Chapter 9. Scalar implicatures and the semantics of wh- indefinites in Vietnamese
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Cheng-Yu Edwin Tsai
Abstract
In this chapter we attempt to account for the meaning of wh-indefinites in Vietnamese through a formal system of scalar implicatures and exhaustification (Chierchia, Fox & Spector 2012; Chierchia 2013). While Vietnamese wh-indefinites occur in a variety of licensing contexts, we conclude that the crucial condition is speaker ignorance, which can be derived compositionally from the interaction between a wh-indefinite, an exhaustification operator, and a speaker-oriented epistemic modal. We further discuss the interpretations of morphologically complex wh-indefinites and bare wh-indefinites in negative sentences and non-epistemic modal environments, and demonstrate how to derive their semantics uniformly. Our proposal presents an alternative to the syntactic analysis by Tran & Bruening (2013), which is critically reviewed.
Abstract
In this chapter we attempt to account for the meaning of wh-indefinites in Vietnamese through a formal system of scalar implicatures and exhaustification (Chierchia, Fox & Spector 2012; Chierchia 2013). While Vietnamese wh-indefinites occur in a variety of licensing contexts, we conclude that the crucial condition is speaker ignorance, which can be derived compositionally from the interaction between a wh-indefinite, an exhaustification operator, and a speaker-oriented epistemic modal. We further discuss the interpretations of morphologically complex wh-indefinites and bare wh-indefinites in negative sentences and non-epistemic modal environments, and demonstrate how to derive their semantics uniformly. Our proposal presents an alternative to the syntactic analysis by Tran & Bruening (2013), which is critically reviewed.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Preface vii
- Chapter 1. Introduction 1
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Section A. Phonetics and phonology
- Chapter 2. Intonation in southern Vietnamese interrogative sentences 9
- Chapter 3. Vietnamese dialects 31
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Section B. Morphology and syntax
- Chapter 4. A more perfect unification 69
- Chapter 5. Illusory islands 81
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Section C. Semantics
- Chapter 6. Temporal reference in Vietnamese 115
- Chapter 7. Semantics of Vietnamese đã 141
- Chapter 8. (In)definiteness of Vietnamese noun phrases 155
- Chapter 9. Scalar implicatures and the semantics of wh- indefinites in Vietnamese 181
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Section D. Language aquisition and use
- Chapter 10. Vietnamese children’s interpretation of definite noun phrases 215
- Chapter 11. Interpretation of numerals under memory load by Vietnamese speakers 241
- Chapter 12. Gender in Vietnamese 253
- Chapter 13. Effects of grammatical roles and parallelism on referential form production in Vietnamese spoken and written narratives 275
- Index 301
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Preface vii
- Chapter 1. Introduction 1
-
Section A. Phonetics and phonology
- Chapter 2. Intonation in southern Vietnamese interrogative sentences 9
- Chapter 3. Vietnamese dialects 31
-
Section B. Morphology and syntax
- Chapter 4. A more perfect unification 69
- Chapter 5. Illusory islands 81
-
Section C. Semantics
- Chapter 6. Temporal reference in Vietnamese 115
- Chapter 7. Semantics of Vietnamese đã 141
- Chapter 8. (In)definiteness of Vietnamese noun phrases 155
- Chapter 9. Scalar implicatures and the semantics of wh- indefinites in Vietnamese 181
-
Section D. Language aquisition and use
- Chapter 10. Vietnamese children’s interpretation of definite noun phrases 215
- Chapter 11. Interpretation of numerals under memory load by Vietnamese speakers 241
- Chapter 12. Gender in Vietnamese 253
- Chapter 13. Effects of grammatical roles and parallelism on referential form production in Vietnamese spoken and written narratives 275
- Index 301
