@article{Pozzan_Schweitzer_2019, title={Not ’Nearly’ Synonymous. Similarities and Differences between ’almost’ and ’nearly’}, volume={12}, url={https://ojs.ub.uni-konstanz.de/sub/index.php/sub/article/view/702}, DOI={10.18148/sub/2008.v12i0.702}, abstractNote={<p>In this paper we look at the difference in distribution and meaning between <em>almost</em> and <em>nearly</em>. <em>Nearly</em> has to do with expectations and is in general uneasy as a modifier of negative quantifiers, while it is grammatical in the scope of negation. On the other hand, <em>almost</em> is at best marginal in the scope of negation (unless an echo context is provided) and in combination with the NPI <em>any</em>. We propose that, when <em>nearly</em> is in the scope of negation, it loses its scalar component and its literal meaning of physical proximity can be accessed by negation and modified by it. This accounts for the particular interpretation of <em>nearly</em> under negation. To account for the contextual expectations raised by <em>nearly</em>, we suggest that the operator EVEN is instantiated by the presence of<em> nearly</em> and that EVEN does not interfere with the alternatives made salient by scalar operators like <em>almost</em> and <em>nearly</em> (contra Penka, 2005). We then propose an alternative explanation for the ungrammaticality of the combination between <em>almost-</em> NPI <em>any</em> and the acceptability of <em>nearly</em>-NPI <em>any</em>.</p>}, journal={Proceedings of Sinn und Bedeutung}, author={Pozzan, Lucia and Schweitzer, Susan}, year={2019}, month={Aug.}, pages={485–507} }