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Article published In:
Asian Languages and Linguistics
Vol. 4:1 (2023) ► pp.1–21

The semantic constraint on gapping in Mandarin Chinese

ORCID logo | California State University at Long Beach

I argue that gapping in Mandarin Chinese as a deletion operation (cf. Wei 2011; Ai 2014) is administrated by some semantic constraints and the discourse in which they occur, in line with Kuno (1976); Tsao (1979) and Wei (2011). Specifically, I argue that the semantic combination of the VP (cf. Paul 1996a, b, 1999) and the object NP (cf. Li 1998) in gapped sentences cannot be [−generic, -definite]. That is, the VP in the gapped clause cannot have a [-generic] interpretation and simultaneously for the object to have a [−definite] interpretation. If so combined, gapping in Mandarin Chinese will be blocked.

Keywords: gapping, empty verb sentence, ATB-movement, deletion, genericity, definiteness
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Evidence for canonical gapping in Chinese
  • 3.Gapping in Chinese cannot be ATB-movement
  • 4.A semantic approach towards gapping in Mandarin Chinese
  • 5.Some speculations and future research
  • 6.Concluding remarks
  • References
Published online: 6 July 2023
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/alal.22013.ai
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