Affirmation and Negation of Polarity Words
Shen Jiaxuan · 2025
This chapter discusses how polarity words, such as negative polarity items (“ever”, “lift a finger”) and positive polarity items (“delicious”, “still”), appear in affirmative or negative contexts. The “axiom of affirmation and negation” shows how semantic degree affects frequency of use in different sentence types. Correlated markedness patterns help explain how positive and negative sentences distribute. The chapter explores connections between polarity words and the Maxim of Quantity, proposing the “Law of Quantitative Continuum of Negation”—which highlights asymmetries in negative expressions—and the “Law of Universally Quantified Affirmation and Negation”. Cognitive scale principles clarify exceptional uses. Irrealis sentences relate to negative statements through modal categories. Concluding that polarity word distribution is consistent across grammatical, semantic, and pragmatic levels, the chapter argues these patterns stem from fundamental cognitive laws, the Maxim of Quantity, and stereotypical inferences. Ultimately, it affirms that the universal underpinnings of linguistic phenomena transcend grammar, semantics, and pragmatics.