Specific unknowns: A case study of epistemic indefinites in Cantonese

Tommy Tsz-Ming Lee

doi:10.3765/plsa.v6i1.4952

Abstract

This paper concerns how languages bundle an existential claim and>an ignorance inference in a nominal expression. I present a case study on epistemic indefinites (EIs) in Cantonese and show that Cantonese EIs have a different morphological makeup (m + zi + WH ‘not + know + WH’), when compared to other more discussed EIs. I suggest that the ignorance component associated with mzi-WH is a conventional implicature and that m-zi obtains an adnominal usage via grammaticalization. It denotes a choice function that comes with an ignorance component that is inherited from the predicative meaning of m-zi.

Highlights

This paper concerns how languages bundle an existential claim and an ignorance inference in a nominal expression
The primary goal of this paper is to present a case study on epistemic indefinites (EIs) in Cantonese, which take the form of m + zi + WH, literally, ‘not + know + WH’
I suggest that the properties in (13a) and (13b) follow if the ignorance component is treated as a conventional implicature and that (13c) can be captured if mzi is a choice function that comes with this implicature

Summary

Introduction

This paper concerns how languages bundle an existential claim and an ignorance inference (over the witness of an indefinite) in a nominal expression. Some professor is dancing on the table!’ These diagnostic tests speak against a conversational implicature approach to ignorance component on mzi-indefinites, which is suggested for EIs in Spanish and Japanese (AlonsoOvalle and Menendez-Benito 2010; Alonso-Ovalle and Shimoyama 2014).. I suggest that the properties in (13a) and (13b) follow if the ignorance component is treated as a conventional implicature and that (13c) can be captured if mzi is a choice function that comes with this implicature (which is a type of non-at-issue content). A “raising” verb (25) Aaming tai-zo [mzi bin-bun syu] Aaming read-PERF MZI which-CL book ‘Aaming read some book (I don’t know which).’

Attitude holder Complement

Conclusions