Optional Scrambling and Interpretation

It has aften been observed in the literature that when a language allows for scrambling (which I will use here as a descriptive term for the occurrence of an object to the left si de of an adverb), definite and other strong NPs freely scramble, whereas indefinite and other weak NPs are subject to certain restrictions. In De Hoop (1992) I proposed that only NPs of a certain semantic type (the generalized quantifier type) can scramble. Strong NPs such as alle krakers 'two squatters' in (I) are always of this type and therefore they scramble freely. Weak NPs can be lifted to the type of a generalized quantifier, but then they get astrong reading. I Thus, a weak NP such as twee krakers 'two squatters' will get a strong reading in (I b) (either partitive 'two of the' or referential 'thase two', which indicates that its type is lifted to a generalized quantifier type. whereas in (I a) it can have either a weak (existential, predicative) or astrong (partitive or referential) reading.