THE SCOPE OF CONTRASTED SCALAR ITEMS AND INTERMEDIATE IMPLICATURE

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to evaluate a Gricean theory that attempts to cope with embedded scalar implicatures. Geurts (2010), who is one of the most vocal advocates for the traditional Gricean/globalist approach to scalar implicatures, proposes a lexical strengthening mechanism triggered by contrastive focus to account for the distribution of embedded implicatures. This paper presents case studies of contrasted scalar items under embedding with special attention to “intermediate implicatures.” It is shown that the scope of scalar implicature does not match that of the relevant scalar item, contrary to what Geurts’ analysis predicts. The paper concludes that a proper remedy within the globalist theory of implicatures cannot be a lexical strategy and is more likely to take the form of a sentential operator. This conclusion markedly narrows the gap between the globalist and the localist theories.