Cross-linguistic Differences in Superlative Movement out of Nominal Phrases

We observe that superlative nominal phrases allow a reading in Slavic that is not possible in English. The same variation is found within Slavic as well, where the relevant reading is constrained by the presence of the definite article. To account for the empirical observation, we propose that English -est and its Slavic counterpart naj- are interpreted inside definite DPs. The relevant reading requires DP-internal focus, but DP-internal -est cannot associate with DP-internal focus. Superlative nominal phrases can be indefinite in Slavic and in such cases naj- may QR out of the DP into the clause. DP-external naj- can associate with DP-internal focus, allowing the relevant reading. We conclude by discussing the significance of our findings and theory for the grammar of superlatives. 1. Background 1 ∗