Du tout au rien: libre-choix et polarité negative

Translated title of the contribution: Nothing at all: free choice and negative polarity

Pierre Larrivée

Research output: Book/ReportBook

Abstract

This monograph proposes a general model for the analysis of polysemy. The underspecified content of polysemic items produces interpretations in relation with characterised contextual indicators. This ternary set of schematic representations applies to the meaning organisation of French indefinite qui que ce soit ('any'). Universal positive readings, existential and opposition readings are generated by modalised predicate, a modalised proposition and syntactically adjoined functions. "Affective" contexts yield a negative polarity interpretation, the interpretation is generated through concessive reasoning, which explains how scalar values can be evoked by an item representing arbitrary selection. Such contextual reasoning and characterised contextual indicators are the two modes for the calculation of the contextual interpretation of polysemous items.
Translated title of the contributionNothing at all: free choice and negative polarity
Original languageFrench
Place of PublicationParis
PublisherChampion
Number of pages188
ISBN (Print)978-2-74531-584-7
Publication statusPublished - 2007

Publication series

NameBibliothèque de grammaire et de linguistique
PublisherChampion

Keywords

  • universal positive readings
  • existential readings
  • opposition readings
  • modalised predicate
  • modalised proposition adjoined functions
  • negative polarity interpretation
  • concessive reasoning
  • polysemous items

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