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Economy and scope

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Abstract

This paper argues in favor of two claims: (a) that Scope Shifting Operations (Quantifier Raising and Quantifier Lowering) are restricted by economy considerations, and (b) that the relevant economy considerations compare syntactic derivations that end up interpretively identical. These ideas are shown to solve several puzzles having to do with the interaction of scope with VP ellipsis, coordination, and the interpretation of bare plurals. Further, the paper suggests a way of dealing with the otherwise puzzling clause-boundedness of Quantifier Raising.

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  1. Department of Linguistics and Philosophy, 20D-219 MIT, 02139, Cambridge, MA, USA

    Danny Fox

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Fox, D. Economy and scope. Nat Lang Seman 3, 283–341 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01248820

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