The behavior of even and only has been considerd and they are treated as the four points in a two-dimensional space defined by the inherent sign of a word and its determinacy. We have started with an examination of the patterns of grammaticality gener...
The behavior of even and only has been considerd and they are treated as the four points in a two-dimensional space defined by the inherent sign of a word and its determinacy. We have started with an examination of the patterns of grammaticality generated by each word in various constructions.
Even is associated with mappings which increase absolute distance whereas only is associated with mappings which decrease absolute distance. Even is positive and determinate, only is negative and determinate. A conjunction containing even used on a discrete numerical scale is grammatical only if the value specified in S^2 is not greater than the value specified in S^1.
A conjunction containing only used on a discrete numerical scale is grammatical only it the number specified in S^2 is amaller than the number specified in S^1
The basic tenet underlying the present treatment of even and only is that the two are words on scales.
It is believed that the significance of the scalar analysis is threefold. First, it offers a parsimonious and coherent account of the behavior of the words; each one alone, and the two qua the members of a well-defined linguistic group. Second, as emphasized earlier, the scalar analysis demonstrated that semantic functions may be defined on an autonous linguistic level. Third, the oredr of the elements which construct the scale may be determined by extra-linguistic factors, but the behavior of the words is characterized in its entirety in terms of the abstract topological properties of the scale.
Finally, it is hoped that the present analysis sheds some light on the linguistic studies and the posesed questions are to be fruitful for further research