<html>
<head>
<meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8">
</head>
<body>
Cordially invite you to a semantics talk tomorrow the department of
linguistics does.<br>
<br>
Viola Schmitt (Humboldt University, Berlin)<br>
<b> There is no evidence for world pluralities. Why?</b> <br>
<br>
Wed, May, 4th, 16:30h, HS1, Sensengasse 3a, 1090 Wien<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
Abstract:<br>
My first point will be to argue that worlds represent an exception
to an otherwise apparently robust pattern, namely,<br>
to the generalization that all semantic domains contain pluralities.
More specifically, conditionals and constructions involving
neg-raising predicates have been discussed in the literature as
candidates for configurations that<br>
might involve world-pluralities, as they exhibit two traits also
connected with definite plurals: homogeneity and<br>
non-maximality. However, I show that they lack core traits of
pluralities witnessed for all other domains, namely,<br>
cumulativity and the ability to be targeted by a certain class of
quantifiers. In the second part of the talk, I probe<br>
an explanation for this gap – partially building on previous claims
in the literature, I try to link the use of worlds in<br>
these constructions to the use of degrees in constructions with
gradable predicates that relate to non-additive scales.<br>
</body>
</html>