Event Delimitedness and a Quantified Object Noun Phrase
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초록
It is well known in the literature that a quantity of an object can affect the properties of the event denoted by the VP (e.g., Verkuyl 1972, Tenny 1994, Borer 2005, Travis 2010) such as event delimitededness (Tenny 1994). A delimited event has an inherent endpoint, and thus the event is viewed to be completed. For example, in the English sentence, ‘Max ate two apples.’, the event of eating two apples is understood to have an endpoint. This is because the event contains a quantified object such as ‘two apples’: the event will reach the endpoint when two apples are all consumed. This paper examines whether this type of well recognized correlation between event delimitedness and a quantified object is observed in a classifier language such as Mandarin where a classifier is employed to quantify a noun, unlike English. Interestingly, it is shown that the correlation in an English type language is absent in Mandarin; for example, a quantified noun via a numeral classifier (e.g., san ge pingguo ‘three apples’) does not contribute to event delimitedness in a sentence such as ‘He ate three apples.’. Moreover, it is shown that major approaches to nominal structure of Mandarin such as Cheng and Sybesma (1998, 1999) predict a similar correlation observed in English, contrary to the fact. Consequently, those approaches cannot account for the absence of the correlation.
Abstract
It is well known in the literature that a quantity of an object can affect the properties of the event denoted by the VP (e.g., Verkuyl 1972, Tenny 1994, Borer 2005, Travis 2010) such as event delimitededness (Tenny 1994). A delimited event has an inherent endpoint, and thus the event is viewed to be completed. For example, in the English sentence, ‘Max ate two apples.’, the event of eating two apples is understood to have an endpoint. This is because the event contains a quantified object such as ‘two apples’: the event will reach the endpoint when two apples are all consumed. This paper examines whether this type of well recognized correlation between event delimitedness and a quantified object is observed in a classifier language such as Mandarin where a classifier is employed to quantify a noun, unlike English. Interestingly, it is shown that the correlation in an English type language is absent in Mandarin; for example, a quantified noun via a numeral classifier (e.g., san ge pingguo ‘three apples’) does not contribute to event delimitedness in a sentence such as ‘He ate three apples.’. Moreover, it is shown that major approaches to nominal structure of Mandarin such as Cheng and Sybesma (1998, 1999) predict a similar correlation observed in English, contrary to the fact. Consequently, those approaches cannot account for the absence of the correlation.
참고문헌 (18)
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