Greek directive subjunctive questions, high negation bias and modality

Abstract

In this paper, I examine Greek root subjunctives, addressing the debate over whether the prioritizing modality of inherently performative directive utterances is encoded in their semantics or instead derived via a context-update mechanism in pragmatics (as has been argued for imperatives). Root subjunctives pattern with imperatives in exhibiting directive performative properties, satisfying all standard diagnostics; unlike imperatives, however, they also form Subjunctive Questions (SQs). Focusing on the interaction between SQs and negation, I show that negation can take high scope, yielding High Negation bias effects that support a semantic modal analysis of directive force. I argue that the presence of a modal operator at LF provides a more flexible basis for accounting for the variable force observed in SQs.