Towards a semantic typology of specific determiners

This paper investigates properties of a class of determiners which can be loosely la- belled specific in that their distribution falls in between maximally-quantifying definite determiners and indefinites which only contribute existential quantification. Based on a sample which includes data from Buryat, Komi, Mari, Mordvin, and Turkish, I propose that suffixal determiners form a semantically natural class in that their distribution can be modelled by means of a relational component in the semantics of the determiners which relates the denotation of the noun to an antecedent. I derive the observed distributional differences between languages from the range of values available for the interpretation of this component. In particular, whether a relation of identity falls within the range of val- ues has consequences for whether a suffixal determiner triggers existence presupposition, which, in turn, has consequences both for the interpretation of the DP in question and for the inter-paradigm competition in a language

Taraldsen’s generalization in diachrony : evidence from a diachronic corpus

International audienceWe present the first large scale quantitative investigation of the syncretisation of verbal subject agreement in Medieval French and test a classic analysis which relates non-syncretic agreement and null subjects as parts of the same grammar (e.g. Rizzi 1986, Adams 1987, Alexiadou & Anagnostopoulou 1998, Roberts 2010, Sheehan to appear). We show that agreement syncretisation and the emergence of overt pronominal subjects proceeded at the same rate. On the Constant Rate Hypothesis of Kroch (1989), which states that a grammatical change has the same rate in different contexts, these results are compatible with the traditional analysis. However, we show that this analysis also generates a number of predictions which are not borne out by the quantitative data. We conclude that a more complex model of interaction of subject and inflection parameters is needed

Spellout and Double Determination in Mainland Scandinavian

This study considers a contrast in Mainland Scandinavian with respect to co-occurrence of a suffixal and a free-standing determiner ( double determination\u27\u27) in parallel to a series of contrasts in how the suffixal determiner is realized phonologically. On the basis of the phonological evidence I propose that in Norwegian and Swedish the suffixal determiner does not belong to the same phonological domain with the root with respect to several phonological processes, in contrast to Danish. Consequently, I argue that only in the former two languages the suffixal determiner should be considered a spellout trigger and thus a phase-head. Independently of this, I propose that in all Mainland Scandinavian the head hosting the suffixal determiner has a feature [Affix], proposed by Roberts (2005), that triggers a head-movement, whereas the head hosting the free-standing determiner does not have this feature. This state of affairs offers itself as an ideal testing ground for the hypothesis that there are general grammar constraints on the distribution of movement driving features, in particular of an EPP-like feature [Affix]. I propose that [Affix] specification should be consistent within a phase, which represents an amendment to the EPP downward inheritance generalization of Biberauer et al. (2008). The absence of double determination\u27\u27 in Danish is then argued to follow from the non-phase head status of the head hosting the suffixal determiner in Danish, as this bleeds the environment for an [Affix] specification switch\u27\u27

Factive islands and meaning-driven unacceptability

It is often proposed that the unacceptability of a semantically interpretable sentence can be rooted in its meaning. Elaborating on Oshima (2008), we argue that the meaning-driven unacceptability of factive islands must make reference to felicity conditions, and cannot be reduced to the triviality of propositional content. We also observe, again elaborating on Oshima, that the triviality of factive islands need not be logical, but can be relative to a listener’s background assumptions. These findings call for a revision of a prevalent view about meaning-driven unacceptability, according to which unacceptability results from triviality that is both propositional and logical

Givenness marking in a mixed system : constituent order vs. determiners

This paper investigates the interaction between constituent order and the use of determiners as means of marking givenness, understood here as a non-presuppositional existential inference that arises as a result of interpreting a predicate with respect to a context-specified situation, in light of (a version of) *New ≻ Given principle of Kučerová (2012). We attribute the principle to how situation binding operates in clauses, instead of postulating a presupposition-introducing operator and test it on new quantitative data from Medieval French, a system employing both determiners and constituent order for information structuring. Our results show that the constraint in question is respected across the board except for the cases when it is obviated by the presence of a morphological trigger of existential presupposition. We also show that a game-theoretic simulation incorporating this constraint matches very closely historical French data

Factive islands from necessary blocking

Oshima (2007) and Schwarz & Simonenko (2018a) credit the unacceptability of so-called factive islands to necessary infelicity – the violation of some or other felicity condition on (wh-)questions in all accessible contexts. We apply this analysis to new types of factive islands – in wh-questions with if any and in multiple wh-questions – and argue that they pose challenges for an analysis in terms of necessary infelicity. We propose that factive islandhood can be understood as due to necessary blocking: in all accessible contexts where such a question would otherwise be felicitous, the speaker would have had to use a different, more suitable, question instead. We show that the necessary blocking analysis applies correctly to both classic factive islands and to the new types that we have identified

Factive islands from necessary blocking

Oshima (2007) and Schwarz & Simonenko (2018a) credit the unacceptability of so-called factive islands to necessary infelicity – the violation of some or other felicity condition on (wh-)questions in all accessible contexts. We applythis analysis to new types of factive islands – in wh-questions with if any and in multiple wh-questions – and argue that they pose challenges for an analysis in terms of necessary infelicity. We propose that factive islandhood can be understood as due to necessary blocking: in all accessible contexts where such a question would otherwise be felicitous, the speaker would have had to use a different, more suitable, question instead. We show that the necessary blocking analysis applies correctly to both classic factive islands and to the new types that we have identified