Proceedings of Sinn und Bedeutung
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Japanese \u27Mo\u27 (Also/Even) and \u27Shika\u27 (Except for/Only)
No full textThis paper discusses Japanese particles mo ‘also/even’ and shika ‘except for/only’ that follow a noun X as [X-mo/shika]. Syntactically, X-mo and X-shika are argued to be predicate modifiers. Semantically, the conditions of the exception construction noted in the literature are relevant for both mo- and shika-sentences: They both express (i) the relationship between X and the argument construed with X, and (ii) the relationship between X and the predicate (von Fintel 1993, Moltmann 1995). The minimal difference with respect to condition (ii) gives rise to an inclusion interpretation (mo) or an exclusion interpretation (shika). In addition, I argue that they both require the presence of another element which has the properties of the argument and the predicate, though it is a semantic condition for mo, while it is a pragmatic condition for shika
Dislocating NPs to the Right: Anything Goes? Semantic and Pragmatic Constraints
Get PDFIn our paper we investigate the semantics and pragmatics of the NP-right dislocation (RD) in German, concentrating in particular on the conditions under which dislocation is possible. We argue that semantic properties of the NP are relevant for the possibility of having an NP dislocated: it has to have a type <e> denotation. This requirement allows particular definite NPs as well as kind-referring terms and excludes quantified NPs. We propose a semantic account of RD in terms of ‘separate performatives’ thereby explaining the distributional facts. Furthermore, we show how the function of RD as a discourse topic marker endorses the requirement of the type <e> denotation for the RD-NP
Property-type Objects and Modal Embedding
Get PDFVerbs in West Greenlandic require a special piece of morphology, the antipassive, in order to take narrow-scope indefinite objects. Opaque objects of intensional verbs require the same treatment. This paper develops a semantics for the antipassive morpheme in West Greenlandic that shifts the verb’s object position to a propertytype, providing for the object’s narrow scope, while introducing modal embedding. The modal embedding provides for the interpretation of opaque objects of intensional verbs, in a way syntactically constructing the intensional construction. The modal embedding of property-type object constructions is visible not just in West Greenlandic antipassives but also in Hindi-Urdu and even English, suggesting a generalized modalization in the combination of verb with property-type object
Distributivity over pairs of events and entities
Get PDFThis paper aims to offer a formal semantic account of distributivity as introduced by prepositions per in Italian and de in Romanian. These prepositions occur in the configuration [Card N1 Prep N2] (where Card conveys cardinality and N2 is obligatorily a sortal noun), and are specialised in introducing a type of distributive configuration called ratio hereafter. It is shown that the per/de configuration shares properties with phenomena analysed in two separate lines of investigation in the literature, one concerned mainly with nominal distributivity, and the other with relations between events. Like nominal distributive markers, per/de signals an obligatorily distributive interpretation of the DP it is a part of. Like ‘every time’ sentences, the per/de construction involves a distributive relation between key events and share events. It is proposed that per/de introduces distributivity by the selection and matching of a share nominal and an overt or covert key event. Distributivity is formalised via a matching function that resorts to a (possibly overt) universal quantifiers over event-entity pairs
Responding to negative assertions in Germanic: On yes and no in English, Dutch and Swedish
Get PDFThis paper presents evidence from three acceptability judgement experiments that tested the acceptability of the response particles YES and NO in affirming and rejecting responses to negative assertions in three Germanic languages. The study shows that the acceptability of the particles differs between the three languages, but does not correlate with the availability of a dedicated rejecting particle like German doch in the particle system of a language. Furthermore, the experiments revealed that there is considerable inter-individual variation. The paper thus contributes to the ongoing exploration of inter-individual variability in the use and meaning of response particles, which was first explored experimentally for German by Claus, Meijer, Repp and Krifka (2017). The paper discusses current theories of response particles and offers a preliminary account of the findings in the anaphora account of Roelofsen and Farkas (2015)
On the information structure sensitivity of projective content
Get PDFThis paper presents the findings of an experiment designed to investigate the information structure sensitivity of the projective contents associated with again, stop and manner adverbs. In contrast to the prejacent of manner adverbs, whose projectivity is expected to be sensitive to information structural focus (e.g., Abrusán, 2013a; Stevens et al., 2017), that of the prejacent of again is not (e.g., Beck, 2006; Abrusán, 2013b). We also investigated the pre-state content associated with stop because projection analyses differ in their predictions regarding the sensitivity of this projective content to information structural focus (e.g., Heim, 1983; van der Sandt, 1992; Kadmon, 2001; Simons, 2001; Abrusán, 2011, 2016; Romoli, 2011, 2015). We found that the projectivity of all three contents is sensitive to prosodically marked focus and discuss the implications of our findings for empirically adequate projection analyses
Even and free choice any in Hungarian
Get PDFThis paper presents an analysis of the Hungarian free-choice indefinite akárki ‘anyone’. It is observed that akárki is composed of a special type of focus particle akár ‘even’ which itself, in its focus-particle existence has a free-choice-like distribution, and of a wh-indefinite. To account for the special properties of akár ‘even’, it is argued that akár is composed of even plus an Exhaustive Operator (O). As the additive presupposition of even and the lexical meaning of the Exhaustive Operator are contradictory, this combination results in ungrammaticality, unless a suitable operator (e.g. an existential modal or a DE operator) intervenes. In the second part of the paper it is shown that the core distribution of free choice indefinites in Hungarian simply follows from the meaning of the incorporated akár. The universal-like meaning of free choice items arises as an inference from the combination of the standard existential additive presupposition and the universal scalar presupposition
Prosody and the interpretation of tag questions
Get PDFWe provide an account of the alignment of linguistic form and discourse function with respect to English tag questions, adopting as a formal framework Segmented Discourse Representation Theory. SDRT models the discourse function of utterances via their rhetorical connection to the antecedent discourse. We pay particular attention to the prosodic features of tag questions and their contribution to interpretation. This approach to tag questions is appropriate, we argue, as the interpretation of a tag comes down to its rhetorical connection to the host sentence
Situation variables and licensing by modification in opaque demonstratives
Get PDFPostnominal modifiers license unexpected opaque readings of demonstrative descriptions. This paper presents a unified analysis of ordinary demonstrative descriptions and the special construction consisting of an opaque demonstrative description with a postnominal modifier. The analysis is based on two independently necessary components: a modal constraint associated with demonstrative determiners and the modal independence of postnominal modifiers. Far from being a peripheral construction, opaque demonstratives ultimately allow us to probe the interaction of nominal constituents with modality
The President and the Man on the Street: Definite Descriptions and Proper Names across Possible Situations
Get PDFKripke’s “modal argument” uses consideration about scope within modal contexts to show that proper names and definite descriptions must be of two different semantic types. I reexamine the data that is used to motivate Kripke’s argument, and suggest that it, in fact, indicates that proper names behave exactly like a certain type of definite description, which I call “particularized” descriptions