White, Nathan M. (2024) Quantifier float in Hmong. Folia Linguistica, 59 (3). pp. 547-580.

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Abstract

The typology of quantifier float (QF) in classifier languages has been the subject of research in several recent works. Some proposals suggest that languages should either have noun classifiers or the ability for the quantifier to "float", that is, appear separate from the noun it quantifies. QF has never been described for any Hmong-Mien language, leaving a critical gap in existing work and limiting the existing typology. The current work fills this gap with an analysis of quantifier float in Hmong, and considers that Hmong possesses both bare classifiers and quantifier float, a combination previously unattested in the literature on QF and contrasts with current typological proposals. Hmong allows this via two quantifier + noun orderings (QN and NQ) related to two functions of the classifier system that both permit quantifier float. The QN-only ordering is canonically associated with indefinite nouns, and the NQ ordering involves a nested noun phrase structure and is associated with definite nouns (generally with inner NP-internal bare noun classifiers) and partitive or distributive readings. The QN-only ordering is particularly significant for the typology as quantifier float to the right is permitted for quantifier + classifier sequences associated with a prenominal NP-internal position, where the classifier involved in this QF pattern occupies the same syntactic position within the noun phrase as the bare noun classifier in noun phrases generally.

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