Evaluativity in 'even'-comparatives via presupposition accommodation

Abstract

Sentences involving the scalar particle even result in positive or negative inferences when combined with gradable predicates, which is unexpected assuming the classic (un)-likelihood analysis of even. I observe that these evaluative inferences arise when (i) the likelihood presupposition of even is not already entailed in the common ground, and (ii) the comparison class is not explicitly given. Hence, this paper gives a pragmatic account of the puzzle and demonstrates that the evaluative inferences can be derived systematically with the help of two general pragmatic principles, what I call the “Presupposition Accommodation Condition” and “Alternative-sampling Hypothesis.” The basic intuition is that given the pressure to reason in the absence of sufficient evidence – in these cases, without specified reasons for the likelihood orderings – comprehenders make the most out of the information they have, assume normality, and commit to their best guess for the speaker’s intended common ground.