Leibniz-Zentrum Allgemeine Sprachwissenschaft Leibniz-Gemeinschaft

Semantics circle: Intonation and polarity sensitive indefinites in Russian polar questions

Vortragende(r) Maria Onoeva & Mariia Razguliaeva
Institution(en) Charles University Prague & HU Berlin
Datum 17.01.2025, 14:00 - 15:30 Uhr
Uhrzeit 14:00 Uhr
Ort ZAS, Pariser Str. 1, 10719 Berlin; Room: Ilse-Zimmermann-Saal (Ground floor)

Abstract

Polar questions (PQs) in Russian are formed in two ways: i) by preposing a verb together with li particle (LiPQs); ii) by means of intonation (IntonPQs) with a special L+H* pitch accent, or Q-peak after Esipova (2024). When negated, LiPQs do not allow negative concord items (NCIs) in any context (Brown & Franks 1995, Abels 2005; experimentally confirmed in Onoeva & Šimík 2023). In contrast, IntonPQs with NCIs are felicitous in both negatively biased and neutral contexts, resulting in two negation readings -- inner (propositional, interpreted) and outer (expletive, not interpreted). We claim that these readings have two distinct intonation contours. IntonPQs with one Q-peak at the sentence-final word are used in negatively biased contexts.  Since the speaker double-checks salient negative evidence, negation is interpreted, so NCIs can be licensed straightforwardly. IntonPQs with two Q-peaks (on the verb and NCIs) appear in neutral or epistemically biased contexts. Since there is no negative evidence to check, negation must be outer and it is not self-evident how it can license NCIs. Our solution to this puzzle is that in Russian IntonPQs the licensing is conditioned by F-marking the NCI. The F-marked NCI, realized by a pitch accent on the NCI, can enter an Agree relation with the F-marked Pol head, hosting the negated verb. In contrast, nibud’-indefinites have no pitch accent as they are licensed by question force. 

Code of Conduct for ZAS events: The ZAS is committed to fair, respectful, and professional interaction at its events. Therefore, please observe the Code of Conduct for this event.