On (Non-)monotonicity of Attributive Measure Phrases

This paper investigates the semantics of measure phrases when they function as attributive modifiers in Mandarin.Contra Schwarzschild (2006), we argue that monotonicity of measure phrases is not syntactically determined, and that measure phrases at attributive positions are ambiguous between monotonic and non-monotonic readings.We further claim that the contrast between monotonic and non-monotonic readings for attributive MPs in Mandarin should be recast as the dichotomy between object and subkind readings.When non-monotonic MPs modify NPs, they help to make reference to "temporary kinds" but not "well-established kinds"; when monotonic MPs serve as adnominal modifiers, they express properties over the set of atomic entities in the denotation of N.