Introduction Ignorance Depictive sincerity Range expressions References Range Expressions Ameliorate Depictive Sincerity Violations Elizabeth Coppock Assistant Professor, Department of Linguistics Boston University Workshop on the occasion of Dominique Blok’s dissertation defense Utrecht, June 7, 2019 Elizabeth Coppock (BU) Range Expressions 1 / 45
Introduction Ignorance Depictive sincerity Range expressions References PolitiFact’s Truth-O-Meter “The Truth-O-Meter is based on the concept that – especially in politics – truth is not black and white.” Elizabeth Coppock (BU) Range Expressions 2 / 45
Introduction Ignorance Depictive sincerity Range expressions References Depictive sincerity implicature example Right now, the [Congressional Budget Office] says up to 20 million people will lose their insurance as Obamacare goes into effect next year. (Mitt Romney in 2012) Elizabeth Coppock (BU) Range Expressions 3 / 45
Introduction Ignorance Depictive sincerity Range expressions References Depictive sincerity implicature example Right now, the [Congressional Budget Office] says up to 20 million people will lose their insurance as Obamacare goes into effect next year. (Mitt Romney in 2012) Elizabeth Coppock (BU) Range Expressions 3 / 45
Introduction Ignorance Depictive sincerity Range expressions References Depictive sincerity implicature example Right now, the [Congressional Budget Office] says up to 20 million people will lose their insurance as Obamacare goes into effect next year. (Mitt Romney in 2012) The Congressional Budget Office calculated several estimates: Elizabeth Coppock (BU) Range Expressions 3 / 45
Introduction Ignorance Depictive sincerity Range expressions References Two classes of modified numerals Class A • more/fewer/less than 5 (comparative modifiers) • under/over 5 Class B • at least 5 , at most 5 (superlative modifiers) • up to 5 , maximally 5 , 5 tops • 5 or more/fewer/less • from 100 to 200 (Nouwen 2010, cf. also Schwarz et al. 2012, Blok 2015) Elizabeth Coppock (BU) Range Expressions 4 / 45
Introduction Ignorance Depictive sincerity Range expressions References Guess the original version A study of more than 2,500 retired NFL players found that those � � more than two who had concussions during their careers had at least three triple the risk of clinical depression as those who had no concussions. Elizabeth Coppock (BU) Range Expressions 5 / 45
Introduction Ignorance Depictive sincerity Range expressions References Guess the original version A study of more than 2,500 retired NFL players found that those � � more than two who had concussions during their careers had at least three triple the risk of clinical depression as those who had no concussions. Elizabeth Coppock (BU) Range Expressions 5 / 45
Introduction Ignorance Depictive sincerity Range expressions References Guess the original version The maximum number of cards in an Extra Deck is 15, although it � � fewer than 15 is allowed to have in it. at most 14 Elizabeth Coppock (BU) Range Expressions 6 / 45
Introduction Ignorance Depictive sincerity Range expressions References Guess the original version The maximum number of cards in an Extra Deck is 15, although it � � fewer than 15 is allowed to have in it. at most 14 Elizabeth Coppock (BU) Range Expressions 6 / 45
Introduction Ignorance Depictive sincerity Range expressions References Guess the original version I asked a bunch of my mom’s friends (none of whom had � � more than two kids) what they thought about having three. at least three Elizabeth Coppock (BU) Range Expressions 7 / 45
Introduction Ignorance Depictive sincerity Range expressions References Guess the original version I asked a bunch of my mom’s friends (none of whom had � � more than two kids) what they thought about having three. at least three Elizabeth Coppock (BU) Range Expressions 7 / 45
Introduction Ignorance Depictive sincerity Range expressions References Guess the original version � � more than two I am in my 60s and had parents growing up. at least three Elizabeth Coppock (BU) Range Expressions 8 / 45
Introduction Ignorance Depictive sincerity Range expressions References Guess the original version � � more than two I am in my 60s and had parents growing up. at least three Elizabeth Coppock (BU) Range Expressions 8 / 45
Introduction Ignorance Depictive sincerity Range expressions References Superlative modifiers and ignorance A hexagon has more than four sides. #A hexagon has at least five sides. (Nouwen 2010) At least conveys ignorance; more than does not. Elizabeth Coppock (BU) Range Expressions 9 / 45
Introduction Ignorance Depictive sincerity Range expressions References Empirical views on ignorance with modified numerals Modifier QUD Received W&B M&M C&B CSS How many Yes Yes Yes Yes At least Yes Polar No Yes No Yes How many Yes Yes No Yes More than No Polar No No No No Received view = Geurts & Nouwen 2007; Büring 2008; Cummins & Katsos 2010; Kennedy 2015 W&B = Westera & Brasoveanu 2014 M&M = Mayr & Meyer 2014 C&B = Coppock & Brochhagen 2013 CSS = Cummins et al. 2012 Elizabeth Coppock (BU) Range Expressions 10 / 45
Introduction Ignorance Depictive sincerity Range expressions References Elizabeth Coppock (BU) Range Expressions 11 / 45
Introduction Ignorance Depictive sincerity Range expressions References Situation manipulation • False : Mary knows x < N • Exact : Mary knows x = N • Exceed : Mary knows x > N • Ignorance : Mary is uncertain if x = N or x > N x = number of clubs on Mary’s deck Elizabeth Coppock (BU) Range Expressions 12 / 45
Introduction Ignorance Depictive sincerity Range expressions References QUD manipulation • HowMany : Sue asks, How many face cards do you have? • PolarRelevant : Sue asks: Will you win this round? ; Mary responds only with relevant information (e.g., Yes, at least six/more than five of my eight cards are clubs ). • PolarOverInf : Sue asks: Will you win this round? ; Mary reponsds providing more information than necessary (e.g., Yes, at least seven/more than six of my eight cards are clubs ). Elizabeth Coppock (BU) Range Expressions 13 / 45
Introduction Ignorance Depictive sincerity Range expressions References more than (n-1) a t l e a s t n bare n 5 4 How many (n=2/3/4) 3 2 1 5 Mean response (relevant: n=6) 4 Polar 3 2 1 5 (over-informative: n=7) 4 Polar 3 2 1 I I I F E E x g n F E E x g n F E E x g n a l x a c o a l x a c o a l x a c o s e c e r a s e c e r a s e c e r a t e d n t e d n t e d n c e c e c e Elizabeth Coppock (BU) Range Expressions 14 / 45
Introduction Ignorance Depictive sincerity Range expressions References Interim Conclusion At least n carries an ignorance implicature: • Possibly n • Possibly more than n Elizabeth Coppock (BU) Range Expressions 15 / 45
Introduction Ignorance Depictive sincerity Range expressions References Whence ignorance? Büring (2008) (followed by Cummins & Katsos 2010 and Biezma 2013) : • E.g. at least 4 ‘amounts to a disjunction’: 4 or more . • There is an ‘implicature schema’ that says, if a speaker says A or B , then the speaker considers both A and B to be possible. With inquisitive semantics, we can explain what it means to ‘amount to’ a disjunction. Elizabeth Coppock (BU) Range Expressions 16 / 45
Introduction Ignorance Depictive sincerity Range expressions References Traditional vs. Inquisitive Disjunction Traditional disjunction Inquisitive disjunction 11 10 11 10 01 00 01 00 Elizabeth Coppock (BU) Range Expressions 17 / 45
Introduction Ignorance Depictive sincerity Range expressions References at most vs. fewer than Liz had at most 4 beers à la Coppock and Brochhagen: • logically implies that Liz had fewer than 5 beers (like Liz had fewer than 5 beers ) • brings up the issue of whether Liz had fewer (unlike Liz had fewer than 5 beers ) “fewer than 5” 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 “at most 4” 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 Elizabeth Coppock (BU) Range Expressions 18 / 45
Introduction Ignorance Depictive sincerity Range expressions References Refinement (cf. Schwarz 2016) “at most 4” 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 Elizabeth Coppock (BU) Range Expressions 19 / 45
Introduction Ignorance Depictive sincerity Range expressions References Quality maxims for Inquisitive Semantics Maxim of Informative Sincerity: Believe what you say. Elizabeth Coppock (BU) Range Expressions 20 / 45
Introduction Ignorance Depictive sincerity Range expressions References Quality maxims for Inquisitive Semantics Maxim of Informative Sincerity: Believe what you say. Maxim of Inquisitive Sincerity: Don’t bring up an issue that you already know how to resolve. Elizabeth Coppock (BU) Range Expressions 20 / 45
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