The Non-uniformity of Chinese Wh-indefinites through the Lens of Algebraic Structure

This dissertation investigates the non-uniformity of Chinese wh-indefinites. The different algebraic structures associated with the different wh-indefinites are shown to play a signif- icant role in determining their possible readings. Specifically, those wh-indefinites that are associated with an unordered algebraic structure can give rise to an epistemic reading in both positive and negative sentences. Those wh-indefinites that are associated with a structure of total ordering never have an epistemic reading. They have an existential reading in posi- tive sentences and generate an insignificance reading under a clausemate negation. Shenme ‘what’ is a special in that it straddles both types of wh-indefinites. When it is interpreted as kind-denoting, it is associated with an unordered structure and has an epistemic read- ing; when it is degree-denoting, however, it is associated with a structure of total ordering, leading to an insignificance reading under a clausemate negation. The proposed analysis through the lens of algebraic structure not only accounts for the non-uniformity of Chinese wh-indefinites, but also sheds light on the semantics of the particles that interact with the wh-indefinites. The multi-functional particle dou is an example. Two different groups of theories have been proposed to explain its different uses. The first group analyzes dou as a distributor and the second takes it to be semantically equivalent to English even. Bringing in the insights of the algebraic theory of Chinese wh-indefinites, I argue that the second group of theories is on the wrong track

Dimensions of symmetry in syntax : agreement and clausal architecture

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Linguistics and Philosophy, 2005.Includes bibliographical references (p. 347-373).(cont.) are, then, determined at phase levels by late insertion of categorial features. One crucial aspect of the proposed theory of structural symmetry involves interweaving effects, which emerge as categorial determination of different sizes and types. The present thesis discusses three such cases: Nominative-Genitive Conversion, Head-Internal Relative Clauses, and Predicate Cleft Constructions. It is further argued that Agreement Symmetry and Structural Symmetry interact with the Case theory and bring far-reaching implications for aspects of syntactic phenomena.This thesis is a theoretical investigation of various dimensions of symmetry exhibited in human language. I discuss two kinds of symmetry: AGREEMENT SYMMETRY and STRUCTURAL SYMMETRY. Building on these types of symmetry, the chapters develop and articulate theoretical explanations for a variety of phenomena within the framework of the Minimalist Program and provide empirical verification backed up by a cross-linguistic study. AGREEMENT SYMMETRY manifests itself under Case and agreement phenomena in natural languages. In the literature, there have been various theoretical proposals to capture the mechanism of Case and agreement (e.g. Government, Spec-Head Agreement, Feature Checking etc.). I argue for a theory of Multiple Agree as a feature valuation theory. Under Multiple Agree, a probe P Agrees with all matching goals simultaneously. Given that valuation is in essence bi-directional, Multiple Agree reveals two natural probe-goal relations: Mirrorsymmetry and Centrosymmetry. Further, I also propose that a syntactic derivation allows Derivational Simultaneity and that syntactic operations apply simultaneously at a probe level. I call this the Probe Theory of Parallel Derivation (PTPD). It is demonstrated that Multiple Agree and the PTPD explain intricate agreement patterns in Icelandic and other languages. STRUCTURAL SYMMETRY is exhibited in geometric parallelism between clauses and nouns. Building on observations of CP/DP parallelism sporadically made in the literature, I argue that their symmetric properties are subsumed under the Supercategorial Theory of the CP/DP Symmetry. The supercategorial theory views "clausal" and "nominal" structures as arising from a category-neutral supercategorial structure. The categorial differencesby Ken Hiraiwa.Ph.D

Functional Structure(s), Form and Interpretation

The issue of how interpretation results from the form and type of syntactic structures present in language is one which is central and hotly debated in both theoretical and descriptive linguistics. This volume brings together a series of eleven new cutting-edge essays by leading experts in East Asian languages which shows how the study of formal structures and functional morphemes in Chinese, Japanese and Korean adds much to our general understanding of the close connections between form and interpretation. This specially commissioned collection will be of interest to linguists of all backgrounds working in the general area of syntax and language change, as well as those with a special interest in Chinese, Japanese and Korean

Language-Specific Constraints on Scope Interpretation in First Language Acquisition

This dissertation investigates the acquisition of language-specific constraints on scope interpretation by Japanese preschool children. Several constructions in Japanese do not allow scope interpretations that the corresponding English sentences do allow. First, in Japanese transitive sentences with multiple quantificational arguments, an inverse scope interpretation is disallowed, due to the Rigid Scope Constraint. Second, Japanese logical connectives cannot be interpreted under the scope of local negation, due to their Positive Polarity. Thirdly, in Japanese infinitival complement constructions with implicative matrix verbs like wasureru ("forget") the inverse scope interpretation is required, due to the Anti-Reconstruction Constraint. The main goal of this research is to determine how Japanese children learn these constraints on scope interpretations. To that end, three properties of the acquisition task that have an influence on the learnability of linguistic knowledge are examined: productivity, no negative evidence, and arbitrariness. The results of experimental investigations show that Japanese children productively generate scope interpretations that are never exemplified in the input. For example, with sentences that contain two quantificational arguments, Japanese children accessed inverse scope interpretations that Japanese adults do not allow. Also, Japanese children interpret the disjunction ka under the scope of local negation, which is not a possible interpretive option in the adult language. These findings clearly show that children do not acquire these scope constraints through conservative learning, and raise the question of how they learn to purge their non-adult interpretations. It is argued that input data do not provide learners with negative evidence (direct or indirect) against particular scope interpretations. Two inherent properties of input data about possible scope interpretations, data sparseness and indirectness, make negative evidence too unreliable as a basis for discovering what scope interpretation is impossible. In order to solve the learnability problems that children's scope productivity raise, I suggest that the impossibility of their non-adult interpretations are acquired by learning some independently observable properties of the language. In other words, the scope constraints are not arbitrary in the sense that their effects are consequences of other properties of the grammar of Japanese

A Stalnakerian Analysis of Metafictive Statements

Because Stalnaker’s common ground framework is focussed on cooperative information exchange, it is challenging to model fictional discourse. To this end, I develop an extension of Stalnaker’s analysis of assertion that adds a temporary workspace to the common ground. I argue that my framework models metafictive discourse better than competing approaches that are based on adding unofficial common grounds