A determiner is a particle that consumes a predicate phrase and produces a noun phrase.
For example: sa “some” is a determiner, bỉo “…is a cup” is a predicate phrase, and sa bỉo is a noun phrase meaning “some cup(s)”.
Semantically, these particles tend to correspond to logical quantifiers over a now-bound variable, plus an occurence of that variable. For example, the sa determiner corresponds to the quantifier. The tagged predicate phrase doubles both as a domain and a name for the variable.
In short, sa bỉo does three things:
- introduces an existentially bound variable bío to the clause;
- specifies that it refers to a cup (or some cups: see plural logic);
- acts in its place in the sentence as an instance of this variable.
Hẻaq jí sa bỉo.
I'm holding some cup(s).
Determiner particles
Word | Meaning |
---|---|
sa | some X |
tuq | every X |
tushı | each X |
tuq | all X |
sıa | no X |
ke | the X |
hoı | the aforementioned X |
baq | X in general, X-kind |
hı | which X? |
ja | λX |
Additionally, can be analyzed as a tonal pseudo-determiner that refers to bound variables, or falls back to "implicitly-bound" ke X if there is no earlier binding.
Every, each, all
tu bỉo quantifies over the range of "cups-es". The possible values of bío include not only individual cups, but also groups of cups. A group of cups is also a bỉo, after all.
This can lead to surprising behavior (TODO example), and you want to say tushı instead.
tushı bỉo quantifies over "cups-es that are one", i.e. each individual cup. It's like tu bỉo ru shỉ.
tuq bỉo doesn't make a "for-all" statement. Instead it refers to the single entity "all cups (together)".