22.1279, Diss: Syntax: Huang: 'On the Form and Meaning of Chinese Bare ...'

linguist at LINGUISTLIST.ORG linguist at LINGUISTLIST.ORG
Fri Mar 18 13:49:18 UTC 2011


LINGUIST List: Vol-22-1279. Fri Mar 18 2011. ISSN: 1068 - 4875.

Subject: 22.1279, Diss: Syntax: Huang: 'On the Form and Meaning of Chinese Bare ...'

Moderators: Anthony Aristar, Eastern Michigan U <aristar at linguistlist.org>
            Helen Aristar-Dry, Eastern Michigan U <hdry at linguistlist.org>
 
Reviews: Veronika Drake, U of Wisconsin-Madison  
Monica Macaulay, U of Wisconsin-Madison  
Rajiv Rao, U of Wisconsin-Madison  
Joseph Salmons, U of Wisconsin-Madison  
Anja Wanner, U of Wisconsin-Madison  
       <reviews at linguistlist.org> 

Homepage: http://linguistlist.org/

The LINGUIST List is funded by Eastern Michigan University, 
and donations from subscribers and publishers.

Editor for this issue: Mfon Udoinyang <mfon at linguistlist.org>
================================================================  

To post to LINGUIST, use our convenient web form at
http://linguistlist.org/LL/posttolinguist.cfm.

===========================Directory==============================  

1)
Date: 17-Mar-2011
From: Yahui Anita Huang [yhuang at bsc.edu]
Subject: On the Form and Meaning of Chinese Bare Conditionals: Not just 'whatever'
 

	
-------------------------Message 1 ---------------------------------- 
Date: Fri, 18 Mar 2011 09:46:31
From: Yahui Anita Huang [yhuang at bsc.edu]
Subject: On the Form and Meaning of Chinese Bare Conditionals: Not just 'whatever'

E-mail this message to a friend:
http://linguistlist.org/issues/emailmessage/verification.cfm?iss=22-1279.html&submissionid=4504418&topicid=14&msgnumber=1
  


Institution: University of Texas at Austin 
Program: Department of Linguistics 
Dissertation Status: Completed 
Degree Date: 2010 

Author: Yahui Anita Huang

Dissertation Title: On the Form and Meaning of Chinese Bare Conditionals: Not
just 'whatever' 

Linguistic Field(s): Syntax

Subject Language(s): Chinese, Mandarin (cmn)


Dissertation Director(s):
David Beaver
Nicholas Asher
Robert King
John Beavers
Steve Wechsler

Dissertation Abstract:

The syntactic and semantic treatment of Chinese Bare Conditionals is a
topic of much debate (Cheng and Huang 1996; Lin 1996; Chierchia 2000). 
This dissertation investigates the nature of Chinese Bare Conditionals in
three aspects: quantification and modal implications as compared to English
free relatives with -ever, and pronoun occurrence.  With regard to
quantification, I propose to treat the anteceding wh-phrase and its
anaphoric element (pronoun/wh-word) uniformly as a definite description
denoting a maximal plural entity similar to Jacobson (1995).  This entity
can be an atomic entity resulting in a singular definite reading, or an
entity consisting of more than one atom deriving a universal-like reading.
 Concerning modal implication, I propose to capture the agent's/speaker's
indifference reading of bare conditionals with von Fintel (2000). 
Indifference reading in his analysis is interpreted against a
counterfactual modal base which predicts a causal link.  His analysis is
needed for the interpretation of Chinese bare conditionals but may not be
applied directly to whatever, given that a causal link is necessarily
present in a bare conditional, but not required in an English
whatever-sentence.  I argue that the use of a pronoun in a bare conditional
is not subject to a uniqueness and existence condition as claimed in Lin
(1996).  Although bare conditionals typically contain two identical
wh-words, they may occur naturally with a pronoun that links bare
conditionals with other sentences into a piece of coherent discourse. This
account bears an important implication for the study of Chinese wh-phrases
and third person pronouns in being able to predict the existence of
anaphoric definite wh-phrases and bound-variable pronouns in the language.
 It also improves on existing accounts of Chinese bare conditionals in
being able to capture the details of the form and meaning of this
construction. Chinese bare conditionals are structurally related to ruguo
'if'-conditionals and Hindi left-adjoined correlatives and their meaning is
similar to, and yet not quite the same as that of 'whatever'. 


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This Year the LINGUIST List hopes to raise $67,000. This money will go to help 
keep the List running by supporting all of our Student Editors for the coming year.

See below for donation instructions, and don't forget to check out Fund 
Drive 2011 site!

http://linguistlist.org/fund-drive/2011/

There are many ways to donate to LINGUIST!

You can donate right now using our secure credit card form at  
https://linguistlist.org/donation/donate/donate1.cfm

Alternatively you can also pledge right now and pay later. To do so, go to: 
https://linguistlist.org/donation/pledge/pledge1.cfm

For all information on donating and pledging, including information on how to 
donate by check, money order, or wire transfer, please visit: 
http://linguistlist.org/donation/

The LINGUIST List is under the umbrella of Eastern Michigan University and as 
such can receive donations through the EMU Foundation, which is a registered 
501(c) Non Profit organization. Our Federal Tax number is 38-6005986. These 
donations can be offset against your federal and sometimes your state tax return 
(U.S. tax payers only). For more information visit the IRS Web-Site, or contact 
your financial advisor.

Many companies also offer a gift matching program, such that they will match 
any gift you make to a non-profit organization. Normally this entails your 
contacting your human resources department and sending us a form that the 
EMU Foundation fills in and returns to your employer. This is generally a simple 
administrative procedure that doubles the value of your gift to LINGUIST, without 
costing you an extra penny. Please take a moment to check if your company 
operates such a program.

Thank you very much for your support of LINGUIST!




-----------------------------------------------------------
LINGUIST List: Vol-22-1279	
----------------------------------------------------------


	



More information about the LINGUIST mailing list