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Article published In:
Studies in Language
Vol. 47:4 (2023) ► pp.900–956

A cross-linguistic syntactic analysis of telicity in motion predicates in Southern Tati, Mandarin, and Ghanaian Student Pidgin

ORCID logo | Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen
ORCID logo | University of Ghana

This paper proposes an analysis of telicity in motion predicates within the framework of the Exo-Skeletal Model (Borer 2005b). We hypothesize that a motion event is syntactically represented by a Path component, the core of which is a vP that introduces a Figure argument. This Path component is interpreted as quantity in the sense of Borer (2005b) when there is a certain type of morpheme present in the structure, such as a verb that denotes the reaching of an endpoint. A quantity Path component can then assign a semantic value to a functional projection called AspQP, which returns a telic interpretation. Data from Mandarin, Ghanaian Student Pidgin, and Southern Tati show AspQP can be assigned a value either with or without overt head movement. We further propose a distinction between Path and direction, which explains data that were left unexplained in previous studies and seemingly contradict our claim.

Keywords: cross-linguistic, motion predicates, telicity, Mandarin, Tati, Ghanaian Student Pidgin, motion events
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Theoretical assumptions and hypothesis
    • 2.1Theoretical framework
    • 2.2Telicity defined
    • 2.3Motion events defined
    • 2.4Hypothesis
  • 3.Methodology
  • 4.How telicity arises: Range assignment to [AspQ<e>]
    • 4.1Quantity path as a range assigner for [AspQ<e>]
    • 4.2Seemingly contradictory cases: Quantity argument as range assigner for [AspQ<e>]
  • 5.Theoretical contributions and implications
  • 6.Remaining questions for future research
    • 6.1XP-Loc and feature checking
    • 6.2Why overt head movement?
    • 6.3Syntactic behaviors of other path elements in Mandarin
  • 7.Conclusion
  • Notes
  • Abbreviations
  • References
Published online: 17 January 2023
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/sl.22014.che
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