A Polarity-Sensitive Disjunction
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Raúl Aranovich
Abstract
This paper argues that in Spanish negative phrases of the form “ni XP ni XP” 'neither XP nor XP', ni is a polarity-sensitive disjunction. Following the widening/strengthening account of polarity sensitivity in Heim (1984), Kadmon and Landman (1993), and others, it is argued that ni-XPs have a restricted distribution because they can only satisfy their requirement of pragmatic strengthening in the scope of negation. This analysis fulfills a prediction made by Krifka's (1992) Polarity Lattice approach regarding the existence of polarity-sensitive disjunctions.
Abstract
This paper argues that in Spanish negative phrases of the form “ni XP ni XP” 'neither XP nor XP', ni is a polarity-sensitive disjunction. Following the widening/strengthening account of polarity sensitivity in Heim (1984), Kadmon and Landman (1993), and others, it is argued that ni-XPs have a restricted distribution because they can only satisfy their requirement of pragmatic strengthening in the scope of negation. This analysis fulfills a prediction made by Krifka's (1992) Polarity Lattice approach regarding the existence of polarity-sensitive disjunctions.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Acknowledgements vii
- Introduction ix
- A Polarity-Sensitive Disjunction 1
- Taking a Closer Look at Romance VN Compounds 13
- Beyond Descriptivism 27
- Do Subjects Have a Place in Spanish? 51
- On the Conceptual Role of Number 67
- The Diachronic Development of a French Indefinite Pronoun 83
- A Syntactic Analysis of Italian Deverbal-Nouns 97
- V-N Compounds In Italian 113
- A Reinterpretation of Quirky Subjects and Related Phenomena in Spanish 127
- Cognitive Constraints on Assertion Scope 143
- Avant que - or Avant de -Clauses 155
- Null Directional Prepositions in Romanian and Spanish 169
- A Unified Account for the Additive and the Scalar Uses of Italian Neppure 187
- Default Morphology in Second Language Spanish 201
- Early Object Omission in Child French and English 213
- Agreement Paradigms Across Moods and Tenses 229
- Italian Volerci 247
- Restructuring of Reverse Psychological Predicate 263
- Subject Index 279
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Acknowledgements vii
- Introduction ix
- A Polarity-Sensitive Disjunction 1
- Taking a Closer Look at Romance VN Compounds 13
- Beyond Descriptivism 27
- Do Subjects Have a Place in Spanish? 51
- On the Conceptual Role of Number 67
- The Diachronic Development of a French Indefinite Pronoun 83
- A Syntactic Analysis of Italian Deverbal-Nouns 97
- V-N Compounds In Italian 113
- A Reinterpretation of Quirky Subjects and Related Phenomena in Spanish 127
- Cognitive Constraints on Assertion Scope 143
- Avant que - or Avant de -Clauses 155
- Null Directional Prepositions in Romanian and Spanish 169
- A Unified Account for the Additive and the Scalar Uses of Italian Neppure 187
- Default Morphology in Second Language Spanish 201
- Early Object Omission in Child French and English 213
- Agreement Paradigms Across Moods and Tenses 229
- Italian Volerci 247
- Restructuring of Reverse Psychological Predicate 263
- Subject Index 279
