From a collective to a free choice determiner in Biblical Hebrew

The paper is a diachronic study of the Hebrew universal determiner kol. In Biblical
Hebrew (BH), kol was originally a noun meaning ‘entirety’ which grammaticalized
as a collective determiner akin to all. Kol induces maximality, like the determiner
all, but, unlike all, it is not quantificational, hence its maximality does not preclude
homogeneity. Semantically, kol NP is interpreted as the plural property corresponding
to NP. In argument position, the strongest interpretation of kol NP results from
the application of the definite type-shift (the iota type-shift). But within the scope of
certain modals and in downward entailing environments, the indefinite type-shift
(existential closure) yields a stronger interpretation. This results in the free choice
(FC)/ negative polarity (NPI) any interpretation of kol in these environments. In
post-Biblical times, the any interpretation evolved into the distributive interpretation
every. The paper thus traces the development of kol’s extensive meaning
variation ‘all/any/every’.