Complex numerals in Mandarin Chinese are constituents

This paper explores a typology of overt coordination in additive numerals in a number of minority languages in South China. Among approximately 100 minority languages surveyed, 26 languages feature different coordinators for additive numerals and noun phrases. We show that these two types of coordinators are not semantically, etymologically, or morphologically related. This phenomenon presents a serious challenge to the proposal that additive numerals do not form constituents and that numeral coordination is derived from underlying nominal coordination in such languages.

Overt coordination in additive numerals of minority languages in South China

This article focuses on the controversy over whether complex numerals in English are constituents. Contra the traditional view (e.g. Hurford 1975; Greenberg 1990 [1978]), the cascading structure proposed in Ionin &amp; Matushansky (2006, 2018) maintains that cross-linguistically a complex numeral does not form a constituent to the exclusion of the NP complement. The derivation of an additive complex numeral, e.g. twenty-two people , thus involves an underlying source form with a nominal conjunction, e.g. twenty people and two people . Based on the argumentation established in He (2015) and He et al. (2017) supporting complex numerals as constituents in Chinese and minority languages in southern China, this article first demonstrates that the non-constituency analysis is not viable for English, as the underlying forms of additive complex numerals may be ill-formed and also not semantically equivalent to the surface forms. We then offer evidence to support the constituency analysis from constituency tests and behavior of post-numeral and pre-numeral modifiers. Finally, we demonstrate that the extra mechanism of grafting, proposed by Meinunger (2015), is unnecessary for English complex numerals. 

Complex numerals in English: constituents or not?

This article focuses on the controversy over whether complex numerals in English are constituents. Contra the traditional view (e.g. Hurford 1975; Greenberg 1990 [1978]), the cascading structure proposed in Ionin & Matushansky (2006, 2018) maintains that cross-linguistically a complex numeral does not form a constituent to the exclusion of the NP complement. The derivation of an additive complex numeral, e.g. twenty-two people, thus involves an underlying source form with a nominal conjunction, e.g. twenty people and two people. Based on the argumentation established in He (2015) and He et al. (2017) supporting complex numerals as constituents in Chinese and minority languages in southern China, this article first demonstrates that the non-constituency analysis is not viable for English, as the underlying forms of additive complex numerals may be ill-formed and also not semantically equivalent to the surface forms. We then offer evidence to support the constituency analysis from constituency tests and behavior of post-numeral and pre-numeral modifiers. Finally, we demonstrate that the extra mechanism of grafting, proposed by Meinunger (2015), is unnecessary for English complex numerals.

References

Grafting is a syntactic device developed and defended by van Riemsdijk (2000 and subsequent work) by which two independent input trees are connected via external remerger of internal elements, thus sharing a constituent. Grafting clearly violates standard assumptions about phrase structure. Still, several structures found in natural language are best analyzed in terms of grafting. The present paper discusses one such construction: complex numerals. It shows that the characteristic multidominance of grafting explains the word order, case assignment, plural, paucal, and singular distribution associated with complex numeral combinations better than a coordination approach and is more compatible with more number (or counting) systems found in the world's languages.

Complex Numeral Expressions: A Plea for Grafts

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Complex Numeral Expressions: A Plea for Grafts