{"content":[{"text":"Proceedings of SALT 30: 504–522, 2020","bbox":{"left":0.180181,"top":0.09104,"width":0.268062,"height":0.015158000000000005}},{"text":"Degree modiﬁers and common ground operators: \n The case of at all* \n Erika Mayer \n University of Massachusetts Amherst","bbox":{"left":0.255284,"top":0.149694,"width":0.493327,"height":0.09106600000000001}},{"text":"Abstract At all is among the most common negative polarity items in English. \n In this paper, I argue that at all has a dual use as a degree modiﬁer and operator \n on the common ground. I ﬁrst present an account of degree modiﬁer at all based \n on Chierchia 2013 that captures its status as a minimizer as well as an NPI. I then \n show that a very similar account can be used for at all’s common ground usage, \n departing from the usual quantiﬁcation over worlds approach for common ground \n management. This degree-based account of common ground at all captures its status \n as an NPI and provides a possible shared semantic core between degree modiﬁers \n and common ground operators.","bbox":{"left":0.205882,"top":0.275031,"width":0.591349,"height":0.15395499999999995}},{"text":"Keywords: at all, common ground operators, common ground management, discourse, \n degree modiﬁcation, polarity phenomena, negative polarity items","bbox":{"left":0.176471,"top":0.466734,"width":0.6492880000000001,"height":0.03420100000000004}},{"text":"1","bbox":{"left":0.176471,"top":0.538547,"width":0.009766999999999998,"height":0.019638999999999962}},{"text":"The NPI at all and a distributional puzzle","bbox":{"left":0.205773,"top":0.538486,"width":0.34447099999999997,"height":0.01969999999999994}},{"text":"At all is an English negative polarity item (NPI) with a puzzling distribution. While \n at ﬁrst glance at all patterns quite like both weak NPIs and minimizers, this paper \n presents the hypothesis that it in fact has two distinct uses: one as a degree modiﬁer, \n and the other as a common ground operator. \n I argue that, when at all modiﬁes gradable predicates and verbs, it is a minimizer \n degree modiﬁer of gradable predicates like determined and competent.","bbox":{"left":0.175279,"top":0.569557,"width":0.6507000000000001,"height":0.10938800000000004}},{"text":"(1)","bbox":{"left":0.176471,"top":0.691351,"width":0.02277699999999999,"height":0.01818900000000001}},{"text":"I doubt that Emily is at all determined.","bbox":{"left":0.232457,"top":0.691351,"width":0.30389599999999994,"height":0.01818900000000001}},{"text":"(2)","bbox":{"left":0.176471,"top":0.721947,"width":0.02277699999999999,"height":0.01818900000000001}},{"text":"It’s unlikely that the math tutor is at all competent.","bbox":{"left":0.232457,"top":0.721947,"width":0.397037,"height":0.01818900000000001}},{"text":"Intuitively, (1) above means something like: I doubt that Emily has even a very \n small amount of determination. At all’s contribution seems to lower the threshold \n of determination that Emily possesses, which in turn generates a sentence that is \n particularly emphatic. Here, at all acts as a minimizer NPI. Minimizers are NPIs","bbox":{"left":0.176471,"top":0.752543,"width":0.6470670000000001,"height":0.072909}},{"text":"* I thank my advisors Vincent Homer and Seth Cable for their invaluable help on this project. Thanks \n also to the members of the UMass Semantics Workshop and to the SALT participants and organizers.","bbox":{"left":0.164261,"top":0.836919,"width":0.659263,"height":0.030252000000000057}},{"text":"©2020 Mayer","bbox":{"left":0.178944,"top":0.890411,"width":0.09148699999999999,"height":0.015158000000000005}}],"images_bbox":[],"images_bbox_not_text_overlap":[]}