Chinese Optatives: A Preliminary Study

In this paper, we argue that jiù hǎo le ‘jiu nice Prc’ is a fixed expression and functions as an optative operator. This operator induces a partial ordering of possible worlds based on the likelihood of a proposition being true. Moreover, the operator presents a proposition p true in a lower world on the ordering and presupposes ¬p, which is true in a higher world. An optative reading is derived through the interaction between the literal meaning of jiù hǎo le ‘jiu nice Prc’ and presentation of a proposition true in a lower world of the partial ordering. Moreover, a Chinese optative contributes to the interpretation of discourse in the following way: it causes another situation, which can be present or not in the discourse. An Segmented Discourse Representation Theoretic account is proposed for the Chinese optative operator to capture the complicated information an optative sentence can express and its contribution to the interpretation of discourse. Finally, it is proposed that jiǎshè/jiǎrú ‘hypothetically/if’ are not compatible with an optative while yàoshì/rúguǒ are because the former two present a proposition which presumably cannot be realized as a fact, while the latter two present a condition, which has no problem being realized as a fact. A proposition presumably unable to be realized as a fact is inherent contradictory with a wish because a wish is to bring about an event.