The associative plural in Cantonese

Here we shall be exploring the associative plural (apl) in Cantonese. The apl construction typically consists of a focal referent and an apl marker, 佢哋 keoi⁵dei⁶, denoting ‘X and X’s associate(s)’, as in 小明佢哋 siu²ming⁴keoi⁵dei⁶ ‘Ming and his associate(s)’. The data are derived from corpora and internet sources. A grammaticality judgment test targeting native Cantonese speakers is conducted. There are five major facets to this project. (1) We shall explore the linguistic properties of the apl construction, which is semantically and structurally quite different from conjunctive coordination or inclusory constructions. (2) The apl marker has two forms, to wit 哋 =dei⁶ and 佢哋 keoi⁵dei⁶. The former, however, seems odd and is rarely attested in modern Cantonese. Given that the apl marker can be either a bound form 哋 =dei⁶ or a free pronoun 佢哋 keoi⁵dei⁶, it is analyzed as a clitic. (3) We argue that a focal referent can be a complex noun phrase, which can involve conjunctive coordination, implying that two focal referents are possible. (4) The apl construction is often used to introduce new referents to the discourse. It is also used after a topic shift, or to reintroduce referents when they have been mentioned before in a distant turn. (5) We argue that using the apl construction is associated with communicative efficiency. Even if a group of associates are covert, addressees can identify the relationship between the focal referent and the associates and potentially each referent without exhaustively listing them. High communicative efficiency is attained by reducing articulatory cost.