Cornelia Endriss

Exceptional Wide Scope

As could be seen in the preceding chapter, indefinites can take scope wider than operators that c-command them at the surface. I repeat example (3.24a) below as (4.1a). (4.1b) gives an example of a strong quantifier that is c-commanded by an indefinite.

Semantic Effects of Topicality

We have seen so far that certain indefinites can be marked as topical (cf. Chapter 2) and that exactly these indefinites allow for exceptional wide scope (cf. Chapter 4). In this chapter, I will relate these two observations to each other. I will give reasons why topical indefinites usually receive wide scope readings, i.e. genuine wide scope as opposed to apparent wide scope, as was discussed in Chapter 3. Furthermore, I will discuss other semantic effects of topicality.

ExceptionalWide Scope as a Topic Phenomenon

In this chapter, I will propose my account of the interpretation of topical quantifiers, which is at the same time an account of exceptional wide scope phenomena. The approach to the interpretation of quantificational topics can be understood as an elaboration on how exactly the previously mentioned mechanism M functions, which has been used for illustrative purposes so far and had to remain entirely vague until here.

Genuine and Apparent Scope Readings

Having pointed out my view of topicality, I will now set the stage for the second main topic of this book, which are the exceptional wide scope phenomena. In this chapter, I will discuss the highly controversial term specificity, which will in the end be argued to be a notion that only makes sense in the context of opaque operators. Specific readings hence have to be set apart from wide scope readings in truly transparent contexts. I will furthermore discuss methods which can serve to differentiate between apparent wide scope readings and genuine wide scope readings of indefinites in a systematic way. Furthermore, I will discuss functional readings, which can also be indicative of wide scope readings, as I will show.