Exhaustification and Contextual Restriction

Sentences with exhaustification

(1) a. What did Mary eat? b. Mary ate a pizza. c. Mary ate a pizza and a calzone. As an answer, we can think of (1b) as being ruled out by (1c), because (1c) is more exhaustive, in the sense that it contains additional true information. A number of researchers (e.g., Kuno 1972, Atlas & Levinson 1981, Horn 1981, Szabolcsi 1981, É. Kiss 1998) have noted that exhaustification effects are not limit...

Mandarin Particle DOU: A Pre-exhaustification Exhaustifier

This paper provides a uniform semantics to capture various functions of Mandarin particle dou, including the quantifier use, FCI-licenser use, and scalar marker use. I argue that dou is a presuppositional exhaustifier that operates on sub-alternatives and has a pre-exhaustification effect.

Free Choice and Exhaustification: an Account of Subtrigging Effects

The goal of this article is to explain the distribution and meaning of qualsiasi/qualunque in the examples in (1). Universal FC items will be analysed as indefinites (contra Dayal, 1998). Following Aloni (2002, to appear) and Kratzer and Shimoyama (2002), I will assume that indefinites induce sets of propositional alternatives. The interpretation of FC items like qualsiasi will further cruciall...

Topics are Conditionals: A Case Study from Exhaustification Over Questions

This paper argues in favor of Haiman’s (1978) idea that conditionals and topics are analogous. The evidence comes from exhaustification over topicalized questions, which have the same semantics as conditional questions (Isaacs & Rawlins, 2008).

Calorie Restriction, Longevity and Cognitive Function