Abstract
| Language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 13 |
| Number of pages | 55 |
| Journal | semantics and pragmatics |
| Volume | 10 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Accepted/In press - 2 Apr 2017 |
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Keywords
- free choice
- scalar implicatures
- disjunctions
- modals
- probability
- degrees
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Probability and implicatures: A unified account of the scalar effects of disjunction under modals. / Santorio, Paolo; Romoli, Jacopo.
In: semantics and pragmatics, Vol. 10, 13, 02.04.2017.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
TY - JOUR
T1 - Probability and implicatures: A unified account of the scalar effects of disjunction under modals
AU - Santorio, Paolo
AU - Romoli, Jacopo
N1 - UIR Compliant - evidence uploaded to other files
PY - 2017/4/2
Y1 - 2017/4/2
N2 - Sentences involving disjunction under epistemic modal adjectives — such as possible, likely, and certain — give rise to the inference that the disjuncts are epis- temically possible. Inferences of this sort are often classified and treated differently, depending on the force of the embedding modal. Those triggered by possibility modals are singled out as ‘free choice inferences’ (Kratzer & Shimoyama 2002, Klinedinst 2007, Fox 2007, Chierchia 2013, a.o.), while those triggered by stronger modals are called and accounted for in a different way (Sauerland 2004, Fox 2007, Crnic et al. 2015 a.o.). In this paper, we pursue two goals. First, we develop and defend a degree semantics for epistemic modal adjectives, building on much recent work on the topic (Yalcin 2010, Lassiter 2011, 2014, Moss 2015a, Swanson 2015, a.o.). Second, we show that this semantics, in combination with the assumption that scalar implicatures can arise in embedded position (Fox 2007, Chierchia et al. 2012 a.o.), can predict all the inferences triggered by disjunction under modals, including free choice ones, via a uniform mechanism. We conclude by outlining how the proposal can be extended to epistemic modal items in other syntactic categories, and to modals of different flavor.
AB - Sentences involving disjunction under epistemic modal adjectives — such as possible, likely, and certain — give rise to the inference that the disjuncts are epis- temically possible. Inferences of this sort are often classified and treated differently, depending on the force of the embedding modal. Those triggered by possibility modals are singled out as ‘free choice inferences’ (Kratzer & Shimoyama 2002, Klinedinst 2007, Fox 2007, Chierchia 2013, a.o.), while those triggered by stronger modals are called and accounted for in a different way (Sauerland 2004, Fox 2007, Crnic et al. 2015 a.o.). In this paper, we pursue two goals. First, we develop and defend a degree semantics for epistemic modal adjectives, building on much recent work on the topic (Yalcin 2010, Lassiter 2011, 2014, Moss 2015a, Swanson 2015, a.o.). Second, we show that this semantics, in combination with the assumption that scalar implicatures can arise in embedded position (Fox 2007, Chierchia et al. 2012 a.o.), can predict all the inferences triggered by disjunction under modals, including free choice ones, via a uniform mechanism. We conclude by outlining how the proposal can be extended to epistemic modal items in other syntactic categories, and to modals of different flavor.
KW - free choice
KW - scalar implicatures
KW - disjunctions
KW - modals
KW - probability
KW - degrees
U2 - 10.3765/sp.10.13
DO - 10.3765/sp.10.13
M3 - Article
VL - 10
JO - semantics and pragmatics
T2 - semantics and pragmatics
JF - semantics and pragmatics
SN - 1937-8912
M1 - 13
ER -