The same difference: Comparative Syntax-semantics of English same and Chinese tong/xiang-tong

We present a comparative syntax-semantic study of the adjective same in English and its equivalent, tong/xiang-tong, in (Mandarin) Chinese. We argue that same is not always an NP-level adjective in English, nor is it one in Chinese, and that same can modify different functional categories in the nominal syntax, both classifiers (CL) and determiners (D). Our central claim will be evidenced by the behaviors of same in Chinese, which has two different lexical realizations, tong and xiang-tong. The fact that each of these elements modifies different syntactic structures offers a useful clue for detecting silent functional projections in English and Chinese. Given the syntax-semantics mapping between the syntactic NP-DP hierarchy and the semantic type-token distinction (Carlson 2003; Higginbotham 1985; Longobardi 1994; Vergnaud and Zubizarreta 1992; Zamparelli 2000; among others), we conclude that tong modifies a silent determiner in Chinese, while xiang-tong may freely modify other syntactic structures. In English, same may also modify a silent classifier projection, in addition to being the modifier of an overt determiner. Our theory thus ultimately provides strong empirical evidence for the claim that Chinese and English share the same functional inventories in their nominal syntax (Borer 2005; Li 1999; Simpson 2005; Tang 1990; Watanabe 2006; among others), and cross-linguistic variation is reduced to surface realization