Squiggly issues: Alternative sets, complex DPs, and intensionality

Abstract

In this paper, we investigate a number of long-standing issues in connection with (i) focus interpretation and its interrelation with complex definite descriptions, and (ii) the intensional properties of sentences with focus constituents. We revitalize the use of Rooth's (1992) ∼operator, clarify its definition as an anaphoric operator, discuss the principles that govern its placement in logical forms and show how it can be succesfully employed to replace the notion of Krifka's (2006) focus phrases. Finally, we argue that a proper view of the intensional dimension of retrieving the antecedent sets required by the operator can account for problems relating to the intensionality of sentences with focus sensitive operators that are discussed by Beaver & Clark (2008). © 2010 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.