Temporal de re and semantic variation: Composing simultaneity in Asante Twi

Giuliano Armenante (Universität Potsdam)

This work investigates the temporal interpretation of attitude reports in the Asante Twi dialect of Akan, focusing the (past) simultaneous reading (SIM) in X-under-Past embeddings. I show that a SIM-reading in Asante arises when the embedded predicate: (i) is unmarked, (ii) contains the deictic tense ná, or (iii) is marked with a perfective past-with a decreasing preference in that order from (i) to (iii). I propose that, while (i) is associated with a binding construal, both (ii) and (iii) involve a de re construal. Ultimately, speakers’ preferences hinge on principles favouring local binding over de re LFs and unbounded over bounded event structures.