Abstract
In Cuzco Quechua there is a construction in which elements that typically appear noun phrase-internally may appear outside the noun phrase while receiving the same Casemarking as the noun. In this paper I look at the semantics and syntax of this discontinuous noun phrase construction. I argue that when an adjective or a quantifier appears outside the noun phrase it is also interpreted externally and not in a possible base position within the noun phrase itself. I adopt this analysis to explain data in which the discontinuous noun phrase is interpreted as necessarily indefinite. I also examine the behavior of an apparently exceptional universal quantifier sapa ‘each’ which cannot participate in the discontinuous construction. I explain this distribution of sapa, which differs from that of other universal quantifiers, by proposing that the basic use of sapa is as a quantifier over adverbial phrases.
Recommended Citation
Hastings, Rachel
(2003)
"The semantics of discontinuous noun phrases in Quechua,"
Semantics of Under-Represented Languages in the Americas: Vol. 2:
Iss.
1, Article 4.
Available at:
https://scholarworks.umass.edu/sula/vol2/iss1/4