Alternatives and jurisdiction in predication

Authors

  • Mathieu Paillé

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18148/sub/2023.v27.1082

Abstract

While many predicates can compose consistently (e.g. 'This dog is happy'), some can only compose via conjunctive material like additive particles (e.g. 'This comedy is #(also) a tragedy'). This paper asks what relation must exist between predicates for them to fall in the latter category. In previous work, I suggested that predicates require 'also' if they come from the same conceptual taxonomy. In the present paper, I show that another factor is at play, namely whether two predicates contribute the same kind of information (‘have the same jurisdiction’) in a given sentence. In particular, same-taxonomy predicates stop requiring 'also' when they are interpreted with a different jurisdiction. From the observation that jurisdiction is pertinent to whether 'also' is required, I suggest that jurisdictional identity is in fact the only factor in whether two expressions require an additive; bringing in the notion of taxonomic co-membership is superfluous.

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Published

2023-11-30

How to Cite

Paillé, M. (2023). Alternatives and jurisdiction in predication. Proceedings of Sinn Und Bedeutung, 27, 483–499. https://doi.org/10.18148/sub/2023.v27.1082