Introduction
Introduction
This chapter examines quantifier-scope alternation in a surface-compositional semantic representation. It considers ambiguous sentences such as “Somebody loves everybody,” wherein a standard response is to assume that they yield two logical forms which are expressible in the first-order predicate calculus but differ in the scopes assigned to traditional quantifiers. Such ambiguities create problems for the theory of grammar. The assumption of surface composition implies that if movement and dynamically equivalent storage can be so easily eliminated from syntax, they should not be necessary in semantics either. The chapter also discusses base-generative syntax in relation to semantics and natural logic, processing scope ambiguities, and strong lexicalization.
Keywords: quantifier-scope alternation, quantifiers, theory of grammar, surface composition, syntax, semantics, natural logic, processing scope, lexicalization
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