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Linglib.Theories.Pragmatics.Implicature.Evaluativity

Polarity of an adjective: positive (unmarked) vs negative (marked).

From @cite{bierwisch-1989}, @cite{kennedy-2007}:

  • Positive-polar (tall, happy, expensive): unmarked, default
  • Negative-polar (short, unhappy, cheap): marked, requires more justification

Markedness is reflected in:

  • Morphological complexity (happy → un-happy)
  • Distributional restrictions ("How tall?" is neutral, "How short?" presupposes)
  • Processing cost (marked forms are costlier)
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      Is this polarity marked?

      Negative-polar adjectives are marked (require more contextual support).

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        Production cost associated with polarity.

        Marked forms cost more to produce, licensing manner implicatures. This follows @cite{horn-1984}'s Division of Pragmatic Labor.

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          Does manner implicature apply to this construction?

          Manner implicature requires polar INVARIANCE:

          • If the two antonyms have the same meaning, using the costlier marked form signals something extra (evaluativity)
          • If they have different meanings, no pragmatic competition occurs
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            Types of implicature that can derive evaluativity.

            Following @cite{rett-2015} Chapter 4-5:

            • Quantity (Q): Avoid uninformative utterances → strengthen to evaluative
            • Manner (R): Use of costly form signals marked meaning → evaluativity

            These correspond to Horn's Q-principle (say enough) and R-principle (don't say more than needed, modulated by form cost).

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                Derivation of evaluativity for a construction + polarity combination.

                Records:

                • Which implicature type applies
                • Whether evaluativity is predicted
                • The mechanism (Q vs R)
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                    Derive evaluativity for a construction + polarity.

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                      All predictions for positive-polar adjectives.

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                        All predictions for negative-polar adjectives.

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                          Summary table matching Rett's Table 5.1.

                          Positive-polarNegative-polar
                          Positiveevaluative (Q)evaluative (Q)
                          Comparativenon-evalnon-eval
                          Equativenon-evalevaluative (R)
                          Measure Phrasenon-eval(ungrammatical)
                          Degree Questionnon-evalevaluative (R)
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                            Q-implicature derivation for positive constructions.

                            Standard Recipe applied to "John is tall":

                            1. Speaker said "John is tall"
                            2. Alternative: "John is tall to degree d" (for any d)
                            3. Without evaluativity, this is true for any d - UNINFORMATIVE
                            4. Listener strengthens: John's height exceeds contextual standard

                            This is the same mechanism as scalar implicatures, applied to threshold inference.

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                                Derive Q-implicature for positive constructions.

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                                  R-implicature derivation for equatives/questions.

                                  Division of Pragmatic Labor applied to "How short is John?":

                                  1. Speaker used marked form "short" (cost = 2)
                                  2. Unmarked alternative "tall" available (cost = 1)
                                  3. Same truth conditions (polar-invariant)
                                  4. Using costly form must signal something extra
                                  5. That something = evaluativity (presupposes shortness)
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                                      Derive R-implicature for equatives/questions.

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                                        How this Neo-Gricean account relates to RSA.

                                        Both derive evaluativity pragmatically, but via different mechanisms:

                                        Neo-Gricean (this module):

                                        • Q-implicature: scalar reasoning about informativity
                                        • R-implicature: cost-based manner reasoning

                                        RSA:

                                        • Joint inference over degree and threshold
                                        • Listener models speaker's utility-maximizing behavior
                                        • Cost can be built into speaker utility

                                        Key difference: RSA derives thresholds via joint inference, while Neo-Gricean stipulates the mechanism (Q vs R).

                                        The predictions are largely the same, but:

                                        • RSA makes graded predictions (probability distributions)
                                        • Neo-Gricean makes categorical predictions (evaluative or not)
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                                          The Marked Meaning Principle (MMP) derivation record.

                                          From @cite{rett-2015} Chapter 5, following @cite{horn-1984}:

                                          The MMP states that using a marked form when an unmarked equivalent exists signals that the speaker intends the marked meaning.

                                          For evaluativity: using "as short as" instead of "as tall as" in an equative signals that the speaker presupposes shortness.

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                                              Apply the Marked Meaning Principle.

                                              MMP applies when:

                                              1. The form is marked (has higher cost)
                                              2. The construction is polar-invariant (alternatives have same TCs)
                                              3. An unmarked alternative exists

                                              When MMP applies, using the marked form implicates evaluativity.

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                                                Extended evaluativity derivation with lexicon grounding.

                                                This structure records:

                                                1. The adjective and its morphological properties
                                                2. Markedness determination via objective criteria
                                                3. M-alternative generation
                                                4. Q/R implicature derivation
                                                5. Final evaluativity prediction
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                                                    Derive evaluativity with full lexicon grounding.

                                                    This is the main entry point for the Neo-Gricean evaluativity derivation. It:

                                                    1. Looks up morphological properties of the adjective
                                                    2. Computes markedness from objective criteria
                                                    3. Generates M-alternatives for polar-invariant constructions
                                                    4. Applies Q-implicature (positive) or MMP (equative/question)
                                                    5. Returns a fully grounded derivation
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                                                      Degree tautology analysis for positive constructions.

                                                      Following @cite{rett-2015} Chapter 3:

                                                      Without evaluativity, "John is tall" is a degree tautology:

                                                      • It asserts that John has SOME degree of height
                                                      • This is trivially true for any entity with height

                                                      Q-implicature resolves this by strengthening to evaluative reading:

                                                      • "John is tall" → John's height exceeds the contextual standard

                                                      This explains why positive constructions are evaluative for BOTH polarities.

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                                                          Analyze degree tautology for a construction.

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                                                            @cite{rett-2015} Core Predictions #

                                                            @cite{rett-2015} @cite{lassiter-goodman-2017}

                                                            These theorems formalize the key empirical predictions from Rett's account:

                                                            1. Evaluativity distribution: Which constructions are evaluative?
                                                            2. Asymmetry pattern: When do we see polarity asymmetry?
                                                            3. Mechanism attribution: Q-implicature vs MMP?
                                                            4. Morphological grounding: How does markedness determine asymmetry?

                                                            Q-implicature mechanism: Positive constructions use Quantity.

                                                            Q-implicature resolves the "degree tautology" of positive constructions. Without evaluativity, "John is tall" is trivially true for anyone with height.