Deictic center split in delayed interpretation paradoxes: Solutions inspired by evidence from Polish

Abstrakt

This paper presents a nuanced theoretical approach to the semantic interpretation of indexical expressions in delayed interpretation scenarios such as the Answering Machine Paradox [AMP] (Sidelle 1991). In order for recorded messages containing indexicals to be true with respect to the context of interpretation rather than the context of recording, semantic indexical shift must take place (Kaplan 1979). This is something that truth-conditional approaches to indexicality struggle to explain. The solution proposed in this paper is inspired by evidence from the syntax of Polish negated locative statements. The occurrence of the Genitive of Negation in Polish locatives that forces a Nominative-to-Genitive shift on the main noun phrase suggests a cognitive distancing from the object whose presence at a location is denied. The fact that it occurs for sentences containing indexicals could point at a phenomenon that corroborates the need for indexical shift in such cases. The notion of deictic center split is proposed to explain how a reference-based framework can link the empty reference of an indexical at the context of interpretation with the real reference at the context of recording thus saving the intuitions behind the standard account while allowing for semantic indexical shift in AMP cases.