book chapter · Cambridge University Press eBooks · 2021
Conditionals
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Abstract
Chapters 9–10 explore how the assignment-variable-based treatments of relativization and pronominal anaphora with noun phrases may be extended to capture shifting phenomena in other clausal structures, such as conditionals, correlatives, and questions. This chapter develops a syntax/semantics for ‘if’-clauses as free relatives, interpreted as plural definite descriptions of assignments (possibilities). Clause-internal movement of a (possibly implicit) definite/maximality operator introduces quantification over assignments. The compositional semantics affords a uniform analysis of ‘if’-clauses in diverse types of conditionals—conditionals with ‘if’-clauses in post-nominal, sentence-final, and sentence-initial positions, and conditionals with/without an overt modal or ‘then’. The choice-function-based analyses of anaphoric pronouns as copies of a linguistic antecedent are extended to anaphoric proforms in correlatives. Comparisons between conditional correlatives and correlatives of individuals are briefly considered.
Cite this paper
Silk, A. (2021). Conditionals. Cambridge University Press eBooks, 171–202. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108870078.012
Silk, Alex. “Conditionals.” Cambridge University Press eBooks, 2021, pp. 171–202, https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108870078.012.
Silk, Alex. 2021. “Conditionals.” Cambridge University Press eBooks: 171–202. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108870078.012.
Silk, A. (2021) ‘Conditionals’, Cambridge University Press eBooks, pp. 171–202. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108870078.012.
@incollection{silk2021conditionals,
title = {{Conditionals}},
author = {Silk, Alex},
booktitle = {Cambridge University Press eBooks},
pages = {171--202},
year = {2021},
doi = {10.1017/9781108870078.012}
}Made from the index record. Check names, capitalisation and page numbers against the paper. Need another style? AI for Research has over 10,000.