Proceedings of Sinn und Bedeutung
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Random-choice modality: The view from Chuj (Mayan)
Get PDFRandom choice indefinites convey, roughly, that an agent made an indiscriminate choice. There is however no consensus on the exact nature of the modality that random choice indefinites express (Alonso-Ovalle and Mene ?ndez-Benito, 2018). This paper discusses new data from Chuj, an understudied Mayan language. In this language, random choice indefinites feature a morpheme (komon) that can appear either as a nominal or verbal modifier (Royer and Alonso-Ovalle, 2019). We show that the modal component of komon departs from previous proposals on the nature of random choice modality. Both in DPs and VPs, komon conveys information about the likelihood of the event described. The modal component of komon is nevertheless tied to its syntactic position. VP-komon conveys that the most expected worlds where the described event happens are no more expected than the most expected worlds where it does not. DP-komon conveys a similar modal component, but hardwires a comparison between the likelihood of the event described, which involves an individual in the extension of the NP, and that of alternative events determined by considering alternative individuals in the extension of the NP
Swarms and degrees – two experiments on Slavic swarm constructions
Get PDFThe paper discusses the results of two experiments on Czech swarm-constructions. The results are interpreted in the degree approach to swarms (Hoeksema, 2009). Furthermore, some polarity constraints on swarms are clarified and described as a special case of degree positive polarity items
Higher-order quantification and free choice in how many-questions
Get PDFIn Gentile and Schwarz (2018), we observed that certain how many-questions carry uniqueness presuppositions that can be understood as instances of Dayal’s (1996) Maximal Informativity Presupposition. We also observed, however, that uniqueness presuppositions can unexpectedly go missing in the presence of a possibility modal. In this paper, we offer an explanation for the obviation of such uniqueness presupposition by possibility modals. Building on a suggestion in Spector (2008), we propose that obviation is due to higher-order wh- quantification feeding free choice strengthening within the question nucleus
Restriction on evidence in evidentiality: the part-whole relation between situations
Get PDFEvidentials are traditionally defined as linguistic expressions that designate the specific type of evidence that the speaker has for the utterance (Willett, 1988; Aikhenvald, 2004). This paper deals with three indirect evidentials, the English adverb apparently, raising verb seem, and the Japanese auxiliary yooda. These three evidentials are not always felicitous even if the speaker has indirect evidence. This means that some semantic restriction is at work, in- dependent of evidence-type specification. This paper raises empirical problems for previous studies on evidence encoded by evidentials (McCready and Ogata, 2007; McCready, 2014; Takubo, 2009; Krawczyk, 2012; Davis and Hara, 2014; Hirayama, to appear), and proposes an alternative account based on situation semantics (Kratzer, 2012; Elbourne, 2013)
How to trivialize uniqueness
Get PDFA new unified account for anaphoric and non-anaphoric (attributively used) definite descriptions is proposed that avoids making use of lexical ambiguities and the notion of minimal situations
Same as the parameter of an equation construction
Get PDFRett (2013) proposes that the difference between scalar equatives (Mary is as tall as Sue is) and similatives (Mary danced as Sue did) in terms of whether a parameter marker (i.e. the underlined as) is needed, can be attributed to their difference in whether lexicalized arguments are equated (degrees vs. manners). This paper shows that the same-sentence, which is a kind of equation construction, poses a challenge to Rett (2013) at first sight and to maintain her proposal, I argue that a null parameter marker must co-occur with the parameter same. Moreover, the existence of such a null parameter marker is not simply postulated to fit same into Rett (2013) but rather reveals something deep about this word, as it can straightforwardly account for its extraordinary scoping pattern (Dowty, 1985; Barker, 2007; Brasoveanu, 2011)
"Just" don’t ask: Exclusives and potential questions
Get PDFThe English exclusive just is not synonymous with other exclusives such as only in sentences like Sometimes, bad things just/only happen. I give a new analysis of just which explains this and other puzzling readings of just observed in earlier work (e.g. Wiegand, 2016; Beltrama, 2018). I argue that just excludes alternatives derived from a potential question, or possible future QUD, in the sense of Onea (2016). This new perspective makes it possible to give the first unified account of these non-canonical exclusive readings of just, and provides evidence that the semantics of lexical items can be sensitive to possible futures of the discourse
Challenging the presuppositions of questions: the case of ba-interrogatives
Get PDFThis paper investigates the use of the Mandarin discourse particle ba in polar questions and wh-questions. With the introduction of a set of new scenarios where ba-interrogatives are (in-)felicitous, the paper shows that (i) ba-attached questions are typically used to challenge the presupposition of a contextually salient Question Under Discussion (henceforth QUD), and (ii) ba is particularly sensitive to the commitments from the addressee. These findings support the presence of a hierarchical discourse structure (Büring, 2003; Roberts, 1996), and the various components in the context
Empirical investigations on quantifier scope ambiguities in German
Get PDFThe paper presents the results of a novel experimental study on inverse scope readings in German, which are considered to be possible only under highly constrained conditions in prior literature (Frey 1993; Pafel, 2005; Bobaljik & Wurmbrand, 2012). We show that inverse scope readings are in fact possible in canonical main clauses with an ?-subject QP preceding and c-commanding an ?-object QP under verum focus, with the potential of object- scrambling over the subject. The existing literature on quantifier scope in German is unanimous in claiming that inverse scope is impossible in this configuration. Our findings are line with previous experiments on German that found inverse readings to be available in other syntactic configurations (e.g. Bott & Radó, 2007; Radó & Bott 2011; Bott & Schlotterbeck, 2015). Moreover, the availability of inverse readings is boosted when the context biases towards them, a finding which is compatible with previous evidence suggesting that context plays an important role in scope ambiguity resolution (Kurtzman & MacDonald, 1993; Saba & Corriveau, 2001; Villalta, 2003; Reinhart, 2006). Our results also suggest that inverse readings are not banned from relative clauses, a result that is incompatible with the assumptions that relative clauses are islands, and that inverse scope interpretations are obtained via the covert movement operation QR in syntax. Finally, we show that scope interpretation strategies differ drastically between speakers of the same language, in line with introspective judgments
Exclamatory As Ifs
Get PDFIn this paper, we investigate the meaning of exclamatory as if utterances. One of the main interpretive challenges raised by these constructions is to explain how they function to express incredulous denial of the as if complement despite the absence of any overt negating element. After rejecting a negation ellipsis account that assimilates exclamatory as if s to plain negative assertions, we develop an exclamation-based analysis that integrates Grosz’s (2011) “EX-Op” account of optatives and polar exclamatives with our earlier hypothetical comparative semantics for descriptive uses of as if in Bledin and Srinivas (2019)