[Ads-l] Is this easier to parse for others than it is for me?

[ADSGarson O'Toole]

Laurence Horn wrote:
> Tonight on NBC Nightly News, anchor Kate Snow summarized an
> incident in which an entire parking lot suddenly collapsed into a
>sinkhole.  One woman had been sitting in her car when it happened,
> but Snow reassured viewers:
> “Luckily, she and no one else was injured”
>
> It’s clear what was intended:  Luckily, neither she nor anyone else
> was injured.  But I couldn’t say it the way Kate Snow did, with the
> negation in “no one else” extending over the “she” in the first conjunct,
>and I can’t remember if I’ve heard it before.  I trolled the web for similar
> examples, and sure enough I found a few almost identical ones.
>  Note that the presence of “luckily”, “fortunately”, or “thankfully” blocks
> the compositional interpretation (as in “she and no else was responsible”
> = she was, nobody else was) that is much more widely attested.

Here is an similar instance in 2003. A criminal suspect named Mark A.
LeBreton surrendered to authorities. Neither he nor others were
injured during the surrender.

Date: December 18, 2003
Newspaper: Worcester Telegram & Gazette
Newspaper Location: Worcester, Massachusetts
Article: LeBreton arrested in N.Y. - Alleged shooter will face charges
in Worcester
Author: Chris Echegaray
Quote Page A1
Database: NewsBank Access World News

[Begin excerpt]
Mr. LeBreton's father, Leo A. LeBreton, formerly of Leicester, was
relieved to hear that his son had surrendered peacefully.
"This was the best out of the bad," he said from his South Carolina
home. "We are obviously happy that he and no one else was injured."
[End excerpt]

Garson

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