs wa s + . 07 .
An a na lys is o f va r ia nc e o f t he se da t a r e ve a l e d a s ign i fi c a n t e f f e c t o f nou n
type , F ( 2 ,46 ) = 39 .49 , P < . 001 . T he e f f e c t o f syn ta c t ic f o r m wa s no t s t at i st i ca l ly
s ign i fi c a n t , F ( 2 , 46 ) = 2 .42 , p > . 10 . H ow e ve r , t he noun type X syn ta c t i c f o r m
wa s r e l ia b l e , F ( 4 ,92 ) = 16 .74 , p < . 001 .
F u r the r e xa mina t ion o f t he i nd iv idua l me a ns showe d tha t sub je c t s j udge d
ta u to log ie s w i th a bs t r a c t nouns to be mor e ne ga t ive t ha n the y d id ph r a se s w i th
e i the r hum a n r o l e o r c onc r e t e nouns ( p< .05 f o r bo th c om pa r i sons ) . S ub je c t s
m o s t g e n e r a ll y fo u n d m o d a l p h r a se s w i t h e a c h t y p e o f n o u n t o c o n v e y m o r e
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Un d ers tan d i n g Co l l oq u i a l T au to l og i es
Table
II . Mean Affect Ratings in Experiment 1~
Noun Type
Syntactic Form Human Abstract Concrete
33
M e a n s
M o d a l 3 9 5 3 5 7 3 9 0 3 8 0
Plural 4 15 3 98 4 17 4 09
S i n g u la r 4 2 4 3 7 2 4 3 9 4 1 1
M e a n s 4 1 1 3 7 5 4 1 4
~Higher ra tings indica te more posi t ive a ffec t
n e g a t i v e a t t r ib u t i o n s t h a n f o r p l u r a l o r s i n g u l a r p h r a s e s p < . 0 5 f o r e a c h c o m -
p a r i so n ) . H o w e v e r , e x a m i n a t io n o f th e n o u n t y p e X s y n t a c t i c f o r m i n t e r a ct io n
i n d i c a t e d t h a t s u b j e c t s f o u n d t a u t o l o g i e s w i t h h u m a n r o l e a n d c o n c r e t e n o u n s t o
c o n v e y t h e m o s t p o s i t i v e a f f e c t i n s i n g u la r f o r m s , b u t t h a t a b s tr a c t n o u n s c o n -
v e y e d t h e m o s t p o s i t i v e a f f e c t w h e n s e e n i n p l u ra l f o r m s p < . 0 5 f o r a ll th r e e
c o m p a r i s o n s ) .
I n s u m m a r y , t h e r e su l t s o f t h is f ir st s t u d y s h o w e d i m p o r t an t d i f f e re n c e s i n
t h e c o m p r e h e n s i b i l i ty o f t a u t o lo g i c a l e x p r e s s i o n s . S u b j e c t s f o u n d m o d a l f o r m s
w i t h h u m a n r o l e n o u n s e . g . , D octors w i l l be doc tors t o b e t h e e a s i e s t t y p e o f
tau to logy to comprehend and a t t r ibu ted r e la t ive ly nega t ive a f f ec t to these phrases .
T h i s f i n d in g s u p p o r t s t h e p r e d i c ti o n s o f th e s e m a n t i c v i e w t h a t m o d a l s y n t a c t i c
f o r m s a r e m o s t a p p r o p r i a t e t o u s e w h e n t h e y e x p r e s s a s o b e r , m o s t l y n e g a t i v e
a c c o u n t t o w a r d p e o p l e . S u b j e c t s f i n d t h e s e t y p e s o f t a u t o l o g i e s e a s y t o c o m p r e -
h e n d b e c a u s e o f t h e ir s te r e o t y p i c a l k n o w l e d g e o f p e o p l e i . e . , d i f fe r e n t h u m a n
r o l e s u c h a s m o t h e r s , d o c t o r s , t e a c h e r s , a n d s o o n ) . T a u t o l o g i e s w i t h c o n c r e t e
n o u n s a r e m o r e d i f f i c u l t t o i n t e r p r e t p r e c i s e l y b e c a u s e s u b j e c t s d o n o t p o s s e s s
s t e r e o t y p i c a l a t t i tu d e s to w a r d c o n c r e t e o b j e c t s e . g . , c a r r o t s , h a t s , b e d s ) i n t h e
s a m e w a y t h e y d o fo r p e o p l e an d v a r i o u s h u m a n a c t i v i ti e s e . g . , w a r , d i v o r c e ,
v a c a t i o n s ) . T h e l a c k o f s t e r e o t y p i c a l a tt it u d e s f o r v a r i o u s c o n c r e t e o b j e c t s m a k e s
i t d i f f i c u l t f o r s u b j e c t s t o d e t e r m i n e w h y s p e a k e r s / w r i t e r s w o u l d e x p r e s s a n y
b e l i e f a b o u t s u c h o b j e c t s i . e . , c o n c r e t e n o u n s ) .
E X P E R I M E N T
S u b j e c t s in E x p e r i m e n t 2 r a te d t h e a c c e p t a b i l i ty o f ta u t o l o g i c a l p h r a s e s i n
c o n t e x t s d e s i g n e d t o e v o k e e i t h e r a p o s i t i v e o r n e g a t i v e a t t i t u d e t o w a r d t h e
m e n t i o n e d n o u n p h r a s e . F o r i n s t a n c e, s u b j e c t s j u d g e d t h e a c c e p t a b i li t y o f p h r a se s
s u c h a s B o ys w i l l b e b o ys a t t h e e n d o f e i t h e r a n e g a t i v e c o n t e x t :
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3 4 G i b b s a n d M c C a r r e l l
Boys give such trouble. You re lucky yo u have a daughter. Most boys are juvenile
delinquents in spirit if not in fact. And a small boy can show s uc h cruelty.
or a t the end of a pos i t ive s tory context :
Boys give such joy . It s too bad you have daughters. M ost boys are m ischievous
angels in spiri t if not in fact. And a small boy can show su ch tenderness.
The p ragmat i c v i ew o f nomina l t au to log i es emphas i zes t ha t t he i n t e rp re -
t a t i on o f t hese ph rases depends on pa r t i cu l a r con t ex t s . W e too expec t ed t ha t
sub jec t s wou ld co mp rehend t au to log i es d i f f e ren t l y i n nega t i ve and pos i ti ve con -
t ex ts . Th i s shou ld be pa r t i cu l a r ly ev iden t i n sub j ec t s a f f ec t r a t ings . H ow ever ,
the resu l t s of Expe r ime nt 1 indicated that people d i f fere nt ia l ly in terpre t t au to-
l og ica l s en tences de pend ing on t he exac t syn t ac t i c fo rm and l ex i ca l con t en t o f
t hese ph rases . W e w ere pa r t icu l a r l y i n te res ted t o s ee wh e the r o r no t su b j ec t s
s tereotypical unders tanding of people , human act iv i t i es , and concrete object s
would be inf luenced by contexts h ighl ight ing e i ther a pos i t ive or negat ive a t t i -
t ude t oward t hese peop l e and t h ings . Con t ra ry t o bo th t he p ragmat i c and s e -
m ant ic view s o f col loquial tautologies , w e predicted that there sho uld be evidence
o f i n t e rac t ions be tween con t ex t , noun t ypes , and syn t ac t i c fo rm in bo th sub j ec t s
accep tabi l i ty and af fect ra t ings .
e t h o d
ubjects
Thi r t y - s ix U n iver s i t y o f Ca l i fo rn i a , S an t a C ruz underg radua t es pa r t ic i pa ted
in the ex per im ent . Th ey e i ther received pay m en t for thei r par t ic ipat ion or credi t
for a course requi rem ent . Al l of the subject s we re nat ive Engl i sh speakers . No ne
of the subject s par t i c ipated in Exper iment 1 .
M aterials and esign
Tw o shor t s to ry con t ex t s , r ang ing f rom 4 t o 6 l i nes , were wr i t t en fo r each
of the 36 nouns used as s t imu l i i n Exper im en t 1 . O ne s t o ry sugges t ed a pos i t ive
a t t i t ude t oward t he noun men t ioned i n t he f i na l s en t ence and t he s econd s t o ry
sugges t ed a nega t i ve a t t i t ude t oward t ha t s ame noun . F o r a g iven noun , t he
pos i t ive and negat ive s tor ies were wri t t en in para l le l sen tence s t ructure so that
each con text refer red to the sam e type, bu t oppos i te , character i s t ics of the noun .
The pos i t i ve and nega t i ve s t o r i e s fo r a g iven noun a l so con t a ined rough ly t he
s a m e n u m b e r o f w o r d s .
The 108 t au to log i ca l s en t ences f rom E xper imen t 1 were p l aced a t t he end
of bo th a pos i t i ve and nega t i ve s t o ry fo r each o f t he 36 nouns . The r esu l t i ng
216 s tor ies (36 n ouns X 3 syntac t ic form s X 2 s tory contexts ) we re the n d iv ided
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Und erstanding olloquial Tau tologies
135
in to s ix counterbalanced l i s t s of mater ia l s . Each l i s t conta ined 36 tau to logical
s en t ences fo rmed by fac to r i a l l y c ros s ing t he t h ree noun t ypes wi th t he t h ree
syn t ac t i c fo rms and t he two t ypes o f con t ex t . Acros s t he s i x l i s t s o f s t imu l i ,
each o f t he 36 i nd iv idua l nouns appeared equa l l y o f t en i n bo th t he d i f f e ren t
noun t ype and syn t ac t i c fo rm cond i t i ons . Examples o f pos i t i ve and nega t i ve
con t ex t s fo r one i t em in each noun t ype a re p resen ted i n App end ix B .
Procedure
S ub jec ts were r and om ly as signed t o r ece ive one o f t he s i x l is ts o f s t imu l i
that we re p resented in a book le t a long wi th a w r i t t en se t of ins t ruct ions . Subject s
were i n s truc t ed to ca re fu l l y r ead each s t o ry and t o mak e two d i f f e ren t j udgm en t s
abou t t he la s t l ine in each s t o ry . The i r f ir s t t a sk wa s t o r a te the ac ce p t a b i l i t y
of the l as t sen tence on a 7-poin t scale (where 1 meant that the phrase was
u n a c c e p t a b l e a n d 7 m e a n t t h a t t he p h r a se w a s h i g h l y a c c e p t a b l e ) .
'Ac-
cep t ab i l i t y wa s ex p l a ined as r e f l ec ti ng how easy i t wa s t o i n te rp re t t he ph rase .
S ub j ec ts were t hen i n s t ruc ted t o j udge each ph rase fo r t he a t t it ude a speaker o f
t he ph rase i n a g iven s t o ry wa s t ry ing t o com m unica t e . Th i s r a t ing was a l so t o
be m ade on a 7 -po in t sca l e r ang ing f rom 1 i nd ica t i ng t ha t t he speaker mea n t t o
con vey a h igh ly nega t ive a t t it ude t oward t he f i na l s en t ence , t o 3 o r 4 w here t he
speaker meant to convey a neut ra l a t t i tude toward the f inal sen tence, to 7 in-
d i ca ti ng t ha t the speaker m ean t t o com m unica t e a h igh ly pos it ive a t ti tude t oward
the f inal sen tence. The subject s gave thei r two ra t ings for each f inal sen tence
as they read the s tor ies .
R e s u l t s a n d D i s c u s s i o n
Acceptability Ratings
The m ean accep t ab i l it y r a t ings fo r each n oun t ype i n each syn t ac t i c fo rm
and each t ype o f con t ex t a re p resen t ed i n Tab l e I I I . The mean s t andard e r ro r
for these ra t ings was + .09 .
An ana lys is o f va r i ance on t hese da t a i nd i ca t ed t ha t sub j ect s found t au to -
logies in negat ive contexts as being more acceptable than in pos i t ive contexts ,
F(1,
3 5 )= 5 .86 , p < .025 . Subject s a l so var ied thei r acce ptabi l i ty ra t ings for the
d i f f e ren t t ypes o f n ouns , F (2 , 70 )= 12 . 97 , p < . 001 . The i n te rac t ion be tween
noun t ype and t ype o f con t ex t was ve ry c lo se t o s i gn i f i can t , F (2 , 70 )= 3 . 05 ,
p < . 0 5 1 . Al thou gh the va r i a t ion i n sub j ec t s ' r at ings fo r the d i f f e ren t syn t ac t i c
fo rms was on ly ma rg ina l l y s i gn i f ican t , F (2 , 70 )= 2 . 40 , p < . 10 , t he i n te rac ti on
of syn tact ic form and typ e of con text w as s ta t i s ti ca l ly re l i ab le , F ( 2 , 70) = 7 .56 ,
p < .001.
F ur the r exam ina t ion o f t he i nd iv idua l ce ll mean s us ing F i sch er ' s LS D t es ts
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3 6
Context
G i b b s a n d M c C a r r e l l
a b l e
III . M ean Acceptability Ratings in Experiment 2
Noun Type
Human Abstract Concrete
Neg, Pos. Neg. Pos. Neg. Pos. Means
Syntactic Form
Modal 3 92 3 51 3 33 3 22 3 44 2 68 3 70 3 14
Plural 4 23 3 61 3 87 3 27 3 43 3 36 3 84 3 41
Singular 3 92 3 64 3 63 3 86 3 00 3 83 3 52 3 78
Means 4 16 3 59 3 61 3 45 3 29 3 30
showed t ha t sub j ec t s found t au to log i es wi th human ro l e nouns t o be more ac -
ceptable tha n tau to logies w i th ab s t rac t nouns (p < .05) and tau to logies wi th ab-
stract nouns we re m ore acceptable than were phrases w ith concrete nouns (p < .05).
This pat tern of resu l t s i s s imi lar to that found in Exper iment 1 and suppor t s the
idea tha t sub j ec t s s t e reo typ i ca l under s t and ings o f peop l e and hum an ac t iv i ti e s
m ake i t eas ie r t o u nder s t and nom ina l t au to log i es wi th nouns r e fe r r ing t o t hese
people and abs t rac t ac t iv i t i es . Subject s do not have as c lear s tereotypical a t t i -
tudes about concrete object s and f ind i t l ess acceptable to refer to these object s
in t au to logical cons t ruct ions .
C lose r ana lys i s o f t he con t ex t X noun t ype i n t e rac ti on show ed t ha t sub j ec ts
gave h igher accep t ab i l i ty ra t ings t o hu ma n and abs tr ac t nouns i n con t ex t s em-
phas iz ing thei r nega t ive a t t ributes than in pos i t ive co ntexts (p < .01 for the hu m an
noun com par i son , p > . 10 fo r the abs t r ac t noun compar i son ) . H ow ever , t he re
wa s v i r t ua l l y no d i f f e rence in sub j ec t s r a t ings fo r concre t e nouns i n pos it ive
contexts than in negat ive s i tuat ions . Th is f inding a l so sugges t s that people ha ve
c l ea re r , and m ore n ega t i ve , s t e reo typ ica l a t ti tudes as soc ia t ed wi th hu ma n nouns
and abs tr ac t human ac t iv i ti e s than t he y do fo r concre t e nou ns .
Exam ina t i on o f t he con t ex t X syn t ac t i c fo rm in t e rac t i on i nd ica t ed t ha t nom-
inal t au to logies were more acceptable in negat ive than in pos i t ive contexts for
bo th p lu ra l and mo da l syn t ac t i c fo rms (p < . 05 fo r bo th compa r i sons ) , bu t t ha t
the reverse wa s t rue for t au to logies presented in s ingular form s (p < .10) . These
data suppor t W ierzb icka s (1987) conjecture that p lura l forms are l ikely to com-
mun ica t e a cha rac t e r is t ic wh ich i s bo th neg a t i ve and ob v ious ly true o f t he no un
concep t wh i l e s i ngu l a r fo rms com mu nica t e token i nd i f f e rence . Un l ike t he f i nd -
ings in Exper iment 1 , subject s d id not g ive especia l ly h igh ra t ings to modal
t au to log i es w i th hu ma n ro l e no uns . A l though sub j ec ts ga ve t he i r h ighes t ra t ings
o v e ra l l t o tau to log i es wi th hu ma n ro le nouns i n nega t i ve con t ex ts (p< . 05 fo r
each compa r i son ac ross t he d i f f e ren t co lum n mean s ) , t he re wa s n o ev idence t o
sugges t t ha t the m oda l ve rb w ll fac i l i ta ted subjec t s in terpre ta t ion of t au to logies
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U n d e r s t a n d i n g C o l l o q u ia l T a u t o l o g ie s
137
wi th hu m a n r o l e nouns . S ub je c t s ra t e d c onc r e t e nouns in moda l ph r a se s a s m or e
a c c e p ta b le i n ne ga t ive c on te x t s t ha n the y d id i n pos i t i ve c on te x t s ( p< .01 ) . I n
c on t r a s t , t he y r a t e d c onc r e t e nouns in s ingu la r f o r m s mo r e a c c e p ta b l e i n pos i t ive
c on te x t s t ha n in ne ga t ive one s (p < . 01 ) . A ppa r e n t ly , c o nc r e t e nouns in s ingu la r
syn ta c t i c f o r m s ( e . g . ,
A bed i s a bed)
a r e s e e n a s be ing m or e s e ns ib l e i n c on te x t s
h ighl igh t ing the i r pos i t ive a t t r ibu tes than in s i tua t ions depic t ing the i r nega t ive
qua l i ti e s . T h i s f i nd ing im p l i e s t ha t the t oke n ind i f f e r e nc e sugge s t e d b y s ingu la r
syn ta c t i c fo r m s i s ge ne r a l ly pos i t i ve f o r c onc r e t e nouns bu t n e ga t ive f o r huma n
r o le nouns .
A f f ec t R a t i n g s
Th e me a n a f f e c t r a t ings a r e show n in Ta b le I V . Th e a ve r a ge s t a nda rd e r r o r
o f the me a n f o r t he se r at i ngs wa s + . 07 .
An a na lys is o f va r i a nc e o f t he se da t a r e ve a l e d tha t sub je ct s v i e we d t a u to -
log ie s in pos i t i ve c on te x t s a s c om m unic a t ing po s i t i ve a tt r ibu t e s a bou t t he nouns
me n t ione d tha n whe n the se s a me nouns we r e s e e n in ne ga t ive s i t ua t ions ,
F 1 ,
3 5 ) = 5 5 . 9 4 , p < . 0 0 1 . T h i s f in d i n g d e m o n s t r a te s t h at th e p a rt ic u l ar c o n t e x t o f
use c a n in f lue nc e the a t t i t ude a bou t t he noun c onc e p t me n t ione d in a t a u to logy ,
a r e su l t c ons i s t e n t w i th t he p r a gma t i c v i e w o f nomina l t a u to log ie s . The e f f e c t
o f noun type wa s s ign i f ic a n t , F ( 2 , 70 ) = 3 .49 , p < . 05 , a nd the r e wa s a r e li a b l e
i n t er a c ti o n b e t w e e n n o u n t y p e a n d t y p e o f c o n t e x t , F ( 2 , 7 0 ) = 1 2 . 4 6 , p < . 0 0 1 .
Th e in t e r a c t ion be tw e e n sy n ta c t i c f o r m a nd type o f c on te x t wa s s ign i f ic a n t , F ( 2 ,
70 ) = 13 .96 , p < . 001 , a s wa s the 3 - wa y in t e r a c tion o f noun type X sy n ta c t i c
f o r m X t y p e ' o f c o n te x t , F ( 4 , 1 0 4 ) = 5 . 8 6 , p < . 0 0 1 .
F u r the r e xa m ina t ion o f t he i nd iv idua l me a n s sho we d tha t sub je c ts v i e w e d
ta u to log ie s i n pos i t i ve c on te x t s a s c on ve y ing mor e pos i t i ve a f f e c t f o r e a c h type
o f nou n (p < . 01 f o r a l l t h r e e c omp a r i sons ) a nd e a c h type o f syn ta c t i c f o r m
( p < . 01 f o r a l l t h r e e c om pa r i sons ) . An a lys i s o f t he t h r e e - wa y in t e r a c t ion ind i-
T a b l e I V
Mean Affect Ratings in Experiment
2 a
Noun Type
Human Abstract Concrete
Context Neg. Pos. Neg. Pos. Neg. Pos. Means
Syntactic Form
Modal 2.93 4.83 3.05
Plural 2.47 5.20 2.75
Singular 2.96 4.68 3.01
Means 2.79 4.91 2.93
Higher means indicate m ore p ositive affect.
4.15 3.30 4.42 3.09 4.47
4.56 2.15 5.37 2.45 5.05
4.31 2.50 5.65 2.83 4.88
4.34 2.65 5.15
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3 8 G i b b s a n d M c C a r r e l l
c a r e d t h a t t h e d i f f e r e n c e s b e t w e e n n e g a t i v e a n d p o s i t i v e c o n t e x t s w a s s i g n i f i -
c a n t l y r e d u c e d f o r h u m a n a n d a b s t r a c t n o u n s c o m p a r e d t o c o n c r e t e n o u n s .
S i m i l a r l y , t h e d i f f e r e n c e s b e t w e e n n e g a t i v e a n d p o s i t i v e c o n t e x t s w e r e s i g n i f i -
c a n t l y re d u c e d f o r m o d a l a n d p l u ra l s y n t a c t i c fo r m s c o m p a r e d t o s i n g u l ar f o r m s .
I n s u m m a r y , t h e d a t a f r o m E x p e r i m e n t 2 d e m o n s t r a t e d t h e i n f l u e n t i a l r o l e
o f c o n t e x t o n t h e c o m p r e h e n s i o n o f ta u t o l o g i c a l p h r a s e s . S u b j e c t s f o u n d n o m i n a l
t a u t o l o g i e s e a s i e r t o i n t e r p r e t i n n e g a t i v e c o n t e x t s t h a n i n p o s i t i v e o n e s , b u t
t h e re w e r e a l s o s i g n if ic a n t i n t e ra c t io n s o f c o n t e x t w i t h n o u n t y p e a n d s y n t a c t i c
f o r m s h o w i n g t h e im p o r t a n c e o f p r a g m a t i c , s e m a n t i c , a n d s y n t a c t i c i n f o rm a t i o n
i n u n d e r s t a n d i n g t a u t o l o g i c a l e x p r e s s i o n s .
G E N E R A L D I S C U S S I O N
P s y c h o l i n g u i s t i c r e s e a r c h h a s i n r e c e n t y e a r s b e g u n t o e x a m i n e h o w l i s -
t e n e rs d e r i v e w h a t i s m e a n t f r o m w h a t i s sa i d i n c o n v e r s a ti o n . P r e v i o u s r e s e a r c h
h a s f o c u s e d o n u n d e r s t a n d in g d i f fe r e n t t y p e s o f n o n l it e ra l s p e e c h , s u c h a s m e t -
a p h o r , i r o n y , i d i o m s , p r o v e r b s , a n d i n d ir e c t s p e e c h a c t s i n w h i c h s p e a k e r s
i n t e n d e d m e a n i n g s d e v i a t e s f r o m t h e i r l i t e r a l u t t e r a n c e s ( c f . G i b b s , 1 9 8 4 , 1 9 8 6 ) .
T h e a i m o f t h e p r e s e n t e x p e r i m e n t s w a s t o i n v e s t i g a t e th e i n te r p r e ta t i o n o f
c o l l o q u i a l s t a t e m e n t s t h a t a r e tr u e b y v i r tu e o f t h e i r l o g i c a l f o r m s ( e . g . , B o y s
w i l l be boy s, T e ac he r s a r e te ac he r s , B us i ne s s i s bus i n e s s . S p e a k e r s u s e n o m i n a l
t a u t o l o g i e s f r e q u e n t l y i n c o n v e r s a t i o n a n d l i s te n e r s / r e a d e r s s e e m a b l e to in t e r p r e t
t h e s e s u p e r f i c i a l l y r e d u n d a n t , n o n s e n s i c a l e x p r e s s i o n s . O u r g o a l w a s t o a s s e s s
t h e im p o r t a n c e o f c o n t e x t , s y n t a c t i c f o r m , a n d l e x i c a l c h o i c e o n p e o p l e s u n -
d e r s t a n d i n g o f n o m i n a l t a u t o l o g i e s . T h e r e s u l t s o f t w o s t u d i e s e s t a b l i s h s e v e r a l
c o n s t ra i n ts m o t i v a ti n g w h y s o m e t a u t o lo g i c a l p h r a s e s a r e a c c e p t a b l e a n d l i k e l y
t o b e v i e w e d a s c o l l o q u i a l e x p r e s s i o n s , w h i l e o t h e r t a u t o l o g i e s a r e l e s s a c c e p t -
a b l e a n d a r e u n l i k e l y t o b e h e a r d i n e v e r y d a y c o n v e r s a t i o n .
E x p e r i m e n t 1 s h o w e d t h a t s u b j e c t s c a n r e a d i l y u n d e r s t a n d t h e m e a n i n g s o f
n o m i n a l t a u t o l o g i e s w i t h o u t s u p p o r t i n g c o n t e x t u a l i n f o r m a t i o n . S u b j e c t s h a d
l i t t l e d i f f i c u l t y i n i n t e r p r e t i n g m o s t t a u t o l o g i c a l p h r a s e s . H o w e v e r , t h e r e w e r e
s p e c i f i c d i f f e r e n c e s i n t h e a c c e p t a b i l i t y o f d i f fe r e n t t y p e s o f n o m i n a l t a u t o l o g i e s .
S u b j e c t s f o u n d i t e a s i e r t o a s s i g n m e a n i n g s f o r t a u t o l o g i e s c o n t a i n i n g h u m a n
r o l e n o u n s ( e . g . , S a l e s m e n a r e s a le s m e n , A t e e n a g e r i s a t e e n a g e r a n d a b s t r a c t
n o u n s ( e . g . , W a r is w a r , P r o m i s e s a r e p r o m i s e s t h a n t h e y d i d f o r s t a t e m e n t s
c o n t a i n i n g c o n c r e t e n o u n s ( e . g . , F l o w e r s w i l l b e f l o w e r s , A h a t i s a h a t . T h e r e
w e r e s p e c i f i c in t e ra c t io n s b e t w e e n t h e t y p e o f n o u n u s e d i n a t a u t o l o g y a n d i ts
p a r t i c u l a r s y n t a c t i c f o r m . M o s t n o t a b l y , s u b j e c t s f o u n d m o d a l t a u t o l o g i e s w i t h
h u m a n r o l e n o u n s ( e . g . , B o y s w i l l b e b o y s t h e e a s i e s t t o i n t e r p r e t a n d m o d a l
p h r a s e s w i t h c o n c r e t e n o u n s ( e . g . , C a r r o t s w i l l b e c a r r o t s t h e m o s t d i f f i c u l t t o
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Un d ers tan d i n g o l loq u i a l T a u to l og i es
39
unders tand . At the same t ime, there was l i t t l e d i f ference in subject s ' accepta-
b i l i ty ra t ings for s ingular t au to logies (e .g . ,
X is a JO
w i th hum an ro l e , abs t r ac t,
o r concre t e nouns . P lu ra l syn t ac t i c fo rms
Xs are Xs)
w i t h h u m a n r o l e a n d
abs t r ac t nouns were a l so more comprehens ib l e t han were p lu ra l fo rms wi th
concre t e nouns .
These f i nd ings suppor t t he p red i c t i ons o f t he s eman t i c v i ew o f nomina l
tau to logies (Wierzbicka, 1987) in that both syntact ic and lex ical informat ion
opera t e to m ake some t au to log i ca l ph rases m ore under s t andab l e t han o the r s. F o r
ins tance , modal t au to logies are , in a sense , the l eas t t au to logical in that they
can be used t o convey new in fo rmat ion abou t t he fu tu re . They can no t on ly
remind a l i s tener of a preexis t ing s tereotype but to predicate i t s cont inued ex-
i s tence . This pred icat ion i s inform at ive only i f it is poss ib le for a chan ge in the
s t e reo typ i c behav io r . The p os s ib i li t y o f change is enhanced by the i dea o f v o -
l i t i o n t o w h i c h t h e m o d a l v e r b will al so refers . I t i s d i f f i cu l t to ascr ibe vo l i t ional
behav io r t o concre t e ob j ec t s. F o r i n s t ance , a t eacher is m ore capab l e o f change
than i s a car ro t . S ince i t i s much less l ikely that concrete nouns wi l l change,
t he mod a l t au to logy p red i ca ti ng t he ir con t i nued ex i s t ence i s muc h l e s s i n fo rm-
a t i ve . Moda l t au to log i ca l ph rases wi th concre t e nouns do no t make as much
sense , and a re j udge d as l e ss accep t ab l e t han t au to log i es wi th h um an ro l e nou ns .
Exper imen t 2 examined whe the r o r no t under s t and ing o f nomina l t au to lo -
g i es cou ld be i n f l uenced by d i f f e ren t con t ex t s . S imi l a r t o t he f i nd ings i n Ex-
per imen t 1 , t he r esu lt s o f E xper imen t 2 r ev ea l ed s i gn i f i can t i n t e rac t ions be tween
the syn t ac t i c fo rm and l ex i ca l make-up o f nomina l t au to log i es . Once aga in ,
t au to log i es wi th human ro l e nouns were v i ewed as more accep t ab l e t han were
phrases wi th concre t e nouns . However , t he p resence o f pos i t i ve and nega t i ve
con t ex tua l i n fo rmat ion c l ea r l y i n f l uenced pe op l e ' s i n te rp re ta t ions o f t au to log i ca l
s en t ences . S ub j ec t s gene ra l l y found t au to log i es i n nega t i ve con t ex t s more com-
prehens ib le than in pos i t ive contexts . There were a l so impor tan t in teract ions
be tween t he t ype o f con t ex t ( i . e . , pos i t i ve o r nega t ive ) and t he d i f f e ren t syn t ac t i c
fo rms , a s we l l a s a s i gn i fi can t i n t e rac t i on be twe en con t ex t and noun t ype . S ub-
ject s ' a f fec t ra t ing provided c lear ev idence that the in terpre ta t ions for t au to log-
i ca l ph rases chan ged i n d i f f e ren t con t ex ts o f u se . Un l ike the da t a f rom the f i rs t
s t udy , sub j ec ts i n Ex per imen t 2 d id no t f i nd m oda l t au to log i es wi th h um an ro i e
nouns more r ead i l y i n te rp re tab l e t han p lu ra l o r s i ngu la r t au to log i es wi th hum an
ro l e nouns .
The da t a f rom E xper imen t 2 a re i ncons i st en t wi th t he v i ew tha t tau to log i ca l
phrases are bes t seen as id ioms. Var ious co l loquia l t au to logies , such as Boys
will be boys, Business is business,
a n d
A prom ise is a promise
are l is ted as
id iomat i c ph rases i n som e c on t em pora ry i d iom d i c t ionar i es ( c f. Boa tne r , G a t es ,
& Makk a i , 1975 ; Lon g & S um me rs , 1979). F o r example ,
Boys will be boys
is
l is t ed as mea n ing t h a t t he behav io r o f boys i s na tu ra l l y rough and n o i sy and
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14 Gibbs an d Mc arre l l
t hey canno t be expec ted to behave o the rwi se (Long & S um me rs , 1979) . How -
ever , t he da t a f rom Exper imen t 2 demons t ra t e t ha t t he mean ings o f nomina l
t au to log i es can chang e wh en com prehend ed wi th in d i f f e ren t con t ex t s . S ub j ec t s
ra ted Telephones are te lephones as be ing equa l l y comprehens ib l e when seen
ei ther in a negat ive ( t e lephones are annoying and a lways r inging) or pos i t ive
con t ex t ( t e l ephones a re i nva luab l e fo r conven i en t communica t i on ) . Co l l oqu i a l
t au to log i es con t a in ing concre t e ob j ec t s a re genera l l y more con t ex tua l l y fl ex ib l e
than t au to log i es wi th e i the r hum an ro l e o r abs t r act nouns . M oreover , t he re a re
impor t an t syn t ac t i c cons t ra in t s o f t he acc ep t ab i li t y o f va r i ous fo rm s fo r t au to -
logies that a l so inf luence thei r usage. I t seems perfect ly appropr ia te to s ta te the
mod a l con s t ruc ti on t ha t Boys w i l l be boys , but i t is l ess sens ib le to s ay that A
boy i s a boy. Stereotypes are general impress ions of people and th ings that are
mo s t eas i l y evoked i n p lu ra l and m oda l syn t ac t i c fo rm s wh ich focus on c l as ses
of th ings ra ther than on indiv idual ins tances of a concept . These observat ions
s t rong ly sugges t t ha t nom ina l t au to log i es a re n o t s imp le i d iom s wi th t he i r mean -
ings being arb i t rar ily s t ipula ted .
Nomina l t au to log i es s eem appropr i a t e ly ana lysed as p red i ca t i ng a spec i a l
t ype- token re la t ion i n wh ich t he sub j ec t noun re fe r s t o t he t oken o r i n s t ance o f
t he concep t and t he p red i ca t e noun re fe r s t o t he more genera l t ype o r c l a s s
concep t a s a who le . W hen a c l a s s i s weak ly s t e reo typed , a s a re many concre t e
nouns , t he tau to logy m ay express the i dea t ha t a l l t okens a re a l ike , t ok en
ind i f f e rence . W hen a c l a s s i s s t rong ly s t e reo typed , a s a re human ro l es , t he
tau to logy may express the idea that the token i s t rue to i t s c lass s tereotype.
The t ype- token ana lys i s a l so h igh l i gh t s t he r e l a ti onsh ip be tween c l as s i c
t au to log i es and h e d g e d t au to log i es such as A boy i s s t i l l a boy (mean ing t ha t
one shou ld expec t som e m i sbehav io r even i f t he boy i s genera l l y we l l -behaved
and not genera l ly t rue to s tereotype) , and A carrot i s only a carrot ( m e a n i n g
tha t one ca nno t expec t a ca r ro t t o com m and t he p r i ce o f a f an cy vege t ab l e l i ke
an a r t ichoke) . H edges a re o f t en used t o d i s ambigua t e an exp res s ion such as H e
is a boy. W hen the p ronomina l r e fe ren t i s no t known by t he l i s t ene r t o be a
boy , t he exp res s ion i s s imp ly a c l a s s i nc lus ion s t a t emen t . However , when t he
re fe ren t i s know n by t he l is t ene r to be a boy , t he ex p res s ion is t au to log i c and
is o f te n ' f l a g g e d b y a h e d g e He boy) is a rea l boy, o r He i s only a boy)
depend ing up on w he the r t he pos i ti ve o r n ega t i ve ly va lued s t e reo type i s imp l i-
ca ted .
This analys i s of t au to logies as express ing a specia l k ind of c lass inclus ion
rela t ion sugges t s that subject s ' responses to t au to logic express ions should d i f fer
f rom responses t o exp res s ions o f s imi l a r syn t ac t i c fo rm tha t exp res s o rd ina ry
class inclus ion re la t ions . We therefore conducted a cont ro l s tudy ident ica l to
Exper imen t 1 wi th t he excep t i on t ha t t he p red i ca t e nomina l s were r ep l aced by
appropr i a t e supero rd ina t es . F o r example , i n s t ead o f A d iamond i s a d iamond ,
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Un derstanding olloquial Tau tologies 141
s u b j e c t s r a t e d t h e a c c e p t a b i l i t y o f A d iamond i s a gem. E i g h t e e n U n i v e r s i t y o f
C a l i f o rn i a , S a n t a C r u z s t u d e n t s p a r ti c i p a te d a s s u b j e c t s i n t h is s t u d y . T h e m e a n
a c c e p t a b i l i t y r a t i n g s f o r t h i s c o n t r o l e x p e r i m e n t a r e p r e s e n t e d i n T a b l e V .
A n a n a l y s i s o f v a r i a n c e o n t h e s e r a t in g s s h o w e d a m a i n e f f e c t f o r sy n t a c t i c
f o r m ,
F I 2 ,
3 4 ) = 1 4 . 2 1 , p < . 0 1 , a n d t h e i n te r a c ti o n o f n o u n t y p e a n d s y n t a c t i c
f o r m w a s a l s o s i g n i f i c a n t ,
F 1 4 ,
6 8 ) = 3 . 8 1 , p < .0 1 . F u r t h e r e x a m i n a t io n o f t h e
i n d i v i d u a l m e a n s i n d i c a t e d t h e m o d a l w a s o v e r a l l l e s s a c c e p t a b l e t h a n t h e o t h e r
s y n t a c t ic f o r m s , p < . 0 5 . M o r e o v e r , m o d a l t a u t o l o g i e s w e r e l e s s a c c e p t a b l e f o r
c o n c r e t e a n d h u m a n n o u n s t h a n a b s t r a c t n o u n s , p < . 0 5 f o r b o t h c o m p a r i s o n s .
T h e s e r e s u lt s re v e r s e th e m a i n f i n d i n g s f r o m E x p e r i m e n t 1 w h e r e m o d a l s y n -
t a c ti c c o n s t ru c t i o n s w e r e t h e m o s t a c c e p t a b l e o v e r a l l f o r b o t h h u m a n a n d a b s t r a c t
n o u n s . T h e d a t a f r o m t h i s c o n t r o l s t u d y d e m o n s t r a t e , t h e n , t h a t t h e s p e c i a l
i n t e r p r e t a t i o n l i s t e n e r s g i v e f o r t a u t o l o g i e s s e e m s t o r e s t o n t h e i r e x p r e s s i o n o f
t o k e n t o s t e r e o t y p e r e l a t i o n s r a t h e r t h a n t o k e n t o t y p e r e l a t i o n s .
T h e f i n d i n g s f r o m b o t h s t u d i e s s u g g e s t p r i n c i p l e d d i f f e r e n c e s i n p e o p l e ' s
i n te r p re t a ti o n s o f v a r i o u s t y p e s o f ta u t o l o g i c a l s e n t e n c e s . S u b j e c t s i n b o t h e x -
p e r i m e n t s f o u n d n o m i n a l t a u t o l o g i e s w i t h h u m a n r o l e n o u n s t o b e m o s t i n t e r -
p r e t a b l e a n d a s g e n e r a l l y c o n v e y i n g n e g a t i v e , s o b e r a t t i t u d e s . T h i s w a s n o t t h e
c a s e fo r t a u to l o g i e s c o n t a i n i n g n o u n s r e fe r ri n g t o c o n c r e t e o b j e c t s . W e ' v e i n -
t e r p r e t e d t h e s e d a t a a s r e f l e c t i n g p e o p l e ' s s t e r e o t y p i c a l a t t i t u d e s t o w a r d v a r i o u s
p e o p l e a n d h u m a n a c t iv i t ie s . P e o p l e w i t h i n a l in g u i s t ic c o m m u n i t y s h a re c e r ta i n
b e l ie f s, k n o w l e d g e , a n d a t t it u d e s - - th e i r c o m m o n g r o u n d - - a n d u s e t hi s i n-
f o r m a t i o n i n b o t h d e c i d i n g w h a t t o s a y a s w e l l a s u n d e r s t a n d i n g w h a t i s m e a n t
f r o m w h a t i s s a id ( C l a rk & C a r l s o n , 1 9 8 2 ; G i b b s , 1 9 8 7 ) . P a r t o f t h e c o m m o n
g r o u n d t h a t f o r m s t h e c o n t e x t f o r c o m p r e h e n s i o n i s t h e s e t o f s t e r e o t y p i c a l
a t ti tu d e s p e o p l e h a v e a b o u t o t h e r in d i v i d u a l s ( a n d t y p e s o f in d i v i d u a ls ) a n d
v a r i o u s h u m a n a c t i v i ti e s . S p e a k e r s c a n e a s i l y r e m i n d l i s t e n e r s a b o u t t h e i r s h a r e d
b e l i e f s a b o u t c e r t a i n p e o p l e a n d h u m a n a c t i v i t i e s b y s t a t i n g s i m p l e r e d u n d a n t
p h r a s e s , s u c h a s Business i s bus iness o r Mothers w i l l be mo ther s . C o l l o q u i a l
t a u t o l o g i e s a r e c o n v e n i e n t d e v i c e s f o r e v o k i n g t h e s h a r e d s t e r e o t y p i c a l p r e s u p -
p o s i t io n s a m o n g c o n v e r s a n t s w i t h o u t h a v i n g t o e x p l i c it l y sp e l l o u t t h o s e b e l i e f s .
|
S y n t a c
t ic o rm
T a b l e
V . M e a n A c c e p t a b i l i ty R a t in g s F o r C o n t r o l S t u d y
N o u n T y p e
Human Abs t rac t Conc re t e M eans
M o d a l 5 . 0 0 5 . 1 3 4 . 5 8 4 . 9 0
Plura l 5 .78 5.43 5.88 5.69
Si ngul a r 5 .65 5 .66 5 .98 5 .76
M e a n s 5 . 4 8 5 .4 0 5 . 4 8
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42 i b b s a n d McCarreU
We understand o ys w i l l b e b o ys as expressing a very different meaning than
Gir l s wi l l be g i r l s
be ca use of our different stereotypical attitudes ab out bo ys
and girls. T his kind of indirect spee ch is espec ially appropriate w hen speakers
w ish to co nv ey a negative at ti tude or remind l is teners that they join tly share a
negative ste reo typ e abo ut pe op le, activities, or things. Our data supports this
idea by showing that subjects mostly interpret tautological phrases with human
role and abstract no uns as conv eyin g negative affect .
The s tudies w e' v e reported are the f irst experimental evide nce on the com -
prehension of tautological sentences in English. Our findings highlight the im-
portance of stereotypical kno wle dge in the process of conversational inference.
Psycholinguistic theories o f indirect and/or figurative language use hav e only
recent ly begun to explore how speakers ' and l i s teners ' shared knowledge, be-
liefs, and attitudes, pla y a role in the pro duc tion and comprehension of ev ery da y
discourse (cf . Clark, 1985). Various s tudies hav e shown that the assessm ent of
common ground information is a collaborative process that directly effects the
real- time comprehension of spea kers ' ut terances (Gibb s, M ueller , & Cox , 1988).
Future research should speci f ica l ly explore the on - l in e consequen ces of d if -
feren t pragmatic, semantic, and syn tactic information on the understanding o f
nom inal tautologies. Th e present empirical findings su gge st that speakers/lis-
teners ' s tereotypical kno wled ge o f different peo ple and objec ts should interact
w ith both contextual and syntactic information during the immediate o n- l in e
comp rehension o f tautological phrases in ev ery da y conversation.
P P E N D I X
Examples o f Taut o log ie s used in Exper iment I
H u m a n N o u n s
Modals
Boy s w i l l be boys
Teachers will be teachers
Doctors wi l l be doctors
Plurals
Fathers are fathers
Soldiers are soldiers
Salesmen are salesmen
Singular
A mother i s a mother
A celebri ty is a celebri ty
A teenager is a teenager
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Und erstanding olloquial Tautologies
Abstract Nouns
M o d a l
S po r t s w i l l be s po r t s
S c a nda l w i l l be s c a nda l
W a r w i ll b e w a r
P lura l
P r o m i s e s a r e p r o m i s e s
Bi r t hda ys a r e b i r t hda ys
V a c a t i o n s a r e v a c a t i o n s
S i ngu l a r
A d i vo r c e i s a d i vo r c e
A law i s a l aw
A re l ig ion i s a re l ig ion
Concrete Nouns
M o d a l
F l o w e r s w i l l b e f l o w e r s
B e d s w i l l b e b e d s
T e l e p h o n e s w i l l b e t e l e p h o n e s
P lura l
B o o k s a r e b o o k s
H o u s e s a r e h o u s e s
Ca r r o t s a r e c a r r o t s
S i ngu l a r
A p e n n y i s a p e n n y
A d i a m o n d i s a d i a m o n d
A hat i s a hat
43
A P P E N D I X B
Exam ples o f P os it ive and Negat ive Cont ext s in Exp er iment
Human Role Noun ( father )
N e g a t i v e c o n t e x t
F a t h e r s t h i n k t h e y k n o w e v e r y t h i n g . T h e y a r e a l w a y s i n t e r f e r i n g w h e n
y o u d o n ' t w a n t t h e m . I t ' s d i s g u s ti n g t h a t a f a t h e r s o o f te n d e m a n d s
r e s p e c t w i t h o u t e a r n i n g i t .
P os i t i ve c on t e x t
F a t h e r s s e e m t o k n o w e v e r y t h i n g . A n d t h e y a l w a y s s e e m t o b e t h e r e
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4 4 G i b b s a n d M c C a r r e l l
j u s t whe n yo u ne e d the m . I t ' s c om f o r t ing tha t a f a the r so o f t e n in sp i re s
r e spe c t a nd r e a l ly e a r ns i t .
A b s t r a c t N o u n ( b i r t h d a y )
Ne ga t ive c on te x t
W h y s h o u l d I l ik e b i rt h d a y s? A b i r th d a y j u s t m e a n s I ' m o n e y e a r c l o s er
to de a th . I t ' s j u s t a n o c c a s ion to ge t de p r e s se d . N ob od y I c a r e a bou t e ve r
r e m e m b e r s i t a n y w a y .
P os i t i ve c on te x t
W h y s h o u l d n ' t I li k e b i rt h d a y s? A b i r t h d a y m e a n s I ' v e a n e x c u s e t o
bu y m yse l f a p r e se n t . I t ' s a n oc c a s ion f o r s e lf - i ndu lge nc e . A l l t he pe op le
I ca r e a b o u t re m e m b e r i t .
C o n c r e te N o u n ( c a r r o t )
Ne ga t ive c on te x t
C a r r o t s a re u l t im a t e l y b o r i n g . T h e y d o n ' t e v e n h a v e e n o u g h s u g a r in
the m to g ive you a r e a l boos t a nd e ve n the t a s t e i s r a w . The ide a l f ood
f o r ra b b it s b u t n o t f o r p e o p l e .
P os i t i ve c on te x t
C a r r o t s a re g r e a t so u r c e s o f v i t a m i n A . T h e y h a v e j u s t e n o u g h s u g ar
i n t h em t o g i v e y o u a n e n e r g y b o o s t b u t n o t m u c h i n t h e w a y o f c a lo r ie s
a n d f a t . T h e i d e a l m u n c h i e f o o d .
A C K N O W L E D G M E N T S
P r e pa r a t ion o f t h i s a r t i c l e wa s suppor t e d by Gr a n t MH42980 f r om the
Na t iona l I n s t i t u t e o f Me n ta l He a l th a nd by a F a c u l ty R e se a r c h Gr a n t f r om the
Un ive r s i t y o f C a l if o r n i a , S a n ta C r uz . R e p r in t r e que st s ma y be s e n t t o : R a ym ond
W . G i b b s , J r . , P r o g r a m i n E x p e ri m e n t a l P s y c h o l o g y , C l a r k K e r r H a l l, U n i v e r -
s i t y o f C a l i f o r n i a , S a n ta C r uz , C a l i f o r n i a 95064 .
R E F E R E N C E S
Boatner, M ., G ates, J., & M akkai, A. (1975).A dictionary of Am erican idioms. New York: Baron's
Educational Series .
Brown, P ., & Levinson, S. (1978): Universals in language usage: Politeness phenomena. In E.
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