Floating quantifiers, specificity and focus in Lalo Yi

Abstract Lalo Yi presents a distribution of numeral-classifier pairs that appears to be the complete inverse of the norm found in other numeral-classifier languages. With many numerically-quantified, discourse-new referents, Lalo Yi permits only the use of a floated pattern, and it is not possible to combine numerals and classifiers with NPs as in other numeral-classifier languages. This patterning presents a clear challenge to the oft-adopted assumption that floating quantifiers are derived from non-floated forms by applications of movement (stranding), and potentially favors a base-generation/adverbial approach. A broader consideration of Lalo Yi, however, leads to the proposal that the occurrence of the floating pattern results from a combination of two occurrences of movement—DP movement to a low focus position/FocP, followed by NP-raising to a higher case position. Obligatory stranding of the DP remnant containing numeral-classifier pairs is suggested to result from the FocP being a (low) criterial position in the sense of Rizzi (in: Cheng and Corver (eds) Wh-movement: moving on, MIT Press, Cambridge, pp 97–134, 2006), requiring freezing-realization of the DP in SpecFocP but permitting sub-extraction of NP to satisfy case requirements licensed by a higher functional head. Quite generally, it is suggested that the paradigm in Lalo Yi demonstrates the grammaticalization of an optional tendency found elsewhere in numeral-classifier languages to use special forms for the specific and non-specific indefinite interpretations of numerically-quantified nominals. Additionally, the paper contributes to the growing description and typology of low focus phenomena across languages and observations of variation in the ways that focus may be realized in different languages.