Danny Fox
MIT
In a recent paper Martin Hackl and I have argued that certain irregularities in the behavior of degree constructions can be accounted for if degree domains are always dense (together with a very specific modularity assumption). Among other things, we show that density can account for certain constraints on scalar implicatures and question formation. If density is assumed, violations of the constraints can be analyzed as logical contradictions resulting from an attempt to exclude too many alternatives.
In this talk, I would like to discuss a particular failure of our account. Specifically, the core generalization we defend is attested in areas for which an account in terms of density is not available. Nevertheless, I would like to suggest that the account might still be right. Density is a special case in which attempts to exclude alternatives might fail, but other cases are predicted as well. The broader generalization pertains to all cases in which a set of alternative sentences, Q, has too many members for exhaustivity to apply; in all such cases, the pattern that we identified is predicted (at least if exhaustivity can apply to every subset of Q that has just two members).
Recommended reading
Reception to follow in 1413 Marie Mount Hall.