TY  - JOUR
A1  - Meier, Cécile
T1  - Maximality and minimality in comparatives
T2  - Sixth Annual Meeting of the Gesellschaft für Semantik, University of Osnabrück 2002
N2  - In this paper, I investigate more closely the contribution of modal operators to the semantics of comparatives and I show that there is no need for a maximality or minimality operator. Following Kratzer s (1981, 1991) analysis of modal elements, I assume that the meaning of a modal sentence is dependent on a conversational background and an ordering source. For comparative environments, I demonstrate that the ordering source reduces a set of possible degrees to a single degree that is most (or least) wanted or expected, i.e., maximality and minimality readings of comparative constructions are an effect of the pragmatic meaning of the modal.
Y1  - 2005
UR  - http://publikationen.ub.uni-frankfurt.de/frontdoor/index/index/docId/4834
UR  - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:hebis:30-6679
SP  - 275
EP  - 287
ER  -