Strict and Sloppy ReWexives in VP Ellipsis

This paper reports a series of three experimental studies (described in detail in Ong 2013) with three related goals/results. The Vrst goal is to empirically evaluate two competing – syntax vs. discourse driven – accounts of strict vs. sloppy readings of reWexives in VP ellipsis, building on the experimental investigation in Kim and Runner (2009). The results strongly suggest that discourse-based accounts are empirically more adequate. The second goal is to argue that a heretofore ignored lexical factor, namely the meaning of the ellided verb, is in fact a strong predictor of strict vs. sloppy readings. We found that ‘implicit-causality’ verbs that are object-oriented are much more likely to have strict readings than subject-oriented implicit-causality verbs. Finally, we observe that the position of sentential negation is also an important biasing factor with respect to strict vs. sloppy readings, which we attribute to its ‘reversal’ function in discourse.