Papers by Elizabeth Coppock
This paper analyzes nominal phrases in Swedish with a definite article but no definite suffix on ... more This paper analyzes nominal phrases in Swedish with a definite article but no definite suffix on the head noun, which we call quasi-definites (e.g. det största intresse ‘the greatest interest’). These diverge from the usual ‘double definiteness’ pattern where the article and the suffix co-occur (e.g. det största intresse-t ‘the greatest interest-def’). We give several diagnostics showing that this pattern arises only with superlatives on an elative (‘to a very high degree’) interpretation, and that quasi-definites behave semantically as indefinites, although they have limited scope options and are resistant to polarity reversals. Rather than treating the article and the suffix as marking different aspects of definiteness, we propose that both are markers of uniqueness and that the definite article signals definiteness that is confined to the adjectival phrase and combines with a predicate of degrees rather than individuals in this construction. The reason that quasi-definites do not behave precisely as ordinary indefinites has to do with their pragmatics: Like emphatic negative polarity items, elative superlatives require that the assertion be stronger (≈ more surprising) than alternatives formed by replacing the highest degree with lower degrees, and have a preference for entailment scales.
This paper distinguishes between definiteness and determinacy. Definiteness is seen as a morpholo... more This paper distinguishes between definiteness and determinacy. Definiteness is seen as a morphological category which, in English, marks a (weak) uniqueness presupposition, while determinacy consists in denoting an individual. Definite descriptions are argued to be fundamentally predicative, presupposing uniqueness but not existence, and to acquire existential import through general type-shifting operations that apply not only to definites, but also indefinites and possessives. Through these shifts, argumental definite descriptions may become either determinate (and thus denote an individual) or indeterminate (functioning as an existential quantifier). The latter option is observed in examples like ‘Anna didn’t give the only invited talk at the conference’, which, on its indeterminate reading, implies that there is nothing in the extension of ‘only invited talk at the conference’. The paper also offers a resolution of the issue of whether possessives are inherently indefinite or definite, suggesting that, like indefinites, they do not mark definiteness lexically, but like definites, they typically yield determinate readings due to a general preference for the shifting operation that produces them.
This paper undertakes a direct comparison between two methodologies for getting at semantic intui... more This paper undertakes a direct comparison between two methodologies for getting at semantic intuitions: (i) validity judgments, where subjects judge the validity of arguments, e.g. There are three bananas; therefore there are at least three bananas, and (ii) picture verification tasks (also known as ‘truth judgment tasks’), in which, for example, one sees a picture of three bananas and judges a statement like There are at least three bananas. It has been suggested that validity judgment tasks are more sensitive to ignorance implicatures than picture verification tasks, but these two methods have not been compared directly using comparable stimuli. The present work aims to close that gap. The results show that validity judgment tasks do not in fact robustly pick up on ignorance implicatures, so they cannot be relied upon for that, although both validity judgment tasks and truth value judgment tasks are sensitive to violations of particularly strong pragmatic requirements. In general, the two kinds of tasks gave quite similar results. This raises the question of why validity judgment tasks sometimes pick up on ignorance implicatures and sometimes do not.
We discuss minimal sufficiency readings of exclusives like "just", as in "Just the thought of him... more We discuss minimal sufficiency readings of exclusives like "just", as in "Just the thought of him sends shivers down my spine", which does not mean the same thing as "Only the thought of him sends shivers down my spine". We provide a set of diagnostics for identifying minimal sufficiency readings in conditionals and in simple clauses, and identify a generalization as to where the latter type appear: only in arguments that have a 'causer' thematic role. For this reason, we see minimal sufficiency readings in conditionals as basic, and provide an analysis of them building on Kratzer's notion of a modal base.
Proceedings of SALT 24, edited by Todd Snider, pages 177-196. Ithaca NY: CLC Publications, Sep 2014
This paper argues that the distinction between absolute and relative readings of superlatives sup... more This paper argues that the distinction between absolute and relative readings of superlatives supports a distinction between definiteness and determinacy. Previous work has suggested that definite superlative noun phrases like "the fewest letters" in "Gloria received the fewest letters" (relative superlative DPs) are semantically indefinite. This paper argues that such DPs are definite (presupposing uniqueness) but not determinate (denoting an individual). We provide new evidence that they are not determinate, and undertake a critical review of the evidence that has previously been used to argue for their indefiniteness, arguing that it is consistent with the hypothesis that they are definite. We argue furthermore that a movement analysis of relative superlatives is not consistent with a treatment of the determiner as definite. We therefore offer an analysis of relative superlative DPs on which they are definite but indeterminate, and the superlative morpheme is interpreted in situ.
This paper presents two experimental findings pertaining to the semantics and pragmatics of super... more This paper presents two experimental findings pertaining to the semantics and pragmatics of superlative modifiers (at least, at most). First, in a scenario with N objects of a given type, speakers consistently judge it true that there are ‘at least N’ and ‘at most N’ objects of that type. This supports the debated position that the ignorance conveyed by superlative modifiers is an implicature, not an entailment, and contrasts with results obtained using an inference-judgment paradigm, suggesting that truth-value judgment tasks are impervious to certain pragmatic infelicities that inference-judgment tasks are sensitive to. The second finding is not predicted by any previous theory: In a scenario with N objects, it is not consistently judged true that there are ‘at most N + 1’ objects, even though it is consistently judged true that there are ‘at least N − 1’ objects. To explain this, we propose a novel pragmatic principle requiring that the scenario depicted by a sentence must be considered possible by the speaker (the Maxim of Depictive Sincerity). Put together, the two findings show that truth-value judgment tasks are impervious to some aspects of pragmatics, but not all.
Raising and Resolving Issues with Scalar Modifiers
Semantics and Pragmatics, Volume 6, Article 3, Aug 7, 2013
This paper argues that the superlative modifiers 'at least' and 'at most' signal lower and upper ... more This paper argues that the superlative modifiers 'at least' and 'at most' signal lower and upper bounds, respectively, on the true answers to the question under discussion (QUD), and that they are inquisitive. Paired with an analysis of 'only' on which it presupposes a lower bound on the QUD and asserts an upper bound on the QUD, our analysis of superlative modifiers yields a unified picture of these scalar items, and accounts for the connection between them. This analysis also successfully accounts for their truth conditions, focus-sensitivity, distribution, and interaction with modals. Analyzing 'at least' and 'at most' as inquisitive in the inquisitive semantics sense yields a satisfactory account of the fact that, in contrast to corresponding sentences without such items, they do not give rise to quantity implicatures, and yet they do give rise to ignorance implicatures, in contrast to comparatives. Superlative modifiers thus both depend on the QUD for their interpretation, and raise issues for discussion.
This paper offers a semantically-based solution to the problem of predicting whether a verb will ... more This paper offers a semantically-based solution to the problem of predicting whether a verb will display the subjective conjugation or the objective conjugation in Hungarian. This alternation correlates with the definiteness of the object, but definiteness is not a completely reliable indicator of the subjective/objective alternation, nor is specificity. A prominent view is that the subjective/objective alternation is conditioned by the syntactic category of the object, but this view has also been shown to be untenable. This paper offers a semantic solution: If the referential argument of a phrase is lexically specified as familiar/new, then the phrase bears the feature [+def]/[−def], and this feature governs the conjugations. The notions of novelty and familiarity are made precise using a compositional version of DRT in the context of a suitably large fragment of Hungarian, including local and non-local personal pronouns, demonstratives, definite and indefinite articles, quantifiers, wh-words, numerals, and possessives.
The words only, just, exclusively, merely, purely, solely, simply, adjectival only, sole, pure, e... more The words only, just, exclusively, merely, purely, solely, simply, adjectival only, sole, pure, exclusive, and alone are members of a unified class -- the class of exclusives -- in a sense that this paper makes precise. The most famous representative of this class is only, for which at least 27 distinct lexical entries have been given. This paper situates only in the context of its lexical relatives in English, accounting for a number of equivalences and non-equivalences between sentences involving only and ones involving other exclusives. We propose that what unifies the words mentioned above is that they concern an upper bound on the viable answers to the current question under discussion, and signal that a lower bound on them is taken for granted. These two criteria are encapsulated in a lexical entry schema for exclusives, which accommodates two main points of variation: semantic type (within the class of modifiers), and constraints on the current question under discussion. We propose 17 different specific instantiations of the schema for the exclusives listed above
We argue that predicative the is an identity function that is defined for predicates that satisfy... more We argue that predicative the is an identity function that is defined for predicates that satisfy weak uniqueness: if there is an F, then there is only one. Predicative definites do not presuppose existence, as evidenced by anti-uniqueness effects, for example the fact that `Scott is not the only author of Waverley' implies that there is more than one author of Waverley. Separating the uniqueness and existence components of definites brings definites and indefinites closer together: The definite and indefinite articles are both argued to be identity functions on predicates, differing only in that the latter lacks the weak uniqueness presupposition. Furthermore, the meaning of argumental definites and indefinites can be derived from the predicative meanings using the same general mechanisms that introduce existence. Existence is generally at-issue with argumental indefinites and presupposed with argumental definites. However, we observe that anti-uniqueness effects arise with argumental definites as well, under conditions described in our `Dependence Generalization'. We take this to show that existence can be at-issue with argumental definites, and we derive the Dependence Generalization in terms of relevance to the question under discussion.
It-clefts are IT (inquiry terminating) constructions
We analyze the semantics of a range of constructions which we refer to as Inquiry Terminating (IT... more We analyze the semantics of a range of constructions which we refer to as Inquiry Terminating (IT) constructions. In English, these include it-clefts and exclusives such as only, just and mere(ly). Despite their differences, IT constructions have much in common. We claim they are always focus-sensitive, have closely related semantics, and have a uniform discourse function: they always mark utterances that give a complete answer to what the speaker takes to be the Current Question (CQ). We give a new account of the meaning of clefts that captures both their similarities and their differences to other IT constructions.
Building on Bresnan and Mchombo's (1987) theory that the transition from pronoun to agreement mar... more Building on Bresnan and Mchombo's (1987) theory that the transition from pronoun to agreement marker constitutes the loss of a PRED 'pro' specification on an affix, we explore the idea that the historical path from pronoun to agreement marker can involve the loss of person and number feature specifications as well. We apply this idea to object agreement in the Uralic languages, with particular attention to Ostyak and Hungarian, and propose that person and number specifications on object agreement affixes, historically derived from bound pronouns, were lost independently at different stages. We then consider the more general hypothesis that the special distribution of person agreement can be explained as a consequence of its historical origin in incorporated pronouns, with loss of the person feature as a complicating factor. Preliminary typological evidence supports this view over Baker's (2008) theory of person agreement.
Verbal agreement is normally in person, number and gender, but Hungarian verbs agree with their o... more Verbal agreement is normally in person, number and gender, but Hungarian verbs agree with their objects in definiteness instead: a Hungarian verb appears in the objective conjugation when it governs a definite object. The sensitivity of the objective conjugation suffixes to the definiteness of the object has been attributed to the supposition that they function as incorporated object pronouns (Szamosi 1974; den Dikken 2006), but we argue instead that they are agreement markers registering the object’s formal, not semantic, definiteness. Evidence comes from anaphoric binding, null anaphora (pro-drop), extraction islands, and the insensitivity of the objective conjugation to any of the factors known to condition the use of affixal and clitic pronominals. We propose that the objective conjugation is triggered by a formal definiteness feature and offer a grammar that determines, for a given complement of a verb, whether it triggers the objective conjugation on the verb. Although the objective conjugation suffixes are not pronominal, they are thought to derive historically from incorporated pronouns (Hajdú 1972), and we suggest that while referentiality and ϕ-features were largely lost, an association with topicality led to a formal condition of object definiteness. The result is an agreement marker that lacks ϕ-features.
I argue that in Hungarian, accusative case can be assigned by a verb to a noun phrase, triggering... more I argue that in Hungarian, accusative case can be assigned by a verb to a noun phrase, triggering definiteness agreement, purely in virtue of the fact that the noun phrase serves as the focus in the same clause as the verb. As shown by data from incorporation, long-distance constructions, binding, and depictives, accusative case-marked focus-raised subjects are not objects of the verb -- not thematic objects or even athematic objects -- so their only link to the verb that assigns case to them is via information structure. Based on the Case-Assignment Generalization -- A verb agrees in definiteness with a noun phrase in Hungarian if and only if it assigns accusative case to it -- I have argued that the same holds for accusative case-marked focus-raised objects that agree in definiteness with their are also examples where accusative case is assigned to a nominal purely in virtue of its information- structural status. Thus, both subject and object focus raising exemplify case-assignment to a noun phrase whose sole link to the case-assigning verb is through information structure. This means that the focus position in Hungarian is one to which accusative case can be assigned.
This paper offers a unified analysis of the exclusives mere and only. We analyze both mere and on... more This paper offers a unified analysis of the exclusives mere and only. We analyze both mere and only in terms of questions under discussion modeled as structures defined over sets of alternatives, where the alternatives are non-standard in two respects. First, as required by the analysis of mere, there are free variables in the alternatives. Second, the alternatives can be ranked by relations other than entailment; in this sense, both mere and only are scalar both in their positive component ("at least X") and in their negative component ("at most X"). With evidence from negation, reason clauses, and emotive factive predicates, we argue furthermore that the negative component of mere contributes to the at-issue meaning, while the positive component is presupposed, as has been previously argued for only. However, mere and only differ in scope, as evidenced by differences in interpretation and NPI licensing. Based on the NPI licensing properties of mere, we argue that it has two uses, one that attaches to properties and one that attaches to generalized quantifiers. The two uses are unified under one abstract lexical entry schema that can be extended to only as well. This schema can be seen as a first step towards establishing, in general terms, the core meaning for exclusives.
Sole sisters
We propose a unified analysis of exclusives, taking into account NP- and VP-modifying 'only' and ... more We propose a unified analysis of exclusives, taking into account NP- and VP-modifying 'only' and 'just' and the adjectival exclusives 'mere', 'sole', 'only', 'single', and 'exclusive'. We use paraphrases with 'at most' and 'at least' to argue that exclusives uniformly signify a presupposed lower bound and an ordinary content upper bound on the true alternative answers to the current question under discussion, thus extending Beaver and Clark (2008). According to our analysis, exclusives vary along two parameters: (i) the ontological type of their arguments; (ii) constraints on the question under discussion. Due to variation in the type parameter, exclusives exhibit different scopes, leading to different NPI licensing properties. To formalize our analysis, we introduce a dynamic semantics that treats questions under discussion as part of the context and allows for binding into these questions.
Exclusivity, Uniqueness, and Definiteness
This paper argues for two main claims: (i) The definite article is initially predicative and cont... more This paper argues for two main claims: (i) The definite article is initially predicative and contributes a weak uniqueness presupposition, which is logically independent of existence. Only in argument position does a definite (or indefinite) article signal existence. (ii) A distinction is to be drawn between pure exclusive adjectives (adjectival only) and cardinality adjectives (single, unique). Sole can function as both, and can also be used as a quantifier. With these assumptions, we can explain anti-uniqueness effects that only and sole give rise to in predicative definite descriptions, and the fact that sole but not only is compatible with the indefinite article. The distinction between exclusive and singular-cardinality adjectives has broader empirical consequences as well; exclusive adjectives are compatible with plurals but singular-cardinality adjectives are not, and cardinality adjectives can modify superlatives but exclusive adjectives cannot.
This paper develops a type of dynamic semantics in which contexts include not only information, b... more This paper develops a type of dynamic semantics in which contexts include not only information, but also questions, whose answers are ranked by strength. The questions can be local to the restrictor of a quantifier, and the quantifier can bind into them. The proposed framework satisfies several desiderata arising from quantificational expressions involving exclusives (e.g. only, just, mere, and sole), allowing: (i) presupposed questions; (ii) presuppositional constraints on the strength ranking over the answers to the question under discussion; (iii) quantificational binding into such presupposed questions; and (iv) compositional derivation of logical forms for sentences.
Teaching Documents by Elizabeth Coppock
Drafts by Elizabeth Coppock
This paper deals with languages in which a superlative interpretation is typically indicated mere... more This paper deals with languages in which a superlative interpretation is typically indicated merely by a combination of a definiteness marker with a comparative marker, including French, Spanish, Italian, Romanian, and Greek ('def+cmp languages'). Despite ostensibly using definiteness markers to form the superlative, these languages all have slightly different patterns of definiteness-marking with superlatives, as the paper will illustrate. To explain how superlative interpretations arise without a superlative morpheme, we propose a mechanism of Definite Null Instantiation for the degree-type standard argument of the comparative. This is the unifying feature of all of the derivations we give, for all of the languages. We propose furthermore that quantity words always measure degrees rather than individuals, and that a predicate of degrees is composed with a predicate of individuals by the same semantic composition rule that is operative in pseudopartitives: Measure Identification. This proposal produces differences between quantity and quality superlatives that manifest themselves differently in different languages. To account for the cross-linguistic variation, we identify a number of pressures that all of the languages in consideration may be subject to, and suggest that different languages have different levels of sensitivity to these pressures.
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Papers by Elizabeth Coppock
Teaching Documents by Elizabeth Coppock
Drafts by Elizabeth Coppock