The interpretation of sentences in which negation appears above certain verbs like think and want is typically stronger than expected. Such sentences generally license an inference not just that the individual in question fails to have a positive attitude, but also that the individual has the corresponding negative attitude (Horn 1978, among many others). For instance, a sentence like (1a) is generally interpreted in the same way as (1b).
The traditional name for this phenomenon is neg-raising.1 Neg-raising readings are generally the most prominent, but not the only, available reading; thus, (1a) could be followed by He doesn’t think that she will not be hired either; he just doesn’t know whether she will be, in which case (1a) will clearly not be interpreted in the same way as (1b). If we combine a standard Hintikkan semantics...