Encoding Domain Restrictions via an Overt Situation Pronoun
Keywords: definites, universal quantifiers, domain restriction, situation pronouns
TL;DR: I propose that the morpheme su33 in Nuosu Yi nominals is a morphosyntactic exponence of a situation pronoun in the situation semantics system, encoding domain restriction.
Abstract: This paper investigates nominal phrases in Nuosu Yi (Yi), which employs the morpheme su33 to mark definiteness and universal quantification. It occurs in definite nominals contingent on the con- textually accessible shared knowledge of referents: (1)-(3), while it is consistently obligatory in universal quantifiers: (4). I propose that this morpheme is a morphosyntactic exponence of a situation pronoun in the situation semantics system, encoding domain restriction (cf. Elbourne 2005, Schwarz 2009, Kratzer 2021). The observed patterns not only contribute to cross-linguistic landscape of domain restrictions of def- inites (e.g., Westersta ̊hl 1984, Gillon 2006) and strong quantifiers (e.g., von Fintel 1994, Giannakidou 2004, Etxeberria 2009), but might offer novel morphosyntactic evidence for the existence of situation pronouns.
Submission Number: 236
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