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VP copying interacting with verum focus

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Published/Copyright: August 1, 2025
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Folia Linguistica
From the journal Folia Linguistica

Abstract

This study investigates the syntax of VP copying by looking at data from Mandarin Chinese. It focuses on VP copying used to express verum focus and presents a two-step syntactic process that involves moving a DP to a topic position, a case of left dislocation, and the remnant movement of the VP to the TopP at the CP domain. As to the phonetic realization of both verb copies, this paper adopts a minimalist Spell-Out framework by Bleaman (2022. Predicate fronting in Yiddish and conditions on multiple copy Spell-Out. Natural Language & Linguistic Theory 40(2). 393–424) and Collins and Stabler (2016. A formalization of minimalist syntax. Syntax 19(1). 43–78). The findings in this paper not only contribute to syntactic theory by elucidating syntactic structures and their pragmatic functions, shedding light on the current debate regarding the syntax of VP copying observed in various languages, but also pave the way for further research on the interplay between information structure and syntax in conveying emphasis and focus in Mandarin Chinese.


Corresponding author: Ningxian Li, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA, E-mail:

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank the four anonymous reviewers for the helpful comments and the editor as well. All errors are my own.

  1. Research ethics: Not applicable.

  2. Informed consent: Not applicable.

  3. Author contributions: The author has accepted responsibility for the entire content of this manuscript and approved its submission.

  4. Use of Large Language Models, AI and Machine Learning Tools: None declared.

  5. Conflict of interest: The author states no conflict of interest.

  6. Research funding: None declared.

  7. Data availability: Not applicable.

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Received: 2024-11-15
Accepted: 2025-07-21
Published Online: 2025-08-01

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