Eszter Ronai
Biographic Data
| ID | 3861887 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Eszter Ronai |
| GIVEN NAMES | Eszter |
| FAMILY NAME | Ronai |
| SIGNATURE | RONAI E |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Chicago |
| ORCID | 0000-0003-1578-0938 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 13 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 5 |
| WORKS AS AUTHOR | 13 |
| WORKS AS EDITOR | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2020 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 1 |
Rethinking how we measure gender associations
This study introduces a novel norming method for measuring the gender associations of words that avoids binary Likert scales that present male and female as opposite endpoints. Here, participants provide ratings on two separate scales for a word's likelihood of referring to a woman or a man, respectively. This approach allows for a more nuanced measurement, independently capturing bias toward each gender rather than assuming they are inversely re…
Scalar alternative activation for implicature processing
Scalar words such as warm may give rise to inferences such as warm but not hot. Under standard accounts, such scalar implicatures are derived by negating stronger alternatives. In processing, weaker scale-mates ( warm ) prime stronger ones ( hot ), suggesting that the latter are used in implicature processing (De Carvalho et al., 2016. Frontiers in Psychology , 7, 1500; Ronai & Xiang, 2023. Experiments in Linguistic Meaning , 2, 229–240). We test…
Scalar implicature rates vary within and across adjectival scales
Recent experimental literature has investigated across-scale variation in scalar implicature calculation, probing why lexical scales differ from each other in their likelihood of being strengthened (e.g. old $\rightarrow $ not ancient v. smart $\rightarrow $ not brilliant). But in existing studies of this scalar diversity, less attention has been paid to potential variation introduced by the carrier sentences that scales occur in. In this paper, …
Experimental evidence for variation across exclusive modifiers
This paper is an investigation of variation across the English exclusive modifiers only, just, and merely—a domain that has received ample attention in the theoretical literature but has thus far not been subjected to experimental testing. Using scalar diversity as a testing ground, we report on two experiments: Experiment 1 tests the robustness of exclusionary inference calculation (e.g., merely intelligent → not brilliant), and Experiment 2 dir…
Scalar inference calculation through the lens of degree estimates
Scalar inference (SI), e.g., utterances containing some being enriched to mean some but not all , is a central topic in semantics and pragmatics. Of recent interest in the experimental literature is scalar diversity: different lexical scales differ in their likelihood of leading to SI. Studies of scalar diversity have almost exclusively relied on the so-called inference task. In this article, we highlight two shortcomings of the inference task: i…
What could have been said? Alternatives and variability in pragmatic inferences
Degree estimates as a measure of inference calculation
Scalar inference (SI), e.g., utterances containing the quantifier some being enriched to mean some but not all, is a central topic in semantics-pragmatics. Of recent interest in the experimental literature is the phenomenon of scalar diversity: that different lexical scales exhibit variation is how likely they are to lead to SI. However, studies of scalar diversity have almost exclusively relied on a particular experimental task: the inference ta…
Quantifying semantic and pragmatic effects on scalar diversity
Scalar inference (SI), the process by which we systematically infer meanings stronger than what was explicitly said, has long been a central topic of investigation in semantics-pragmatics. A recent experimental finding that has generated interest is scalar diversity: that the robustness of SI calculation varies across lexical scales. For instance, the some but not all SI is much more likely to arise than good but not excellent. In this paper, we …
Experimentally testing the interpretation of multiple sluicing and multiple questions in Hungarian
Hungarian multiple sluicing has been claimed to only be allowed in contexts that set up a pair-list, but not a single-pair reading. This has been taken as evidence that multiple sluicing is derived from multiple wh-fronting questions, which only license pair-list, but not single-pair answers. Providing novel experimental evidence, we show that all three relevant constructions in Hungarian – multiple sluicing, single wh-fronting questions, and mul…
Licensing of nominal ellipsis in Hungarian possessives
We argue, based on novel data, that the possessor head (Poss) can license ellipsis of its complement in Hungarian. That is, contra existing claims in the literature, possessor morphology can survive nominal ellipsis and be stranded on the remnant. Adopting Saab & Lipták (2016)’s of ellipsis licensing, we propose that there is variation in the size of the ellipsis site in Hungarian: nominal ellipsis can be licensed by either Num or Poss. We furthe…
Exploring the connection between Question Under Discussion and scalar diversity
Previous research has revealed that different scalar expressions give rise to scalar inferences (SIs) at different rates. This variation has been termed scalar diversity. In this study, we investigate the role of Questions Under Discussion (QUDs) in explaining this variation in SI rates. Investigating 43 different scalar expressions, we first show that explicit QUDs robustly affect calculation rates: questions based on the stronger of two scalar …
Adjectival sluices in Hungarian
Pragmatic inferences are QUD-sensitive
Implicatures serve as an important testing ground for examining the process of integrating semantic and pragmatic information. Starting with Bott & Noveck (2004), several studies have found that implicature computation is costly. More recently, attention has shifted toward identifying contextual cues that modulate this processing cost. Specifically, it has been hypothesized that calculation rate and processing cost are a function of whether the Q…
Pragmatic inferences are QUD-sensitive
Implicatures serve as an important testing ground for examining the process of integrating semantic and pragmatic information. Starting with Bott & Noveck (2004), several studies have found that implicature computation is costly. More recently, attention has shifted toward identifying contextual cues that modulate this processing cost. Specifically, it has been hypothesized that calculation rate and processing cost are a function of whether the Q…
Adjectival sluices in Hungarian
Adjectival sluices in Hungarian
Pragmatic inferences are QUD-sensitive
Implicatures serve as an important testing ground for examining the process of integrating semantic and pragmatic information. Starting with Bott & Noveck (2004), several studies have found that implicature computation is costly. More recently, attention has shifted toward identifying contextual cues that modulate this processing cost. Specifically, it has been hypothesized that calculation rate and processing cost are a function of whether the Q…
Licensing of nominal ellipsis in Hungarian possessives
We argue, based on novel data, that the possessor head (Poss) can license ellipsis of its complement in Hungarian. That is, contra existing claims in the literature, possessor morphology can survive nominal ellipsis and be stranded on the remnant. Adopting Saab & Lipták (2016)’s of ellipsis licensing, we propose that there is variation in the size of the ellipsis site in Hungarian: nominal ellipsis can be licensed by either Num or Poss. We furthe…
Exploring the connection between Question Under Discussion and scalar diversity
Previous research has revealed that different scalar expressions give rise to scalar inferences (SIs) at different rates. This variation has been termed scalar diversity. In this study, we investigate the role of Questions Under Discussion (QUDs) in explaining this variation in SI rates. Investigating 43 different scalar expressions, we first show that explicit QUDs robustly affect calculation rates: questions based on the stronger of two scalar …
Quantifying semantic and pragmatic effects on scalar diversity
Scalar inference (SI), the process by which we systematically infer meanings stronger than what was explicitly said, has long been a central topic of investigation in semantics-pragmatics. A recent experimental finding that has generated interest is scalar diversity: that the robustness of SI calculation varies across lexical scales. For instance, the some but not all SI is much more likely to arise than good but not excellent. In this paper, we …
Experimentally testing the interpretation of multiple sluicing and multiple questions in Hungarian
Hungarian multiple sluicing has been claimed to only be allowed in contexts that set up a pair-list, but not a single-pair reading. This has been taken as evidence that multiple sluicing is derived from multiple wh-fronting questions, which only license pair-list, but not single-pair answers. Providing novel experimental evidence, we show that all three relevant constructions in Hungarian – multiple sluicing, single wh-fronting questions, and mul…
Degree estimates as a measure of inference calculation
Scalar inference (SI), e.g., utterances containing the quantifier some being enriched to mean some but not all, is a central topic in semantics-pragmatics. Of recent interest in the experimental literature is the phenomenon of scalar diversity: that different lexical scales exhibit variation is how likely they are to lead to SI. However, studies of scalar diversity have almost exclusively relied on a particular experimental task: the inference ta…
What could have been said? Alternatives and variability in pragmatic inferences
Scalar implicature rates vary within and across adjectival scales
Recent experimental literature has investigated across-scale variation in scalar implicature calculation, probing why lexical scales differ from each other in their likelihood of being strengthened (e.g. old $\rightarrow $ not ancient v. smart $\rightarrow $ not brilliant). But in existing studies of this scalar diversity, less attention has been paid to potential variation introduced by the carrier sentences that scales occur in. In this paper, …
Experimental evidence for variation across exclusive modifiers
This paper is an investigation of variation across the English exclusive modifiers only, just, and merely—a domain that has received ample attention in the theoretical literature but has thus far not been subjected to experimental testing. Using scalar diversity as a testing ground, we report on two experiments: Experiment 1 tests the robustness of exclusionary inference calculation (e.g., merely intelligent → not brilliant), and Experiment 2 dir…
Scalar inference calculation through the lens of degree estimates
Scalar inference (SI), e.g., utterances containing some being enriched to mean some but not all , is a central topic in semantics and pragmatics. Of recent interest in the experimental literature is scalar diversity: different lexical scales differ in their likelihood of leading to SI. Studies of scalar diversity have almost exclusively relied on the so-called inference task. In this article, we highlight two shortcomings of the inference task: i…
Rethinking how we measure gender associations
This study introduces a novel norming method for measuring the gender associations of words that avoids binary Likert scales that present male and female as opposite endpoints. Here, participants provide ratings on two separate scales for a word's likelihood of referring to a woman or a man, respectively. This approach allows for a more nuanced measurement, independently capturing bias toward each gender rather than assuming they are inversely re…
Scalar alternative activation for implicature processing
Scalar words such as warm may give rise to inferences such as warm but not hot. Under standard accounts, such scalar implicatures are derived by negating stronger alternatives. In processing, weaker scale-mates ( warm ) prime stronger ones ( hot ), suggesting that the latter are used in implicature processing (De Carvalho et al., 2016. Frontiers in Psychology , 7, 1500; Ronai & Xiang, 2023. Experiments in Linguistic Meaning , 2, 229–240). We test…
Philosophy (9 works) · Linguistics (8 works) · Mathematics (8 works) · Computer Science (7 works) · Natural Language Processing Techniques (7 works) · Pragmatics (6 works) · Artificial Intelligence (5 works) · Inference (5 works) · Neurobiology of Language and Bilingualism (5 works) · Syntax, Semantics, Linguistic Variation (5 works)