The plural marker tsho in Lhasa Tibetan: Syntax, interpretation, and cross-linguistic analysis

This paper investigates the syntactic distribution and semantic interpretation of the plural marker tsho in Lhasa Tibetan, a topic that has received little attention in the literature. Based on evidence from native-speaker elicitation and previous research, the study argues that tsho should be analyzed as two distinct plural markers, labelled tsho¹ and tsho². The two forms differ systematically in their distributional and semantic properties: tsho¹ attaches to human common nouns, is incompatible with numerals and inanimate nouns, and conveys weak definiteness; whereas tsho² occurs with demonstratives and personal pronouns, is compatible with numerals and inanimate nouns, and conveys strong definiteness. Building on a previously proposed tripartite model of plural marking, the paper argues that tsho¹ is merged in the Counting Projection (#P), while tsho² is merged within the Determiner Phrase (DP) domain. A cross-linguistic comparison with English plural marker -s and Mandarin men further shows that variation in the syntactic position of plural markers systematically correlates with differences in distribution and interpretation. The findings contribute to a more fine-grained understanding of plurality, referentiality, and nominal structure, and provide new empirical evidence from Lhasa Tibetan for cross-linguistic theories of plural marking.