Quantifiers in Japanese

This paper argues that the generalized quantifier theory does not directly apply to Japanese quantifiers because of the following reasons: (i) the number of noun phrase (NP) arguments is underspecified and (ii) quantities are often expressed by predicative adjectives. It further claims that the word order changes the interpretation. For example, non-split quantifiers correspond to definite NPs that are unique in the domain of discourse, while split NPs are wide-scope indefinites. Adjectival quantifiers are polymorphic, and continuation-based combinatory categorial grammar [1] accounts for different meanings between (non)split quantifiers.