Abstract
Silvia Palma: Négative polarity idioms from a stereotypical point of view A study of négative polarity idioms -NPI-(e. g. not lift a finger, not say a word) within the theoretical framework of stereotypical theory (Kleiber, Anscombre) is proposed in our paper. From our point of view, generic phrases underlying sentences with NPIs play a crucial rôle in the présence of a négation. As a matter of fact, a sentence like Peter didn't lift a finger for his sister doesn't actually deny * Peter lifted a finger for his sister but rather a sort of gênerai iule related to stereotypical contents: " people help their close relations". Négation in NPIs is then a trace, a sign of this opposition between a gênerai belief and a particular case which seems to be a counter-example. This perspective shows several common points between phrases including NPIs and phrases including positive polarity items.
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