Quantifier Strengths Predict Scopal Possibilities of Mandarin Chinese Wh-indefinites

It is widely noted that quantifier scope in English is bounded by relative clauses, if -clauses, and perhaps tensed clauses in general. It is also well known that indefinite determiners such as a, some, and a certain are exempt from this restriction. We can try to explain this discrepancy in two ways. On one hand, maybe indefinite NPs take scope through a mechanism separate from (and more liberal than) that for “genuine quantifiers”. The analysis of   (or more generally, unselective binding) that has become popular in the last decade represents this approach. On the other hand, although scope constraints clearly vary from determiner to determiner, maybe a single scoping mechanism can be parameterized to accommodate this variation. In this paper, I take the latter view and explore the empirical consequences of a particular theory of quantification in which all quantifier scoping—including indefinite scoping— is driven by   that are lexically constrained. I introduce the theory in §1, then apply it in §2 to the scope of - in Mandarin Chinese. Although my notion of quantifier strength arises most naturally in the study of   (Barker 2002; de Groote 2001; Shan 2002; Shan and Barker 2002), the theory can be implemented in most grammatical formalisms, if perhaps with more stipulation and less inspiration. In §3, I show how my account of Mandarin wh-indefinite scope predicts scopal possibilities for sentences that are surprising to Lin’s (2002) alternative account based on choice functions. Finally, in §4, I summarize continuation semantics and the broader project of which this work is a part.