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D is for Demonstrative – Investigating the position of the demonstrative in Chinese and Zhuang

Abstract One notable difference between the Chinese nominal phrase and the Zhuang nominal phrase is that in Chinese the demonstrative appears phrase-initially while in Zhuang it appears phrase-finally. In this article, we attempt to derive the different orders of nominal elements in Chinese and Zhuang using the same base order: with the demonstrative generated low. We adopt a base structure in which two D-related projections are involved: DetP, which immediately dominates NP and SP (Specificity Phrase), which dominates NumeP. DetP is where the demonstrative is generated. Differences between Chinese and Zhuang arise from parametric choices such as the head or phrasal status of the demonstrative, what moves (the demonstrative or the NP) and the motivation for movement. We show that a base structure with a low generation of the demonstrative is not only supported by cross-linguistic evidence, it also derives the different orders of nominal elements in a straightforward manner.