Abstract
This paper looks at a kind of colloquial phrases in Cantonese, the proposed negative wh-quantifier (‘Neg-whQ’), at syntax and semantics interface. Neg-whQs have the form [mou ‘no’ + wh- word]. Instead of a canonical SVO order, an Neg-whQobj uniquely manifests an SOV order and is variously interpreted as negative ‘nothing’ or existential ‘only a few’. Neg-WhQs do appear in subject position in Mandarin Chinese and as nowhere in English, however, such SOV word order of Neg-whQobj constructions is absent. This study discusses the overt movement phenomenon object Neg-whQs embody in a feature-based approach and accounts for the dual interpretation of Neg-whQobj constructions.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 19 |
| Number of pages | 32 |
| Journal | Current Research in Chinese Linguistics (CrCL) |
| Volume | 97 |
| Issue number | 1726-9245 |
| Publication status | Published - Jan 2018 |
| Event | The 20th International conference on Yue Dialects - Chinese Univeristy of Hong Kong , Hong Kong, Hong Kong Duration: 11 Dec 2015 → 12 Dec 2015 http://www.cuhk.edu.hk/ics/clrc/crcl_97_1/lee_man_ki_theodora.pdf |