Prosodic influence on quantifier scope interpretation in Japanese-speaking children and adults: a picture-selection study

Abstract This study explores the relationship between prosody and quantifier scope interpretation in the context of Japanese-speaking children and adults. Prior research has investigated how prosody, a universal quantifier and negation interact in the theoretical literature of Japanese linguistics, yet the empirical evidence remains inconclusive. Employing a Picture-Selection task, we investigate how Thematic Topic (TT) and Contrastive Topic (CT) prosody affect interpretation. The results reveal that both children and adults exhibit sensitivity to prosodic distinctions, with a less preference for the surface scope interpretation with the CT prosody. The results also demonstrate highly ambiguous nature of the TT prosody. The discrepancy in response times suggests potential processing disparities between age groups and highlights the complex interplay of prosody and quantifier scope.