Explaining gaps in the logical lexicon of natural languages: A decision-theoretic perspective on the square of Aristotle

Across languages, certain logically natural concepts are not lexicalized, even though they can be expressed by complex expressions. This is for instance the case quantifier all. In this paper, we propose an explanation fact based on following idea: logical lexicon of languages partly shaped a tradeoff between informativity and cost, inventory expressions tends to maximize average minimize cost. The account decision-theoretic model how speakers choose their messages in various situations (a version Rational Speech Act model). EARLY ACCESS