Open AccessUnconditional concealed questions and Heim's ambiguity
Author(s) -
Ilaria Frana,
Kyle Rawlins
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
proceedings from semantics and linguistic theory
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2163-5951
pISSN - 2163-5943
DOI - 10.3765/salt.v0i0.2623
Subject(s) - ambiguity , denotation (semiotics) , class (philosophy) , verb , context (archaeology) , unitary state , linguistics , computer science , block (permutation group theory) , mathematics , psychology , artificial intelligence , philosophy , combinatorics , geography , political science , archaeology , law , semiotics
In this paper, we investigate Concealed Questions (CQs) in the context of headed unconditionals. We observe that although CQs are licensed in unconditionals, the distribution of readings involved in Heim’s Ambiguity (Heim 1979) does not match that found in attitude contexts. Furthermore, the distribution of readings varies by verb class (epistemic vs. communication verbs). We propose that unconditional concealed questions involve questions derived from the denotation of the DP via a specially devised type-shifter, and show how this can block the unwanted readings in exactly the right cases. Heim’s ambiguity, we suggest, is not a unitary phenomenon, and a hybrid concept/question-based account is necessary to derive the right readings in the right contexts.