Documentation

Linglib.Typology.PolarityItem

Typology.PolarityItem #

@cite{lahiri-1998} @cite{haspelmath-1997} @cite{chierchia-2006} @cite{israel-1996} @cite{israel-2001} @cite{israel-2011} @cite{schwab-2022}

(Lee & Horn 1994 MS any as indefinite + EVEN cited in §6 below; not currently in references.bib.)

Per-language typological substrate for polarity-sensitive items: the PolarityItemEntry record schema used by Fragment files, the Israel scalar model machinery (ScalarValue × ScalarDirection × Canonicity × LikelihoodEffect), morphological-composition typology, and the canonicity-prediction function predictCanonicity.

Provenance #

Split from Core/Lexical/PolarityItem.lean in the cleanup that dissolved Core/Lexical/. The companion file Theories/Semantics/Polarity/Licensing.lean holds the monotonicity-based licensing infrastructure (LicensingContext, LicensingMechanism, ContextProperties, contextProperties — the Ladusaw/Zwarts/K&L/von Fintel synthesis).

Cross-framework gap (Israel ↔ Ladusaw) #

This file enshrines two distinct theoretical lineages without making the choice between them explicit at the type level:

These two lineages give different predictions for cases like FCIs in modal contexts, NPIs in superlatives, and the "rescued" NPIs of @cite{chierchia-2006}. The cross-file gap is acknowledged but NOT closed by this restructure: the contextProperties.signature field in the companion file is Ladusaw/Zwarts/P&W canonical (Israel cannot project per-context signatures without scale/role parameters from the item itself).

The Israel↔Ladusaw refutation theorem — showing a context where the scalar model and the monotonicity model disagree — is planned for Phenomena/Polarity/Studies/Israel2001.lean. The natural witness is Israel's pecuniary paradox (@cite{israel-2001}): a red cent (NPI, resource = impeding role) and for peanuts (PPI, reward = facilitating role) inhabit the same monetary semantic domain — pure-monotonicity accounts treat them uniformly, while Israel's role-likelihood mapping correctly predicts the polarity contrast. (NOTE: Israel2001.lean §8 currently formalizes Israel↔Ladusaw agreement via a ScaleDirection bridge enum — that's the wrong direction. The refutation work is genuinely deferred.)

Alternative scalar-tradition frameworks (not formalized in linglib) #

The Israel scalar model is one of several scalar-tradition accounts:

The substrate's enums (ScalarValue, ScalarDirection, Canonicity, LikelihoodEffect) implement the Israel framework specifically; formalising these alternatives would need parallel substrate types.

The Scalar Model of Polarity #

Polarity items are characterized by two orthogonal scalar features (@cite{israel-1996}, @cite{israel-2001}):

These interact with LikelihoodEffect — whether the item's referent facilitates or impedes the event — to predict Canonicity (canonical vs inverted). See Phenomena/Polarity/Studies/Israel2001.lean.

Where the polarity item sits on its scale, relative to the scalar norm.

@cite{israel-2001}: polarity items conventionally encode a fixed position on a scalar ordering. Emphatic NPIs typically denote LOW values (a wink, an inch), while emphatic PPIs typically denote HIGH values (tons, utterly). Inverted items reverse this pattern.

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      Rhetorical force: does this item strengthen or attenuate the assertion? Orthogonal to both PolarityType and ScalarValue.

      • Strengthening items (ever, any, jemals) make the assertion stronger than its scalar alternatives (@cite{israel-2001}'s "emphatic" items).
      • Attenuating items (all that, so recht, long) make the assertion weaker than its scalar alternatives (@cite{israel-2001}'s "understating" items).
      • NonScalar items: editorial slot for items genuinely lacking scalar structure. NOTE: lift a finger is sometimes used as the canonical example, but Israel actually classifies it as scalar (extreme low effort = a minimizer). True non-scalar polarity items are theoretically contested; if uncertain, prefer unknown.

      @cite{israel-1996}. Polarity sensitivity as lexical semantics. L&P 19(6). @cite{israel-2011}. The Grammar of Polarity. CUP. @cite{schwab-2022}. Lexical variation in NPI illusions.

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          Whether a polarity item is canonical or inverted.

          Canonical items have the expected correlation between scalar value and polarity type:

          • Canonical emphatic NPIs denote LOW values (a wink, an inch)
          • Canonical emphatic PPIs denote HIGH values (tons, utterly)

          Inverted items reverse this:

          • Inverted emphatic NPIs denote HIGH values (wild horses, all the tea in China)
          • Inverted emphatic PPIs denote LOW values (at the drop of a hat, for a pittance)

          @cite{israel-2001} shows inversion tracks propositional role: canonical items fill impeding roles (patient/theme); inverted items fill facilitating roles (stimulus/instrument/reward).

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              How increasing the scalar value of an item's referent affects the likelihood of the proposition being true.

              This is the key to @cite{israel-2001}'s resolution of the maximizer/minimizer puzzle:

              • Facilitating roles (agent, stimulus, instrument, reward): bigger/more → event more likely → scale is inverted (e.g., wild horses — more powerful force → more likely to move you)

              • Impeding roles (patient, theme, increment, resource/expense): bigger/more → event less likely → scale is canonical (e.g., lift a finger — more effort required → less likely to act)

              The pecuniary paradox dissolves: a red cent (NPI, resource = impeding) vs for peanuts (PPI, reward = facilitating) — same monetary domain, different propositional roles.

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                  Type of polarity sensitivity.

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                      Base quantificational force (when interpretable).

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                          Morphological composition of a polarity-sensitive item. @cite{lahiri-1998} shows Hindi NPIs are transparently indefinite + even. Lee & Horn 1994 MS any as indef + EVEN documents this pattern cross-linguistically (UNVERIFIED — bib entry missing).

                          NOTE on indefPlusNeg: covers items genuinely composed as indefinite + negation morphology (some Slavic n-words, Romanian nimic). Italian n-words (nessuno, niente, mai) are conventionally analyzed as negative-concord items rather than indef+neg morphology (Zanuttini, Penka, Déprez, Giannakidou); they should be classified via the negative-concord framework (planned), not via this morphology field.

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                              Type of alternatives introduced by the focused element. @cite{lahiri-1998}: ek bhii introduces cardinality alternatives, koii bhii introduces contextually salient property alternatives. @cite{chierchia-2006}: subdomain (D-)alternatives for domain widening.

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                                  A lexical entry for a polarity-sensitive item.

                                  Theory-neutral: captures distributional facts without committing to a particular analysis (exhaustification, domain widening, etc.).

                                  • form : String

                                    Surface form

                                  • polarityType : PolarityType

                                    Type of polarity sensitivity

                                  • baseForce : BaseForce

                                    Base quantificational/semantic force

                                  • licensingContexts : List LicensingContext

                                    Contexts where licensed (empty = needs positive). Refers to LicensingContext from the companion file Theories/Semantics/Polarity/Licensing.lean.

                                  • scalarDirection : ScalarDirection

                                    Scalar direction: strengthening, attenuating, or non-scalar

                                  • scalarValue : ScalarValue

                                    Scalar value: high or low on the relevant scale (@cite{israel-2001})

                                  • canonicity : Canonicity

                                    Canonical or inverted (@cite{israel-2001})

                                  • likelihoodEffect : LikelihoodEffect

                                    Propositional role's likelihood effect (@cite{israel-2001})

                                  • morphology : NPIMorphology

                                    Morphological composition (@cite{lahiri-1998})

                                  • alternativeType : AlternativeType

                                    Type of alternatives introduced

                                  • notes : String

                                    Notes

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                                      Check if a context licenses a polarity item.

                                      An item is licensed if the context is explicitly listed in licensingContexts.

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                                        Check if an item is an NPI (weak or strong).

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                                          Check if an item is a PPI.

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                                            Israel's prediction functions live in Theories #

                                            Israel's main empirical claim — predictCanonicity (impeding role → canonical / facilitating role → inverted) and the PolarityItemEntry.canonicityConsistent validation predicate that checks whether stated canonicity matches the prediction — were moved to Theories/Semantics/Polarity/Israel.lean (sibling of Theories/Semantics/Polarity/Licensing.lean). This file holds only the substrate enums Fragments populate, not Israel's predictions about how those enum-valued fields relate.