How Plurality Is Encoded in Classifier Languages: A Case Study of Mandarin Chinese

Abstract

This dissertation sets out to explore the formal structure of noun phrases in Mandarin Chinese and how the proposed structure can be employed to encode plurality in Mandarin Chinese through morpho-syntactic means. The dissertation consists of six chapters. In Chapter 1, I introduce the concept of classifier languages, grammatical number, general number (or number neutrality) and why the study of plurality in classifier languages is crucial to develop our understanding on the syntactic structure of noun phrases in general. Then, I present the outline of the thesis and the logic behind each chapter’s arrangement. In Chapter 2, I review the theoretical tools employed: Distributed Morphology and Nanosyntax. I provide two motivations for considering number as a feature within DM framework. Furthermore, I compare the differences between DM and Nanosyntax. These theoretical tools are employed in Chapter 4 and Chapter 5, where I delve into the analysis of the plural morpheme -men and the classifier reduplication phenomenon. In Chapter 3, I justify the syntactic structure of noun phrases in Mandarin Chinese adopted in this dissertation. First, I review the types of classifiers in Mandarin summarized in past literature and the diagnostics therein used to distinguish them into two major categories: individual classifiers and massifiers. I invalidate some tests to distinguish these two types of classifiers and argue that they are not that different. For the test where they do behave differently, I argue that the difference can be accounted for through a unified classifier-for- noun structure, with individual classifiers being analyzed as Externally Merged to the CL head and massifiers as roots adjoined to the CL head. Then, I evaluate two opposing structural views on the syntax of classifiers from a crosslinguistic perspective: classifier-for-noun account and classifier-for-numeral account. By evaluating the diagnostics used and arguments given in the past literature, I reach the conclusion that there is not sufficient evidence in Mandarin Chinese to make the case for the classifier-for-numeral approach. Thus, I maintain the default classifier-for-noun structure, i.e., classifiers merge with nouns first and form constituents with nouns. Chapter 4 explores the properties of Mandarin plural morpheme -men. Firstly, I review three different research perspectives on plural marking: (i) exclusive plural and inclusive plural; (ii) non-inflectional plural marking vs inflectional plural marking; (iii) different types of plural markings as functional heads, including n, Div, Num head. While reviewing the properties of plural markings examined in the literature, I also apply the diagnostics therein to -men to test if the properties of -men align with any type of plural marking mentioned in the typology of plural marking in the literature. The diagnostics show that -men cannot be analyzed with any of the analyses in the past, leaving a research gap. Based on the properties of -men and the syntactic structure of noun phrases I propose in Chapter 3, I analyze -men in Mandarin Chinese as realizing a larger chunk of structure, spanning from the Div head to the D head. I demonstrate that this solution can account for properties that previous analyses are not able to account for. The order of N-men can be explained through the spellout-driven movement in Nanosyntax. Chapter 5 discusses the properties of classifier reduplication. I describe three types of classifier reduplication constructions: (i) CL-CL; (ii) yi-CL-CL; (iii) yi-CL-yi-CL. I also conduct analyses for the CL-CL construction and provide detailed accounts of the distributions of the rest reduplication constructions. From these analyses, there are three main observations. Firstly, the phenomenon of classifier reduplication encompasses distinct mechanisms. Secondly, the source of plural meaning varies. Lastly, reduplication can occur in structures of varying sizes. Finally, in Chapter 6, I summarize the main contributions and limitations of this dissertation and discuss potential directions for future research.