Abstract
Genericity and Adverbial Quantification: From the Chinese Perspective I.-Ta Chris Hsieh Graduate Institute of Linguistics National Tsing Hua University Abstract Thesis focuses on the generics and adverbial quantification in Mandarin Chinese. I propose that there are two levels of genericity in Mandarin Chinese. On is the aspectual generic, and the other is the modalistic generic. The aspectual generic behaves intensionally with respect to time index. It has the same extension on time intervals. In the aspectual generic, Q-adverbs do not have quantificational effect over individuals. They can only have the pure frequency reading and are probability judgments (Cohen (1999)). Theoretically, the aspectual generic fits in the monadic analysis proposed by Carlson (1977a), (1977b) and (1982). And the Operator Gn heads the projection AspP, lifting a predicate into a corresponding higher-level one and licensing the non-relational Q-adverbs. Unlike the aspectual generic, the modalistic generic behaves intensionally with respect to possible worlds. The modal property of the Q-adverbs in the modalistic generic is explicitly realized by the generic modal hui. The generic modal hui heads the projection ModP and licenses the relational Q-adverbs. The analysis is along the line of Dahl (1975), Heim (1982) and Chierchia (1995b). If the analysis to genericity in Mandarin Chinese is on the right tract, the long-last controversy between the monadic approach (Carlson (1977a), (1977b), (1982)) and the quantificational approach (Heim (1982), Diesing (1992), Kratzer (1995), etc.) can be eased. These two approaches do not contradict each other; they work on different levels. The overt morphological marking of the Chinese generic provides evidence for these two levels of genericity. Moreover, these two levels of genericity also provide a piece of evidence for the adverbial licensing and adverbial hierarchy proposed by Cinque (1999). In addition, I also show that other languages such as English and the Southern Min also exhibits such a two-level genericity.