Varieties of indefinites in Cantonese
Year: 2024
Type: article
Abstract: We focus on the semantics of three types of Cantonese nominal constructions that can refer to indefinite referents. We argue that the indefinite interpretation is derived by a different semantic mechanism in each construction. The evidence for this claim comes from the different behavior of these constructions in terms of their scope-taking characteristics and their (in)compatibility with specific indefinite interpretations. Specifically, we make the following claims: (i) [BARE N] phrases denote type ⟨e,t⟩ properties, and get an indefinite interpretation via type-shifting, (ii) [CL N] and ['jat1' CL N] phrases are choice-functional indefinites, and (iii) the choice-function variable in [CL N] phrases can be left unbound, allowing for definite as well as (specific) indefinite uses, depending on context.
Authors: Davis, Christopher, Luk, Zoe Pei-Sui, Winterstein, Grégoire
Language: English
Subfield: Language and Linguistics
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W6963238207
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