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Scalar Implicatures in Complex Sentences

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Abstract

This article develops a Gricean account for the computation of scalarimplicatures in cases where one scalar term is in the scope ofanother. It shows that a cross-product of two quantitative scalesyields the appropriate scale for many such cases. One exception iscases involving disjunction. For these, I propose an analysis that makesuse of a novel, partially ordered quantitative scale for disjunction andcapitalizes on the idea that implicatures may have different epistemic status.

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Sauerland, U. Scalar Implicatures in Complex Sentences. Linguistics and Philosophy 27, 367–391 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1023/B:LING.0000023378.71748.db

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