One of the most lively and contentious issues in contemporary linguistic theory concerns the elusive boundary between semantics and pragmatics, and Professor Laurence R. Horn of Yale University has been at the center of that debate ever since his groundbreaking 1972 UCLA dissertation. This volume in honor of Horn brings together the best of current work at the semantics/pragmatics boundary from a neo-Gricean perspective. Featuring the contributions of 22 leading researchers, it includes papers on implicature (Kent Bach), inference (Betty Birner), presupposition (Barbara Abbott), lexical semantics (Georgia Green, Sally McConnell-Ginet, Steve Kleinedler & Randall Eggert), negation (Pauline Jacobson, Frederick Newmeyer, Scott Schwenter), polarity (Donka Farkas, Anastasia Giannakidou, Michael Israel), implicit variables (Greg Carlson & Gianluca Storto), definiteness (Barbara Partee), reference (Ellen Prince, Andrew Kehler & Gregory Ward), and logic (Jerrold Sadock, Francis Jeffry Pelletier & Andrew Hartline). These original papers represent not only a fitting homage to Larry Horn, but also an important contribution to semantic and pragmatic theory.

Table of contents

Introduction ix–xi

Where have some of the presuppositions gone? Barbara Abbott 1–20

The top 10 misconceptions about implicature Kent Bach 21–30

Inferential relations and noncanonical word order Betty J. Birner 31–51

Sherlock Holmes Was In No Danger Greg N. Carlson and Gianluca Storto 53–70

Free choice in Romanian Donka F. Farkas 71–94

Polarity, questions, and the scalar properties of even Anastasia Giannakidou 95–116

Discourse particles and the symbiosis of natural language processing and basic research Georgia M. Green 117–135

Saying less and meaning less Michael Israel 137–156

I can't seem to figure this out Pauline Jacobson 157–175

Referring expressions and conversational implicature Andrew Kehler and Gregory Ward 177–193

Indexi-lexicography Steve Kleinedler and Randall Eggert 195–215

Why defining is seldom 'just semantics': Marriage and marriage Sally McConnell-Ginet 217–240

Negation and modularity Frederick J. Newmeyer 241–261

A note on Mandarin possessives, demonstratives, and definiteness Barbara H. Partee 263–280

On a homework problem of Larry Horn's Francis Jeffry Pelletier and Andrew Hartline 281–293

Impersonal pronouns in French and Yiddish: Semantic reference vs. discourse reference Ellen F. Prince 295–315

Motors and switches: An exercise in syntax and pragmatics Jerrold M. Sadock 317–325

Fine-tuning Jespersen's Cycle Scott A. Schwenter 327–344

Index 345–350