Even restricting TG's account to Type 2 does not yield equivalence with emotive-predicate assertions, because Type 2 meaning components resist direct denial and are only indirectly relevant as question responses.

Even restricting TG's account to Type 2 does not yield equivalence with emotive-predicate assertions, because Type 2 meaning components resist direct denial and are only indirectly relevant as question responses.

• Type 1 and Type 2 exclamations have distinct morphosyntactic, prosodic, and semantic profiles: Type 1 is degree-constrained expressive intensification, whereas Type 2 is associated with prosodically expressed mirative predication.
• The degree constraint permits exclamations about high degrees, such as “How smart she is!” and “What a story!”, but not affective exclamations about a person or the fact of their coming, such as “Who came!”.
  Evidence for this premise (3)

  In search of an exclamatory illocutionary force — Typological complexity: Type 1 and Type 2 exclamations

  exclamatives have to be about degrees

  https://doi.org/10.1515/tl-2025-2007#unit-4-p1

  In search of an exclamatory illocutionary force — Typological complexity: Type 1 and Type 2 exclamations

  exclamatives have to be about degrees

  https://doi.org/10.1515/tl-2025-2007#unit-4-p1

  In search of an exclamatory illocutionary force — Typological complexity: Type 1 and Type 2 exclamations

  exclamatives have to be about degrees

  https://doi.org/10.1515/tl-2025-2007#unit-4-p1
• This Dutch contrast suggests Type 1 exclamations, which do not ostensibly involve embedding and obey the degree constraint, versus Type 2 exclamations, which ostensibly involve embedding and do not obey it.
  Evidence for this premise (3)

  In search of an exclamatory illocutionary force — Typological complexity: Type 1 and Type 2 exclamations

  This at the very least suggests two di ff erent syntactic structures for exclamations.

  https://doi.org/10.1515/tl-2025-2007#unit-4-p3

  In search of an exclamatory illocutionary force — Typological complexity: Type 1 and Type 2 exclamations

  This at the very least suggests two di ff erent syntactic structures for exclamations.

  https://doi.org/10.1515/tl-2025-2007#unit-4-p3

  In search of an exclamatory illocutionary force — Typological complexity: Type 1 and Type 2 exclamations

  This at the very least suggests two di ff erent syntactic structures for exclamations.

  https://doi.org/10.1515/tl-2025-2007#unit-4-p3
• Segmental similarity between German exclamations and matrix wh-questions does not establish syntactic identity, because their prosodies differ and different prosodic contours can correspond to different syntactic structures.
  Evidence for this premise (3)

  In search of an exclamatory illocutionary force — Typological complexity: Type 1 and Type 2 exclamations

  exclamations and matrix wh-questions have di ff erent prosody

  https://doi.org/10.1515/tl-2025-2007#unit-4-p4

  In search of an exclamatory illocutionary force — Typological complexity: Type 1 and Type 2 exclamations

  exclamations and matrix wh-questions have di ff erent prosody

  https://doi.org/10.1515/tl-2025-2007#unit-4-p4

  In search of an exclamatory illocutionary force — Typological complexity: Type 1 and Type 2 exclamations

  exclamations and matrix wh-questions have di ff erent prosody

  https://doi.org/10.1515/tl-2025-2007#unit-4-p4
• Russian Type 1 and Type 2 exclamations also differ in epistemic and affective meaning: Type 1 requires old or reactivated information and cannot convey immediate surprise at newly acquired information, while Type 2 occurs in information-acquisition contexts.
  Evidence for this premise (2)

  In search of an exclamatory illocutionary force — Typological complexity: Type 1 and Type 2 exclamations

  Type 2 sentences are always uttered in information acquisition contexts

  https://doi.org/10.1515/tl-2025-2007#unit-4-p6

  In search of an exclamatory illocutionary force — Typological complexity: Type 1 and Type 2 exclamations

  Type 2 sentences are always uttered in information acquisition contexts

  https://doi.org/10.1515/tl-2025-2007#unit-4-p6
• In Russian, Type 1 exclamations have a hat contour and are restricted to degree-wh exclamations, whereas Type 2 exclamations may involve degree or non-degree wh-items and have distinct contours, including Early Peak, Late Peak, and Plateau.
  Evidence for this premise (2)

  In search of an exclamatory illocutionary force — Typological complexity: Type 1 and Type 2 exclamations

  Type 2 exclamations (which are not subject to the degree constraint

  https://doi.org/10.1515/tl-2025-2007#unit-4-p5

  In search of an exclamatory illocutionary force — Typological complexity: Type 1 and Type 2 exclamations

  Type 2 exclamations (which are not subject to the degree constraint

  https://doi.org/10.1515/tl-2025-2007#unit-4-p5
• Dutch data distinguish two patterns: degree exclamations can have matrix-associated V2 or embedded-associated verb-final order, whereas “Who came!”-type exclamations can only be verb-final.
  Evidence for this premise (3)

  In search of an exclamatory illocutionary force — Typological complexity: Type 1 and Type 2 exclamations

  exclamations like ‘ Who came! ’ can only be verbfi nal.

  https://doi.org/10.1515/tl-2025-2007#unit-4-p2

  In search of an exclamatory illocutionary force — Typological complexity: Type 1 and Type 2 exclamations

  exclamations like ‘ Who came! ’ can only be verbfi nal.

  https://doi.org/10.1515/tl-2025-2007#unit-4-p2

  In search of an exclamatory illocutionary force — Typological complexity: Type 1 and Type 2 exclamations

  exclamations like ‘ Who came! ’ can only be verbfi nal.

  https://doi.org/10.1515/tl-2025-2007#unit-4-p2

Critical questions are the challenges this argument’s reasoning pattern must withstand.

• What is the strength of the correlation between the sign and the event/state it is taken to indicate?
  Answer

  The paper treats systematic correlations among word order, degree restrictions, prosodic contours, discourse conditions, and denial behavior as evidence for distinct exclamation types. This is qualitative comparative support, not a numerical estimate of correlation strength. Paper basis — This is a comparative empirical inference: systematic correlations between word order, degree restrictions, prosodic contours, discourse conditions, and denial behavior provide evidence that the relevant exclamations have distinct structures and meanings, rather than instantiating one uniform exclamative or an assertion of an attitude. (from unit-4#w; no verbatim anchor). Reconstructed from Maria Esipova (2025); machine-drafted from the paper, filed for review.

  https://doi.org/10.1515/tl-2025-2007#unit-4#w
• Has the sign actually been observed reliably in this case?
  Answer

  The paper reports that Russian Type 1 and Type 2 exclamations differ in epistemic and affective meaning, including Type 1's old/reactivated-information requirement and Type 2's association with immediate surprise at newly acquired information. Paper basis — "Type 2 sentences are always uttered in information acquisition contexts" (In search of an exclamatory illocutionary force, p. 20). Reconstructed from Maria Esipova (2025); machine-drafted from the paper, filed for review.

  https://doi.org/10.1515/tl-2025-2007#unit-4-p6

These are challenges this argument’s reasoning pattern must still withstand. Answering them on Isonomia strengthens the argument.

• Are there other events or causes that could account for the presence of the sign?Open

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