Conjunctive or Disjunctive? On the Syntax/Semantics of '-toka' and '-tari' in Japanese

This paper investigates the nature of the Japanese non-exhaustive particles -toka and -tari. At first glance, the distribution of these particles is very similar to that of the focus particles -mo ‘also’ and -sae ‘even’: they are both used as coordinators and stand-alone particles, are incompatible with topics (anti-topical), and induce intervention effects. However, while -sae and -mo carry presuppositions that project out of non-veridical contexts, -toka and -tari do not. Instead, they receive inclusive disjunctive interpretations in this context. We analyze -toka and -tari as items that introduce alternatives, which, once they expand into propositions, are either universally or existentially quantified depending on the veridicality or non-veridicality of their environment, respectively, and derive their coordinative use from their basic use as single particles.