In this work, I use cumulative readings of every (Champollion, 2010, 2016a; Haslinger & Schmitt, 2018; Kratzer, 2003; Schein, 1993) as a tool to investigate homogeneity in cumulative readings in general. Based on a new observation about the homogeneity properties of cumulative readings of every, I argue that the homogeneity properties of cumulative readings arise from the interaction of multiple operators, each operator contributing one exhaustive participation inference which disappears in negative contexts. I identify these operators with the thematic role heads in a Neo-Davidsonian semantics. The resulting theory is able to predict the homogeneity properties of cumulative sentences from the homogeneity properties of their arguments and the position of these arguments.
every surprisingly gives rise to cumulative readings (Schein 1993; Kratzer 2000). The distribution of these readings is governed by scope-related asymmetries (Champollion 2010; Haslinger & Schmitt 2018). In this work, I notice a third property of these readings: cumulative readings of every receive weaker "leaky" truth-conditions under negation, previously thought to be unattested (Bayer 2013). Exploiting this third property, I build an event semantics to deliver these "leaky readings" by default. Within this semantics, it becomes possible to account for cumulative readings of every and their properties, keeping to standard assumption about the denotation for every. I also show how the same analysis predict the scope-related asymmetries and their less studied interaction with overt movement.
Donkey sentences receive either existential or universal truth-conditions. This paper presents two new data points going against standard dynamic approaches to this ambiguity: first, I show that the ambiguity extends beyond quantified environments, to cross-clausal anaphora. Second, I show that donkey sentences can give rise to narrow pseudo-scope readings, where the pronoun's implicit quantification takes scope below some operator in the sentence. Neither of these facts is predicted by standard dynamic accounts. Together, they suggest a different analysis in which the ambiguity arises when the pronoun has multiple referents to pick from. Inspired by Champollion (2017), I propose that when such circumstances arise, the pronoun receives vague reference. Using standard rules of projection is then sufficient to derive the existential/universal ambiguity as well as the two problematic data points.
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