Topics as Speech Acts – An Analysis of Conditionals
Transcription
Topics as Speech Acts – An Analysis of Conditionals
D D i C C l l l l o i o i u o m q p q A m A m u i u o p s m u , s t t r e d a d a r e m 2 m 2 . 1 1 1 1 . 2 0 . . 0 , 0 0 0 0 2 9 9 Topics as Speech Acts – An Analysis of Conditionals Cornelia Ebert Universität Stuttgart joint work with Christian Ebert and Stefan Hinterwimmer Overview – i n i n r i t d u c o d u c – n i t o h t o r i t – a o n t c s c s s s s e e c e e c p a p – n t c a s h p o I a s i t o – C s C s a s o u b o u a s a s – B t e s s e s s c s c s i t f r f r a o n t c i t b I a p t – C s C s m a s B p o a e s e e s e t t t t i n i n – i n i n i n i n f f f f n l i n t – m a s b d e e c e c s – c o c o c n u s u s l o i n t b d e g g g g s c o p We show syntactic similarities Indicative Conditionals of two types of conditionals and two types of left German Left Dislocation dislocation constructions in German, Aboutness Topicality which mark two types of topicality. Biscuit Conditionals Hanging Topic Left Dislocation Frame Setting On basis of these similarities we argue that (the antecedents of) We provide a uniform derivation of the semantic and pragmatic contributions of the two conditional forms by extending the aboutness topicality approach of Endriss (2009) to frame setting topics and combining it with the analysis of indicative conditionals of Schlenker (2004). Dip Colloquium, Amsterdam 20.11.2009 2 Indicative Conditionals vs. Biscuit Conditionals – i n i n r i t d u c o d u c – n i t o h t o r i t – a o n t c s c s s s s e e c e e c p a p – n t c a s – h p o I a s i t o C s C s a s o u b o u a s a s – B t e s s e s s c s c s i t f r f r a o n t c i t b I a p t – C s C s m a s B p o a e s e e s e t t t t i n i n i n i n i n i n f f f f I b d e e c e c C s t b d e g g g g s Indicative Conditional (IC): (1) B C t – m a s p L D H T L D G If Peter went shopping, then there is pizza in the fridge. F r m a A e n b u t e s s o i S e t n t g Truth of the consequent depends on the truth of the antecedent. Biscuit Conditional (BC): (2) If you are hungry, (#then) there is pizza in the fridge. (3) There are biscuits on the sideboard if you want them. (Austin, 1961) Truth of the consequent is independent of the truth of the antecedent. Characteristic feature of BCs: antecedent gives conditions stating when the consequent is relevant. In the case of (2) it is understood that the speaker assumes the assertion that pizza is in the fridge to be relevant to the listener only in case s/he is hungry. Dip Colloquium, Amsterdam 20.11.2009 3 Indicative Conditionals vs. Biscuit Conditionals – i n i n r i t d u c o d u c – n i t o h t o r i t – a o n t c s c s s s s e e c e e c p a p – n t c a s – h p o I a s i t o C s C s a s o u b o u a s a s – B t e s s e s s c s c s i t f r f r a o n t c i t b I a p t – C s C s m a s B p o a e s e e s e t t t t i n i n i n i n i n i n f f f f I B C t – m a s b d e e c e c C s t b d e g g g g s p In German, syntax disambiguates (cf. Handke, 1984): L D H T L D G Indicative Conditional (IC): F r m a A e n b u t e s s o i S e t n t g (4) Wenn du mich brauchst, bleibe ich den ganzen Tag zuhause. Sonst gehe ich ins Kino. (If you need me, then I will stay at home the whole day. Otherwise I will go to the cinema.) Biscuit Conditional (BC): (5) Wenn Du mich brauchst, ich bleibe den ganzen Tag zuhause. #Sonst gehe ich ins Kino. (If you need me, I will stay at home the whole day. #Otherwise I will go to the cinema.) A further example: (6) #Wenn Du noch Fragen hast, bin ich Maria. [IC] (#If you have any questions, then I am Maria.) (7) Wenn Du noch Fragen hast, ich bin Maria. [BC] (If you have any questions, I am Maria.) Dip Colloquium, Amsterdam 20.11.2009 4 Indicative Conditionals vs. Biscuit Conditionals – i n i n r i t d u c o d u c – n i t o h t o r i t – a o n t c s c s s s s e e c e e c p a p – n t c a s h p o I a s i t o – C s C s a s o u b o u a s a s – B t e s s e s s c s c s i t f r f r a o n t c i t b I a p t – C s C s m a s B p o a e s e e s e t t t t i n i n – i n i n i n i n f f f f I n b d e e c e c l i B n C t – m a s – s C c o c o c n u s u s l o i n t b d e g g g g s c o p L A unified theory of ICs and BCs should account for the (in)dependence of the truth of antecedent and consequent in the two cases as well as for the observed relevance effects. D H T L D G F r m a A e n b u t e s s o i S e t n t g Biscuit conditionals (BCs) have been analysed as conditional assertions by de Rose & Grandy (1999), and as involving existential quantification over ‚potential literal acts‘ by Siegel (2006): (2) If you are hungry, (#then) there is pizza in the fridge. (8) If you are hungry, there exists a (presupposed relevant) assertion of „there is pizza in the fridge“. Problem with these accounts: they are too weak (cf. Scheffler, 2008). (9) If you don‘t want to watch the movie, the gardener is the killer. (10) If the congregation is ready, I hereby declare you man and wife. Consequent speech acts have been performed unconditionally. Dip Colloquium, Amsterdam 20.11.2009 5 Two Kinds of Topic Marking Constructions – i n i n r i t d u c o d u c – n i t o h t o r i t – a o n t c s c s s s s e e c e e c p a p – n t c a s h p o I a s i t o – C s C s a s o u b o u a s a s – B t e s s e s s c s c s i t f r f r a o n t c i t b I a t – C s C s m a s B p o p a e s e e s e t t t t i n i n – i n i n i n i n f f f f I n b d e e c e c l i B n C t – m a s – s C c o c o c n u s u s l o i n t b d e g g g g s c o p L D H T L D G F r m a A e n b u t e s s o i S e t n t g German left dislocation (GLD): (11) Den The-ACC Pfarrer, pastor den kann keiner leiden. RP-ACC can nobody like. ‚The pastor nobody likes.‘ Hanging topic left dislocation (HTLD): (12) Der/den Pfarrer, The(-ACC) pastor keiner kann ihn leiden. nobody can him -ACC like. ‚The pastor, nobody likes him.‘ Dip Colloquium, Amsterdam 20.11.2009 6 Two Kinds of Topic Marking Constructions – i n i n r i t d u c o d u c – n i t o h t o r i t – a o n t c s c s s s s e e c e e c a p p – n t c a s h p o I a s i t o – C s C s a s o u b o u a s a s – B t e s s e s s c s c s i t f r f r a o n t c i t b I a t – C s C s m a s B p o p a e s e e s e t t t t i n i n – i n i n i n i n f f f f I n b d e e c e c l i B n C t – m a s – s C c o c o c n u s u s l o i n t b d e g g g g s c o p L D H T L D G F r m a Frey (2004) notes that the following syntactic characteristics set apart GLD from HTLD: A e n b u t e s s o i S e t n t g GLD requires the presence of a resumptive pronoun (preferably in Spec., CP), which is a weak d-pronoun (der, den, die, das, …). GLD allows for binding into the dislocated phrase from within the clause, while HTLD does not: (13)Seineni His-ACC Vater, den father RP-ACC verehrt jederi. admires everybody. [GLD] ‚Everybody admires his father.‘ (14)*Sein(en)i Vater, jederi verehrt ihn. His(-ACC) father everybody admires him. Dip Colloquium, Amsterdam 20.11.2009 [HTLD] 7 Two Kinds of Topic Marking Constructions – i n i n r i t d u c o d u c – n i t o h t o r i t – a o n t c s c s s s s e e c e e c p a p – n t c a s h p o I a s i t o – C s C s a s o u b o u a s a s – B t e s s e s s c s c s i t f r f r a o n t c i t b I a p t – C s C s m a s B p o a e s e e s e t t t t i n i n – i n i n i n i n f f f f I n b d e e c e c l i B n C t – m a s – s C c o c o c n u s u s l o i n t b d e g g g g s c o p L D H T L D G Frey (2004) shows: GLD marks aboutness topicality, i.e. it F r m a A e n b u t e s s o i S e t n t g establishes the entity the sentence is about. In contrast: HTLD marks frame setting topicality, i.e. it establishes a frame of interpretation for which the following material is relevant. In this respect, HTLD is an instance of more general frame setting constructions: (15) Was den Pfarrer angeht, die Predigt heute war wirklich schön. (As for the pastor, the sermon today was wonderful.) Fact expressed in the matrix clause is implied to be relevant w.r.t. (questions regarding) the pastor. Note: in (15) there is no proform in the matrix clause which could pick up the entity marked as the topic. Dip Colloquium, Amsterdam 20.11.2009 8 ICs and GLD vs. BCs and HTLD – i n i n r i t d u c o d u c – n i t o h t o r i t – a o n t c s c s s s s e e c e e c p a p – n t c a s h p o I a s i t o – C s C s a s o u b o u a s a s – B t e s s e s s c s c s i t f r f r a o n t c i t b I a p t – C s C s m a s B p o a e s e e s e t t t t i n i n – i n i n i n i n f f f f I n b d e e c e c l i B n C t – m a s – s C c o c o c n u s u s l o i n t b d e g g g g s c o p L D H T L D G F r m a A e n b u t e s s o The same syntactic characteristics set apart ICs and BCs: i S e t n t g There is a strong syntactic similarity between ICs and correlative constructions, which ‚involve a free relative clause adjoined to the matrix clause and coindexed with a proform inside it‘ (Bhatt and Pancheva 2001). Then can therefore be regarded as a proform which relates back to the possibilities introduced by the if-clause (see e.g. also Iatridou 1994) Dip Colloquium, Amsterdam 20.11.2009 9 ICs and GLD vs. BCs and HTLD – i n i n r i t d u c o d u c – n i t o h t o r i t – a o n t c s c s s s s e e c e e c p a p – n t c a s h p o I a s i t o – C s C s a s o u b o u a s a s – B t e s s e s s c s c s i t f r f r a o n t c i t b I a p t – C s C s m a s B p o a e s e e s e t t t t i n i n – i n i n i n i n f f f f I n b d e e c e c l i B n C t – m a s – s C c o c o c n u s u s l o i n t b d e g g g g s c o p L D H T L D G The same syntactic characteristics set apart ICs and BCs: F r m a A e n b u t e s s o While binding into the if-clause is possible in the case of ICs, it is not in the case of BCs (cf. Haegeman, 2003) : (16) Wenn man siei gut pflegt, dann blüht jede Orchideei if one it well groom then blossoms every orchid mehrmals several times i S e t n t g [IC] im Jahr. in the year ,Every orchid blossoms several times a year, if you groom it well.’ (17) *Wenn Du etwas über siei wissen willst, if you something about it to know want jede Orchideei blüht mehrmals every orchid blossoms several times Dip Colloquium, Amsterdam 20.11.2009 [BC] im Jahr. in the year 10 ICs and GLD vs. BCs and HTLD – i n i n r i t d u c o d u c – n i t o h t o r i t – a o n t c s c s s s s e e c e e c a p p – n t c a s h p o I a s i t o – C s C s a s o u b o u a s a s – B t e s s e s s c s c s i t f r f r a o n t c i t b I a p t – C s C s m a s B p o a e s e e s e t t t t i n i n – i n i n i n i n f f f f I n b d e e c e c l i B n C t – m a s – s C c o c o c n u s u s l o i n t b d e g g g g s c o p Close connection between conditionals and topicality has been observed frequently (see e.g. Haiman 1978 and Bittner 2001). L D H T L D G F r m a A e n b u t e s s o i S e t n t g We conclude: the if-clause serves as the topic, while the matrix clause supplies the comment Concerning BCs, equivalent frame setting paraphrases are possible: (2) If you are hungry, (#then) there is pizza in the fridge. (18) As for the possibility that you are hungry, there is pizza in the fridge. Semantic and pragmatic effects are completely parallel: − antecedent/frame setting topic establishes the conditions for relevance of the matrix speech act − matrix clause is asserted unconditionally Dip Colloquium, Amsterdam 20.11.2009 11 ICs and GLD vs. BCs and HTLD – i n i n r i t d u c o d u c – n i t o h t o r i t – a o n t c s c s s s s e e c e e c p a p – n t c a s h p o I a s i t o – C s C s a s o u b o u a s a s – B t e s s e s s c s c s i t f r f r a o n t c i t b I a p t – C s C s m a s B p o a e s e e s e t t t t i n i n – i n i n i n i n f f f f I n b d e e c e c l i B n C t – m a s – s C c o c o c n u s u s l o i n t b d e g g g g s c o p L D H T L D G F r m a A e n b u t e s s o i S e t n t g We derive the semantic and pragmatic contributions of ICs and BCs by extending the approach to aboutness topics by Endriss (2009) to frame setting topics and combining it with the approach to normal indicative conditionals by Schlenker (2004), who treats if-clauses as definite descriptions of possible worlds. Dip Colloquium, Amsterdam 20.11.2009 12 Topics as Speech Acts – i n i n r i t d u c o d u c – n i t o h t o r i t – a o n t c s c s s s s e e c e e c s – – C s C s a s o u b o u a s a s s s e s s – f r f r a o c s c s i t p B t e n t c i t b I a p p n a t c h a p o I a s i t o t – C s C s m a s B p o a e s e e s e t t t t i n i n – i n i n i n i n f f f f n l i n t – m a s b d e e c e c s – c o c o c n u s u s l o i n t b d e g g g g s c o p Endriss (2009): aboutness topics are interpreted in a separate speech act of topic establishment REFX (cf. reference act of Searle, 1969 or act of frame setting of Jacobs, 1984; cf. also Lambrecht, 1994). REFX − applies to the denotation of the topic-marked constituent and introduces a (possibly novel) discourse referent X for it − is conceived as being performed before the speech act of the original utterance The comment is interpreted in the original speech act where the topical discourse referent X is supplied as an argument. The two speech acts are conjoined via speech act conjunction &. Schematically for an assertion: ASSERT(COMMENT(TOPIC)) REFX(TOPIC) & ASSERT(COMMENT(X)) This approach is reminiscent of the two steps in categorical judgements. Dip Colloquium, Amsterdam 20.11.2009 13 Topics as Speech Acts – i n i n r i t d u c o d u c – n i t o h t o r i t – a o n t c s c s s s s e e c e e c p s – – C s C s a s o u b o u a s a s – B t e s s e s s c s c s i t t p f r f r a o n t c i t b I a p n a t c h a p o I a s i t o – C s C s m a s B p o a e s e e s e t t t t i n i n – i n i n i n i n f f f f n l i n t – m a s b d e e c e c s – c o c o c n u s u s l o i n t b d e g g g g s c o p ASSERT(COMMENT(TOPIC)) REFX(TOPIC) & ASSERT(COMMENT(X)) Endriss and Hinterwimmer (2009): the d-pronoun in the specifier of the matrix-CP is interpreted like a relative pronoun, i.e. it triggers lambda-abstraction. In a sentence such as (11), the matrix clause is thus interpreted as shown in (19), while the entire sentence is interpreted as shown schematically in (20): (11) Den The-ACC Pfarrer, den pastor RP-ACC kann keiner leiden. can nobody like. [GLD] ‚The pastor nobody likes‘. (19) ’den kann keiner leiden÷ = λy. ¬∃z[human(z) ∧ like(z,y)] (20) REFX(ιx[pastor(x)]) & ASSERT(¬∃z[human(z) ∧ like(z,X)]) Dip Colloquium, Amsterdam 20.11.2009 14 Topics as Speech Acts – i n i n r i t d u c o d u c – n i t o h t o r i t – a o n t c s c s s s s e e c e e c p s – – C s C s a s o u b o u a s a s – B t e s s e s s c s c s i t t p f r f r a o n t c i t b I a p n a t c h a p o I a s i t o – C s C s m a s B p o a e s e e s e t t t t i n i n – i n i n i n i n f f f f n l i n t – m a s b d e e c e c s – c o c o c n u s u s l o i n t b d e g g g g s c o p Topical constituent definite / of type e: − discourse referent X in REF act can straightforwardly refer to topical constituent − no truth conditional effect Topical constituent indefinite / of generalized quantifier (GQ) type 〈〈e,t〉,t〉: − discourse referent X in REF act refers to a suitable representative that is created from the GQ, namely a minimal witness set of the topical GQ − truth conditional effect: topical GQ takes widest (possibly island-free) scope (21) Einen Song von Bob Dylan, den kennt jeder. Some-ACC song of Bob Dylan, RP-ACC knows everybody. [GLD] ‚Everybody knows some song of Bob Dylan.‘ (22) REFX(∃x[song_of_BD(x)]) & ASSERT(∀y[human(y) Dip Colloquium, Amsterdam 20.11.2009 know(y,X)]) 15 Topics as Speech Acts – i n i n r i t d u c o d u c – n i t o h t o r i t – a o n t c s c s s s s e e c e e c p s – – C s C s a s o u b o u a s a s s s e s s – f r f r a o c s c s i t p B t e n t c i t b I a p n a t c h a p o I a s i t o t – C s C s m a s B p o a e s e e s e t t t t i n i n – i n i n i n i n f f f f n l i n t – m a s b d e e c e c s – c o c o c n u s u s l o i n t b d e g g g g s c o p The HTLD example in (12), is interpreted as shown in (23): (12) Der/den Pfarrer, keiner kann ihn leiden. The-(ACC) pastor nobody can him like. [HTLD] ‚The pastor nobody likes.‘ (23) REFX (ιx[pastor(x)]) & ASSERT(¬∃z[human(z) ∧ like(z, y)]) Here, the act of topic establishment has exactly the same effect. Crucial difference w.r.t. matrix clause: no resumptive proform → no lambda-abstraction → no predication w.r.t. topical discourse referent X. Proform ihn (him) in (12) is thus treated as a free variable that needs to be resolved. Since the topic provides the most salient discourse referent in (12), the free variable y is most likely resolved to it. Dip Colloquium, Amsterdam 20.11.2009 16 Topics as Speech Acts – i n i n r i t d u c o d u c – n i t o h t o r i t – a o n t c s c s s s s e e c e e c p s – – C s C s a s o u b o u a s p a s – B t e s s e s s c s c s i t f r f r a o n t c i t b I a p n a t c h a p o I a s i t o t – C s C s m a s B p o a e s e e s e t t t t i n i n – i n i n i n i n f f f f n l i n t – m a s b d e e c e c s – c o c o c n u s u s l o i n t b d e g g g g s c o p Hence the case of frame setting does not correspond to a simple predicative relation of topic and comment, as becomes even clearer by considering the interpretation of (15) shown in (24): (15) Was den Pfarrer angeht, die Predigt heute war wirklich schön. (As for the pastor, the sermon today was wonderful.) (24) REFX (ιx[pastor(x)]) & ASSERT(wonderful(sermon)) Since (15) does not contain any proform whatsoever, the matrix clause interpreted as an independent assertion. Only connection of topic and comment: their consecutive performance as speech acts. Here the issue of comes into play: using standard Gricean assumptions, an assertion is only felicitous if it is relevant to the preceding discourse / assertion must serve to answer the question under discussion. Dip Colloquium, Amsterdam 20.11.2009 17 Topics as Speech Acts – i n i n r i t d u c o d u c – n i t o h t o r i t – a o n t s c s s s s e e c e e c n a t c s h – C s C s a s o u b o u a s p a s – B t e s s e s s c s c s i t f r f r a o n t c i t b I a p – I a s a p o p (15) c i t o t – C s C s m a s B p o a e s e e s e t t t t i n i n – i n i n i n i n f f f f n l i n t – m a s b d e e c e c s – c o c o c n u s u s l o i n t b d e g g g g s c o p Was den Pfarrer angeht, die Predigt heute war wirklich schön. (As for the pastor, the sermon today was wonderful.) (24) REFX (ιx[pastor(x)]) & ASSERT(wonderful(sermon)) In (15), the pastor is established as the topic (QUD: ‚What about the pastor?‘) The following assertion has to be relevant with respect to the QUD/has to partially answer the QUD. This is exactly the pragmatic effect we observe in the case of frame setting constructions. Note that in the case of aboutness topics, the relevance condition is trivially fullfilled, because a predication is obviously relevant to its argument: (25) REFX (ιx[pastor(x)]) & ASSERT(¬∃z[human(z) ∧ like(z, X)]) Dip Colloquium, Amsterdam 20.11.2009 18 The antecedents of ICs as aboutness topics – i n i n r i t d u c o d u c – n i t o i – a o n t c s c s a s s s s e e c e e c i t o p s – – C s C s a s o u b o u a s p a s – B t e s s e s s c s c s i t f r f r a o n t c i t b I a p n a t c h a p o I h t o r t t – C s C s m a s B p o a e s e e s e t t t t i n i n – i n i n i n i n f f f f n l i n t – m a s b d e e c e c s – c o c o c n u s u s l o i n t b d e g g g g s c o p We follow Schlenker (2004), who builds on Stalnaker (1968), in analysing the antecedents of conditionals as definite descriptions of possible worlds. if ϕ : the unique possible world which is most similar to the actual world w0 among all possible worlds where ϕ is true. The if-clause in (1) thus denotes the object in (26): the unique world which is most similar to the actual world among all posible worlds where Peter went shopping. (1) If Peter went shopping, then there is pizza in the fridge. (26) ’If Peter went shopping÷ = ιw0w[went_shopping(w)(peter)] Dip Colloquium, Amsterdam 20.11.2009 [IC] 19 The antecedents of ICs as aboutness topics – i n i n r i t d u c o d u c – n i t o i – a o n t c s c s a s s s s e e c e e c i t o p s – – C s C s a s o u b o u a s p a s – B t e s s e s s c s c s i t f r f r a o n t c i t b I a p n a t c h a p o I h t o r t t – C s C s m a s B p o a e s e e s e t t t t i n i n – i n i n i n i n f f f f n l i n t – m a s b d e e c e c s – c o c o c n u s u s l o i n t b d e g g g g s c o p The proposition denoted by the consequent is then applied to the denotation of the if-clause, which gives (27): (1) If Peter went shopping, then there is pizza in the fridge. [IC] (27) pizza_is_in_the_fridge(ιw0w[went_shopping(w)(peter)]) “The unique world where Peter went shopping which is most similar to the actual world is among all the worlds where pizza is in the fridge”. Our analysis: if-clause in (1) is actually interpreted as the aboutness topic: − the act of topic establishment introduces a discourse referent X for the unique world denoted by the if-clause, and − it is then asserted that the predicate of worlds denoted by the consequent holds of X. Dip Colloquium, Amsterdam 20.11.2009 20 The antecedents of ICs as aboutness topics – i n i n r i t d u c o d u c – n i t o – i a o n t c s c s a s s s s e e c e e c i t o p s – – C s C s a s o u b o u a s p a s – B t e s s e s s c s c s i t f r f r a o n t c i t b I a p n a t c h a p o I h t o r t t – C s C s m a s B p o a e s e e s e t t t t i n i n – i n i n i n i n f f f f n l i n t – m a s b d e e c e c s – c o c o c n u s u s l o i n t b d e g g g g s c o p Proform then in Spec., CP triggers lambda-abstraction over possible worlds (parallel to d-pronouns which trigger lambda-abstraction over individuals). Hence the consequent forms a predicate that applies to the topical discourse referent (parallel to the individual aboutness topic case) and we get (28). (1) If Peter went shopping, then there is pizza in the fridge. (28) REFX(ιw0w[went_shopping(w)(peter)]) & ASSERT(pizza_is_in_the_fridge(X)) As in the case of GLD: − due to definitness/type of topic: no truth-conditional effect compared to (27) pizza_is_in_the_fridge(ιw0w[went_shopping(w)(peter)]) − relevance requirement trivially fulfilled due to predication Dip Colloquium, Amsterdam 20.11.2009 21 The antecedents of BCs as frame setting topics – i n i n r i t d u c o d u c – n i t o i – a o n t c s c s a s s s s e e c e e c i t o p s – – C s C s a s o u b o u a s p a s – B t e s s e s s c s c s i t f r f r a o n t c i t b I a p n a t c h a p o I h t o r t t – C s C s m a s B p o a e s e e s e t t t t i n i n – i n i n i n i n f f f f n l i n t – m a s b d e e c e c s – c o c o c n u s u s l o i n t b d e g g g g s c o p Crucially, BCs do not allow the proform then in the consequent (cf. Bhatt & Pancheva, 2001). As in the case of frame setting, the consequent is thus not interpreted as a predicate that applies to the topical discourse referent, but as an independent assertion. Our example (2) is therefore interpreted as shown in (23): (2) If you are hungry, (#then) there is pizza in the fridge. (29) REFX(ιw0w[hungry(w)(listener)]) & ASSERT(pizza_is_in_the_fridge(w0)) That there is pizza in the fridge is thus asserted unconditionally, which is exactly what we observed for BCs. This explains the restrictions on the occurence of then. If then is inserted into a BC it turns into a (usually pragmatically odd) IC, which is predicted in our account. Dip Colloquium, Amsterdam 20.11.2009 22 An explanation of the binding effects – i n i n r i t d u c o d u c – n i t o i – a o n t c s c s a s s s s e e c e e c i t o p s – – C s C s a s o u b o u a s a s s s e s s – f r f r a o c s c s i t p B t e n t c i t b I a p n a t c h a p o I h t o r t t – C s C s m a s B p o a e s e e s e t t t t i n i n – i n i n i n i n f f f f n l i n t – m a s b d e e c e c s – c o c o c n u s u s l o i n t b d e g g g g s c o p Recall that binding into the dislocated element is possible in the case of GLD and ICs, but impossible in the case of HTLDs and BCs: (13) Seineni His-ACC Vater, den father RP-ACC verehrt jederi. admires everybody. (14) *Sein(en)i Vater, jeder verehrt ihni. His(-ACC) father everybody admires him. (16) Wenn man siei gut pflegt, dann blüht jede Orchideei mehrmals If one it well grooms then blossom every orchid several times [GLD] [HTLD] [IC] im Jahr. in the year (17) *Wenn Du etwas über siei wissen willst, jede Orchideei blüht If you something about it to know want every orchid blossoms [BC] mehrmals im Jahr. several times in the year Dip Colloquium, Amsterdam 20.11.2009 23 An explanation of the binding effects – i n i n r i t d u c o d u c – n i t o i – a o n t c s c s a s s s s e e c e e c i t o p s – – C s C s a s o u b o u a s p a s – B t e s s e s s c s c s i t f r f r a o n t c i t b I a p n a t c h a p o I h t o r t t – C s C s m a s B p o a e s e e s e t t t t i n i n – i n i n i n i n f f f f n l i n t – m a s b d e e c e c s – c o c o c n u s u s l o i n t b d e g g g g s c o p Concerning GLDs, we proceed along the lines of (Ebert and Endriss, 2007) They argue that cases like (13) exemplify functional topics (13) Seinen Vateri, den verehrt jederi. His-ACC father RP-ACC admires everybody. They show that dislocated constituents with bound pronouns do not take narrow scope w.r.t. the binding matrix quantifier but functional wide scope, which can be truth-conditionally distinguished from genuine narrow scope in case of dislocated quantificational phrases. Hence the correct analysis must treat the left dislocated phrase as a function that is introduced as the aboutness topic of the sentence via the REF act. Dip Colloquium, Amsterdam 20.11.2009 24 An explanation of the binding effects – i n i n r i t d u c o d u c – n i t o i – a o n t c s c s a s s s s e e c e e c i t o p s – – C s C s a s o u b o u a s p a s – B t e s s e s s c s c s i t f r f r a o n t c i t b I a p n a t c h a p o I h t o r t t – C s C s m a s B p o a e s e e s e t t t t i n i n – i n i n i n i n f f f f n l i n t – m a s b d e e c e c s – c o c o c n u s u s l o i n t b d e g g g g s c o p In case of (13) the dislocated definite denotes a function of type 〈e,e〉. The d-pronoun correspondingly is of the same type and combines with the matrix verb, which is type-shifted by application of Jacobson´s Z-operator (Jacobson, 1999), as shown for (13) in (30): (13) Seineni Vater, den verehrt jederi. His-ACC father RP-ACC admires everybody. (30) a. Z = λR〈e, 〈e,t〉〉 λf〈e,e〉 λxe R(f(x))(x) b. ’Seinen Vater÷ = λy.ιx[father_of(x,y)] c. ’den verehrt jeder÷ = λf〈e,e〉.∀y[human(y) → Z(admire)(f )(y)] = λf〈e,e〉.∀y[human(y) → admire(y, f(y))] Dip Colloquium, Amsterdam 20.11.2009 25 An explanation of the binding effects – i n i n r i t d u c o d u c – n i t o i – a o n t c s c s a s s s s e e c e e c i t o p s – – C s C s a s o u b o u a s a s – B t e s s e s s c s c s i t p f r f r a o n t c i t b I a p n a t c h a p o I h t o r t t – C s C s m a s B p o a e s e e s e t t t t i n i n – i n i n i n i n f f f f n l i n t – m a s b d e e c e c s – c o c o c n u s u s l o i n t b d e g g g g s c o p The sentence as a whole is accordingly interpreted as shown in (31): (13) Seineni His-ACC Vater, father den RP-ACC verehrt jederi. admires everybody. (31) REFX(λy.ιx[father_of(x,y)]) & ASSERT(∀y[human(y) → admire(y, X(y))]) In case of HTLDs like (14): shifting the topical constituent to functional type does not result in binding, since the matrix clause does not denote a predicate that could be applied to this function. (14) *Sein(en)i Vater, His(-ACC) father jeder verehrt ihni. everybody admires him. (32) REFX(λy.ιx[father_of(x,y)]) & ASSERT(∀y[human(y) → admire(y, z)]) (14) can thus only be interpreted in the following way: first, the function from individuals into their fathers is established as the topic and then it is asserted that everybody admires some salient individual. Since it is hard to find a context where this is coherent, the sentence is odd. Dip Colloquium, Amsterdam 20.11.2009 26 An explanation of the binding effects – i n i n r i t d u c o d u c – n i t o i – a o n t c s c s a s s s s e e c e e c i t o p s – – C s C s a s o u b o u a s p a s – B t e s s e s s c s c s i t f r f r a o n t c i t b I a p n a t c h a p o I h t o r t t – C s C s m a s B p o a e s e e s e t t t t i n i n – i n i n i n i n f f f f n l i n t – m a s b d e e c e c s – c o c o c n u s u s l o i n t b d e g g g g s c o p The analysis for ICs runs entirely parallel to the functional GLD case. As the dislocated if-clause contains a pronoun it denotes a function from individuals into worlds of type 〈e,s〉. then again denotes a corresponding variable triggers lambda-abstraction, which combines with the matrix verb that is type-shifted via an adapted version Z‘ of Jacobson´s Z, as shown for (16) in (33): (16) Wenn man sie gut pflegt, dann blüht jede Orchidee mehrmals im Jahr. (Every orchid blossoms several times a year, if you groom it well.) (33) a. Z‘ = λR〈s, 〈e,t〉〉 λf〈e,s〉λxe. R(f(x))(x) b. ’Wenn man sie gut pflegt÷ = λx. ιw0w[well_groomed(w)(x)] c. ’dann blüht jede Orchidee mehrmals im Jahr÷ = λf〈e,s〉.∀y[orchid(y) → Z‘(blossom_several_times_in_year)(f )(y)] = λf〈e,s〉.∀y[orchid(y) → blossom_several_times_in_year( f (y))(y)] Dip Colloquium, Amsterdam 20.11.2009 27 An explanation of the binding effects – i n i n r i t d u c o d u c – n i t o i – a o n t c s c s a s s s s e e c e e c i t o p s – – C s C s a s o u b o u a s p a s – B t e s s e s s c s c s i t f r f r a o n t c i t b I a p n a t c h a p o I h t o r t t – C s C s m a s B p o a e s e e s e t t t t i n i n – i n i n i n i n f f f f n l i n t – m a s b d e e c e c s – c o c o c n u s u s l o i n t b d e g g g g s c o p The sentence as a whole is accordingly interpreted as shown in (34): (34) REFX(λx.ιw0w[well_groomed(w)(x)]) & ASSERT(∀y[orchid(y) → blossom_several_times_in_year(X(y))(y)] In case of BCs like (17): shifting the if-clause to the functional type does not result in binding, since the matrix clause does not denote a predicate that could be applied to this function. (17) *Wenn Du etwas über siei wissen willst, jede Orchideei blüht mehrmals im Jahr. (*Every orchid blossoms several times a year, if you want to know something about it.) (35) REFX(λx.ιw0w[want_to_know_sth_about(w)(listener, x)]) & ASSERT(∀y[orchid(y) → blossom_several_times_in_year(w0)(y)]) (17) can thus only be interpreted in the following way: a function from individuals x into the world which is closest to the actual world where the listener wants to know something about x is established and then it is asserted that every orchid blossoms several times a year in the actual world. Again, this is incoherent. Dip Colloquium, Amsterdam 20.11.2009 28 Conclusion – i n i n r i t d u c o d u c – n i t o i – a o n t c s c s a s s s s e e c e e c i t o p s – – C s C s a s o u b o u a s a s – B t e s s e s s c s c s i t t p f r f r a o n t c i t b I a p n a t c h a p o I h t o r t – C s C s m a s B p o a e s e e s e t t t t i n i n – i n i n i n i n f f f f n l i n t – m a s b d e e c e c s – c o c o c n u s u s l o i n t b d e g g g g s c o p Differences and similarities between sentences with aboutness topics and frame setting topics are parallel to the differences and similarities between ICs and BCs. Conclusion: Common aspect of all topical sentences (including ICs and BCs): (a) a speech act of topic establishment is conjoined with an assertion and (b) the assertion has to be relevant with respect to the topic Differences: (a) aboutness topics: assertion involves a predicate applied to the topic (b) frame setting topics: assertion is related to topic establishment only by relevance. 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