On semantic model construction of universal quantifications in English and Chinese
The cross-linguistic differences in universal quantification,a traditional topic in formal semantics,have been extensively studied.After examining the criterion of defining universal quantification and the linguistic data between English and Chinese,it is argued that 1)unlike the compactness of English universal quantifications,the corresponding ones in Chinese exhibit the diversified one-to-many distribution,which is usually restricted by the event domain;2)the frequent occurrence of dou in Chinese universal quantification,on a par with intensification use of English universal quantifier like all,is inherently an intensifier;eventually,3)a unified semantic model of universal quantifications in English and Chinese,relying on the tripartite structure of quantification,is proposed by combining event quantification with individual quantification,which could not only elucidate the compositionality of the structure,but also address the similarities and differences between English and Chinese,further highlighting the typological significance of the study.
万方数据
维普
