The interpretation of disjunction in VP ellipsis in Mandarin Chinese
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Na Gao
Abstract
This study investigated the interpretation assigned to disjunction by Mandarin-speaking children and adults in negative sentences with either overt or covert disjunction. In one condition, both negation and disjunction were phonologically realized in the second conjunct of a coordinate structure. In a second condition, disjunction was elided from the verb phrase. Children and adults differed in scope assignments when both negation and disjunction were phonologically realized. However, negation took scope over disjunction for both groups when disjunction was elided. The findings invite the inference that adults, but not children, analyze disjunction as a Positive Polarity Item in negative sentences, but this polarity sensitivity is cancelled in sentences with verb phrase ellipsis. In this linguistic structure, both groups assign the same interpretation.
Abstract
This study investigated the interpretation assigned to disjunction by Mandarin-speaking children and adults in negative sentences with either overt or covert disjunction. In one condition, both negation and disjunction were phonologically realized in the second conjunct of a coordinate structure. In a second condition, disjunction was elided from the verb phrase. Children and adults differed in scope assignments when both negation and disjunction were phonologically realized. However, negation took scope over disjunction for both groups when disjunction was elided. The findings invite the inference that adults, but not children, analyze disjunction as a Positive Polarity Item in negative sentences, but this polarity sensitivity is cancelled in sentences with verb phrase ellipsis. In this linguistic structure, both groups assign the same interpretation.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Three streams of generative language acquisition research 1
-
Part I. Variation in input
- The comprehension of 3rd person singular -s by NYC English-speaking preschoolers 7
- Children’s acquisition of sociolinguistic variation 35
- Variability within varieties of English 59
-
Part II. First language acquisition
- Parsing, pragmatics, and representation 85
- The interpretation of disjunction in VP ellipsis in Mandarin Chinese 107
- When OR is conjunctive in child Mandarin 125
- The acquisition of V-V compounds in Japanese 143
- Differentiating universal quantification from completive aspect in child Cantonese 159
- On the learnability of implicit arguments 185
- Red train, big train, broken train 203
-
Part III. Second language acquisition
- The acquisition of Mandarin reflexives by heritage speakers and second language learners 225
- Interpretation of count and mass NPs by L2-learners from generalized classifier L1s 253
- Acquisition of word order in L2 Spanish 271
- Argument omission in SignL2 acquisition by deaf learners 297
- The Bottleneck Hypothesis updated 319
- Author index 347
- Subject index 355
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Three streams of generative language acquisition research 1
-
Part I. Variation in input
- The comprehension of 3rd person singular -s by NYC English-speaking preschoolers 7
- Children’s acquisition of sociolinguistic variation 35
- Variability within varieties of English 59
-
Part II. First language acquisition
- Parsing, pragmatics, and representation 85
- The interpretation of disjunction in VP ellipsis in Mandarin Chinese 107
- When OR is conjunctive in child Mandarin 125
- The acquisition of V-V compounds in Japanese 143
- Differentiating universal quantification from completive aspect in child Cantonese 159
- On the learnability of implicit arguments 185
- Red train, big train, broken train 203
-
Part III. Second language acquisition
- The acquisition of Mandarin reflexives by heritage speakers and second language learners 225
- Interpretation of count and mass NPs by L2-learners from generalized classifier L1s 253
- Acquisition of word order in L2 Spanish 271
- Argument omission in SignL2 acquisition by deaf learners 297
- The Bottleneck Hypothesis updated 319
- Author index 347
- Subject index 355
