| Description |
meaning of modified referential expressions
Modified referential expressions such as (indexical) pronouns, in (1) and proper names in (2)
raise intriguing puzzles with respect to their (internal and external) syntax and their reference.
(1) a. The old me/him would have never made this mistake.
b. Drunk me/him is an idiot.
(2) a. The old John would have never made this mistake.
b. Drunk John is an idiot.
In English, both non-intersectivemodifier such as old (in the sense of former) and non-intersective
stage level modifiers like drunk are possible. The latter case is particularly surprising, given that
the standard view holds that referring expression denote individuals of type e and not sets of
individuals, which could be restricted. The two main questions I will address are:
1. Why do modified pronouns behave like nominals?
2. Who is the referent of modified referential expressions? (Who is ‘drunk me’?)
I explore an analysis based on the intuitive parallel between kind denoting expressions such as
English bare plurals as in (3-a) and modified referential expressions as in (3-b).
(3) a. Scared dogs are agressive.
≈ Whenever Dogs are scared, they are usually aggressive.
b. Drunk John is aggressive.
≈ Whenever John is drunk, he is usually aggresssive.
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