Exclusive and Inclusive Inferences under Non-identity: The Case of alos (Other/Else) in Greek

Despina Oikonomou

Chapter 3 Exclusive and Inclusive Inferences under Non-identity: The Case of alos (Other/Else) in Greek

In: Other: Ambiguity, Constraints, and Change

Author:

Despina Oikonomou

Despina Oikonomou University of Crete

Search for other papers by Despina Oikonomou in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed

Type:: Chapter

Pages:: 63–99

DOI:: https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004744196_004

Purchase instant access (PDF download and unlimited online access):

€42.00€35.00 excl. VAT

Add to Cart

Redeem Access Token

Abstract

The Greek element alos (‘other/else’) belongs to a class of linguistic items expressing non-identity/distinctness similar to other and else in English, and equivalents in other Indo-European languages. This study investigates alos when it modifies noun phrases (NP s), focusing on its ability to yield inclusive or exclusive inferences depending on the discourse and clause type. In positive declarative sentences (e.g., Nick watched some other movie), alos typically generates an exclusive inference, suggesting Nick did not watch the salient movie. In yes/no-questions, the inference can be either exclusive or inclusive, contingent on prosodic marking. In wh-questions, alos leads to an inclusive inference. The study seeks to provide a unified analysis of the inclusive/exclusive inferences associated with alos. I argue that alos consistently highlights an alternative entity within the set denoted by the NP it modifies. The exclusive inference is contextually derived via a conversational implicature and depends on the entailment pattern, and prosody. The inclusive inference varies by environment: in downward-entailing contexts, it results from inference reversal, while in wh-questions, it emerges from the interaction between alos and the presuppositions of the wh-question. This unified framework accounts for the diverse behavior of alos across different contexts. In addition, the interpretation of alos with a clause-internal antecedent is discussed (e.g., Nick compared Psycho with some other movie), suggesting that its use is guided by the principle of Maximize Presupposition.

Citation Info

Save
Cite
Email this content

Share link with colleague or librarian

You can email a link to this page to a colleague or librarian:
Email this content
or copy the link directly:

https://brill.edhh.ma/abstract/book/9789004744196/BP000003.xml
The link was not copied. Your current browser may not support copying via this button.

Link copied successfully

Collapse
Expand

Other: Ambiguity, Constraints, and Change

Series: Syntax and Semantics, Volume: 45

Cover <i>Other</i>: Ambiguity, Constraints, and Change

E-Book ISBN:: 9789004744196

Publisher:: Brill

Print Publication Date:: 13 Nov 2025

Subjects
- Languages and Linguistics

Front Matter

Part 1 Formal Approaches

Part 2 Diachronic Approaches

Part 3 Corpus-Based and Typological Approaches

Back Matter

ProCite

RefWorks

Reference Manager

BibTeX

Zotero

EndNote

Metrics

	All Time	Past 365 days	Past 30 Days
Abstract Views	45	45	7
Full Text Views	2	2	0
PDF Views & Downloads	5	5	0

African Studies	Education	Media Studies
American Studies	History	Middle East and Islamic Studies
Ancient Near East and Egypt	Human Rights and Humanitarian Law	Musicology
Art History	International Law	Philosophy
Asian Studies	International Relations	Religious Studies
Biblical Studies	Jewish Studies	Slavic and Eurasian Studies
Biology	Languages and Linguistics	Social Sciences
Book History and Cartography	Life Sciences	Theology and World Christianity
Classical Studies	Literature and Cultural Studies

Subjects

Authors

Open Access

Product Information

Company

Contact

Chapter 3 Exclusive and Inclusive Inferences under Non-identity: The Case of alos (Other/Else) in Greek

Abstract

Citation Info

Share link with colleague or librarian

Other: Ambiguity, Constraints, and Change

Table of Contents

References

Metrics

Metrics