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Varieties of alternatives: Mandarin focus particles

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Abstract

Mandarin focus particles systematically have heterogeneous uses. By examining details of two focus particles jiu ‘only’ and dou ‘even’, this paper explores the hypothesis that varieties of alternatives give rise to systematic ‘ambiguities’. Specifically, by positing sum-based alternative sets and atom-based ones, it maintains unambiguous semantics of jiu as only weak and dou as even, while deriving their variability through interaction with alternatives. Independently motivated analyses of distributive/collective readings and contrastive topics, combined with varieties of alternatives, deliver the full range of facts concerning jiu and dou. Theoretically, the paper illustrates an integration of Link, Landman’s theory of pluralites into Rooth’s alternative semantics.

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  1. School of Foreign Languages, Hunan University, Changsha, Hunan, 410082, China

    Mingming Liu

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Liu, M. Varieties of alternatives: Mandarin focus particles. Linguist and Philos 40, 61–95 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10988-016-9199-y

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