How to reconcile maximal and non-maximal Mandarin 'mei': Distributivity without maximality
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: Traditionally translated as ‘each’, Mandarin mei is often considered to express both maximality and distributivity. However, mei’s semantic contribution has been debated as it canonically co-occurs with dou, which also appears to enforce maximality, much like English all. This paper presents novel data demonstrating that dou, not mei, is responsible for expressing maximality. The existence of distributive items such as mei – which enforce distributivity but do not require maximality – underscores the need to distinguish maximality from distributivity as a separate semantic property, a point recently argued by Haslinger et al. (2025).
Author: Zhao, Zeqi
Language: English
Subfield: Language and Linguistics
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W7082652844
FWCI:
Cites:
Cited by:
Related to: