On the semantic status of n-words in Catalan and Spanish

This paper provides some arguments for the claim that Catalan and Spanish n-words are not lexically ambiguous. I put forward the hypothesis that they are intrinsically negative expressions, in the sense that they are indefinites incorporated into a numeral meaning ∥0∥, and they are weak quantifiers, in the sense that they are underspecified for quantificational force. I suggest the relevance of a hierarchy of negative items (negative quantifiers / minimizers, n-words, and polarity items) determined by the position of these items within a scale of quantificational force. © 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.