Crosslinguistic Variation in the Semantic Encoding of Distance-Distributivity: Evidence from English Each and Uzbek Quantificational Strategies

초록

This study investigates how distance-distributivity is encoded in English and Uzbek from a crosslinguistic perspective, addressing the relative lack of research on Uzbek despite its systematic interaction between distributive marking, scope, and event structure. Focusing on the Uzbek marker -dan, the study compares its semantic behavior with English binominal each as a baseline to distinguish universal and language-specific properties. The analysis shows that -dan supports both individual-level and event-level distributivity and consistently exhibits low-scope behavior in contexts involving negation, quantification, and modality. Nominally, it selects indefinite numeral and vague quantity expressions while allowing singular distributive keys, contrasting with English each. Building on the framework of Distributive Polarity Items, the study proposes that -dan functions as a DPI licensed by a distributivity operator, thereby suggesting a refinement of existing D-operator theories to account for event-level distributivity. Overall, the findings contribute to the typology of distributive strategies and highlight the theoretical significance of Uzbek data in distributive semantics.

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