Model formulas.

Previous studies have well established that certain causal connectives encode information about the semantic-pragmatic distinction between different types of causal relations such as CAUSE-CONSEQUENCE versus CLAIM-ARGUMENT relations. These “specialized” causal connectives assist listeners in discerning different types of causality. Additionally, research has demonstrated that utterances expressing CLAIM-ARGUMENT relations exhibit distinct prosodic characteristics compared to utterances expressing CAUSE-CONSEQUENCE relations. However, it remains unknown whether the prosodic characteristics of utterances expressing causality can aid listeners in determining the specific type of causality being conveyed. To address this knowledge gap, this study investigates the impact of the prosody, specifically the prosody of the causal connective so in English, on listeners’ interpretation of the type of causality expressed. We conducted a perception experiment employing a forced-choice discourse completion task, where the participants were required to select a continuation for each sound clip they heard. The sound clip consisted of factual events followed by the causal connective so. We found that the odds of listeners choosing subjective continuations over objective continuations increased when the connective so at the end of the sound clip was pronounced with subjective causality prosodic features, such as prolonged duration and a concave f0 contour. This finding suggests that the prosody of the connective so plays a role in conveying subjectivity in causality, guiding listeners in interpreting causal relations. In addition, it is important to note that our data revealed individual variation among listeners in their interpretations of prosodic information related to subjective-objective causality contrast.

既往研究已证实，部分因果连接词（causal connectives）会编码不同类型因果关系间的语义-语用差异，例如因果-结果（CAUSE-CONSEQUENCE）关系与主张-论证（CLAIM-ARGUMENT）关系。这类“专用型”因果连接词可帮助听者区分不同类型的因果关系。此外，相关研究表明，相较于表达因果-结果关系的话语，表达主张-论证关系的话语具备独特的韵律特征。然而，目前仍未明确：表达因果关系的话语所具备的韵律特征，是否能够辅助听者判断其所传递的具体因果关系类型。为填补这一学术空白，本研究探讨了韵律——具体而言是英语中因果连接词so的韵律——对听者解读所表达因果关系类型的影响。我们采用强制选择话语补全任务开展了感知实验，要求参与者为其听到的每一段音频片段选择接续内容。该音频片段由事实性事件与因果连接词so构成。研究发现，当音频片段末尾的连接词so带有主观因果韵律特征（如延长的发音时长与凹形基频（f0）轮廓）时，听者选择主观接续而非客观接续的概率显著提升。这一结果表明，连接词so的韵律在传递因果关系的主观性层面发挥着作用，可引导听者对因果关系进行解读。此外，需特别指出的是，本研究的数据显示，听者在解读与主观-客观因果对比相关的韵律信息时存在个体差异。