Dependent indefinites and their post-suppositions

Abstract

This paper presents an analysis of a new scope puzzle that arises through the interaction of two lesser-studied constructions, dependent indefinites and verbal pluractionality. The result is a novel account of dependent indefinites that correctly predicts their grammaticality with pluractionals by recognizing two ways of establishing the covariation they require: (i) true distributive quantifiers, and (ii) pluractional operators that structure thematic dependencies. The core insight is that both routes, while compositionally different, lead to similar output structures in Dynamic Plural Logic (DPlL) (van den Berg 1996) or its closely related alternatives (Brasoveanu 2008, Nouwen 2003, which is what dependent indefinites constrain. The analysis not only permits a better understanding of dependent indefinites in Kaqchikel, an endangered and understudied Mayan language of highland Guatemala, but it clarifies their place in a crosslinguistic typology of similar expressions (e.g., Balusu 2006, Choe 1987, Farkas 1997a, 2002, Yanovich 2005. Along the way I produce the first description and analysis of these phenomena in Kaqchikel.

Pluractionality, iconicity, and scope in French Sign Language

“…To date, this is the first systematic documentation of this compositional puzzle in the verbal domain; of note, though, the situation turns out to be formally identical to a puzzle regarding the licensing of 'dependent indefinites' in the nominal domain (Balusu 2005, Henderson 2014. In this paper, following insights from Henderson 2014, we argue for an analysis in which pluractional markers are scope-taking predicates, that are licensed by distributive operators by taking scope over them.…”

“…This contrast becomes more pronounced in (31), where the implausibility of eating a single strawberry more than once yields degraded acceptability of (31b). (30) Cross-linguistically, the inability to induce variation in a plain indefinite has been observed for a wide range of pluractional markers across many languages, including Chechen (Yu 2003), West Greenlandic (van Geenhoven 2004, Spanish (Laca 2006), and Kaqchikel Mayan (Henderson 2014). For example, the Kaqchikel pattern in (32) replicates the English contrast in (30).…”

“…Although an analogous puzzle has been observed in the nominal domain of 'dependent indefinites,' the present work is the first case in which an analogous pattern has been reported for the verbal domain. We model a solution on Henderson's (2014) analysis of dependent indefinites.…”

“…However, as highlighted by a range of recent literature on plurality (e.g. Henderson 2014, among others), the entailment of an event plurality may arise from a variety of different compositional mechanisms. In English, this can be illustrated with the sentences in (29).…”

“…(Schein 1993) The treatment of universal quantification as a summation operator is also adopted in recent theories of dynamic semantics with plural information states (Dynamic Plural Logic: van den Berg 1996, Nouwen 2003Plural Compositional DRT: Brasoveanu 2006, Henderson 2014. Within this tradition, Henderson 2014 uses the fact that distributive operators introduce sums in order to explain the appearance of dependent indefinites (which require a plural licensor) in the scope distributive quantifiers.…”