Rejected expectations: two scalar particles CAI and JIU in Mandarin Chinese

Abstract

The four uses of the particles cai & jiu in Mandarin Chinese are investigated: temporal, restrictive, conditional, & emphatic. It is claimed that the various uses of the particles are related by their common link to an abstract semantic structure. The analysis not only accounts for the semantic similarities of the different uses but also suggests that it is just the scales on which cai & jiu operate that result in the seemingly different meanings of the particles. It is argued that cai & jiu presuppose a change of state of the truth value of a proposition & that this change happens at a different point from where it is expected to happen. For cai, the asserted value of change is located \"farther up\" on the structure than the expected value, whereas for jiu, the asserted value of change is located \"farther down.\" 41 References. Adapted from the source document