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Language and Linguistics
Vol. 23:2 (2022) ► pp.274–312

Remarks on the maximality approach to Mandarin dou and other related issues

| Fudan University
| The Chinese University of Hong Kong
In this paper we comment on the maximality approach to Mandarin Chinese dou initiated by Giannakidou & Cheng (2006) and modified by Xiang (2008), showing that the approach fails (1) to explain several linguistic phenomena (e.g. the interaction between na ‘which’-phrases and dou, the distributive effect of dou, and the exclusiveness of dou), (2) makes incorrect predictions concerning the interpretations of dou-sentences, and (3) suffers from various theoretical problems (e.g. compositional difficulty). After refuting the maximality approach, the paper argues that treating dou as a device for encoding universal quantification gives the above issues a more cogent explanation, has a wider coverage of language data, and also avoids the theoretical problems with the maximality approach.
Keywords: universal quantification, maximality, dou , FCI, exclusiveness, distributivity
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Problems with the maximality approach in Giannakidou & Cheng (2006)
    • 2.1Against non-distributivity of dou
    • 2.2Against dou as a marker of definiteness
    • 2.3Nominal maximizer ≠ suggestion of existence/givenness
    • 2.4More compositional difficulty
  • 3.Problems with the maximality approach in Xiang (2008)
    • 3.1Two different maximality-related phenomena
    • 3.2 Dou ≠ maximization over covers
    • 3.3Theoretical difficulty of maximization over degrees
  • 4.Explanatory power of dou as a universal quantifier
    • 4.1Diverse quantificational mapping strategies of dou
    • 4.2Universal quantification and polarity item licensing
    • 4.3Universal quantification and the suggestion of existence/givenness
    • 4.4Connection to Lin (1996; 1998) and Hole (2004)
  • 5.Concluding remarks
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • Abbreviations
  • References
Available under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) 4.0 license.

For any use beyond this license, please contact the publisher at [email protected].

Published online: 29 April 2022
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https://doi.org/10.1075/lali.00106.fen
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