Mental state, volition and argument realization Jiajuan Xiong, Chu-Ren Huang ABSTRACT: We explore argument realization in the resultative V-de construction under the framework of the Theta System. We find that the theta grids of the resultative V-de construction are of two types, i.e., ([+c-m], [-c]) and ([+c-m], [-m]), depending on the (a-)thematic relation between the verb and second/internal argument. Crucially, the external argument always has a /-m feature (the minus value of the mental state), regardless of its animacy, leading to a non-volitional Agent reading (animate) and a Cause reading (inanimate). It is due to this [+c-m] feature cluster that the construction yields an unintended result

Does Chinese need two structures for classifiers? A case study Dandan Tan ABSTRACT: The syntactic structure of the classifiers in Chinese has been assumed or argued to be left-branching, right-branching or mixed. This article examines three facts-number-classfier-de, the use of duo ‘extra, more’ and the conditional deletion of number––which are regarded by Xuping Li (2013) as evidence for the mixed structures. It is shown that the purported facts are partial and, when more related facts are taken into consideration, they together are equally compatible with an exclusively left-branching structure and thus cannot serve as support for a mixed structure analysis. Three kinds of arguments are reviewed

Making some progress on the progressive aspect zài in Mandarin Chinese Waltraud Paul, Shanshan Yan ABSTRACT: Taking into account data hitherto neglected, this article examines the progressive aspect zài 在in Mandarin Chinese and related issues. We argue in favour of the constituency [AspP zài在 [V-zhe着]] and demonstrate important syntactic and semantic differences between the progressive aspect zài 在and the durative aspect -zhe着. Importantly, unlike ‘zài在 V’, ‘V-zhe着’ is only acceptable as the sole predicate in a root sentence when interpretable as a (derived) state. Otherwise, the presence of the progressive aspect zài在 is required: ‘zài在 V-zhe着’. This crucial role of zài在 is often obscured by its

Visualizing cross-linguistic reading brains: Universality and interactive specificities Jun Ren Lee, Wen-Jui Kuo, Rose Ru-Whui Lee and Ovid J. L. Tzeng ABSTRACT: The universality and specificity of cross-linguistic reading have always been a topic of interest to researchers. The earliest controversies started with the issue of whether speech recoding is required for reading non-alphabetic scripts, for example, Chinese and Kanji, whether it is possible to directly access the semantic meaning of a word from orthography without speech recoding, and whether reading non-alphabetic scripts relies on the right rather than the left brain. The abatement of these controversies began with a series of experiments by Ovid Tzeng

Insight Article Exploring the Low Applicative Hilary Chappell Abstract:Tone morphemes are used in the coding of a variety of grammatical functions in Sinitic languages: These include plural formation of personal pronouns, the diminutive forms of nouns, as well as different kinds of perfective and completive aspect marking, reported for dialects located in non-contiguous areas of China in the north and the south. With respect to verbal morphology, we first examine the different processes and stages of morphologization between the Yue and Hakka dialects, on the one hand, and Northern Sinitic on the other. Second, we propose the pathway of evolution that leads to the pluralization of Sinitic

The "graphic design" for 旅 'troops' and 車 'chariot' in oracle-bone and bronze inscriptions Chrystelle Maréchal    Ken-ichi Takashima Abstract:This paper argues that there were in the minds of the creators of Chinese characters what we refer to as “graphic designs” (abbreviated as “GD”—for the other acronyms used hereinafter, see “Symbols and Abbreviations of the Frequently Used Terms and the Authors’ Names” at the end of the paper). The GD is generally inseparable from the underlying lexeme, and this paper is a case study of the two, and other related, words, in connection specifically with their graphic representations. The GD for the OBI graphs,and,which appear to

Ten cases of continuum in language Feng Shi    Dazuo Wang Abstract：Continuum is a one-dimensional pattern with a concise form and the significance of universality. “Prototype Theory” considers the members with the most common characteristics as the core members of one category, and all members of that category share some similar family features. Furthermore, quantum logic revised the classical logic law of “excluded middle” to the law of “included middle”, which provides us with a new perspective in the linguistic study. Based on the above theories and ideas, this paper lists ten cases of continuum in language: 1) the continuum of language similarity; 2) the continuum

Quest for the essence of Chinese grammar James H-Y. Tai Abstract：Some key issues in the analysis of Chinese grammars in the past five decades are identified and discussed from typological perspectives. They include 1) the wordhood in「字」and 「詞」, and word formation; 2) parts of speech; 3) syntactic pivots (topic, subject, and object); 4) active vs. passive voice; 5) cognitive principles of word order; 6) SOV vs. SVO. Typological characterizations of Chinese are also summarized, pointing to the importance of understanding Chinese from perspectives of creole and sign language. Mental lexicon of「字」,「詞」and four-character idioms should be constructed with syntactic structures for the processing of reading Chinese.

The role of the copula 是 si7 in the construal of focus structure in early Southern Min Chinfa Lien Abstract：The paper explores the role of the copula 是 si7 in the interpretation of the focus structure in early Southern Min playscripts. I examine the configuration of 是 si7 with respect to a range of functional/lexical categories such as kinds of adverbs, types of modals, voice (featuring causativity and passitivity), aspect, and negation as well as verb and noun phrases. I also put forward tree structures showing how focus vis-à-vis topic in cleft and pseudo-cleft clauses with 是 si7 as the pivot are derived. In a nutshell,

A semantic-syntactic analysis of Chao's sentences with a verbal subject and a nominal predicate (in Chinese) Zhongru Xiong Abstract:The clause can be divided into three layers: the thematic layer, the inflectional layer and the discourse layer, within which there exist the corresponding logical subject, grammatical subject and psychological subject. Topicalization belongs to A'-movement which involves an argument and an adjunct. For Chao's sentences with a verbal subject and a nominal predicate (CS, for short), the topicalized elements are complement clauses and adverbial clauses. The complement clause is the nominal predicate's argument in CS, acting as the predicate's logical subject, such as 'bu xiayu' in 'bu xiayu