John Benjamins Publishing Company
Chapter 7. The V-copy construction in Mandarin
Abstract
The focus of this study is the so-called verb-copy construction(s) of Mandarin Chinese, where two (or even more) copies of the same verb surface in a single clause, without any semantic consequence of this multiplicity. This family of constructions has received various analyses in the generative tradition (e.g., Tsao 1987; Huang 1988; Li 1990; Shi 1996; Paul 2002a, Gouguet 2005; Cheng 2007), each with its strengths and weaknesses. In recent years, there emerged some partially converging proposals that build on the minimalist framework of Chomsky (1995, 2000, 2001), and fundamentally agree that in these constructions both VP-level and V-level operations are involved (V-copy is not one construction, but a group of surface lookalikes, with different underlying structures), and syntactic effects are heavily interspersed with semantic/pragmatic and phonetic considerations in a proper account; see: Gouguet (2005), Bartos (2008), Cheng (2007), Tieu (2009). On the other hand, some other recent contributions (Fang & Sells 2007; Hsu 2008) seem to call several assumptions of the earlier analyses into question, and present data neglected by those proposals. The present paper briefly reviews the earlier accounts, examines and mostly refutes the new potential counterarguments, and refines Bartos’s earlier analysis to cater for the full range of structural variation involved, by incorporating certain compatible components of Gouguet’s (2005) and Tieu’s (2009) proposals into it.
Abstract
The focus of this study is the so-called verb-copy construction(s) of Mandarin Chinese, where two (or even more) copies of the same verb surface in a single clause, without any semantic consequence of this multiplicity. This family of constructions has received various analyses in the generative tradition (e.g., Tsao 1987; Huang 1988; Li 1990; Shi 1996; Paul 2002a, Gouguet 2005; Cheng 2007), each with its strengths and weaknesses. In recent years, there emerged some partially converging proposals that build on the minimalist framework of Chomsky (1995, 2000, 2001), and fundamentally agree that in these constructions both VP-level and V-level operations are involved (V-copy is not one construction, but a group of surface lookalikes, with different underlying structures), and syntactic effects are heavily interspersed with semantic/pragmatic and phonetic considerations in a proper account; see: Gouguet (2005), Bartos (2008), Cheng (2007), Tieu (2009). On the other hand, some other recent contributions (Fang & Sells 2007; Hsu 2008) seem to call several assumptions of the earlier analyses into question, and present data neglected by those proposals. The present paper briefly reviews the earlier accounts, examines and mostly refutes the new potential counterarguments, and refines Bartos’s earlier analysis to cater for the full range of structural variation involved, by incorporating certain compatible components of Gouguet’s (2005) and Tieu’s (2009) proposals into it.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Chapter 1. Introduction 1
- Chapter 2. Unifying UG and language variation 9
- Chapter 3. Elements of syntax 25
- Chapter 4. Computational and semantic aspects of resumption 49
- Chapter 5. Causality, comitativity, contrastivity, and selfhood 101
- Chapter 6. System repairing strategy at interface 133
- Chapter 7. The V-copy construction in Mandarin 167
- Chapter 8. The syntax of either and disjunction 207
- Chapter 9. Focus, negation and event quantification in Chinese 245
- Chapter 10. Null object constructions, VP-ellipsis, and sentence interpretation 283
- Chapter 11. The acquisition of nominal structure, word order and referentiality in Chinese 301
- Chapter 12. Syntax/semantics interface and interpretation of Chinese NP 1 NP 2 V construction by Japanese speakers 341
- Index of languages 363
- Index of subjects 365
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Chapter 1. Introduction 1
- Chapter 2. Unifying UG and language variation 9
- Chapter 3. Elements of syntax 25
- Chapter 4. Computational and semantic aspects of resumption 49
- Chapter 5. Causality, comitativity, contrastivity, and selfhood 101
- Chapter 6. System repairing strategy at interface 133
- Chapter 7. The V-copy construction in Mandarin 167
- Chapter 8. The syntax of either and disjunction 207
- Chapter 9. Focus, negation and event quantification in Chinese 245
- Chapter 10. Null object constructions, VP-ellipsis, and sentence interpretation 283
- Chapter 11. The acquisition of nominal structure, word order and referentiality in Chinese 301
- Chapter 12. Syntax/semantics interface and interpretation of Chinese NP 1 NP 2 V construction by Japanese speakers 341
- Index of languages 363
- Index of subjects 365
