As for the interpretation of ye, Lu (1980) among many researchers classifies ye into four types: (I) ye signifies the existence of two things that are equivalent; (II) ye represents the situation that the outcome is consistent no matter the assumption is realized or not; (III) ye with the meaning of ‘even’ preceded by an overt lian ‘even’
often occurs in negative sentences; and (IV) ye marks the emphatic use that characterizes the tone of voice called roundabout, tactful. These four types of uses are further characterized into subtypes, respectively, illustrated as follows.
I. ye signifies the existence of two things that are equivalent A. juxtaposition of subject6 etc.) not the relations of juxtaposition or coordination of them. That is to say, the function of ye is to emphasize that the second clause is similar to the first. Still, ye should be deleted, if two expressions have no likeness or though with similarities but no requirement for emphasis. These facts are shown by (i)-(iii).
Simply put, sentence (i) shows the fact that the verb phrase of the second clause is similar to that of the first clause. In (ii), there is no similar element between two clauses, so ye is deleted. Likewise, ye is deleted in (iiiB), when the answering sentence is just a statement rather than an emphasis.
visit
‘You go visiting Beijing, and I also go visiting Beijing.’
b. Lai ye keyi, bu lai ye keyi.7 Come also all right not come also all right ‘You can either come or not come.’
B. juxtaposition of predicate8
(22) Zhangsan da bangqiu, ye ti zuqiu.
Zhangsan hit baseball also kick soccer
‘Zhangsan plays baseball, and also plays soccer.’
C. juxtaposition of adjunct
(23) Zhe-ge ren zuotian lai-le, jintian ye lai-le.
This-CL person yesterday come-ASP today also come-ASP
‘This person came yesterday, and also came today.’
II. ye represents the situation that the outcome is consistent no matter the assumption is realized or not
A. suiran ‘although’ (jishi ‘even if’, ningke ‘rather’)… ye ‘also’…
(24) Suiran yijing xia-yu-le, zuqiusai ye yao anshi
Although already fall-rain-ASP soccor-game also must on-time juxing.
7 Lu (1980) points out that ye can occur in both clauses, or just in the latter clause. Besides, Biq (1989) also argues that this point discriminates Chinese ye from English also. For ease of exposition, we only focus on sentences with ye in the second clause.
8 Lu (1980) observes that granted the identical subjects and verbs of two clauses, their objects can be preposed to the initial position, respectively, as shown by (i).
(i) Mantou wo chi, mifan wo ye chi.
Steamed bun I eat rice I also eat
‘I eat steamed buns, and I also eat rice.’
hold
‘Although it rains a lot, the soccer game still has to be held on time.’
(25) Jishi ni bu suo, wo ye hui zhidao.9 Even-if you not say I also will know
‘Even if you don’t tell me, I will still know that.’
(26) Wo ningke chidao, ye bu yao kai kuaiche.
I rather late also not want drive fast car
‘I would rather be late to driving fast.’
B. the element preceding ye is nominal, with the interpretation of ‘no matter …’10 (27) Shei ye bu shuohua, yanjing dou ding-zhe heiban.
Who also not say eyes all fix-ASP blackboard
‘Everyone says nothing, and they all fix their eyes on the blackboard.’
C. repetition of verbs preceding and following ye with the meaning of ‘no matter how…’ or ‘even if’
(28) Pao ye pao bu dong.
Run also run not move
‘(No matter how hard you try to run), you cannot even move one step.’
(29) Ting ye mei ting jinqu ji-ju.
Listen also not listen inside some-CL
9 In suiran ‘although’ (jishi ‘even if’, ningke ‘rather’)… ye ‘also’ construction, the deletion of the coordinator, such as suiran ‘although’ (jishi ‘even if’, ningke ‘rather’) will not alter the interpretation of the sentence, as shown by (i) (cf. Lu (1980)).
(i) (Jishi) ni bu suo, wo ye hui zhidao.
(Even-if) you not say I also will know
‘(Even if) you do not tell me, I would still know that.’
10 Lu (1980) proposes that the meaning of ‘no matter how…’ can be expressed by certain adverb, such as yongyuan ‘never’ in (i).
(i) Ta yongyuan ye bu zhidao shenme shi lei.
He never also not know what is tiredness
‘(No matter how long he has worked), he would never feel tired.’
‘(Even if) you listened, you did not realize what was said.’
D. zai ‘again’ (zui ‘most’, ding ‘at most’) …ye ‘also’
(30) Yi-ge ren zai congming ye shi you xian.
One-Cl person more smart also is has limit
‘Even if one is extremely smart, there are still some limitations.’
(31) Zuiyuan ye jiu shier-mi zuoyou.
Most-far also then twelve-meter about
‘The farest is only about twenty meters.’
(32) Dingduo ye buguo shi gongli.
Top-most also only ten kilometer
‘At most it is only ten kilometers.’
III. ye with the meaning of ‘even’ preceded by an overt lian ‘even’ often occurs in negative sentences11
A. the element preceding ye is a noun
(33) Ta tou ye bu tai, zhuanxin xuexi.
He head even not lift pay attention learning
‘He did not lift his head at all, and paid all his attention to learning.’
B. the element in front of ye is the construction of ‘yi ‘one’+ noun’
(34) Yi-zhang zhi ye mei diu.
One-CL paper even not throw
‘Even one piece of paper is not thrown away.’
C. the element preceding ye is a verbal noun, and the numeral is limited to yi ‘one’
11 The question concerning why ye occurs more often in negative sentences will not be discussed in this thesis (cf. Biq (1989)).
(35) Yi-ci ye mei qu.
One-CL even not go
‘Do not go even once.’
(36) Shuzhi yi dong ye bu dong.12 Branch one move even not move
‘The branches do not move even a little.’
IV. the emphatic use that characterizes the tone of voice called roundabout, tactful (37) Ni ye bu shi wairen, wo dou gaosu ni ba.
You also not is stranger I all tell you particle
‘You are not stranger, and I shall tell you everything.’
(38) Ni ye tai bu keqi le.
You also too not polite le
‘You are also very impolite.’
Besides, Ma (1982) modifies Lu’s (1980) idea, proposes that ye signify the similarity between two expressions not mark the existence of two things, which are equivalent, as shown in (39). In (39), there is no identical element between two conjuncts.
Instead, we can draw certain similarity between them: the intensity of ‘the wind’ and
‘the rain’ are both reduced.
(39) Feng ting-le, yu ye xiao-le.
12 Lu (1980) observes that when a verbal noun is the same as a verb, the numeral yi ‘one’ can be omitted, as represented by (i).
(i) Shuzhi (yi) dong ye bu dong.
Branches (once) move also not move
‘The branches don’t move even a little.’
Wind stop-SPF rain also little-SPF
‘The wind stops, and the rain becomes lighter.’
Shen (1983) further pinpoints out that the similarity between two expressions will not be of importance unless certain existence of difference between them, as shown by (40)-(42).
(40) Zhangsan shi Meiguoren, Lisi ye shi Meiguoren.
Zhangsan is American Lisi also is American
‘Zhangsan is an American, and Lisi is also an American.’
(41) *Lisi shi Meiguoren, Lisi ye shi Meiguoren.
Lisi is American Lisi also is American
‘Lisi is an American, and Lisi is also an American.’
(42) *Zhangsan shi Meiguoren, Lisi ye shi Yingguoren.
Zhangsan is American Lisi also is English
‘Zhangsan is an American, and Lisi is also an Englsih.’
Furthermore, Zhu (1982) proposes that ye denote the interpretations of ‘listing.’ For example, the ‘listing’ reading in (40) is to state that the following two persons are Americans: Zhangsan and Lisi.
Another important point is that, according to Lu (1980) and Ma (1982), these four uses of ye can be generalized as the first use, namely, there is only one ye that functions to emphasize the likeness between two expressions.
In sum, ye functions to underscore the similarity between two expressions; the similarity will not be imperative unless there is certain difference between two
expressions (cf. Lu (1980), Ma (1982), Shen (1983), Zhu (1968)).
2.3 Literature Review: Syntax and Semantics of Erqie
According to Zhu (1968), Lu (1980), Ma (1982), Aoun and Li (2003), erqie is a coordinator connecting two non-nominal categories: verb phrases, adjective phrases, and clauses.13 Interestingly, when erqie conjoins clauses, the clause following it usually carries some adverbs, such as hai ‘even’, geng ‘more’, and you ‘again’ as illustrated by (43)-(45). So, Lu (1980) argues that the semantics of erqie is dijin
‘furthermore’.
(43) Zhe-li bu shao ren shi wo de lao tongxue, erqie you This-place not few people is my DE old classmates and have de *(hai) shi hao pengyou.
DE even is good friends
‘Many people here are my old classmates, and some are even my good friends.’
(44) Cong lulu keyi qu, cong shuilu ye keyi qu, erqie From land-rout can go from waterway also can go and
*(geng) jin yixie.
more near some
‘You can either go by land rout or by waterway, and the distance is much shorter by waterway. ’
(45) Jingyan shi baogui de erqie jingyan de huode
13 According to Aoun and Li (2003), presuming that erqie connects two verb phrases, these verb phrases can not express dual properties or activities of one individual, as shown in (i).
(i) Zhangsan nianshu *erqie/jian gongzuo, hen mang.
Zhangsan study and/and work very busy
‘Zhangsan studies and works; (he is) very busy.’
Experience is treasure De and experience de acquisition
*(you) wangwang shi xuyao fuchu daijia de.
again always is need pay price De
‘Experience is valuable, and the acquisition of that always requires efforts.’
2.5 Some Problems
There is no denying that Zhu (1968), Lu (1980), Ma (1982), and Shen (1983) give a precise description for the syntax and semantics of ye, but they simply give us a description instead of an analysis with explanatory adequacy for the semantic nature of ye. Lu (1980) either touches the question of why there are usually adverbs following erqie.
Besides, we shall point out that previous analysis of ye and erqie is challenged by the following questions: First, why ye rather than erqie is used in the following sentence patterns: (A) preceding the wh…dou construction in (46); (B) two conjuncts with the contradictory interpretations in (47); and (C) two shi ‘is’ clauses in (48).
Second, why erqie is optional, while ye is obligatory in …(erqie)…ye…construction, as shown in the contrast between (49) and (50). Third, when a modal occurs in the coordinated structure, it has to occur in both conjuncts, as exhibited in (51).
(46) Wo jiao-guo hao xuesheng, ye/*erqie jiao-guo huai I teach-ASP good-students also/*and teach-ASP bad xuesheng, shenmeyiang de xuesheng wo dou keyi
students what kind DE students I all can yingfu.
handle
‘I have taught good students, and also taught bad students; I can handle all kinds of students.’
(47) Zhangsan bu gao ye/*erqie bu ai.
Zhangsan not tall also/*and not short
‘Zhangsan is neither tall nor short.’
(48) Zhangsan shi Mali xinzhong de hao baba, ye/*erqie shi Zhangsan is Mary at heart De nice father also/*and is linju xinzhong de haohaoxiansheng.
neighbor at heart DE nice sir
‘Zhangsan is a good father at Mary’s heart, and also a nice person at neighbors’
heart.’
(49) Zhangsan qu-guo Meiguo, (erqie) Lisi ye qu-guo Meiguo.
Zhangsan go-ASP America and Lisi also go-ASP America
‘Zhangsan has been to America, and Lisi also has been to.’
(50) *Zhangsan qu-guo Meiguo, erqie Lisi qu-guo Meiguo.
Zhangsan go-ASP America and Lisi go-ASP America.
‘Zhangsan has been to America, and Lisi also has been to.’
(51) Ni keyi shui chuang, ye *(keyi) shui shafa.
You can sleep bed also can sleep sofa
‘You can either sleep on the bed, or sleep on the sofa.’
The above linguistic data leads us to the basic question that what the syntactic and semantic characteristics of ye and erqie are. In the following, we shall first discuss the properties of ye in Chapter Two, and then that of erqie in Chapter Three.
Chapter 3
Syntax and Semantics of Ye
In Section 3.1, we shall first propose a uniform analysis for ye that is treated as an additive particle, and then briefly introduce Rooth’s (1985, 1992, 1997) alternative semantics to facilitate further discussion. The semantics of ye will be spelled out in Section 3.2..14 In Section 3.3 we shall argue that the English counterpart of ye is too/also.
3.1 Ye as an Additive Particle
In this section, we shall argue that ye is an adverb instead of an adverbial conjunction by the following evidence (cf. Lu (1968), Liu (2001), Hole (2004)). First, Chinese coordinated structure can be expressed by a coordinator, such as bingqie ‘and’ in (52), er ‘and’ in (53) or a zero coordinator in (54)-(57).15 According to Chao (1968), the
14 Since ye plays a crucial role with respect to the pitch accent of the sentence, we shall suggest that ye be a focusing adverb in the following section (cf. Konig (1991)). Besides, the meaning of ‘additive’
in ‘additive particle’ actually derives from the presupposition of ye: asides from the sentence with ye is true, there is at least one additional expression P will be true (cf. Krifka (1999)).
15 According to Chao (1968), in addition to an overt coordinator or a zero coordinator, there are four extra markers of coordination: (i) pause; (ii) particle; (iii) falling ending; and (iv) correlative marker or repeated marker, as shown by examples in (i)-(iv), respectively.
(i) Zhangsan chi yi-wan fan, Lisi chi liang-wan mian.
Zhangsan eat one-CL rice Lisi eat two-CL noodles
‘Zhangsan ate one bowl of rice, and Lisi ate two bowls of noodles.’
(ii) Tamen tiantian daqiu lei, fushuei lei, tiaowu lei.
They everyday play ball Particle surf particle dance Particle
zero morpheme is the most frequent marker of coordinated structures.16 That is to say, coordinated expressions can occur in succession without conjunctions; sometimes even without pause, as shown by (54)-(57).17
(52) Dushuhui yiding yiao zhuzhi qi-lai bingqie zhichi Study group must want organize arise-come and insist xiaqu.
down-come
‘The study group must be organized and kept going on.’
(53) Bali shi Faguo de shoudu, er Luoma shi Yidali de shoudu.
Paris is France DE capital and Rome is Italy De capital
‘Paris is the capital of France, and Rome is the capital of Italy.’
(54) Zhangsan chi-le liang-wan fan, Lisi chi-le wu-wan mian.
Zhangsan eat-ASP two-CL rice Lisi eat-ASP five-CL noodles
‘Zhangsan ate two bowls of rice, and Lisi ate five bowls of noodles.’
‘He can draw birds, flowers, trees, houses, but not people.’
(iv) a. Zhangsan budan hui yingwen ye hui fawen.
Zhangsan not only know English also know French
‘Zhangsan can not only speak English but also French.’
b. Zhangsan you change you tiaowu.
Zhangsan also sing also dance
‘Zhangsan is singing and dancing.’
16 This does not entail that each coordinator can be substituted by a zero morpheme. For example, some sentences will alter their meanings, supposing that the original coordinator is deleted, as shown by the contrast between (i) and (ii).
(i) Ni yiao ziji qu huo gen bieren qu?
You want self go or with other people go
‘Do you want to go by yourself or with others?’
(ii) *Ni yiao ziji qu gen bie ren qu?
17 The conjuncts are prone to occur in succession without pause, when their conjuncts are short (cf.
Chao (1968)).
(55) Ni bu lai, wo bu qu.18 You not come I not go
‘Neither do you come, nor do I go.’
(56) Ta youshihou ku, youshihhou xiao.
He sometimes cry sometimes laugh
‘He sometimes cries and sometimes laughs.’
(57) Tamen mai zhuozi yizi.
They sold tables chairs
‘They sold tables and chairs.’
Given this, sentences with ye can be conjoined by a zero coordinator, and ye does not have to serve as a coordinator.
Second, ye, unlike a coordinator bingqie ‘and’, can occur in a single sentence, as illustrated by (58)-(61). Thus, ye can not be treated as a coordinator, since it has nothing to conjoin.19
(58) Lisi ye qu-guo Meiguo.
Lisi also go-ASP America
‘Lisi has also been to America.’
(59) *Bingqie Lisi qu-guo Meiguo.20, 21
18 Example (55) is structurally ambiguous. It can be analyzed as a coordinated structure or a conditional sentence. Since the conditional structure is beyond the scope of the thesis, we shall only focus on the first interpretation.
19 One may argue that when ye occurs in a single sentence, it is a macrosyntactic use of a conjunction, depending on something outside the sentence in which it occurs. This usage of ye is beyond the scope of this thesis, and we shall not discuss it in the remaining thesis.
20 According to Zhu (1968), Lu (1980), bingqie ‘and’ is a coordinator.
And Lisi go-ASP America
‘And Lisi has also been to America.’
(60) Zhe ye jiu shi laoshi chang shuo de: you zhi zhe shi This also then is teacher often say DE: you will person thing
jing cheng.
eventually success
‘This is what the teacher said: where there is a will there is a way.’
(61) * Bingqie zhe jiu shi laoshi chang shuo de: you zhi And this then is teacher often say DE: you will zhe shi jing cheng.
person thing eventually success
‘And this is what the teacher said: where there is a will there is a way.’
Third, a coordinator generally cannot co-occur with another coordinator or subordinator. This substantiates that ye, which can follow a coordinator qie ‘and’ or a subordinator yinwei ‘since’, is not a coordinator, as shown by (62)-(64).22
(62) Ta changchang bu tinghua, bingqie youshi ye hui He usually not obedient and sometimes also will shua-piqi.
lose temper
‘He is not usually obedient, and sometimes he also loses his temper.’
(63) *Ta changchang bu tinghua, qie bingqie youshi hui
21 In case that more information is provided in the discourse, this sentence can be grammatical in the conversation.
22 According to Zhu (1968), Lu (1980), qie ‘and’ is a coordinator.
He usually not obedient and and sometimes will shua-piqi.
lose temper
‘He is not usually obedient, and sometimes he also loses his temper.’
(64) (Yinwei) ta you yi-shuang da yianjing, suoyi ye/* bingqie Since she has one-CL big eyes so also/*and
geng xiyin ren.
more charming people
‘Since she has big eyes, she is more charming.’
Thus far, it is plausible for us to rule out the possibility that ye functions as a conjunction, or as an adverbial conjunction.
In sum, we have pointed out that ye should be an adverb by the following reasons:
(A) Chinese allows a zero coordinator, and thus ye does not need to function as an adverbial conjunction; (B) ye can occur in a single sentence; and (C) ye can co-occur with a coordinator or a subordinator. In the following, we shall first briefly introduce Rooth’s (1985, 1992, 1997) alternative semantics as a preliminary, and then the proposal that ye presupposes an alternative set will be suggested.
3.2 Proposal
3.2.1 Preliminary of Ye: Rooth’s Alternative Semantics
The idea of Rooth’s (1985, 1992, 1997) alternative semantics is to account for the interpretation of focus by first proposing the idea that in addition to the ordinary semantic value of an expression α, written [[α]]o, each expression has a focus semantic value [[α]]f that is in contrast to the ordinary semantic value [[α]]o. The
focus semantic value for a phrase α, represented as [[α]]f, is a set of propositions that derives from the ordinary semantic value. Seen in this way, the focus semantic value of [[α]]f results from substitution in the position corresponding to the focus phrase α of the ordinary semantic value. For example, the focus semantic value of (65) is the set of propositions of the form ‘x likes Sue’, as shown by (66b).
(65) [Mary]F likes Sue.
(66) a. [[ [Mary]F likes Sue ]]o = Mary likes Sue23
b. [[ [Mary]F likes Sue ]]f = x likes Sue, where x is in contrast to ‘Mary’
b. [[ [Mary]F likes Sue ]]f = x likes Sue, where x is in contrast to ‘Mary’