Some or Other: Partitive Disanaphors Across Languages

We present a cross-linguistically robust pattern of polyfunctionality between indefinite, partitive, and disanaphoric (‘another’) use of a single lexical item. In examining the connection between these different uses, we argue that a uniform semantics underlies all of them. We employ the salience theory of definiteness, with the specific implementation in a dynamic semantics with choice functions, to model the full spectrum of the attested uses without invoking implicit variables. The core meaning is the partitive implication, whereas the indefinite and the discourse-familiar disanaphoric readings are underspecified in the semantics and are argued to be additional construals conditioned by discourse factors. The partitive meaning, however, is shown itself to be subject to variable pragmatic packaging across languages, from being a part of the truth conditions to a postsupposition.