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In Japan, it is assumed that the construction ‘A, if not B’ usually means ‘It is A, although it may not be B.’ This can be called ‘concessive’ interpretation. This type of ‘if not B’ has a contrastive function. According to some people’s responses and the semantic descriptions in the most up-to-date English dictionaries, however, the construction is not necessarily interpreted as ‘concessive.’ Rather, it is often interpreted as follows: ‘It is A. Or it may even be B/ It is A, but you might also call it B.’ The alternative B introduced by this extensive ‘if not’ has an intensifying function.
Whether the meaning is taken to be ‘concessive’ or ‘extensive’ depends upon how the alternatives A and B are interpreted. When the alternatives are ranged along the same scale and their semantic vectors head for the same side, as in ‘many, if not most,’ the construction requires ‘extensive’ interpretation. When they are ranged along a different scale, as in ‘a good, if not imaginative performance,’ it usually requires ‘concessive’ interpretation.
This paper seeks to explore the possible differences in interpretation depending on the relationships between the alternatives A and B.
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