Cross-linguistic variation in the lexical semantics of conjunction

Abstract

A longstanding debate about conjunction concerns so-called ‘asymmetric’ interpretations with additional causal or temporal inferences. Some theories posit a semantic component of conjunction as part of their explanation (e.g. Gómez Txurruka 2003). In this paper, we explore an unstated prediction of such accounts: that the specific semantics of conjunction might vary (i) across languages, and (ii) across conjunction strategies within a language. Drawing on data from A’ingae (an indigenous language of Ecuador) and Gizey (an indigenous language of Cameroon and Chad) respectively, we show that both predictions are met, arguing that such semantic variation is constrained in ways anticipated by theories of discourse coherence such as SDRT (Asher & Lascarides 2003).