On “Higher-than-expectation” Interpretation ofDouandShenzhi
Abstract
In current literature, one of the well-accepted interpretations of
Douis the
even-like interpretation which in essence is the higher-than-expectation (HTE) interpretation. However, there are two problems to be solved. Firstly, the
even-like
doucan be used in the context in which there is seemingly no HTE; secondly,
doucan be used in concordance with
shenzhi(a Chinese counterpart of
even). If both of them have the same HTE, it will be redundant. Based on the analysis of the alternative semantics, the paper proposes that there are three types of HTE: focused HTE, relevant HTE and compound HTE. It is the ignorance of the different types of HTE that leads to the first problem. Additionally, the paper argues that the HTE triggered by
douis a kind of implicature while that triggered by
shenzhiis a kind of presupposition, and that the focus structure of
douis different from that of
shenzhi. Therefore, the concordance of
douand
shenzhiresults in a complicated semantic relationship.