Über gewisse Fälle von Assoziation mit Fokus

This study examines hitherto largely neglected instances in which (in German) focus influences the interpretation of an expression. These cases of 'association with focus' are discussed here in connection with quantifying determiners such as alle and die meisten, modal auxiliaries like müssen and wollen, conditional clauses and warum questions, and finally superlatives. It transpires that a very simple theory of focus interpretation is adequate to the task of finding a plausible uniform explanation for these apparently highly divergent cases of association with focus. The theory is based on the premise that in general focus relates to explicit or implicit alternatives, and that association with focus is a largely pragmatic phenomenon.