Comprehending underspecified meaning: resolving ambiguity by contextual and conceptual search

Abstract

In this study, we examine sentence comprehension under conditions of semantic underspecification—one syntactic structure that supports multiple mutually exclusive semantic representations. We tested aspectual verb (AspVs) sentences such as “The queen began the novel” with agentive and constitutive readings, under biasing and neutral contexts. Results show that (i) whereas in the neutral context both readings were accessible, in the biasing context the non-supported reading was suppressed; and (ii) sentences were rated as more acceptable when presented with biasing context. The pattern suggests that semantic ambiguity influences acceptability, and that comprehenders resolve ambiguity by contextual and conceptual search.