Negating Gradable Adjectives
Chris Collins
March 2023 

In this paper, I give an analysis of the syntax and semantics of the prefix un- with gradable adjectives like unhappy, unfriendly, unsafe, uninteresting, and compare it to the syntax and semantics of not. Within the framework of Collins and Postal 2014, I propose that un- and not have the same semantics but negate different constituents, accounting for differences in interpretation.

Format:	[ pdf ]
Reference:	lingbuzz/003655 (please use that when you cite this article)
Published in:	none
keywords:	gradable adjectives, negation, degree quantification, quantifier domain restriction, litotes, klima tests
previous versions:	v2 [June 2018] v1 [September 2017]
Downloaded:	939 times

 

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