Logic and conversation revisited: Evidence for a division between semantic and pragmatic content in real-time language comprehension

The distinction between semantics (linguistically-encoded meaning) and pragmatics (inferences about communicative intentions) can often be unclear and counter-intuitive. For example, linguistic theories argue that the meaning of some encompasses the meaning of all while the intuition that some implies not all results from an inference. We explored how online interpretation of some evolves using an eye-tracking while listening paradigm. Early eyemovements indicated that while some was initially interpreted as compatible with all, participants began excluding referents compatible with all approximately 800ms later. These results contrast with recent evidence of immediate inferencing and highlight the presence of bottom-up semantic-pragmatic interactions which necessarily rely on initial access to lexical meanings to trigger inferences.