Although still disputed by some authors, complement anaphora interpretations are widely accepted today. However, they are marked and subject to strict interpretation conditions. Most commonly, monotone decreasing quantifiers facilitate a salient complement set interpretation that is suitable for subsequent anaphoric reference, whereas monotone increasing quantifiers appear to block such interpretation. In this paper, I investigate the possibilities of anaphoric reference to complement sets in Spanish quantified expressions of type QUANTIFIER(A)(B) and argue that Spanish aligns with the general pattern observed cross-linguistically according to which anaphoric reference to the reference set (refset) is default regardless of monotonicity type, and that anaphoric reference to the complement set (compset) is only possible with monotone decreasing quantifiers. My claim is that the observed discrepancy can be explained in terms of the different proportions denoted by the quantifiers, and propose an explanation based on discourse relations. My approach provides additional cross-linguistic evidence in favor of the general observed pattern, and a promising path for future investigation into the refset/compset divide.
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ABSTRACT. Natural linguistic data show that a close relationship exists among demonstratives and time in Spanish. Such connection appears to be of a pragmatic nature whereby linguistic expressions that encode or denote time license the use of demonstratives under certain conditions. Generally speaking, these linguistic expressions or licensors contribute to setting up adequate temporal frames of reference for a felicitous use of demonstratives. Although grammatical tense appears to be the principal type of licensing expression other linguistic elements (i.e. adverbials, noun phrases, etc.) also play an important role in establishing the reference time of the discourse. The aforementioned connection time-demonstration occurs when speakers employ demonstratives to refer to objects within the textual world (i.e. discourse referents). In this paper I explore the temporal constraints that impose restrictions in the use of demonstratives in Spanish and argue in favor of characterizing the relationship timedemonstration as a discourse deixis phenomenon in close connection with time deixis. The co-referential link that gets established between the demonstrative and the temporal expression is formalized and a presuppositional characterization is proposed for the three demonstratives in their discourse-deictic use.Keywords. Time, demonstratives, text, anaphora, reference, deixis, discourse RESUMEN. El análisis de datos lingüísticos naturales muestra que existe una estrecha correlación entre los demostrativos y el tiempo en español. En dicha conexión, de naturaleza aparentemente pragmática, las expresiones que denotan tiempo facilitan el uso de demostrativos bajo ciertas condiciones. En general, estas expresiones lingüísticas contribuyen a establecer el marco de referencia temporal adecuado para el uso del demostrativo. Aunque el tiempo verbal parece ser el tipo principal de elementos que facilitan el uso del demostrativo, los adverbios y ciertas expresiones nominales también contribuyen a establecer la referencia temporal del discurso. La conexión tiempo-demostrativo tiene lugar cuando el hablante emplea el demostrativo para referir a referentes del discurso. En este trabajo se exploran las restricciones temporales que afectan al uso de los demostrativos en español y se propone una caracterización para la conexión tiempo-demostrativos como un fenómeno de deixis discursiva en estrecha relación con la deixis temporal. Se formaliza el vínculo correferencial que se establece entre el demostrativo y la expresión temporal en contextos narrativos y se propone una caracterización presuposicional de los demostrativos en su uso deíctico discursivo.Palabras clave. Tiempo, demostrativos, texto, anáfora, referencia, deixis, discurso * I would like to thank three anonymous reviewers for their useful comments and suggestions on an earlier version of this paper.
The study of null complement anaphora (NCA) is important for the grammar-discourse interface as it seems to incarnate some of the core processes commonly found in other discourse phenomena, namely: reference, anaphora, ellipsis, inference, salience, or accommodation. Although NCA has been studied extensively, the debate whether it is an elliptical or an anaphoric process is still ongoing. This paper contributes to the view of NCA as a deep anaphor by providing evidence from Spanish discourse. I argue that NCA is an anaphor that selects the most prominent antecedent in well-defined discourse hierarchical structures. My analysis is mainly based on the comparison among Spanish neuter pronouns and NCA, and on the observed similar behavior shown by NCA and pronouns under discourse embedding conditions. Previous accounts on NCA are reviewed (Depiante 2000, 2001; Williamson 2012), and a tentative analysis of VP ellipsis based on discourse relations (Hardt & Romero 2004) is applied to Spanish NCA.
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