Two readings of the AVQ

Recall the discussions in the section 2.2 and section c.1 that the AVQ in Chinese

can yield two readings: exhaustive and partitive reading like the Japanese numeral FQ.

In this section, I will further discuss the two readings of the AVQ.

According to Fujita (1994), Downing (1996) and Kobuchi (2004, 2007) , in

Japanese the adnominal numeral quantifier can only yield an exhaustive reading but the

adverbial numeral quantifier can have both an exhaustive and a partitive reading.

Similarly, in Chinese the AVQ can yield two readings: exhaustive and partitive reading,

as displayed in (1c0) whereas the ADQ can only be used in an exhaustive context in

(1c1).

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(1c0) Na-xie xuesheng yiding san-ge ren nenggou zai

that-CL student definitely three-CL person can in

zhe-chang bisai de jiang.

this-CL game win prize

a. ‘Three of those students can win a prize in this game.s (AVQ-partitive)

b. ‘The three students can win a prize in this game.s (AVQ-exhaustive)

(1c1) Na-xie xuesheng san-ge ren a! yiding nenggou

that-CL student three-CL person EXCL！ definitely can

zai zhe-chang bisai de jiang.

in this-CL game win prize

a. *‘Three of those students can win a prize in this game.s (ADQ-partitive)

b. ‘The three students can win a prize in this game.s (ADQ-partitive)

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Fujita (1994) claims that in Japanese the reading of an FQ will vary, depending

on the relevant context. More precisely, in most cases, the FQs are interpreted with a

partitive reading since its associated nominal phrase is the relevant set which can be

used to compare with the FQ. Furthermore, Inoue (1987), Hamano (1990) and Fujita

(1995) note that the partitive reading is one of the characteristics of FQ. The AVQ in

Chinese has a similar characteristic. As shown in (1c0), the AVQ sanhge ren ‘three

peoples can have either an exhaustive or a partitive reading.

Moreover, it is found that if the AVQ is non-numeral and expresses an

exhaustive reading, then the AVQ must be licensed by a distributive or a collective

adverb, like dcu ‘alls, yiqi ‘togethers, fenbie ‘respectivelys etc. (see ex.(1c2)), while if

the AVQ is numeral or expresses a partitive reading, then the licensers are optional (see

ex.(1cc)-(1c4)).²¹

21 There are some quantifiers in Chiense that cannot be categorized into numeral or non-numeral easily like mcuhxie ren ‘some peoples, mcu jihge ren ‘certain peoples etc.. Since classifying these quantifiers involves the inner structure of Chinese NP, which goes beyong the scope of this thesis I will leave it for future studies. Here, I just want to remind that these quantifiers also have the simiar behaviors to the AVQ.

12c

(1c2) Na-xie xuesheng dagai mei ge ren (*dou) nenggou

that-CL student probably every CL person DOU can

zai zhe-chang bisai de jiang.

in this-CL game win prize

‘Each of those students probably can win a prize in this game.s

(1cc) Na-dui xiongdi yinggai liang-ge ren hui (yiqi) zai

that-CL brother should two-CL person will together in

zhe-chang bisai de jiang.

this-CL game win prize

‘Both of that pair of brothers will likely win a prize in this game.s

(1c4) a. Na-xie xuesheng dagai mou-xie ren nenggou zai

that-CL student probably some-CL person can in

zhe-chang bisai de jiang.

this-CL game win prize

‘Some of those students probably can win a prize in this game.s

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b. Na-qun xuesheng dagai san-ge ren hui chuxi

that-CL student probably three-CL person will attend

zhe-ge huiyi.

this-CL meeting

‘Probably, three of those students will attend this meeting.s

If the AVQ is non-numeral and yields an exhaustive reanding, a licenser is

required (see ex.(1c2)). However, if the AVQ is numeral and yields an exhaustive

reading, a licenser is not necessary but it is more natural for native speakers to get an

exhaustive reading with a licenser. A partitve reading of the numeral or non-numeral

AVQ is always available regardless of a licenser (see ex.(1c4)). As discussed in

section 2.2, the partitive reading is more preferred in FQ construction, noted by Inoue

(1987), Hamano (1990) and Fujita (1995). Therefore, I believe that it is easier for the

AVQ in Chinese to yield a partitive reading.

As to the reason why the non-numeral AVQ requires a licenser, I think that it

may be due to the nature of the quantifier mei ‘everys itself. According to Huang

(1995), mei yi ge ‘everyones is a distributive quantifier so it needs the quantifier DOU

or an indefinite adverbial phrase to be the licenser to introduce its predicate, as shown

in (1c5).

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(1c5) a. Mei yi ge xuesheng *(DOU) biye-le.

every one CL student DOU graduate-ASP

‘Every student graduated.s

b. Mei yi ge gexing hong-le yi nian.

every one CL singer popular-ASP one year

‘Every singer was popular for one year.s

(Huang 1995)

Apart from the distributive quantifier mei yi ge ‘everyones, the quantifier

sucycu ‘alls also requires a licenser (Huang 1995).

be a distributive licenser like DOU, a collective licenser like yiqi ‘togethers, or an

indefinite adverbial phrase since sucycu ‘alls can yield a distributive or collective

reading. I suggest that depending on the reading, distributive or collective, the

non-numeral AVQ needs different licensers, as shown in (1c6).

22 Since mei yi ge ‘everyones is a distributive quantifier, semantically, it can only be licensed by distributive licensers.

126

(1c6) Na-xie xuesheng yiding suoyou ren nenggou (yiqiY DOU)

that-CL student definitely all person can together DOU

zai zhe-ge xuexiao dushuYdu yi-nian shu.

in this-CL school study one-CL book

‘Those students definitely can study in this school together for one year.YEach of

those students definitely can study in this school for one year.s

The reason why the non-numeral quantifiers which expresses an exhaustive

reading need a licenser would be a semantic issue which goes beyond the scope of

this thesis.

3.3.4 Some remarks on other constructions which are claimed to be FQ