Negation in Czech polar questions (Staňková & Šimík 2025)

This file formalizes [SS25]'s particle results: náhodou as an overt indicator of the covert FALSUM operator (§6.1 subexperiment) and copak as sensitive to contextual evidence (§6.2 subexperiment, exs. 19-20). The lexical entries live in Czech.Particles; the three-way system and its Table 1 diagnostics are [stankova-2026]'s and live in Stankova2026.

Main results

• requiresEvidentialBias, nahodou_copak_opposite_context — the experimentally separated bias dimensions: náhodou context-insensitive, copak evidential-bias-sensitive.

References

• [SS25], [Sta23], [Sim24], [Nek96].

Classification

inductive StankovaSimik2025.ParticleSemantics : Type

Semantic classification of the Czech PQ particles ([SS25] §6 for náhodou/copak; [stankova-2026] §2.2 supplies the rest via Stankova2026.classification).

• orderingSourceModifier : ParticleSemantics

  Modifies the ordering source of an epistemic modal (náhodou; both papers' hypothesis).

• temporalEndpoint : ParticleSemantics

  Temporal-endpoint presupposition; with telic predicates needs propositional negation (ještě).

• veridicalEmphasis : ParticleSemantics

  'Really'-type emphasis (fakt; semantics deferred by [stankova-2026], cf. VERUM).

• npi : ParticleSemantics

  General NPI (vůbec).

• evidentialConflict : ParticleSemantics

  Conflict between prior epistemic state and contextual evidence (copak; cross-Slavic RAZVE family).

@[implicit_reducible]

instance StankovaSimik2025.instDecidableEqParticleSemantics : DecidableEq ParticleSemantics

Equations

• StankovaSimik2025.instDecidableEqParticleSemantics x✝ y✝ = if h : x✝.ctorIdx = y✝.ctorIdx then isTrue ⋯ else isFalse ⋯

def StankovaSimik2025.instReprParticleSemantics.repr : ParticleSemantics → ℕ → Std.Format

Equations

• One or more equations did not get rendered due to their size.

@[implicit_reducible]

instance StankovaSimik2025.instReprParticleSemantics : Repr ParticleSemantics

Equations

• StankovaSimik2025.instReprParticleSemantics = { reprPrec := StankovaSimik2025.instReprParticleSemantics.repr }

def StankovaSimik2025.classification : List (Particle × ParticleSemantics)

This paper's classification of its two tested particles.

Equations

• One or more equations did not get rendered due to their size.

The experimentally separated bias dimensions (§6)

def StankovaSimik2025.requiresEvidentialBias (p : Particle) : Option Bool

Whether a particle requires evidential bias: some true for copak (§6.2), some false for the FALSUM-tied náhodou (§6.1, acceptable in any type of context), none where untested.

Equations

• StankovaSimik2025.requiresEvidentialBias p = if p = Czech.Particles.copak then some true else if p = Czech.Particles.nahodou then some false else none

theorem StankovaSimik2025.nahodou_context_insensitive : requiresEvidentialBias Czech.Particles.nahodou = some false

The §6.1 subexperiment: NCIs (inner negation) degrade náhodou PQs (main effect of INDEFINITE, z = −12.845, p < .001), so náhodou "could be used as an overt indicator of the covert FALSUM operator being present in the structure" — and FALSUM is context-insensitive.

theorem StankovaSimik2025.copak_context_sensitive : requiresEvidentialBias Czech.Particles.copak = some true

The §6.2 subexperiment: copak "strongly indicates a conflict between speaker's prior belief and the currently available evidence" (citing [Nek96]) — biased > neutral contexts, main effect of CONTEXT, z = 9.372, p < .001; licensed in positive and negative PQs alike (exs. 19a-b). Cross-Slavic kin: Polish czyby, Russian razve (p. 12).

theorem StankovaSimik2025.nahodou_copak_opposite_context : requiresEvidentialBias Czech.Particles.nahodou ≠ requiresEvidentialBias Czech.Particles.copak

náhodou and copak express opposite bias dimensions: FALSUM-tied and context-insensitive vs evidential-bias-tied and context-sensitive ([SS25] §6, the two subexperiments).