Negative Indefinita unter Modalverben

Starting from data on negation split, where a modal takes scope between the negative and the indefinite part of an n-word, we propose a theory of negative indefinites in German. They are analyzed as very special Negative Polarity Items that have to be in the immediate scope of an abstract negation. This is reminiscent of Ladusasw's (1992) account of negative concord in that n-words do not themselves express negation, but rather refer to sentential negation which is realized in a different way. The strongest arguments in favour of such an analysis come from n-words in idioms embedded under modal verbs (Peter muss keinen Finger ruhren/ Peter doesn't need to lift a finger). Although the n-word is part of the idiom and as such cannot undergo Quantifier Raising (QR), negation still has wide scope over the modal. This does not only refute analyses of negation split that crucially involve QR (e.g. de Swart 2000), but also shows that LF movement of n-words to SpecNeg, as assumed in the NEG-Criterion by Haegeman and Zanuttini (e.g. 1991), is untenable for semantic reasons. The paper gives a syntactic and semantic analysis of the examples discussed. It traces the construction back to its roots in the diachronic development of German and addresses the issue of negative concord in Bavarian. The analysis carries over to negative concord straightforwardly, suggesting a general account of negative indefinites across languages. Possible counterexamples involving modification of n-words by almost (It. non ha detto quasi nient 'he said almost nothing) are discussed without arriving at a definite conclusion.