This analysis sets out to specifically discuss the polyfunctionality of [kai] in Waxiang (Sinitic), whose lexical source is the verb 'to follow'. Amongst its various uses, we find a preposition 'with, along', a marker of adjuncts and a NP conjunction, thus superficially resembling its Mandarin cognate 'with'. Curiously, however, it has also evolved into a direct object marker in Waxiang, with a function similar to that of preposition < 'hold, take' as found in the S--O-VP or so-called 'disposal' form in standard Mandarin. The pathways of grammaticalization for [kai] in Waxiang are thus discussed in order to determine how it has developed this unusual grammatical function in one of the linguistic zones of China where verbs of giving or taking are, in fact, the main source for grammaticalized object markers in 'disposal' constructions. On the basis of 16 and 17 century Southern Min literature (Sinitic), a comparison is also made with analogous developments for comitative 'with' to provide support for our hypothesis that the direct object marking use has evolved from the oblique function of a benefactive or dative, and is clearly separate from the crosslinguistically well-attested pathway that leads to its use as a conjunction. We would thus like to propose that these data contribute a new pattern to the stock of grammaticalization pathways, specifically, comitative > dative/benefactive > accusative (direct object marker).

Two experiments explored two-to five-year-old Mandarin-speaking children's acquisition of classifiers, mandatory morphemes for expressing quantities in many Asian languages. Classifiers are similar to measure words in English (e.g., a of apple; a of apples), with the main difference being that classifiers are also required when counting sortals (e.g., yi pinguo or "one apple" in Mandarin means "one apple"). The current study extended prior studies (e.g., Chien et al., J East Asian Linguist 12:91-120, 2003) to examine Mandarin-speaking children's understanding of classifiers as indicating units of quantification. Children were also tested on their knowledge of numerals to assess the relationship between children's acquisition of numerals and classifiers. The findings suggest that children first notice that sortal classifiers specify properties such as shape. Only after learning some numerals do they begin to work out how classifiers indicate units of quantification. By age four, children scored above chance on most classifiers tested.

In this paper, I examine a novel type of comparative construction in Korean, namely, reduced NP comparatives (RNC), and consider its implications. On the surface, RNC may appear to be a case of the usual NP comparative construction in that two NPs are involved. But, unlike typical NP comparatives, the element bearing the marker of the standard of comparison in RNC does not directly participate in the comparison, i.e., there is a mismatch between the standard and pivot. I argue this is due to the fact that the standard is reduced to leave only the pivot on the surface, hence the name "reduced" NP comparatives. I also argue that one of the factors that determines the availability of RNC is the notion of comparability, which is based on whether or not the compared elements can be associated with the same scale, where the scale is part of the semantics of the gradable predicate (Cf. Kennedy 2009). The interesting twist is that RNC is possible only if the relevant elements are not comparable with each other, i.e., they should denote different types of objects that cannot be associated with the same scale. Adopting Merchant's (The syntax of silence: sluicing, islands, and the theory of ellipsis. Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2001, Linguist Philos 27:661-738, 2004, J Greek Linguist 9:134-164, 2009, among others) move-and-delete approach to various ellipsis constructions, I propose a move-and-delete analysis of RNC, where the pivot undergoes movement, followed by deletion of the rest of the standard. The discussion also has implications for NP-ellipsis in Korean.

Mandarin universal terms such as -NPs in preverbal positions usually require the presence of 'all/even'. This motivates the widely accepted idea from Lin (Nat Lang Semant 6:201-243, 1998) that Mandarin does not have genuine distributive universal quantifiers, and -NPs are disguised plural definites, which thus need -a distributive operator (or an adverbial universal quantifier in Lee (Studies on Quantification in Chinese. Ph. D. thesis, UCLA), Pan (in: Yufa Yanjiu Yu Tansuo [Grammatical Study and Research], vol 13, pp 163-184. The Commercial Press)-to form a universal statement. This paper defends the opposite view that -NPs are true universal quantifiers while is not. is truth-conditionally vacuous but carries a presupposition that its prejacent is the strongest among its alternatives (Liu in Linguist Philos 40(1):61-95, 2017b). The extra presupposition triggers Maximize Presupposition (Heim in: Semantik: Ein internationales Handbuch der zeitgenssischen Forschung, pp 487-535. de Gruyter, Berlin, 1991), which requires [ ] block [] whenever 's presupposition is satisfied. This explains the - co-occurrence, if -NPs are universal quantifiers normally triggering individual alternatives (thus stronger than all the other alternatives). The proposal predicts a more nuanced distribution of obligatory-, not limited to universals and sensitive to discourse contexts.