In:Romance Languages and Linguistic Theory 2017: Selected papers from 'Going Romance' 31, Bucharest
Edited by Alexandru Nicolae and Adina Dragomirescu
[Current Issues in Linguistic Theory 355] 2021
► pp. 29–48
Plus in the French negative system
A presuppositional and non-quantificational n-word
Published online: 1 December 2021
https://doi.org/10.1075/cilt.355.02ams
https://doi.org/10.1075/cilt.355.02ams
Abstract
This contribution focuses on the place of plus (“no more”) in the system of negation in French. Is it merely the presuppositional counterpart of pas (“not”), or does it belong to the class of n-words, such as personne (“nobody”) and rien (“nothing”), which can combine with each other and give rise to negative concord readings? We show that when plus co-occurs with an n-word, it brings different semantic contributions depending on the place it occupies. This leads us to assume that two instances of plus have to be distinguished: one that incorporates a sentential negation and the other which has only a presuppositional contribution. These two instances differ in assertive content, but convey the same presuppositional content. The chapter shows how to derive the observed interpretations in each kind of configuration.
Article outline
- 1.Introduction
- 2.Negation in French
- 3.The class of n-words
- 3.1“Half negations” (Muller 1991)
- 3.2Giannakidou’s definition
- 4.Specificities of plus
- 4.1Plus is not quantificational
- 4.2Plus+n-word as phrases
- 4.3Plus is presuppositional
- 5.Analysis
- 6.Conclusion
Acknowledgments Notes References
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