Semantic constraint on preposition incorporation of postverbal locative PPs in Mandarin Chinese
Other than subcategorized argument locative PPs (e.g. 放在桌子上 fàng zài zhuōzi-shàng ‘put on the table’), the
postverbal position in Modern Mandarin Chinese can only be filled by limited types of adjunct locative prepositional phrases (e.g.
跳在桌子上 tiào zài zhuōzi-shàng ‘jump onto the table’). Among these postverbal adjunct locative PPs, only a small set
of PPs permits the incorporation of the preposition into the preceding verb to form a V-P compound (“preposition incorporation”),
yielding their previous prepositional object to surface as the object of the compound verb V-P. Previous studies claim that
adjunct phrases which quantize an event, such as event delimiters, may behave like arguments (“the delimiter hypothesis”). Yet,
our observations find that adjunct locative PPs that are not event delimiters (e.g. directional 向
xiàng/往 wǎng ‘toward’ PPs or non-directional 在 zài ‘at’ PPs) can also allow
their prepositional object to appear as the verbal object. This thus calls for a modification of the widely-accepted delimiter
hypothesis. We argue that the semantic characterization of the postverbal locative PPs permitting PI can be generalized as being
associated with the denotation of a scalar result. Specifically, we understand result from the perspective of scale
structure proposed in recent studies and argue that in addition to delimiting an event (that is, introducing a closed
scale to the event from the scalar perspective), such PPs can also either add directional information (an open scale) to the event
that they modify, or further specify scalar information for the event denoted by the VP. This work not only provides a unified
analysis of most types of preposition incorporation that involve the postverbal locative PPs in Mandarin Chinese, but is also the
first study that provides a comprehensive analysis of the scalar properties and functions of Chinese locative PPs. Our findings
from the Chinese data will also contribute to the cross-linguistic semantic generalization of internal adjuncts and the domain of
extended direct case assignment.
Article outline
-
1.Introduction
- 1.1Background: Locative NPs appearing as the object of V-P compound and the delimiter hypothesis
- 1.2Research question and hypothesis
- 2.Scale and the scalar property of PPs
- 2.1The notion of scale
- 2.2Scalar attributes of PPs and their aspectual functions in event composition
- 2.2.1Bounded PPs: Closed scalar PPs
- 2.2.2Unbounded PPs: Nonscalar PPs and open scalar PPs
- 2.2.2.1Nonscalar PPs
- 2.2.2.2Open scalar PPs
- 3.Locative PPs introducing a closed scale
- 4.Locative PPs introducing an open scale
- 5.Locative PPs further elaborating a scale
- 5.1Only scale-denoting VPs allow the PI of the postverbal 在 zài PPs
- Two-point closed scalar verbs
- Incremental theme verb phrases
- Open scalar verbs
- Atypical manner-of-motion verbs
- 5.2The external modification by preverbal 在 zài PPs and the internal modification by postverbal 在 zài PPs for scalar change VPs
- 6.Conclusion
- Sources
- Acknowledgements
- Notes
-
Abbreviations
-
References
References
Bach, Emmon
1986 The algebra of events.
Linguistics and philosophy 9(1). 5–16.
Baker, Mark
1988 Incorporation: A theory of grammatical function changing. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Beavers, John
2008 Scalar complexity and the structure of events. In
Dölling, Johannes &
Heyde-Zybatow, Tatjana &
Schäfer, Martin (eds.),
Event structures in linguistic form and interpretation, 245–265. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter.
Beavers, John & Koontz-Garboden, Andrew
2012 Manner and result in the roots of verbal meaning.
Linguistic Inquiry 43(3). 331–369.
Beavers, John & Koontz-Garboden, Andrew
2017 Result verbs, scalar change, and the typology of motion verbs.
Language 93(4). 842–876.
Chen, Ping
1988 Lun xiandai hanyu shijian xitong de sanyuan jiegou [On tripartite organization of the temporal system in Modern Chinese].
Zhongguo Yuwen [
Studies of the Chinese Language] 61. 401–422.
Chierchia, Gennaro
1998 Reference to kinds across languages.
Natural Language Semantics 6(4). 339–405.
Cresswell, M. J.
1976 The semantics of degree. In
Partee, Barbara Hall (ed.),
Montague grammar, 261–292. New York: Academic Press.
Dowty, David R.
1979 Word meaning and Montague grammar: The semantics of verbs and times in generative semantics and in Montague’s PTQ. Dordrecht: D. Reidel Pub. Co.
Fan, Ganliang
1990 “Xiang, wang, chao” jiqi xiangguan de jieci [Xiang, wang, chao and their related prepositions].
Yantai Daxue Xuebao [
Journal of Yantai University] 41. 84–93.
Fan, Jiyan
1982 Lun jieci duanyu “zai + chusuo” [On the preposition phrase zai + locative].
Yuyan Yanjiu [
Studies in Language and Linguistics] 11. 71–86.
Fang, Xujun
2004 “V xiang……” he “V wang……” [“V xiang……” and “V wang……”].
Yuyan Jiaoxue yu Yanjiu [
Language Teaching and Linguistic Studies] 21. 17–24.
Feng, Shengli
2003 Prosodically Constrained Postverbal PPs in Mandarin Chinese.
Linguistics 41(6). 1085–1122.
Goldberg, Adele
2010 Verbs, constructions, and semantic frames. In
Rappaport Hovav, Malka &
Doron, Edit &
Sichel, Ivy (eds.),
Lexical semantics, syntax, and event structure, 39–58. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Hay, Jennifer & Kennedy, Christopher & Levin, Beth
1999 Scalar structure underlies telicity in “degree achievements.” In
Mathews, Tanya &
Strolovitch, Devon (eds.),
Semantics and Linguistic Theory IX, 127–144. Ithaca: CLC Publications.
Huang, C.-T. James
1982 Logical relations in Chinese and the theory of grammar. New York: Garland Pub.
Jackendoff, Ray
1991 Parts and boundaries.
Cognition 411. 9–45.
Karlsson, Fred
1983 Finnish grammar. Helsinki: WSOY.
Kearns, Kate
2000 Semantics. New York: Palgrave.
Kennedy, Christopher
1999 Gradable adjectives denote measure functions, not partial functions.
Studies in the Linguistic Sciences 29(1). 65–80.
Kennedy, Christopher
2001 Polar opposition and the ontology of “degrees.” Linguistics and Philisophy 24(1). 33–70.
Kennedy, Christopher
2007 Vagueness and grammar: The semantics of relative and absolute gradable adjectives.
Linguistics and Philosophy 30(1). 1–45.
Kennedy, Christopher
2012 The composition of incremental change. In
Demonte, Violeta &
McNally, Louise (eds.),
Telicity, change, and state: A cross-categorial view of event structure, 103–121. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Kennedy, Christopher & Levin, Beth
2008 Measure of change: The adjectival core of degree achievements. In
McNally, Louise &
Kennedy, Christopher (eds.),
Adjectives and adverbs: Syntax, semantics and discourse, 156–182. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Kennedy, Christopher & McNally, Louise
2005 Scale structure, degree modification, and the semantics of gradable predicates.
Language 81(2). 345–381.
Kimenyi, Alexandre
1980 A relational grammar of Kinyarwanda. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Klipple, Elizabeth Mary
1991 The aspectual nature of thematic relations: Locative and temporal phrases in English and Chinese. Cambridge: MIT. (Doctoral dissertation.)
Koenig, Jean-Pierre & Chief, Lian-cheng
2008 Scalarity and state changes in Mandarin (and other languages). In
Bonami, Olivier &
Cabredo Hofherr, Patricia (eds.),
Emprical issues in syntax and semantics 7, 241–262. (Paper presented at CSSP 2007, Paris, 4–6 October 2007.)
Krifka, Manfred
1989 Nominal reference, temporal constitution and quantification in event semantics. In
Bartsch, Renate &
van Benthem, J. F. A. K. &
van Emde Boas, Peter (eds.),
Semantics and contextual expression, 75–115. Dordrecht: Foris.
Krifka, Manfred
1992 Thematic relations as links between nominal reference and temporal constitution. In
Sag, Ivan A. &
Szabolcsi, Anna (eds.),
Lexical matters, 29–53. Stanford: CSLI.
Krifka, Manfred
1998 The origins of telicity. In
Rothstein, Susan (ed.),
Events and grammar, 197–235. Dordrecht: Kluwer.
Lamarre, Christine
2007 Cong quxiang fanchou de fangyan biaoshu kan “shumian hanyuzhong de butong cengci” de panding [Spoken and written patterns in Standard Mandarin motion events].
Chuugokugogaku [
Bulletin of the Chinese Language Society of Japan] 2541. 51–73.
Lamarre, Christine
2013 When lexicalization meets grammaticalization: The development of “wang+path” adverbials in Northern Chinese. In
Cao, Guangshun &
Chappell, Hilary &
Djamouri, Redouane &
Wiebusch, Thekla (eds.),
Breaking down the barriers: Interdisciplinary studies in Chinese linguistics and beyond, vol. 21, 887–909. Taipei: Institute of Linguistics, Academia Sinica.
Levin, Beth & Rappaport Hovav, Malka
2010 Lexicalized scales and verbs of scalar change. (Paper presented at the 46th Annual Meeting of the Chicago Linguistic Society, Chicago, 8–10 April 2010.)
Li, Charles N. & Thompson, Sandra A.
1981 Mandarin Chinese: A functional reference grammar. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Li, Yen-hui Audrey
1990 Order and constituency in Mandarin Chinese. Dordrecht: Kluwer.
Lin, Jingxia
2011 The encoding of motion events in Chinese: Multi-morpheme motion constructions. Stanford: Stanford University. (Doctoral dissertation.)
Lin, Jingxia & Peck, Jeeyoung
Lin, Jingxia & Peck, Jeeyoung
2016 Classification of Mandarin Chinese simple adjectives: A scale-based analysis of their quantitative denotations.
Language and Linguistics 17(6). 827–855.
Liu, Feng-Hsi
2009 Aspect and the postverbal zai phrase in Mandarin Chinese. In
Xing, Janet Zhiqun (ed.),
Studies in Chinese linguistics: Functional approaches, 103–129. Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press.
Liu, Yuehua
1998 Quxiang buyu tongshi [
On directional complements]. Beijing: Beijing Language and Culture University Press.
Lü, Shuxiang
1980 Xiandai Hanyu babai ci [
Eight hundred words in Modern Chinese]. Beijing: The Commercial Press.
Ma, Beijia
2002 Jindai Hanyu jieci [
Prepositions in pre-modern Chinese]. Beijing: Zhonghua Book Company.
Maienborn, Claudia
2001 On the position and interpretation of locative modifiers.
Natural Language Semantics 9(2). 191–240.
Nam, Seungho
2005 Directional locatives in event structure : Asymmetry between goal and source.
Eoneohag: Journal of the Linguistic Society of Korea 431. 85–117.
Nam, Seungho
2012 Syntax-semantics mapping of locative arguments.
Proceedings of the 26th Pacific Asia Conference on Language, Information, and Computation, 473–480. Depok: Faculty of Computer Science, Universitas Indonesia.
Paradis, Carita
2001 Adjectives and boundedness.
Cognitive Linguistics 12(1). 47–65.
Peck, Jeeyoung
2008 The positional variation of prepositional phrases in Chinese: Synchronic and diachronic perspectives. Stanford: Stanford University. (Doctoral dissertation.)
Peck, Jeeyoung
2011 Modification of external event structure by preverbal NPs denoting duration and iteration.
Junggukeo Munhak Nonjip [
The Journal of Chinese Language and Literature] 691. 189–210.
Peck, Jeeyoung & Lin, Jingxia & Sun, Chaofen
2013 Aspectual classification of Mandarin Chinese verbs: A perspective of scale structure.
Language and Linguistics 14(4). 663–700.
Peck, Jeeyoung, & Lin, Jingxia & Sun, Chaofen
2016 A scalar analysis of Chinese incremental theme VPs. In
Eom, Ik-Sang &
Zhang, Weijia (eds.),
Language evolution and changes in Chinese (
Journal of Chinese Linguistics Monograph Series 26), 216–246. Hong Kong: The Chinese University of Hong Kong.
Piñón, Christopher J.
1993 Paths and their names. In
Beals, Katherine &
Cooke, Gina &
Kathman, David &
Kita, Sataro &
McCullough, Karl-Erik &
Testen, David (eds.),
Papers from the 29th Reginal Meeting of the Chicago Linguistics Society, vol. 21, 287–303. Chicago: Chicago Linguistics Society.
Pustejovsky, James
1991 The syntax of event structure.
Cognition 41(1–3). 47–81.
Rappaport Hovav, Malka & Levin, Beth
2010 Reflections on manner/result complementarity. In
Rappaport Hovav, Malka &
Doron, Edit &
Sichel, Ivy (eds.),
Lexical semantics, syntax, and event structure, 21–38. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Rotstein, Carmen & Winter, Yoad
2004 Total adjectives vs. partial adjectives: Scale structure and higher-order modifiers.
Natural Language Semantics 12(3). 259–288.
Sun, Chaofen & Givón, Talmy
1985 On the so-called SOV order in Mandarin Chinese: A quantified text study and its implications.
Language 611. 329–351.
Tai, James H-Y.
1975 On two functions of place adverbials in Mandarin Chinese.
Journal of Chinese Linguistics 31. 154–179.
Tai, James H-Y.
1984 Verbs and times in Chinese: Vendler’s four categories. In
Testen, David &
Mishra, Veena &
Drogo, Joseph (eds.),
Papers from the Parasession on Lexical Semantics, 289–296. Chicago: Chicago Linguistics Society.
Tai, James H-Y.
2011 Zai lun shijian shunxu yuanze [On the temporal sequence principle again]. In
Cui, Xiliang (ed.),
Renzhi yufa yu duiwai Hanyu jiaoxue lunji [
Collection of cognitive grammar and teaching Chinese as a second language], 65–85. Beijing: Beijing Language and Culture University Press.
Talmy, Leonard
1985 Lexicalization patterns: Semantic structure in lexical forms. In
Shopen, Timothy (ed.),
Language typology and syntactic description, vol. 31, 57–149. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Talmy, Leonard
2000 Toward a cognitive semantics: Typology and process in concept structuring, vol. 21. Cambridge: The MIT Press.
Tang, Zhengda & Lamarre, Christine
2007 A contrastive study of the linguistic encoding of motion events in Standard Chinese and in the Guanzhong dialect of Mandarin (Shaanxi).
Bulletin of Chinese Linguistics 2(1). 135–168.
Teng, Shouxin
1985 Hanyu dongci de shijian jiegou [The temporal structure of Chinese verbs].
Yuyan Jiaoxue yu Yanjiu [
Language Teaching and Linguistic Studies] 41. 7–17.
Tenny, Carol
1994 Aspectual roles and the syntax-semantics interface. Dordrecht: Kluwer.
Tham, Shiao Wei
2013 When motion and location yield direction: The case of Mandarin. In
Cathcart, Chundra &
Kang, Shinae &
Sandy, Clare S. (eds.),
Proceedings of the 37th Annual Meeting of the Berkeley Linguistics Society, 344–358. Berkeley: Berkeley Linguistics Society.
Vendler, Zeno
1957 Verbs and times.
The Philosophical Review 66(2). 143–160.
Wang, Huan
1980 Zai shuoshuo zai [On zai again].
Yuyan Jiaoxue yu Yanjiu [
Language Teaching and Linguistic Studies] 31. 25–29.
Wang, Xiaoxi
2004 Weishenme buneng shuo “rengwang dishang” [Why the phrase “rengwang dishang” unacceptable].
Hanyu Xuexi [
Chinese Language Learning] 41. 76–80.
Wechsler, Stephen & Lee, Yae-Sheik
1996 The domain of direct case assignment.
Natural Language and Linguistic Theory 14(3). 629–664.
Xiao, Richard & McEnery, Tony
Xun, Endong & Rao, Gaoqi & Xiao, Xiaoyue & Zang, Jiaojiao
2016 Dashuju beijingxia BCC yuliaoku de yanzhi [The construction of the BCC Corpus in the age of big data].
Yuliaoku Yuyanxue [
Corpus Linguistics] 3(1). 93–109.
Yiu, Carine Yuk-man
2014 Typology of word order in Chinese dialects: Revisiting the classification of Min.
Language and Linguistics 15(4). 539–573.
Zhao, Xin
2002 Biaoshi fangxiang de “xiang, chao, wang” [An analysis of differences between xiang, chao, and wang].
Peixun yu Yanjiu: Hubei Jiaoyu Xueyuan Xuebao [
Training and Research Journal of Hubei College of Education] 19(4). 21–23.
Zhu, Dexi
1981 “Zai heibanshang xiezi” ji xiangguan jushi [“Zai heibanshagn xiezi” and related structures].
Yuyan Jiaoxue yu Yanjiu [
Language Teaching and Linguistic Studies] 11. 4–18.
Zwart, Jan-Wouter
2005 A note on functional adpositions. In
Broekhuis, Hans &
Corver, Norbert &
Huijbregts, Riny &
Kleinhenz, Ursula &
Koster, Jan (eds.).
Organizing grammar: Linguistic studies in honor of Henk Van Riemsdijk, 689–695. Berlin: Moutaon de Gruyter.
Cited by
Cited by 2 other publications
Lin, Jingxia
2021.
Typological shift in lexicalizing motion events: The case of Wenzhou
.
Linguistic Typology 25:1
► pp. 1 ff.
This list is based on CrossRef data as of 3 april 2024. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers.
Any errors therein should be reported to them.