Complexity vs. salience of alternatives in implicature: A cross-linguistic investigation

Abstract

Scalar implicature depends on the activation of alternatives. For instance, in English, finger implicates 'not thumb', suggesting that thumb is an activated alternative. Is this because it is more specific (Quantity) and equally short (Manner)? Indeed, toe doesn't imply 'not big toe', perhaps because big toe is longer. As L. Horn points out, this Quantity/Manner explanation predicts that if English had the simplex Latin word pollex meaning 'thumb or big toe', then the asymmetry would disappear. But would it suffice for that word to exist in the language, or would the word also have to be sufficiently salient? We explore this question in four languages that are sometimes said to lack a single-word alternative for thumb: Spanish (which does have pulgar 'thumb or big toe' (