Voprosy JazykoznanijaVoprosy JazykoznanijaВопросы языкознания0373-658X3034-5243The Russian Academy of Sciences67934110.31857/0373-658X.2025.2.105-122ArticlesСтатьиResearch ArticlePostnominal numerals are over-specified in referential communication: Evidence from Thai in comparison to RussianИзбыточное употребление постноминальных числительных в референциальной коммуникации: данные тайского языка в сравнении с данными русскогоZevakhinaNatalia A.ЗевахинаНаталья Александровна
Russian Federation
natalia.zevakhina@gmail.comShchipkovaAlina A.ЩипковаАлина Алексеевна
Russian Federation
schipkovalina@gmail.comChinkovaAlisa P.ЧинковаАлиса Павловна
Russian Federation
chinkova_a@mail.ruHSE UniversityНациональный исследовательский университет «Высшая школа экономики»Institute for Linguistic Studies, Russian Academy of SciencesИнститут лингвистических исследований РАН15032025210512209052025Copyright ©; 2025, Russian Academy of SciencesCopyright ©; 2025, Российская академия наук2025Russian Academy of SciencesРоссийская академия наукhttps://journals.eco-vector.com/0373-658X/article/view/679341

This paper presents experimental evidence for the over-specification (redundant use) of Thai postnominal numerals in referential communication. The first experiment reveals high rates of over-specification in oral responses that include Thai postnominal and Russian prenominal numerals tested in a contrastive multi-number visual context. The second experiment demonstrates lower but still relatively high rates of over-specification in written responses that include Thai postnominal numerals and color items tested in less contrastive two-number and bichrome visual contexts. Given this, the paper discusses the incrementality hypothesis and argues for the incremental production and processing of postnominal modifiers, which are explained by the visual salience of small cardinalities (2, 3, 4) and color and are regulated by syntactic linearization rules. The paper also provides additional evidence for the consistency which shapes the speaker’s utterances as either over-specified or minimally specified throughout the whole communication.

Keywords: communication, experiment, numerals, redundancy, reference, Russian, Tai-Kadai, Thai

В статье излагаются результаты эксперимента, посвященного избыточному употреблению тайских постноминальных числительных (т. е. числительных, которые располагаются после существительного) в референциальной коммуникации. В первом эксперименте выявлена высокая частотность избыточного употребления тайских постноминальных и русских преноминальных числительных в устных ответах испытуемых в контрастивном визуальном контексте с различным количеством тестируемых элементов. Во втором эксперименте обнаружена менее высокая частотность избыточного употребления тайских постноминальных числительных и цветообозначений в письменных ответах испытуемых в менее контрастивном контексте с двумя тестируемыми элементами двух цветов. В статье обсуждается гипотеза инкрементальности и выдвигается гипотеза пошагового порождения и обработки постноминальных модификаторов, которые объясняются визуальной выделенностью малых количеств (2, 3, 4) и цвета и регулируются правилами синтаксической линеаризации конкретного языка. В статье также приводится дополнительное свидетельство того, что говорящий на протяжении всей коммуникативной ситуации придерживается одной из двух стратегий: избыточного или минимального упоминания свойств предметов.

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