Deriving intra-constructional ambiguity in Mandarin dōu sentences: the roles of focus, topic, and speaker intention

In Mandarin Chinese, sentences featuring the adverb dōu commonly exhibit a multiplicity of interpretations. While previous studies have mainly focused on describing inter-constructional variation, the underlying mechanisms driving intra-constructional ambiguity have not been systematically explored. This study proposes a systematic and unified explanatory model to account for the derivation of different semantic patterns within dōu sentences. Building upon the tripartite quantificational structure, the proposed model attributes these multiple interpretations to the interaction between the invariant compositional core of dōu and dynamic, context-sensitive pragmatic inferences. Specifically, this study reveals that the derivation of these surface readings systematically depends on the dynamic interplay of three crucial factors: focus position, topic nature, and speaker intention. Focus position first determines the major interpretive path: scalar exhaustivity, general exhaustivity, or exclusiveness. Topic nature then distinguishes overt-topic from covert-topic readings within the general exhaustivity branch, whereas speaker intention distinguishes scalar exclusiveness from general exclusiveness within the exclusiveness branch. By providing a principled account of these divergent readings, the proposed framework suggests that inter-constructional variation can be understood as context-specific manifestations of intra-constructional ambiguity, thereby shedding new light on the syntax-semantics-pragmatics interfaces in Chinese quantification.