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Article published In:
Concentric
Vol. 49:2 (2023) ► pp.224–260

Directional verb constructions in Mandarin

The interface of syntax and pragmatics

ORCID logo | Tunghai University
| National Chung Cheng University

In modern Chinese, a Directional Verb Construction (DVC) may contain either two or three verbs. DVCs with two verbs can be represented in three different ways, and DVCs with three verbs can be represented in four different ways. The different positions of the shared internal noun phrase (NP) argument result in divergent word orders of DVCs. Based on the Corpus of the United Daily News, this study discusses the syntax-pragmatic interface in Chinese DVCs within the framework of Role and Reference Grammar (RRG) with the intention of ascertaining how NP arguments are linked to syntax in DVCs, while at the same time accounting for what pragmatic factors play a role in determining constructional schemas for argument linking. The results show that different patterns of DVCs have different focus domains, and that the differential activation state of the internal NP argument plays an essential role in determining word order. Considering the correlation between activation state and focus domain, a highly activated internal NP tends to be linked to the position following the word bǎ or immediately following V1. In contrast, a least activated NP tends to be linked to the position immediately following V2 or V3.

Keywords: directional verb construction, activation state, focus domain, RRG
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Literature review
    • 2.1Chinese DVCs
    • 2.2Role and reference grammar
      • 2.2.1Syntactic representation
      • 2.2.2Semantic representation
      • 2.2.3Information structure
      • 2.2.4Linking algorithm
  • 3.Mandarin directional verb constructions
    • 3.1Mandarin DVCs with two verbs
    • 3.2Mandarin DVCs with three verbs
  • 4.The linking of arguments in DVCs to syntax
    • 4.1The linking system for DVCs
    • 4.2The linking of DVCs with two verbs
    • 4.3DVCs with three verbs
  • 5.Conclusion
  • Notes
  • List of abbreviations
  • References
Published online: 2 November 2023
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/consl.22048.lin
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