Mandarin Polarity-Sensitive Items

Mandarin indefinite polarity items, typed by Polarity.Item. The system has three layers: the bare interrogatives (shéi 谁 'who', shénme 什么 'what') serve as indefinites in all non-specific non-emphatic functions — seven of the nine implicational-map functions, irrealis through free choice; the emphatic wh + dōu~yě series ('even, also; every, all') is interchangeable between the two particles, restricted to the direct-negation function, and preverbal only; and the free-choice determiner rènhé 任何 'any' occurs mainly with dōu.

Per-item asymmetries are encoded per entry: under direct negation only shénme is perfect while bare shéi is degraded, and the survey reports no indirect-negation data for the bare interrogatives, so no entry lists those contexts.

References

• [Has97], §A.36, Fig. A.36
• [Li92]
• [LT81], pp. 528–530

Bare interrogatives

def Mandarin.PolarityItems.shei : Polarity.Item

shéi (谁 'who', non-interrogative) — NPI/FCI. The bare interrogatives cover the seven non-specific map functions ([Has97] A.36.3, Fig. A.36); shéi is attested in questions (A266) and the free-choice span, but direct negation is omitted: ?Tā bù xǐhuan shéi is degraded where shénme is perfect (A267, [Li92] p. 150) — that slot belongs to the emphatic series.

Equations

• One or more equations did not get rendered due to their size.

def Mandarin.PolarityItems.shenme : Polarity.Item

shénme (什么 'what', non-interrogative) — NPI/FCI, the same seven-function span plus perfect direct negation: Tā bù xǐhuan shénme 'He does not like anything' (A267); irrealis imperative Chī diǎn shénme zài zǒu ba! 'Please eat a little something before you leave' (A264, [Li92] p. 152); conditional (A266).

Equations

• One or more equations did not get rendered due to their size.

The emphatic dōu~yě series

def Mandarin.PolarityItems.sheiDou : Polarity.Item

shéi dōu shéi yě (谁都/谁也, with clausemate negation) — the emphatic wh + dōuyě series: Tā shéi-dōu bù xìnren 'She doesn't trust anyone' ([LT81] p. 528). The two particles are interchangeable in the direct-negation function, the series' only region on the map, and occur preverbally only ([Has97] A269, Fig. A.36). baseForce is universal: the same formation without negation is 'everyone', and [Has97] (p. 309) leaves open whether the negated uses are indefinites or wide-scope universals.

Equations

• One or more equations did not get rendered due to their size.

The free-choice determiner

def Mandarin.PolarityItems.renhe : Polarity.Item

rènhé (任何 'any') — free-choice determiner, mainly with the adverb dōu: free choice under modals (Rènhé shíhou nǐ dōu kěyǐ lái 'You can come anytime', A270), comparatives (A271, a bǐ NP-comparative, listed under clausalComparative per the covert-clausal routing convention of Polarity.LicensingContext), and direct negation (A272); the superordinate-negation use (A273) has no matching context row. Etymologically rèn 'allow; appoint' + old interrogative hé 'what' ([Has97] A.36.2).

Equations

• One or more equations did not get rendered due to their size.

Verification

theorem Mandarin.PolarityItems.mandarin_licensing_sound (e : Polarity.Item) : e ∈ [shei, shenme, sheiDou, renhe] → ∀ c ∈ e.licensingContexts, c.licenses e

Every attested context of every entry is predicted licensed.

theorem Mandarin.PolarityItems.sheiDou_licensing_characterized (c : Polarity.LicensingContext) : c.licenses sheiDou ↔ c ∈ sheiDou.licensingContexts

The licensing keystone characterizes the emphatic series exactly: its anti-morphic licensor makes clausal negation the only licensing row, matching its direct-negation-only distribution.

theorem Mandarin.PolarityItems.direct_negation_asymmetry : Polarity.LicensingContext.negation ∈ shenme.licensingContexts ∧ Polarity.LicensingContext.negation ∉ shei.licensingContexts ∧ Polarity.LicensingContext.negation ∈ sheiDou.licensingContexts

Direct negation is attested with shénme but not with bare shéi, whose direct-negation slot the emphatic series fills instead.