The Semantic Features and Pragmatic Functions of Cantonese Quasi-Demonstrative Type Quantifier di1: A Comparison with Demonstratives ne1 and go2

The Cantonese collected quantifier di1 exhibits a demonstrative use within the quantifier-noun construction, which results from the grammaticalization of the quantifier di1. It can be regarded as a quasi-demonstrative quantifier. While this phenomenon of using quantifiers independently exists in many southern Chinese dialects, there is a limited description of the semantics and pragmatic functions of the Cantonese quasi-demonstrative quantifier di1. This paper compares di1 with two basic demonstratives in Cantonese, ne1 and go2, to describe the semantic features, referential properties, and pragmatic functions of di1. The fundamental conclusion is that di1 does not convey the meaning of distance, but it carries an indefinite plural meaning and functions similarly to neutral demonstratives. Therefore, in Cantonese, di1 is a neutral quasi-demonstrative. Regarding referential properties, di1 falls under the category of indeterminate expressions, and its identifiability, referentiality, and generic/individual depend on the context. From a pragmatic perspective, di1 not only shares functions with ne1 and go2, such as indicating discourse referents, direct speech pointing, deixis, and identification but also can mark topics.