Contextual semantics of ‘Lhasa’ Tibetan evidentials By Nathan W. Hill

https://www.academia.edu/5516696/Contextual_semantics_of_Lhasa_Tibetan_evidentials?nav_from=84668abe-a68b-4261-840a-4a15f618c90f DeLancey (2012) eloquently makes the point that the generativist notion of 'grammaticality' is a misleading metaphor by which to understand human language. Despite this, DeLancey himself claims that a number of constructions in 'Lhasa' Tibetan cannot be said at all, cannot be said by ethnic Tibetans, or can only be said by ethnic Tibetan. These purported usage restrictions are not accurate. The contextual semantics of 'Lhasa' Tibetan evidentials falsify DeLancey's and Aikhenvald's use of hierarchies of information source to explain the use of evidentials. 'Lhasa' Tibetan also falsifies several other of Aikhenvald's typological generalizations.