Excessive serial verb construction

2017 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 201-227 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ying Fan
Keyword(s):  
Mandarin Chinese ◽  
Formal Similarity ◽  
Distinct Structure ◽  
Serial Verb Construction ◽  
Serial Verb ◽  
Syntactic Properties ◽  
Semantic Properties ◽  
Syntactic Difference

Abstract This paper identifies a distinct serial verb construction in Mandarin Chinese: the Excessive serial verb construction. This construction exhibits formal similarity to the Resultative serial verb construction, since both of them involve adjacent unmarked verbs. Despite the similarity, the former construction differs from the latter most evidently in that it conveys an excessive meaning rather than a resultative meaning. This paper proposes that there is a syntactic difference between the two constructions. In contrast to the tight structure in the Resultative serial verb construction, which can be represented as S[vp V1 V2] le. The Excessive serial verb construction has a looser structure, which is structurally S[[vpV1] [vp V2-le]]. With respect to diagnostics of constituency, the two constructions behave in different ways. This paper further argues that correlating with a distinct structure, the Excessive serial verb construction requires obligatory topicalization of its undergoer argument, a phenomenon that is not observed in the Resultative serial verb construction. This study thus contributes to representing the interaction between the semantic properties – in particular, the function of le in the two constructions – and the syntactic properties.

scholarly journals Typological and Diachronic Motivations for Syntax and Semantics of Chinese Resultative Construction

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. 582
Author(s):  
Canzhong Jiang
Keyword(s):  
Construction Grammar ◽  
Bottom Up ◽  
Causative Constructions ◽  
Rules And Principles ◽  
Serial Verb Construction ◽  
Serial Verb ◽  
Semantic Shift ◽  
Resultative Construction ◽  
Stark Contrast ◽  
Semantic Properties

Motivations for syntax and semantics of Chinese Resultative Construction have been primarily attributed to thematic operations, syntactic movements or argument raising within its components by previous researches. However, such an attribution has resulted in not inconsiderable theoretical and practical issues and controversies, e.g., over generation, existence of quite a few exceptions, unlicensed violations of theoretical rules and principles. This paper re-examined motivations for syntax and semantics of Chinese Resultative Construction from typological and diachronic perspectives within the framework of Construction Grammar. It is argued that syntax and semantics of Chinese Resultative Construction are typologically motivated by Causative Constructions in the sense that its syntactic and semantic properties are inherited from different kinds Causative Constructions while they are diachronically motivated in the senses that they are historically inherited from Serial Verb Construction [V V] due to semantic shift and disyllabification. This paper has provided totally different explanations for syntax and semantics of Chinese Resultative Construction by focusing on their gestalt properties, in stark contrast to previous emphasis on bottom-up motivations from components of Chinese Resultative Construction, which will prove a breakthrough for further research on syntax-semantics interface of Chinese Resultative Construction.

The obligatory fronting of the undergoer argument in the Mandarin Excessive serial verb construction

2019 ◽  
Vol 45 (2) ◽  
pp. 167-191
Author(s):  
Ying Fan ◽  
Man Li
Keyword(s):  
Mandarin Chinese ◽  
Serial Verb Construction ◽  
Serial Verb ◽  
The Subject

Abstract This paper discusses the unmarked obligatory fronting of the undergoer argument in the Excessive serial verb construction (hereafter SVC) in Mandarin Chinese. Acknowledging the existing description of the semantic-syntactic characteristics of the Excessive SVC (see for example, Li 1994, Shen & Peng 2010, Zhang 2014, Fan 2017), we provide an explicit monoclausal account for the phenomenon of obligatory fronting of the undergoer argument, arguing that it directly correlates with the monoclausal structure. By doing so, we contrast our analysis with the existing analysis by Fan (2017). Furthermore, we argue that despite the flexible ordering of the actor and the undergoer arguments at the similar surface forms of the Excessive SVC, they take different positions in expressions that are in different sequences. In this case, the undergoer argument is always the subject; the actor argument functions as an external topic when it occurs before the undergoer argument and it shows similarities to an inner topic when it occurs after the undergoer argument. Nevertheless, unlike with inner topics, the actor argument that occurs after the subject of the Excessive SVC is restricted to the actor/causer role.

scholarly journals On the History of the English Progressive Construction Jane came whistling down the street

2020 ◽  
Vol 48 (4) ◽  
pp. 319-354
Author(s):  
Teresa Fanego
Keyword(s):  
Historical Development ◽  
Sharp Rise ◽  
Present Participle ◽  
History Of ◽  
Serial Verb Construction ◽  
Serial Verb ◽  
Motion Verb ◽  
Late Modern ◽  
Semantic Properties ◽  
Modern Form

This article examines the historical development of the VV ingOBL construction, as exemplified by “Jane came whistling down the street” or “She went walking up the field path,” where an intransitive motion verb is followed by a present participle and an oblique complement. The analysis looks at the precursors of the construction since Old English and argues that the sharp rise in productivity of the VV ingOBL construction, especially from the second half of the nineteenth century, is interrelated with changes affecting English motion vocabulary in Early and Late Modern English and also the increase in frequency of the be progressive over the same period. By the twentieth century, the VV ingOBL construction had settled into its modern form, namely a deictic-directional construction with either come or go in the V slot. The article also considers indices of the advancing grammaticalization of the construction. It concludes by discussing whether its morphosyntactic and semantic properties support considering it as a serial verb construction, a hypothesis briefly raised in work by Goldberg (2006:52).

scholarly journals Effect of Topic-prominent Features of Mandarin Chinese on English Writing

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 353
Author(s):  
Haiyan Han
Keyword(s):  
Mandarin Chinese ◽  
Word Order ◽  
Syntactic Structures ◽  
Sort It ◽  
English Writing ◽  
Grammatical Agreement ◽  
Serial Verb Construction ◽  
Serial Verb ◽  
Resultative Complement

Mandarin Chinese features a subject-verb-object word order and lacks grammatical agreement of any sort. It is basically a head-last language with the modifiers preceding the head word. Other prominent grammatical features include serial verb construction, resultative complement and the double nominative constructions. My paper focuses on the role of topic and subject in Mandarin, drawing on three views on Chinese syntactic structures, namely, SVO approach, topic-comment approach, and topic-prominence approach. A comparison is made among the different views and a conclusion is drawn that topic-prominent approach may better capture the complexities of Chinese syntax, which definitely contributes to English writing.

scholarly journals GRAMMATICAL-SEMANTIC PROPERTIES OF VERB-PHRASE WITH “bae” and “kanai” in MINANGKABAUNESE

2017 ◽  
Vol 35 (1) ◽  
pp. 53-73
Author(s):  
NFN Jufrizal
Keyword(s):  
Field Research ◽  
Main Question ◽  
Passive Voice ◽  
Serial Verb Constructions ◽  
Local Language ◽  
Verb Phrase ◽  
Verb Constructions ◽  
Serial Verb Construction ◽  
Serial Verb ◽  
Semantic Properties

The lexicons bae and kanai in Minangkabaunese can be combined with other verbs to form a serial verb construction, such as: bae lari ‘get running’, bae makan ‘get eating’, kanai tanyo ‘get asked’, and kanai bao ‘get brought’. The serial verb constructions bae or kanai + V in this local language bring about particular grammatical-semantic properties which need further analyses and discussion. This article, which is derived from a part of the results of a research entitled “Kemasan Makna Gramatikal dan Makna Sosial-Budaya Bahasa Minangkabau: Penyelidikan atas Tatamakna dan Fungsi Komunikatifnya”2 discusses the grammatical-semantic properties of verbal predicates in verb-phrase bae or kanai + V in the form of serial verb construction. The main question as the basis of analysis and discussion presented in this paper is ‘what are the grammatical-semantic properties of clause constructions with the predicate in verb-phrase bae or kanai + V in Minangkabaunese?’ The analysis and discussion are to explore and to explain the grammatical-typological and semantic properties of the serial verb constructions in Minangkabaunese. The data and information presented in this paper were obtained through a library and linguistic field research conducted in 2016. The analysis and discussion on the data are based on relevant theories of linguistic typology, especially the grammatical typology dealing with grammatical constructions and active-passive voice.

The Tense, Mood, and Aspect System of Haitian Creole and the Problem of Transmission of Grammar in Creole Genesis

1996 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 231-311 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claire Lefebvre
Keyword(s):  
Phonological Representations ◽  
Haitian Creole ◽  
Phonological Form ◽  
The Creation ◽  
Syntactic Properties ◽  
Semantic Properties

It is often assumed that creolization involves a break in the transmission of grammar. On the basis of data drawn from the TMA system of Haitian creole, as compared with those of its source languages — French, the superstratum language, and Fongbe, one of the substratum languages — this paper argues that creolization does not involve a break in transmission of grammar. The properties of the Haitian creole TMA system are shown to reflect in a systematic way those of its contributing languages. While the syntactic and the semantic properties of the TMA markers of the creole parallel those of Fongbe, the markers' phonological form appears to be derived from phonetic strings found in the superstratum language. This systematic division of properties is predicted by the hypothesis that relexification has played a major role in the formation of the creole. The fact that the lexical entries of the creole have phonological representations which are derived from phonetic strings found in the superstratum language is the visible signal that creolization involves the creation of a new language. The fact that the lexical entries of the creole show semantic and syntactic properties that parallel those of the languages of the substratum argues that there has been no break in the transmission of grammar in the formation of the creole.

Il Y A ... Qui et C'est ... Qui

1986 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 85-130 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jean-Marcel Léard
Keyword(s):  
Semantic Features ◽  
Semantic Grammar ◽  
Grammatical Morphemes ◽  
Il Y A ◽  
Syntactic Properties ◽  
Semantic Compatibility ◽  
Semantic Properties

Il y a ... qui and c'est... qui: Syntax and compatibility between semantic operations In this paper, we show that il y a ... qui and c'est... qui have three meanings or values, that are suitable with only some operations of determination, modalization (like questions, negations) and with a number of syntactic categories and functions. Therefore, we use syntactic properties to point out semantic features, but we show, in return, that syntactic acceptability of sentences can be often explained by semantic compatibility between operations. That involves a basically semantic grammar. So we link syntactic and semantic properties, mainly the meaning of grammatical morphemes. In such a case, we consider that transformational hypotheses, which don't take into account these links, are not appropriate, and we propose a more realistic way (although theoretical) of doing syntax: syntax is also the compatibility between the meaning of morphemes.

The Influence of Translated Later Han Buddhist Sutras on the Development of the Chinese Disposal Construction

2000 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 151-177 ◽  
Author(s):  
CAO Guangshun ◽  
YU Hsiao-jung
Keyword(s):  
Ba Construction ◽  
Development Processes ◽  
Serial Verb Construction ◽  
Serial Verb ◽  
Compare And Contrast

Between the Han and Tang dynasties, the Serial Verb Construction underwent aseries of developments and changes. The BA construction was one result. Interestingly, these changes are mainly revealed in translated Buddhist sutras. The new grammatical forms not only emerged in Buddhist texts earlier than native forms, but also with higher occurrence rates. We compare and contrast the differences of the disposal construction as seen in translated Buddhist sutras and in native Chinese documents, tracing its development processes.

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