A semantics for positive and comparative adjectives

Klein, Ewan

doi:10.1007/bf00351812

Cited by 446 publications

(401 citation statements)

References 13 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

354

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…6 The 'K ' stands for 'Klein, because this characterization is motivated by Klein's (1980) analysis of comparatives in natural language. The 'P' stands for 'Pragmatic', because it is motivated by the pragmatic constraint that only those subsets o of A are appropriate if o is not closed under ∼.…”

Section: Semi Orders and Interval Ordersmentioning

confidence: 99%

Revealed preference and satisficing behavior

Rooij

2010

Synthese

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

A much discussed topic in the theory of choice is how a preference order among options can be derived from the assumption that the notion of 'choice' is primitive. Assuming a choice function that selects elements from each finite set of options, Arrow (Economica 26:121-127, 1959) already showed how we can generate a weak ordering by putting constraints on the behavior of such a function such that it reflects utility maximization. Arrow proposed that rational agents can be modeled by such choice functions. Arrow's standard model of rationality has been criticized in economics and gave rise to approaches of bounded rationality. Two standard assumptions of rationality will be given up in this paper. First, the idea that agents are utility optimizers (Simon). Second, the idea that the relation of 'indifference' gives rise to an equivalence relation. To account for the latter, Luce (Econometrica 24:178-191, 1956) introduced semi-orders. Extending some ideas of Van Benthem (Pac Philos Q 63:193-203, 1982), we will show how to derive semi-orders (and so-called interval orders) based on the idea that agents are utility satisficers rather than utility optimizers. Keywords Revealed preference · Satisficing behavior · Comparison relation · Vagueness Deriving weak orderingsA much discussed topic in the theory of choice is how a preference order among options can be derived on the assumption that the notion of choice is primitive. Assuming a choice function that selects elements from each finite set of options, Arrow (1959)

show abstract

Section: Semi Orders and Interval Ordersmentioning

confidence: 99%

Revealed preference and satisficing behavior

Rooij

2010

Synthese

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The paper thus covers a wider empirical domain than degree-based analyses or the older analyses of Kamp (1975) and Klein (1980) that do without degrees.…”

Section: Conclusion and Further Remarksmentioning

confidence: 99%

Degree structure as trope structure: a trope-based analysis of positive and comparative adjectives

Moltmann

2009

Linguist and Philos

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

International audienceThis paper explores a novel analysis of adjectives in the comparative and the positive based on the notion of a trope, rather than the notion of a degree. Tropes are particularized properties, concrete manifestations of properties in individuals. The point of departure is that a sentence like ‘John is happier than Mary' is intuitively equivalent to ‘John's happiness exceeds Mary's happiness', a sentence that expresses a simple comparison between two tropes, John's happiness and Mary's happiness. The analysis received particular support from various parallels between adjectival constructions and corresponding adjective nominalizations which make reference to tropes

show abstract

“…The equative has for this reason been considered to be another type of scalar-implicature phenomenon (on a Horn scale with the comparative), assigning the weak 'at least' reading to the semantics of the equative and deriving the former from the latter via scalar implicature where context allows (Horn, 1972;Klein, 1980;Chierchia, 2004). This suggests an analysis in which the maximum degree denoted by the correlate (John's height in (1)) must be greater than or equal to the maximum degree denoted by the target (Sue's height in (1)).…”

Section: Equativesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Equatives, Measure Phrases and NPIs

Rett

2010

Logic, Language and Meaning

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Abstract. Standard semantic accounts of the equative ascribe it an 'at least' meaning, deriving an 'exactly' reading when necessary via scalar implicature. I argue for a particular formulation of this scalar implicature account which considers that (i) equatives license NPIs in their internal arguments, and (ii) equatives whose internal arguments are measure phrases (MPs) are, in contrast to clausal equatives, ambiguous between 'at most' and 'exactly' interpretations. The analysis employs particular assumptions about MPs, scalar implicature and the notion of set complementation to enable 'at least' readings to be sensitive to the direction of a scale, thereby becoming 'at most' readings in certain constructions.

show abstract

A semantics for positive and comparative adjectives

Cited by 446 publications

References 13 publications

Revealed preference and satisficing behavior

Revealed preference and satisficing behavior

Degree structure as trope structure: a trope-based analysis of positive and comparative adjectives

Equatives, Measure Phrases and NPIs

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About