Documentation

Linglib.Theories.Semantics.Focus.KratzerSelkirk2020

The two privative morphosyntactic features of @cite{kratzer-selkirk-2020}.

[FoC] and [G] are genuinely syntactic features: crosslinguistically they trigger displacement, agreement, and ellipsis (§2). They happen to be spelled out prosodically in Standard American and British English, but this is not their defining property.

  • FoC : ISFeature

    FoCus: introduces alternatives, signals contrast. Resembles [wh] — comes with obligatory ~ operator.

  • G : ISFeature

    Givenness: presupposes discourse salience, signals match. Contributes meaning directly (no operator needed).

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      Newness is NOT a grammatical feature. New material is simply unmarked — no [FoC], no [G].

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        §8 (45). The Contribution of [FoC] #

        [FoC] does NOT change the O-value. Its A-value is the full domain D_τ (all possible entities of the relevant semantic type). This is standard Roothian focus semantics.

        ⟦[α]{FoC}⟧{O,C} = ⟦α⟧{O,C} ⟦[α]{FoC}⟧_{A,C} = D_τ

        Apply [FoC] to a meaning: O-value unchanged, A-value becomes full domain. K&S (45): The A-value of [α]_{FoC} is D_τ.

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          [FoC] preserves O-value. K&S (45) first clause.

          §8 (46-47). The Contribution of [G] #

          [G] introduces a Givenness requirement: the expression must match a salient discourse referent. Technically:

          ⟦[α]{G_a}⟧{O,C} is defined iff a is a discourse referent in C, and α is Given with respect to a. If defined, ⟦[α]{G_a}⟧{O,C} = ⟦α⟧{O,C} ⟦[α]{G_a}⟧{A,C} = ⟦α⟧{A,C}

          [G] contributes purely use-conditional / expressive meaning (like discourse particles German "ja", "doch"). It places a condition on the discourse context, not on truth conditions.

          def Semantics.Focus.KratzerSelkirk2020.isGiven {α : Type} [BEq α] (aValue : List α) (referent : α) :

          An expression α is Given with respect to discourse referent a iff its A-value is {a} (a singleton containing just the referent).

          K&S (46): α is Given w.r.t. a in C iff ⟦α⟧_{A,C} = {a}.

          Intuitively: the alternatives set has collapsed to a single salient entity, meaning there's nothing to contrast — the content is already "in the air".

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            Apply [G] to a meaning: both values unchanged, but adds a definedness condition (the expression must be Given w.r.t. some discourse referent).

            Unlike [FoC], [G] does NOT change the A-value. Its contribution is purely a presupposition on the discourse context.

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              [G] preserves O-value. K&S (47): if defined, O-value unchanged.

              [G] preserves A-value. K&S (47): A-value unchanged.

              §8 (58). [FoC] and [G] are Mutually Exclusive #

              A single constituent CANNOT bear both [FoC] and [G]. The proof follows from the A-value conditions:

              theorem Semantics.Focus.KratzerSelkirk2020.foc_g_exclusion {α : Type} [BEq α] (domain : List α) (referent : α) (h_domain : domain.length > 1) :
              ¬isGiven domain referent = true

              [FoC] and [G] are mutually exclusive: no constituent can satisfy both the [FoC] A-value condition (full domain) and the [G] A-value condition (singleton) simultaneously, when the domain has more than one element.

              K&S (58, first part): follows from the incompatibility of A-value conditions.

              §8 (45, 47). Both Features are Use-Conditional #

              Neither [FoC] nor [G] changes the truth-conditional (at-issue) content of the expression it attaches to. Both contribute use-conditional / expressive meaning.

              This grounds K&S's features in Potts' two-dimensional semantics, already formalized in Expressives/Basic.lean.

              [FoC] is use-conditional: at-issue content is unchanged. Grounded in TwoDimProp from Expressives/Basic.lean.

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                [G] is use-conditional: at-issue content is unchanged. [G] resembles discourse particles (German "ja", "doch") — it places a condition on context salience without affecting truth conditions.

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                  theorem Semantics.Focus.KratzerSelkirk2020.foc_at_issue_unchanged {W : Type u_1} (atIssue contrastPresup : BProp W) :
                  (focAsTwoDim atIssue contrastPresup).atIssue = atIssue

                  [FoC] does not change at-issue content (grounding theorem).

                  theorem Semantics.Focus.KratzerSelkirk2020.g_at_issue_unchanged {W : Type u_1} (atIssue givennessPresup : BProp W) :
                  (gAsTwoDim atIssue givennessPresup).atIssue = atIssue

                  [G] does not change at-issue content (grounding theorem).

                  theorem Semantics.Focus.KratzerSelkirk2020.foc_projects_through_neg {W : Type u_1} (atIssue contrastPresup : BProp W) :
                  (focAsTwoDim atIssue contrastPresup).neg.ci = (focAsTwoDim atIssue contrastPresup).ci

                  Both features project their use-conditional content through negation, just like conventional implicatures.

                  "It's not the case that [ELIZA]_{FoC} mailed the caramels" still contrasts Eliza with alternatives.

                  theorem Semantics.Focus.KratzerSelkirk2020.g_projects_through_neg {W : Type u_1} (atIssue givennessPresup : BProp W) :
                  (gAsTwoDim atIssue givennessPresup).neg.ci = (gAsTwoDim atIssue givennessPresup).ci

                  §8 (49). Contrast Representation #

                  An expression α represents a contrast with discourse referent a iff: (i) a ∈ ⟦α⟧{A,C} — the referent is among the alternatives (ii) a ≠ ⟦α⟧{O,C} — the referent differs from the actual value (iii) There is no FoC/G-variant β of α with ⟦β⟧{A,C} ⊂ ⟦α⟧{A,C} and a ∈ ⟦β⟧_{A,C} — no smaller alternatives set also captures a

                  Condition (iii) prevents over-FoCusing.

                  Conditions (i) and (ii) of Contrast (K&S 49). Condition (iii) — the minimality condition — is structural and requires checking FoC/G-variants, which we leave to the prosodic spellout layer.

                  • aValue : List α

                    The expression's A-value (alternatives)

                  • oValue : α

                    The expression's O-value (ordinary denotation)

                  • referent : α

                    The contrasting discourse referent

                  • ref_in_alts : self.referent self.aValue

                    (i): referent is among the alternatives

                  • ref_ne_oValue : (self.referent == self.oValue) = false

                    (ii): referent differs from the O-value

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                    §8 (53-54). The ~ Operator #

                    [FoC]-marked constituents must be c-commanded by a operator. The operator:

                    Unlike Rooth's original (which allows questions as antecedents), K&S's always signals contrast. Questions do NOT have a special direct relation to FoCus.

                    The ~ operator (K&S version, allowing multiple antecedents).

                    K&S (54): ⟦~𝔠 α⟧{O,C} is defined iff 𝔠 is a set of discourse referents in C, and α represents a contrast with each member of 𝔠.

                    If defined, ⟦𝔠 α⟧{O,C} = ⟦α⟧_{O,C} A-values: ⟦𝔠 α⟧{A,C} = {⟦α⟧_{O,C}} (singleton — alternatives consumed).

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                      The ~ operator consumes alternatives: result A-value is singleton.

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                        ~ collapses A-value to singleton.

                        §8 (56). The Semantics of only #

                        K&S's only directly takes a contextual variable 𝔠 (the contrast set), rather than accessing focus alternatives indirectly:

                        ⟦only_𝔠⟧ = λp λw. ∀q. (q ∈ 𝔠 ∧ q(w)) → q = p

                        The contrast set 𝔠 is supplied by the operator that comes with [FoC]. Since stops alternative propagation, only associates with [FoC] indirectly via a second occurrence of 𝔠.

                        def Semantics.Focus.KratzerSelkirk2020.onlySemantics {W : Type u_1} (contrastSet : List (BProp W)) (prejacent : BProp W) (w : W) :

                        Semantics of only with explicit contrast set (K&S 56). Takes a contrast set 𝔠 and a prejacent proposition p. True at w iff every true member of 𝔠 equals p.

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                          §8 (58). [G] Containing [FoC] Requires Alternatives Consumption #

                          A constituent α containing [FoC]-marked β can be [G]-marked only if α also contains an operator that consumes the alternatives generated by β.

                          Proof: For α to be [G], its A-value must be a singleton {a}. But [FoC] on β would make α's A-value non-singleton (alternatives propagate upward) UNLESS some operator inside α (like ~ or only) has consumed them.

                          This explains Second Occurrence Focus: in "the fáculty only quote [the faculty]_{FoC}", the second "the faculty" is [FoC]-marked but sits inside a [G]-marked VP. This is possible because only + ~ consume the alternatives before they reach the VP level.

                          After ~ consumption, the result A-value is a singleton, which is the precondition for [G]-marking.

                          §7. Prosodic Spellout #

                          In Standard American and British English, [FoC] and [G] are spelled out prosodically at the syntax-phonology interface (MSO → PI mapping).

                          The architecture has three levels:

                          Match constraints (MatchWord, MatchPhrase, MatchClause) generate prosodic constituency in PI from syntactic constituency in MSO. Then spellout constraints map [FoC] and [G] to prosodic properties.

                          Spellout of [FoC]: maps to head at a prosodic level. K&S (34, 43): [FoC] = {ω, φ, ι}-Level-Head.

                          A [FoC]-marked constituent in MSO is spelled out as a head at the corresponding prosodic level in PI. Being a head in a chain ending at ι means being the MOST PROMINENT constituent in the sentence.

                          • ω_level_head : FoCSpellout

                            [FoC] = ω-Level-Head: head of prosodic word

                          • φ_level_head : FoCSpellout

                            [FoC] = φ-Level-Head: head of phonological phrase

                          • ι_level_head : FoCSpellout

                            [FoC] = ι-Level-Head: head of intonational phrase (highest prominence)

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                              Spellout of [G]: removes φ constituency (dephrasing). K&S (38): [G] = No-φ.

                              A [G]-marked constituent in MSO corresponds to a prosodic constituent in PI that is NOT a φ and contains no φ. The phonological consequences:

                              • No obligatory H accent tone (which requires φ-head status)
                              • No L edge tone (which requires φ-final position)

                              This replaces the traditional "destressing" analysis with a structural one.

                              • no_phi : Bool

                                A [G]-marked constituent has no φ in PI

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                                K&S (41, 44): When [G] and [FoC] spellout conflict, [G] wins.

                                Ranking in Standard American and British English: [G]=No-φ >> MatchPhrase >> [FoC]=φ-Level-Head

                                This means: dephrasing a [G]-marked constituent takes priority over giving a [FoC]-marked constituent φ-level prominence.

                                Consequence: Second Occurrence Focus [FoC] inside [G] gets only ω-level head status, not φ-level. Hence reduced prosody for SOF.

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                                    The ranking is fixed for Standard American and British English.

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                                      §4, §7.3. Second Occurrence Focus #

                                      SOF is the strongest empirical argument for the two-feature system.

                                      Example (@cite{beaver-2007}, K&S 42): "Both Sid and his accomplices should have been named in this morning's court session. But the defendant only named [Síd]_{FoC} in court today."

                                      MSO: Even [the prosecutor]{FoC} [only named [Sid]{FoC} in court today]_{G}

                                      The second "Sid" is [FoC]-marked (it associates with only) but sits inside a [G]-marked constituent. The ranking [G]=No-φ >> [FoC]=φ-Level-Head predicts: Sid gets ω-level head status but NOT φ-level prominence. Result: an H accent but no phrase-level pitch scaling — exactly what @cite{beaver-2007} @cite{selkirk-2008} found experimentally.

                                      A Second Occurrence Focus datum: [FoC] inside [G].

                                      • sentence : String

                                        The full sentence

                                      • sofWord : String

                                        The SOF word

                                      • consumingOperator : String

                                        The operator that consumes SOF's alternatives

                                      • hasHAccent : Bool

                                        Whether H accent present (yes for SOF)

                                      • hasPhiProminence : Bool

                                        Whether φ-level prominence present (no for SOF)

                                      • source : String

                                        Source

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                                          @cite{beaver-2007} SOF example.

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                                            @cite{katz-selkirk-2011} FoC-New vs New-FoC vs New-New triples. K&S (36): Phonetic evidence distinguishing [FoC] from newness.

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                                                      §8 (61, 66). Pressure for [G]-Marking and [FoC]-Marking #

                                                      [G]-marking and [FoC]-marking are obligatory under certain discourse conditions in Standard American and British English.

                                                      (61) Pressure for [G]-Marking: [G]-mark a constituent if it is Given w.r.t. a salient discourse referent.

                                                      (66) Pressure for [FoC]-Marking: Represent non-trivial contrasts with salient discourse referents.

                                                      These are not semantic/syntactic constraints but PRAGMATIC pressures, possibly reducible to Maximize Presuppositions.

                                                      Pragmatic pressure for [G]-marking (K&S 61).

                                                      • constituent : String

                                                        The constituent

                                                      • referent : String

                                                        The salient discourse referent it matches

                                                      • obligatory : Bool

                                                        Is [G]-marking obligatory here?

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                                                        Pragmatic pressure for [FoC]-marking (K&S 66).

                                                        • constituent : String

                                                          The constituent

                                                        • referent : String

                                                          The contrasting discourse referent

                                                        • faultedIfMissed : Bool

                                                          Would failure to [FoC]-mark violate Pressure for [FoC]-Marking?

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                                                          Bridge: K&S vs @cite{schwarzschild-1999} #

                                                          Schwarzschild's "A-Givenness" (within Rooth's Alternatives Semantics) falls out as a special case of K&S's [G]-feature.

                                                          A-Givenness: α is A-Given in C iff there is a salient discourse referent that is a member of ⟦α⟧_{A,C}.

                                                          K&S's Givenness (46): α is Given w.r.t. a iff ⟦α⟧_{A,C} = {a}.

                                                          K&S's condition is STRONGER (singleton vs membership). The old A-Givenness condition was too weak — Schwarzschild noted it was trivially satisfiable for universal quantifiers (every cat is a complainer → trivially A-Given).

                                                          def Semantics.Focus.KratzerSelkirk2020.isAGiven {α : Type} [BEq α] (aValue : List α) (referent : α) :

                                                          Schwarzschild's A-Givenness: some referent is in the alternatives set.

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                                                            theorem Semantics.Focus.KratzerSelkirk2020.givenness_entails_aGivenness {α : Type} [BEq α] [LawfulBEq α] (aValue : List α) (referent : α) (h : isGiven aValue referent = true) :
                                                            isAGiven aValue referent = true

                                                            K&S Givenness entails Schwarzschild A-Givenness. If the alternatives set is a singleton {a}, then certainly a ∈ alternatives.

                                                            theorem Semantics.Focus.KratzerSelkirk2020.aGivenness_not_sufficient :
                                                            ∃ (aValue : List ) (referent : ), isAGiven aValue referent = true isGiven aValue referent = false

                                                            The converse fails: A-Givenness does NOT entail K&S Givenness. A non-singleton alternatives set can satisfy A-Givenness but not Givenness.

                                                            This is the Schwarzschild overgeneration problem (K&S fn. 14): "Every cat is a complainer" is trivially A-Given because ∃P[every P is a complainer] is always true. K&S's singleton condition avoids this.