Article published in:
Adjectives: Formal analyses in syntax and semanticsEdited by Patricia Cabredo Hofherr and Ora Matushansky
[Linguistik Aktuell/Linguistics Today 153] 2010
► pp. 115–152
Adjectives in Mandarin Chinese
The rehabilitation of a much ostracized category
Waltraud Paul | CNRS CRLAO, EHESS
The present paper examines the syntax and semantics of adjectives in Mandarin Chinese and argues that adjectives have to be recognized as a separate part of speech in Mandarin. I show that adnominal adjectives introduced by de should not be analysed as reduced relative clauses or small clauses, since adjectives that cannot be used predicatively can be used adnominally in conjunction with de. For adjectives in direct juxtaposition with the noun, evidence from N-subdeletion and multiple adjective ordering shows that the [A N] sequence has to be analysed as a noun phrase, not as a compound. Accordingly, both types of modification strucures, ‘A de N’ and ‘A N’ need to be taken into account by typological studies. Finally I provide evidence for the existence of two morphologically different classes of adjectives with distinct semantic and syntactic properties, i.e. ‘simple’ adjectives and ‘derived’ adjectives.
Published online: 06 May 2010
https://doi.org/10.1075/la.153.04pau
https://doi.org/10.1075/la.153.04pau
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