John Benjamins Publishing Company
Chapter 8. GEI
Abstract
Gei, ‘give’ in Mandarin Chinese, has been object of many studies due to its multifaceted properties and its ability to appear in a number of different structures. However, previous analyses focus only on some of all the possible structures where gei appears, while excluding others. In this paper, I aim at tracing a taxonomy of all the gei constructions found in the literature and elicited in questionnaires, and propose a unified analysis of gei that encompasses as many gei structures as possible. I propose an analysis of gei in terms of structure, interpretation and grammaticalization, one that links all the different occurrences of gei considered as one element in different structures. More specifically, I propose that gei is always a predicate whose different positions and interpretations can be seen as different stages of grammaticalization, which make it either a full verb or a weaker predicate. However, all the distinct stages of grammaticalization in which gei appears within a sentence maintain the general sense of “orientation” (in terms of Paris 1978, 1992). When gei is not a full lexical verb itself, its presence with its “orientation” general meaning has an effect on the transitivity of the verb that precedes or follows: when preverbal, gei highlights the role of the agent of the verb, when postverbal, gei reinforces the role of the recipient.
Abstract
Gei, ‘give’ in Mandarin Chinese, has been object of many studies due to its multifaceted properties and its ability to appear in a number of different structures. However, previous analyses focus only on some of all the possible structures where gei appears, while excluding others. In this paper, I aim at tracing a taxonomy of all the gei constructions found in the literature and elicited in questionnaires, and propose a unified analysis of gei that encompasses as many gei structures as possible. I propose an analysis of gei in terms of structure, interpretation and grammaticalization, one that links all the different occurrences of gei considered as one element in different structures. More specifically, I propose that gei is always a predicate whose different positions and interpretations can be seen as different stages of grammaticalization, which make it either a full verb or a weaker predicate. However, all the distinct stages of grammaticalization in which gei appears within a sentence maintain the general sense of “orientation” (in terms of Paris 1978, 1992). When gei is not a full lexical verb itself, its presence with its “orientation” general meaning has an effect on the transitivity of the verb that precedes or follows: when preverbal, gei highlights the role of the agent of the verb, when postverbal, gei reinforces the role of the recipient.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Acknowledgments vii
- Introduction. Lexicalization, grammaticalization and constructionalization of the verb give across languages 1
-
Part 1. Frames and extensions
- Chapter 1. Metaphor meets grammar in a radial network of give verbs in Romance 25
- Chapter 2. Talking about giving 55
-
Part 2. The transfer constructions
- Chapter 3. The role of verb polysemy in constructional profiling 75
- Chapter 4. The French ditransitive transfer construction and the complementarity between the meta-predicates give, take, keep, leave 97
- Chapter 5. Transfer and applicative constructions in Gunwinyguan languages (non-Pama-Nyungan, Australia) 121
-
Part 3. Grammaticalization, lexicalization and constructionalization issues
- Chapter 6. Aoj ‘give’ in Khmer 147
- Chapter 7. The semantics of the verb give in Tibetan 175
- Chapter 8. GEI 195
- Chapter 9. Grammar in usage and grammaticalization of dan ‘give’ constructions in Kurmanji Kurdish 223
- Subject index 245
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Acknowledgments vii
- Introduction. Lexicalization, grammaticalization and constructionalization of the verb give across languages 1
-
Part 1. Frames and extensions
- Chapter 1. Metaphor meets grammar in a radial network of give verbs in Romance 25
- Chapter 2. Talking about giving 55
-
Part 2. The transfer constructions
- Chapter 3. The role of verb polysemy in constructional profiling 75
- Chapter 4. The French ditransitive transfer construction and the complementarity between the meta-predicates give, take, keep, leave 97
- Chapter 5. Transfer and applicative constructions in Gunwinyguan languages (non-Pama-Nyungan, Australia) 121
-
Part 3. Grammaticalization, lexicalization and constructionalization issues
- Chapter 6. Aoj ‘give’ in Khmer 147
- Chapter 7. The semantics of the verb give in Tibetan 175
- Chapter 8. GEI 195
- Chapter 9. Grammar in usage and grammaticalization of dan ‘give’ constructions in Kurmanji Kurdish 223
- Subject index 245
