Proceedings of Sinn und Bedeutung
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A plea for a functional dependency approach to correlatives
Full text linkThis paper compares two possible analyses of multi-head correlatives in Hindi; the canonical semantics of these structures proposed by Dayal (1996) and a comparable analysis by Gajewski (2008). While the first relies on the semantics of multiple-wh questions, the second builds on the semantics of wh- free relatives to derive the semantics of the Hindi multi-head correlative. Although the free relative approach seems to derive comparable truth conditions, I argue that this is only achievable through significant stipulations about the nature of pluralization and presupposition projection mechanisms. The required universal quantification over pair-lists which is central to the semantics of the multiple-wh correlative is best captured by a functional dependency between the wh-elements. To that end, I propose an updated analysis of these structures based on the functional dependency approach of Dayal (1996) that aligns multiple headed correlatives with multiple wh-questions rather than free relatives
Inference complexity as a novel semantic parameter
Full text linkThis paper discusses implications of a novel account of epistemic modals put forward in Wurm, 2025, suggesting that epistemic must is sensitive to inference complexity. The main aim is to provide further support for the theory as such, as well as emphasize its scope.Specifically, I present additional evidence for inference complexity as a relevant parameter in the interpretation of natural language by showing that we find several types of expressions exhibiting a similar sensitivity. As a result, my account gives rise to a novel semantic class and new classifications within existing ones; not only in the domain of modality
fEMG as a window into conversational commitments
Full text linkThis paper presents a first experiment within a larger series of experiments on commitments taken on by our speech acts. The experiment serves as a proof of method, demonstrating that the physiological measure of facial electromyography (fEMG)—the recording of facial muscle activity—is a useful methodology for studying commitments in communication. Specifically, we experimentally demonstrate that we can use fEMG to measure norm violations in conversation and from there infer the commitments taken on by conversational participants. We explain how this methodology can be expected to contribute to a better understanding of what happens when we communicate
The role of scalar diversity and question under discussion in deriving implicatures with embedded scales
Full text linkWe investigate experimentally the role of scalar diversity and question under discussion for implicature rates of sentences with multiple scalar terms such as \u27Some meals are adequate\u27 with embedding scale ⟨\u27all\u27, \u27some\u27⟩ and embedded scale ⟨\u27good\u27, \u27adequate\u27⟩. These sentences can trigger different types of scalar implicatures. We modified the inference task by van Tiel et al. (2016) and tested the 43 scales studied by them in a position embedded under \u27some\u27 and \u27possible\u27. We were particularly interested in whether implicatures involving embedded scales can be boosted if made relevant by \u27Questions under Discussion\u27 (QUDs). Our results showed that all tested types of implicatures are sensitive to QUDs. Most interestingly, the contrast between \u27bounded\u27 and \u27unbounded\u27 scales, which was a strong predictor in previous studies, no longer correlates with rates of implicatures once a QUD is added. We argue that our findings support a version of the Alternatives-based Account (the Contextual Alternatives and Scalar Distinctness Account) where contextual availability of alternatives is more important than lexical availability, and where, additionally, the (lexical/contextual) distinctness of the scales plays a role
Underspecified coordination, focus and contrast in Wá·šiw
Full text linkThe connective =ŋa in Wá·šiw (Washo/Washoe; Hokan/isolate; USA) is compatible with both conjunction and disjunction interpretations. Although conjunction/disjunction flexibility has been discussed and analyzed in other languages, what is unique about the Wá·šiw case is that the conjunction reading of =ŋa is contrastive conjunction, translated into English as but. I argue that =ŋa is underspecified for conjunction or disjunction, following the analysis of Davidson (2013) for underspecified coordination in ASL. I propose that the additive marker =saʔ (≈ ‘also’) derives a disjunction reading of =ŋa by existentially quantifying over the alternative set denoted by the coordination. I then propose that =ŋa also lexicalizes a notion of semantic contrast, following Toosarvandani’s (2014) proposal for English but. On this analysis, the coordinates of =ŋa stand in opposition to a certain proposition in the QUD, where one conjunct implies that the proposition is true, while the other conjunct implies that the proposition is false. I furthermore show how =ŋa and =saʔ in interrogatives derive the exclusive and exhaustive inferences associated with alternative questions, though several open issues remain
Number classifying to number marking: Change in English countability
Full text linkIt is herein argued that, from Old English (OE) to Present Day English (PDE), (i) number marking has narrowed from a complex function specifying either atoms or quantities to its present day status specifying only atomicity in addition to number, and (ii) numericals have been reanalyzed from AP heads to specifiers, n⟨n⟩ of the functional measure phrase, MP, that takes a cardinality or measure function as its head. This analysis situates OE as a “number classifying language” wherein number marking specifies atoms or contextually specified partitions, and in doing so militates against previous claims that OE ‘is a classifier language’ and ‘had no count–mass distinction’
RESPonsible attitudes: The case of Italian \u27considerare\u27
No full textThis paper investigates the intentional component of the Italian verb considerare (‘consider’), distinguishing it from the purely doxastic verb credere (‘believe’) and the experiential subjective attitude verb trovare (‘find’). Building on linguistic diagnostics proposed by Farkas (1988) and Barker (2002), we show that considerare patterns with verbs that encode agentive responsibility and discretionary evaluation. We argue that this component aligns considerare with evaluative subjectivity and propose a formal decision-theoretic model to capture its semantics
Hurford disjunctions: Beyond redundancy and triviality
Full text linkWe present two experiments on Hurford Disjunctions (Hurford, 1974, and much subsequent work) and their conjunctive counterparts, testing key predictions of the two dominant approaches in the literature: the Non-Redundancy approach (Katzir and Singh, 2013) and the Non-Triviality approach (Schlenker, 2009). Our results challenge core predictions of both accounts, suggesting that neither fully captures the actual patterns. We explore the implications of these findings and argue that the notion of super-redundancy, introduced by Kalomoiros (2023a), provides a promising framework for explaining our results. Finally, we draw connections to recent developments in the literature on presuppositions, particularly to insights from Mandelkern et al. (2020) and Kalomoiros and Schwarz (2024), which could help refine our theoretical account of redundancy phenomena
Discontinuous past: a semantic account
Full text linkIn some languages, past tense markers give rise to nearly uncancellable cessation inferences - a phenomenon known as ‘discontinuous past’ (DP). In their original discussion of this phenomenon, (Plungian and van der Auwera, 2006) proposed a semantic account of DP-effects, arguing that certain past markers encode the meaning “past and not present”. They further suggested that in languages with optional past tense, the (‘idle’) past marker exhibits this property. More recently, the semantic approach has faced criticism. (Cable, 2017) showed that Tlingit, an optional past tense language exhibiting DP-effects, allows cessation inferences to be cancelled in certain cases (through a statement of ignorance). This finding contradicts the predictions of the semantic account. As a result, an alternative pragmatic explanation has gained traction (Cable, 2017; Bochnak, 2016; Bochnak and Martinović, 2019). Building on original fieldwork on Tundra Nenets, we present arguments against the pragmatic approach and propose a novel semantic account in which DP-effects arise not from the meaning of Past itself, but from the application of Exh to past tense sentences. We argue that our account not only captures the contrasts observed by (Cable, 2017) in Tlingit but also explains the cross-linguistic variation in DP-effects across optional past languages, which we attribute to differences in the obligatoriness of Exh
Homogeneity in (non)monotonic contexts
Full text linkThis paper examines three prominent approaches to homogeneity: the implicature approach (Magri, 2014; Bar-Lev, 2021), the cognitive bias approach (Sbardolini, 2023) and the truth-value gap approach (Schwarzschild, 1996; Löbner, 2000; Gajewski, 2005; Križ, 2015; Križ and Spector, 2021; Guerrini and Wehbe, 2024). While all three frameworks account for homogeneity in simple, non-quantificational sentences, their predictions diverge in certain quantificational environments. To test these predictions, we investigated the interpretation of plural definites in both positive and negative sentences across monotonic and non-monotonic environments. Our results favor a particular version of the truth-value gap approach, posing challenges for both the implicature and cognitive bias approaches. We explore alternative analytical options for these approaches to address these challenges, identify open questions, and evaluate the prospects of a unified analysis of homogeneity alongside related phenomena