The landscape of non-canonical ‘only’ in German

Abstract

This paper is part of a series of experimental studies that try to empirically chart the landscape of non-canonical uses of the particle nur ‘only’ in German, aiming at a comprehensive picture of how those uses can affect the interpretation of utterances in different clausal environments. While previous studies have focused on modal particle uses of German ‘only’ in wh-questions and imperatives, the present paper focuses on a non-canonical use in adverbial contexts, which has not been studied experimentally before.