A puzzle related to superlative modification in definite relative clauses in Jordanian Arabic

A puzzle related to superlative modification in definite relative clauses in Jordanian Arabic

Blog Article

This paper addresses a puzzle involving Halloween two modes of superlative modification in definite relatives in Jordanian Arabic1: the so-called (A)ttributive and (G)enitive superlatives.2 We show that under the low interpretation of the definite relative clause, both modes of superlative modification exhibit an asymmetrical behavior: while the A-superlative is ambiguous between the absolute and relative readings, the relative reading is blocked in G-superlatives.To resolve the puzzle, we propose a compositional analysis based on the late merger of the definite relative which PPLR_HIDDEN_PRODUCT generates the absolute/relative ambiguity in A-superlatives and at the same time it blocks the relative reading in G-superlatives.