“She from bookshelf take-descend-come the box”
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Jidong Chen
Abstract
This paper investigates the lexical semantics of placement verbs in Mandarin. The majority of Mandarin placement verbs are directional verb compounds (e.g., na2-xia4-lai2 ‘take-descend-come’). They are composed of two or three verbs in a fixed order, each encoding certain semantic components of placement events. The first verb usually conveys object manipulation and the second and the third verbs indicate the Path of motion, including Deixis. The first verb, typically encoding object manipulation, can be semantically general or specific: two general verbs, fang4 ‘put’ and na2 ‘take’, have large but constrained extensional categories, and a number of specific verbs are used based on the Manner of manipulation of the Figure object, the relationship between and the physical properties of Figure and Ground, intentionality of the Agent, and the type of instrument.
Abstract
This paper investigates the lexical semantics of placement verbs in Mandarin. The majority of Mandarin placement verbs are directional verb compounds (e.g., na2-xia4-lai2 ‘take-descend-come’). They are composed of two or three verbs in a fixed order, each encoding certain semantic components of placement events. The first verb usually conveys object manipulation and the second and the third verbs indicate the Path of motion, including Deixis. The first verb, typically encoding object manipulation, can be semantically general or specific: two general verbs, fang4 ‘put’ and na2 ‘take’, have large but constrained extensional categories, and a number of specific verbs are used based on the Manner of manipulation of the Figure object, the relationship between and the physical properties of Figure and Ground, intentionality of the Agent, and the type of instrument.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Contributors ix
- Preface xi
- Putting and taking events 1
-
Part I. Lexical semantics
- The linguistic encoding of placement and removal events in Jahai 21
- “She from bookshelf take-descend-come the box” 37
- To ‘put’ or to ‘take’? 55
- The encoding of placement and removal events in ǂĀkhoe Haiǁom 79
- The semantics of placement and removal predicates in Moroccan Arabic 99
- Placement and removal events in Basque and Spanish 123
- On the use of PUT Verbs by multilingual speakers of Romansh 145
- Probing the linguistic encoding of placement and removal events in Swedish 167
- The semantic role of agentive control in Hungarian placement events 183
- Putting and Taking in Tamil and Hindi 201
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Part II. (A)symmetries in encoding placement vs. removal events
- The Thaayorre lexicon of putting and taking 233
- The expression of ‘putting’ and ‘taking’ events in Japanese 253
- Put and Take in Yélî Dnye, the Papuan language of Rossel Island 273
- Take it up, down, and away 297
- Semantic granularity of placement and removal expressions in Polish 327
- How to put and take in Kalasha 349
- Language index 367
- Subject index 369
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Contributors ix
- Preface xi
- Putting and taking events 1
-
Part I. Lexical semantics
- The linguistic encoding of placement and removal events in Jahai 21
- “She from bookshelf take-descend-come the box” 37
- To ‘put’ or to ‘take’? 55
- The encoding of placement and removal events in ǂĀkhoe Haiǁom 79
- The semantics of placement and removal predicates in Moroccan Arabic 99
- Placement and removal events in Basque and Spanish 123
- On the use of PUT Verbs by multilingual speakers of Romansh 145
- Probing the linguistic encoding of placement and removal events in Swedish 167
- The semantic role of agentive control in Hungarian placement events 183
- Putting and Taking in Tamil and Hindi 201
-
Part II. (A)symmetries in encoding placement vs. removal events
- The Thaayorre lexicon of putting and taking 233
- The expression of ‘putting’ and ‘taking’ events in Japanese 253
- Put and Take in Yélî Dnye, the Papuan language of Rossel Island 273
- Take it up, down, and away 297
- Semantic granularity of placement and removal expressions in Polish 327
- How to put and take in Kalasha 349
- Language index 367
- Subject index 369
