The dissertation proposes an answer to the question of how to model exhaustive inferences and what the meaning of the linguistic material that triggers these inferences is. In particular, it deals with the semantics of exclusive particles, clefts, and progressive aspect in Ga, an under-researched language spoken in Ghana. Based on new data coming from the author’s original fieldwork in Accra, the thesis points to a previously unattested variation in the semantics of exclusives in a cross-linguistic perspective, analyzes the connections between exhaustive interpretation triggered by clefts and the aspectual interpretation of the sentence, and identifies a cross-categorial definite determiner. By that it sheds new light on several exhaustivity-related phenomena in both the nominal and the verbal domain and shows that both domains are closely connected.
formal semantics, fieldwork, exclusive particles, clefts, progressive aspect, defintie determiner, formale Semantik, Feldforschung, exklusive Partikel, Spaltssatz, progressiver Aspekt, Ga (Kwa) Sprache, Ga (Kwa) language
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