Second Language knowledge of Cantonese Neg-wh-quantifiers: A pilot Study

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contribution

62 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

This paper reports a second language study on Cantonese negative-wh- quantifiers which are morphologically composed of a negative morpheme mou and any wh-phrases (e.g. mou-bingo ‘nobody’, mou-matje ‘nothing’ and mou-bindou ‘nowhere’). Such morphological composition gave strong quantifiers with both non- existential and additional existential readings. It concludes to support Slabakova’s Bottleneck Hypothesis (2008) that form-meaning mappings associated with the functional morphology of Cantonese Neg-whQs is particularly difficult and predicted to be less likely acquirable for second language (L2) learners even at native-like level.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationLanguage at the University of Essex (LangUE) 2011 Proceedings
Pages68-83
Publication statusPublished - Apr 2012
EventThe 6th Language at the University of Essex Postgraduate Conference - Department of Language and Linguistics, University of Essex., Essex, United Kingdom
Duration: 15 Jun 201116 Jun 2011

Conference

ConferenceThe 6th Language at the University of Essex Postgraduate Conference
Country/TerritoryUnited Kingdom
CityEssex
Period15/06/1116/06/11

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Second Language knowledge of Cantonese Neg-wh-quantifiers: A pilot Study'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this