The Semantics Of The Gradable "you+NP" Construction In Mandarin Chinese

This thesis investigates the semantics of the gradable �you(possess)+ NP� constructions in Mandarin Chinese.Unlike the ordinary possessive phrases such as you zhuozi �have tables',Mandarin has a very productive �you+NP� construction which patterns like a degree-based adjective with evaluative reading,for example,the phrases like you zhihui �have wisdom' can be directly modified by degree intensifiers.In a degree semantic perspective,the adjectival characteristics of �you+NP� constructions can be defined in terms of systematic gradability.On the basis of data from BLCU Corpus Center,this thesis aims to characterize and account for the special usage of �you+NP' constructions by addressing the source of gradability and the derived evaluativety,and as a result,to correctly predict the distribution of nouns after you.Different from the previous account based on an abstract-concrete distinction,I argue that this criterion is neither sufficient nor necessary,and falls short in accounting for the complicated facts.Starting from the similar behaviors of adjectives,I present some empirical evidence to suggest viewing gradable �you+NP� construction as a kind of evaluative adjective to some extent.I follow Rett(2008,2015)to assume that the evaluativity of degree expressions is encoded in a null degree modifier EVAL,a function from a set of degrees to those which exceed a contextually-determined standard.Different from Rett's implicature-based account,I argue that the evaluative interpretation of gradable �you +NP� constructions,as well as evaluative adjectives,are derived from lexical meaning,since you provides an overt non-zero standard.I propose that the extensive measure and nonextensive measure in adjectives are somehow reflected therein.Crucially,the nonextensive measure which is not associated with a cardinality(the measurement of such properties is not represented numerically)corresponds to a quasi-ordering,it enables nouns to generate an equivalence class and therefore acquire a degree argument when combining with you.I lay out the formal foundation of this analysis and present it in detail how this accounts for the empirical data,which significantly contributes to the understanding of the relation between property concept adjectives and property concept nouns,as well as the nature of gradability.Furthermore,I explore the flexible conversion between quasi-ordering and partial ordering in natural language,returning to the larger theme of this study to see how these observations reflect measurement mechanism cognitively.