Definite and Nondefinite Superlatives and NPI Licensing
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 3172310 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Simona Herdan (University of Connecticut), Yael Sharvit (0000-0002-6295-7903, University of Connecticut) |
| Year | 2006 |
| Volume | 9 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 1-31 |
| Publication date | 2006-04-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Syntax (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1368-0005 • E-ISSN: 1467-9612 |
| Publisher | Wiley (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1111/j.1467-9612.2006.00082.x |
| OpenAlex | W2151669067 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 11 |
| References cited | 13 |
We observe that superlative noun phrases are often not definite and may be headed by an indefinite determiner and other determiners. We attribute this fact to the semantics of the superlative morpheme which creates a (not necessarily singleton) set of individuals. A welcome prediction made by this proposal is that negative polarity items (NPIs) are licensed in the postnominal position only when the determiner that precedes the superlative morpheme is definite, because only then does the superlative morpheme have the semantic property required for NPI licensing-namely, Strawson Downward Entailingness. We explore some semantic and syntactic consequences of the proposal
Definiteness · Determiner · Epistemology · Linguistics · Morpheme · Noun · Noun phrase · Property (philosophy · Semantic property · Semantics (computer science · Set (abstract data type · Singleton · Superlative · Computer Science · Mathematics · Natural Language Processing Techniques · Philosophy · Syntax, Semantics, Linguistic Variation · Topic Modeling
Logic in Grammar
L’(in)définitude des lectures relatives des superlatifs de qualité et de quantité
The many readings of many
The most, the fewest and the least
The Argument From Binding
Appealing to superlative clauses
Quasi-definites in Swedish
An Introduction to English Sentence Structure
Licensing strong NPIs
First and last as superlatives of before and after
The Complex Beauty of Boundary Adverbials
Negative polarity and grammatical representation
Artikel und Definitheit
NPI licensing, Strawson entailment, and context dependency
Presupposition Projection and the Semantics of Attitude Verbs
Presupposition and Linguistic Context
On The Comparative And Absolute Readings Of Superlatives
The Syntactic Phenomena of English
The function of have
The Raising Analysis of Relative Clauses
On the Interaction of Adjectival Modifiers and Relative Clauses
Focus and Negative Polarity in Hindi
| Unique citing works | 11 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,61 |
| Citation span | 2008 - 2025 (18) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 11 |