Negative attitudinal uses of quantifying classifier di⁴⁵ in Wugang Xiang

This paper investigates the extended uses of a Wugang Xiang classifier di⁴⁵ beyond the referential domain, specifically its attitudinal uses. Using conversational data from Wugang Xiang, a Sinitic variety spoken in south-eastern Hunan province in China, we first examine the uses of di⁴⁵ within the referential domain, namely, expressing a quantity of small amount and instantiating a noun. We then focus on the attitudinal uses of three types of di⁴⁵ constructions, namely, relational [N+di⁴⁵+N], [di⁴⁵+N], and [di⁴⁵+DEM+CL+N] constructions. Our analysis indicates that di⁴⁵ in Wugang Xiang has fully pragmatized into an attitudinal marker in [di⁴⁵+DEM+CL+N] constructions. We show that the attitudinal function of di⁴⁵ is induced by one or more of the following factors: (i) the ‘trivialness’ reading inherent in the original use of di⁴⁵ as a quantifying classifier, (ii) the ‘vagueness’ reading that emerges when di⁴⁵ is associated with indefinite referents, and (iii) the ‘detachment’ effect which surfaces when di⁴⁵ is associated with a referent that is obviously definite but with the demonstrative deliberately elided to downgrade potential face-threats to both speaker and others. The findings of this study shed light on how versatile classifiers often extend beyond the referential domain to serve discourse-pragmatic functions.