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the syntax and semantics of relativization and quantification

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201<br />

(6.18) Pisi-ta llank’a-rqa-ni.<br />

a.little-ta work-past-1sg<br />

‘I worked a little.’<br />

(6.19) Wawa-yki<br />

child-2sg<br />

pisi-lla-ta-chu<br />

a.litte-delim-ta-q<br />

hamu-n?<br />

come-3sg<br />

‘Does your son come only a little (infrequently)?’<br />

Non-<strong>quantification</strong>al adjectives can also participate in this adverbial construction.<br />

An example is illustrated in (6.20). Here, however, <strong>the</strong>re is an ambiguity<br />

present. The ambiguity is between a verb-modifier use <strong>of</strong> sumaq-ta (‘well’) <strong>and</strong> a<br />

noun-modifier use <strong>of</strong> sumaq-ta (‘good’). Because <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> coindexation between wasi<br />

‘house’ <strong>and</strong> sumaq ‘good’ in <strong>the</strong> latter case, <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong> adjectival interpretation <strong>of</strong><br />

‘good’, this reading falls into my category <strong>of</strong> discontinuous noun phrase.<br />

(6.20) Nuqa<br />

I<br />

wasi-ta sumaq-ta<br />

house-acc good-ta<br />

‘I am watching over <strong>the</strong> house well.’<br />

? ‘I am watching over a nice house.’<br />

qhawa-sha-ni.<br />

watch-prog-1sg<br />

In (6.20), consultants vary on whe<strong>the</strong>r one or both readings are prominent. However,<br />

<strong>the</strong> consultant who suggested <strong>the</strong> above example with <strong>the</strong> first reading also<br />

proposed <strong>the</strong> following two examples in which sumaq ‘good’ is construed as adjectival<br />

(modifying a noun) <strong>and</strong> felt that (6.21) <strong>and</strong> (6.22) have <strong>the</strong> same meaning.<br />

(6.21) Machu<br />

Machu<br />

Picchu-pi<br />

Picchu-loc<br />

sumaq<br />

good<br />

mikhuna-ta<br />

food-acc<br />

‘At Machu Picchu, we ate good food.’<br />

mikhu-ra-yku.<br />

eat-past-2pl(excl.)<br />

(6.22) Machu Picchu-pi sumaq-ta mikhuna-ta<br />

Machu Picchu-loc good-acc food-acc<br />

‘At Machu Picchu, we ate good food.’<br />

mikhu-ra-yku.<br />

eat-past-2pl(excl.)<br />

One hypo<strong>the</strong>sis which we might entertain at this point is that <strong>the</strong> adjective<br />

or quantifier is some sort <strong>of</strong> unselective binder. That is, that this element may

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