Saturday, June 18, 2005
Free Choice ‘Any’ vs. Negative Polarity ‘Any’
David Beaver at Language Log takes a closer look at a sign he saw in a restaurant that said:
We reserve the right to refuse service to anyone.
I had an image of the serving staff having a collective bad hair day and refusing to serve anyone. Not the intended reading of course. Whereas my reading has them potentially giving no service to anyone (at all), on the intended reading they reserve the right to give anyone (they choose) no service.
This is a classic case of the difference between what semanticists call “free choice any” and “negative polarity any”.
Related: Litotes in the New Testament
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