Am 16. April stellte Kalle Glauch seine Arbeiten zu The influence of valence on the interpretation of expressive adjectives im Bochum Language Colloquium vor.

Abstract: Expressive adjectives (EAs) (e.g., damn) are flexible regarding their interpretation and can target discourse referents other than the one realized by their syntactic sister. In this talk, I will argue that the contextual valence (the degree to which a stimulus is viewed as negative or positive) of discourse referents is the principal factor influencing EA interpretation and show that the manipulation of valence allows for readings which under syntactic accounts to EA interpretation should not be possible. I will present two empirical studies demonstrating that: 1) the valence of referents significantly influences the interpretation EAs, and 2) pragmatic cues previously considered distinct can effectively be integrated under the concept of valence.