Wh-constructions and Polarity
Course descrtiption
We will explore issues in the syntax and semantics of wh-constructions and
polarity, especially phenomena relating to both. Possible topics include (i) the
licensing of polarity items, especially wh-polarity items and wh-licensers (ii) the
licensing of positive polarity items (iii) the syntax and semantics of negation (negative
concord, neg raising, …) (iv) negative intervention effects in wh-constructions (v)
“free choice” interpretations, especially in free relative clauses and correlatives.
We will not assume that students have prior knowledge about any of these
topics. While much of the literature we will read presupposes familiarity with certain
analyses (e.g. of wh-questions, negative polarity, …), all the necessary background
will be introduced along the way.
Class discussion will focus mostly on languages that the instructors know
about (English, Hindi, German), but students are encouraged to explore relevant
facts in languages of their choice.
Prerequisites
Syntax I and Semantics I, or instructors’ permission
Requirements
short homework assignments, class presentation, final paper
Some references
Dayal, Veneeta: 1996, Locality in Wh-Quantification, Reidel, Dordrecht.
Dayal, Veneeta: “Free Relatives and ever: Identity and Free Choice Readings”, in
Proceedings of Semantics and Linguistic Theory VII, CLC Publication, Cornell
University, Ithaca.
Giannakidou, Anastasia: 2002, “UNTIL, aspect, and negation: A novel argument for two
Untils”, in Proceedings of Semantics and Linguistic Theory XII, CLC Publication,
Cornell University, Ithaca.
Herburger, Elena: 2001, ‘The negative concord puzzle revisited’, Natural Language 9, 289333.
Horn, Laurence: 2000, “any and (-)ever: Free choice and free relatives”, in A. Wyner (ed.),
IATL 15 (Proceedings of the 15th Annual Conference of the Israeli Association for
Theoretical Linguistics), 71-111.
[http://www.yale.edu/linguist/faculty/IATL_paper_for_publication_RTF.rtf]
Jacobson, Pauline: 1995: “On the quantificational force of English free relatives”, in E. Bach
et al. (eds.), Quantification in Natural Language, Kluwer, Dordrecht.
Horn, Laurence: 1989, A Natural History of Negation, Chicago University Press, Chicago.
von Fintel, Kai: 2000, “Whatever”, in Proceedings of Semantics and Linguistic Theory X, CLC
Publication, Cornell University, Ithaca.
[http://web.mit.edu/fintel/www/whatever.pdf]
Szabolcsi, Anna: to appear, “Negative Polarity – Positive Polarity”, Natural Language and
Linguistic Theory. [http://semanticsarchive.net/Archive/jUwM2UwN]
de Swart, Henriette: 1996, “Meaning and use of not … until”, Journal of Semantics 13, 221263.