Emphatic Polarity and C in Spanish - Lear

M. LLUÏSA HERNANZ
PolP takes a positive value, the Spec position of PolP may be filled by bien,
as shown in (10): 7
(10) [CP ..... [PolP bien [Pol’ [Pol 0 [IP ...]]]]
The representation in (10) is consistent with the assumption that there is
contrast between neutral positive sentences—see (1b), (5a) (6)—in which
the phonetic effect of [POS] is null, and marked positive sentences—see
(1a), (3), (5b), in which an overt marker appears.
2.3. Bien vs. sí: the illocutionary force of bien
Given my claim that bien stresses the positive polarity of a sentence, the
question arises as to whether it patterns like another adverb that encodes an
emphatic positive meaning in Spanish, namely sí (“yes”). 8 Consider, in this
respect, the examples in (11) and their counterparts with bien in (12):
(11) a. Sí come pasta Pepito.
Yes eats pasta Pepito
‘Pepito does eat pasta’
b. Sí se compró un coche Pepito.
Yes CLDAT bought a car Pepito
‘Pepito did buy a car’
(12) a. Bien come pasta Pepito. = (3a)
Well eats pasta Pepito
‘But Pepito indeed eats pasta’
b. Bien se compró un coche Pepito.
Well CLDAT bought a car Pepito
‘But Pepito bought a car’
The sentences in (11) are as emphatic as those in (12). However, their
interpretation sharply diverges. In Hernanz (2006a), it is argued that the
differences stem from their illocutionary force: bien encodes a
presuppositional value that is lacking in sí. Thus, besides its emphatic
positive meaning, bien adds a subjective implicature which cancels an
implicit negative expectation. By contrast, sí merely denies an explicit
7
Belletti (1990: 40) proposes a similar analysis to account for the positive adverb ben in
Italian.
8
The emphatic nature of sí has been discussed in Laka (1990).
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