Article published in:
The interface of semantics & etymology, morpho-syntax, and pragmatics in ChineseEdited by Jeeyoung Peck
[Language and Linguistics 20:2] 2019
► pp. 148–179
Scalarity, degree reading and maximality in a Mandarin numeral construction
This paper investigates the semantics of an understudied Mandarin numeral construction type, here dubbed
da-NumPs (i.e. number word < da ‘big’ < noun). Drawing primarily upon evidence from
online Mandarin corpora, we argue for a taxonomy of this construction that comprises two distinct interpretations, based on the
scalarity of the morpheme da and its composition with the other constituents within the construction.
Specifically, one reading of da-NumPs is a degree superlative reading, in which da relates a
domain of comparison, denoted by the nominal argument, to a plural group of entities ranked along the upper bound of a
contextually determined scale. Second, da-NumPs have a definite description reading, in which da
behaves on a par with a maximality-denoting iota operator, such that the construction refers to the maximal group individual that
satisfies the property denoted by the nominal argument. We further show that at the discourse level, both readings encode the way
the speaker subjectively construes the situation being described, indicating the speaker’s evaluative attitude towards the
significance of said situation. This pragmatic condition distinguishes the use of da-NumPs against that of
alternative, truth-conditionally identical numeral construction types. We further propose that in cases where the nominal
component includes a degree argument, a process of degree intensification enables the definite description reading to verify the
same situation as is licensed under a superlative semantics. We show that this process provides a way to make sense of the
systematic ambiguity available to da-NumPs, and allows us to capture its polysemy.
Keywords: -NumPs, superlatives, scalar semantics, definiteness, Chinese
Published online: 05 April 2019
https://doi.org/10.1075/lali.00032.jin
https://doi.org/10.1075/lali.00032.jin
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