Semantics Research Group Meeting, July 12, 2019

(Joint work with Gwendolyn Hildebrandt (U of Pennsylvania).)

The semantics of almost has been discussed mainly as a VP modifier (e.g., Mary almost finished the project), but it can also modify determiners such as every, all, no, and number determiners like 100. As a VP modifier, almost has been analyzed as having an intensional meaning (e.g. Rapp and von Stechow 1999), and Morzycki (2001) adopts the same approach in analyzing D-modifier cases (e.g. Almost all students attended the lecture.). Penka (2006) offers an alternative proposal, but it is also intensional. In this talk, we will propose an extensional alternative concentrate on D modifier cases.

Selected references:
Morzycki (2001), Almost and its kin, across categories; Penka (2006) Almost there: the meaning of almost, Sinn und Bedeutung 10; Rapp and von Stechow (1999), Fast ‘Almost” and the Visibility Parameter for Functional Adverbs, J of Semantics 16.