The Empty Focus Particle and the Scope Theory of Even

The English focus particle even can generate ambiguity because in some contexts its focus can denote either a high or a low end on a pragmatic scale. Since Karttunen and Peters (979) and Rooth (1985) proposed the scope theory and the lexical theory of even respectively to account for this ambiguity, many researchers have tried to prove the superiority of one over the other. The present paper offers novel evidence against the lexical theory. More importantly, to remedy some of the weaknesses of the scope theory, it posits the empty focus particle (EFP) based on relevant Korean data. The EFP introduces a constituent describing new information. This constituent is the focus of the EFP and usually serves as the topic of a given sentence. The adoption of the EFP can help solve some of the problems with the scope theory and clearly explain some puzzling cases of double focuses.