<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p> Recent work shows that downward entailment (DE) cannot be the right semantic domain that licenses negative polarity items (NPIs). Zwarts (1995), Giannakidou (1998), among others, argue that NPIs are licensed in non-veridical domains, those that do not entail or presuppose the truth of the propositions they embed. In this paper, based on empirical facts, I argue that DE theory is the right analysis for Jordanian Arabic. I propose an analysis of NPI licensing in which three components of grammar interface: syntax, semantics and pragmatics. Semantics defines the class of NPI licensors, pragmatics forces quantificational closure of NPIs, and syntax executes the licensing via AGREE between a phasal head and the NPI. The analysis contributes to the debate on what components of grammar are responsible for NPI licensing and provides a new perspective on the interface between different components of grammar.</p></abstract>

Recent work shows that downward entailment (DE) cannot be the right semantic domain that licenses negative polarity items (NPIs). Zwarts (1995), Giannakidou (1998), among others, argue that NPIs are licensed in non-veridical domains, those that do not entail or presuppose the truth of the propositions they embed. In this paper, based on empirical facts, I argue that DE theory is the right analysis for Jordanian Arabic. I propose an analysis of NPI licensing in which three components of grammar interface: syntax, semantics and pragmatics. Semantics defines the class of NPI licensors, pragmatics forces quantificational closure of NPIs, and syntax executes the licensing via AGREE between a phasal head and the NPI. The analysis contributes to the debate on what components of grammar are responsible for NPI licensing and provides a new perspective on the interface between different components of grammar.

NPI licensing in Jordanian Arabic: An argument for downward entailment and syntax-semantics interface

Topics in Linguistics

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

Recent work shows that downward entailment (DE) cannot be the right semantic domain that licenses negative polarity items (NPIs). Zwarts (1995), Giannakidou...

NPI licensing in Jordanian Arabic: An argument for downward entailment and syntax-semantics interface

Published Online: Dec 29, 2017

Page range: 24 - 35

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/topling-2017-0008

Keywords
negative polarity, free choice, syntax-semantics interface, downward entailment, Arabic

© 2018

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

NPI licensing in Jordanian Arabic: An argument for downward entailment and syntax-semantics interface

Published Online: Dec 29, 2017

Page range: 24 - 35

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/topling-2017-0008

Keywordsnegative polarity, free choice, syntax-semantics interface, downward entailment, Arabic

© 2018

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

Keywords
negative polarity, free choice, syntax-semantics interface, downward entailment, Arabic