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:
Israel scalar model (
ScalarValue×ScalarDirection×LikelihoodEffect×Canonicity): the apparatus of @cite{israel-1996}, @cite{israel-2001}, @cite{israel-2011}. Treats polarity-sensitivity as a scalar-rhetorical phenomenon (high/low + strengthening/attenuating) orthogonal to monotonicity.Monotonicity-based licensing (in companion file
Theories/Semantics/Polarity/Licensing.lean): the @cite{ladusaw-1979} / @cite{kadmon-landman-1993} / @cite{zwarts-1998} / @cite{chierchia-2006} lineage. Treats polarity-sensitivity as a monotonicity-licensing phenomenon with widening + strengthening as the unifying mechanism.
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:
- @cite{lahiri-1998}: even-based scalar analysis grounding bhii / koii bhii in cardinality vs contextually-salient property alternatives. Israel positions himself against this.
- @cite{chierchia-2006}: exhaustification + D-alternatives subsume Israel's mechanism via implicit EXH; differs from Israel on FCI rescue (any in non-DE contexts).
- Krifka 1995 (STA — "Sumarizing the alternatives"): different
alternative structure from Israel's high/low scalar dimension.
(Not currently in
references.bib.)
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}):
- ScalarValue (high/low): where the item sits on its scale
- ScalarDirection (strengthening/attenuating): rhetorical force
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.
- high : ScalarValue
- low : ScalarValue
- unknown : ScalarValue
Instances For
Equations
- Typology.PolarityItem.instDecidableEqScalarValue x✝ y✝ = if h : x✝.ctorIdx = y✝.ctorIdx then isTrue ⋯ else isFalse ⋯
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- One or more equations did not get rendered due to their size.
Instances For
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.
- strengthening : ScalarDirection
- attenuating : ScalarDirection
- nonScalar : ScalarDirection
- unknown : ScalarDirection
Instances For
Equations
- Typology.PolarityItem.instDecidableEqScalarDirection x✝ y✝ = if h : x✝.ctorIdx = y✝.ctorIdx then isTrue ⋯ else isFalse ⋯
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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).
- canonical : Canonicity
- inverted : Canonicity
- unknown : Canonicity
Instances For
Equations
- Typology.PolarityItem.instDecidableEqCanonicity x✝ y✝ = if h : x✝.ctorIdx = y✝.ctorIdx then isTrue ⋯ else isFalse ⋯
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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.
- facilitating : LikelihoodEffect
- impeding : LikelihoodEffect
- unknown : LikelihoodEffect
Instances For
Equations
- Typology.PolarityItem.instDecidableEqLikelihoodEffect x✝ y✝ = if h : x✝.ctorIdx = y✝.ctorIdx then isTrue ⋯ else isFalse ⋯
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Type of polarity sensitivity.
- npiWeak : PolarityType
- npiStrong : PolarityType
- fci : PolarityType
- npiFci : PolarityType
- ppi : PolarityType
Instances For
Equations
- Typology.PolarityItem.instDecidableEqPolarityType x✝ y✝ = if h : x✝.ctorIdx = y✝.ctorIdx then isTrue ⋯ else isFalse ⋯
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- Typology.PolarityItem.instDecidableEqBaseForce x✝ y✝ = if h : x✝.ctorIdx = y✝.ctorIdx then isTrue ⋯ else isFalse ⋯
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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.
- indefPlusEven : NPIMorphology
- indefPlusNeg : NPIMorphology
- plain : NPIMorphology
- idiomatic : NPIMorphology
Instances For
Equations
- Typology.PolarityItem.instDecidableEqNPIMorphology x✝ y✝ = if h : x✝.ctorIdx = y✝.ctorIdx then isTrue ⋯ else isFalse ⋯
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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.
- cardinality : AlternativeType
- contextualProperty : AlternativeType
- domain : AlternativeType
- unspecified : AlternativeType
Instances For
Equations
- Typology.PolarityItem.instDecidableEqAlternativeType x✝ y✝ = if h : x✝.ctorIdx = y✝.ctorIdx then isTrue ⋯ else isFalse ⋯
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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
LicensingContextfrom the companion fileTheories/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
Instances For
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Check if a context licenses a polarity item.
An item is licensed if the context is explicitly listed in licensingContexts.
Equations
- Typology.PolarityItem.isLicensedIn item ctx = (ctx ∈ item.licensingContexts)
Instances For
Check if an item is an NPI (weak or strong).
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Check if an item is an FCI.
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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.