Hostname: page-component-77c89778f8-gq7q9 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-20T23:03:15.318Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Locative Inversion in Mandarin Chinese

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 June 2016

Yanfeng Qu*
Affiliation:
University of British Columbia

Extract

Locative inversion is a common linguistic phenomenon that has been studied by linguists of various theoretical backgrounds (see, among others, Bresnan 1990, Demuth 1990, Hoekstra and Mulder 1990, and Rochemont and Culicover 1990). This paper is an attempt to analyse such a phenomenon in Mandarin Chinese within the framework of Government and Binding (GB) Theory. Its purpose is twofold: to investigate the syntactic properties of this particular construction, and to illustrate the relevance of Lexical Conceptual Structure (LCS) to syntactic analyses within the GB paradigm.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Linguistic Association 1993

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Aoun, Joseph, and Y.-H. Audrey, Li 1989 Scope and Constituency. Linguistic Inquiry 20:141172.Google Scholar
Baker, Mark 1988 Incorporation: A Theory of Grammatical Function Changing. Chicago, Illinois: University of Chicago Press. Google Scholar
Belletti, Adriana 1988 The Case of Unaccusatives. Linguistic Inquiry 19:134.Google Scholar
Bresnan, Joan 1990 Levels of Representations in Locative Inversion: A Comparison of English and Chichewa. Ms.Google Scholar
Bresnan, Joan, and Kanerva, Jonni M. 1989 Locative Inversion in Chichewa: A Case Study of Factorization in Grammar. Linguistic Inquiry 20:150.Google Scholar
Bresnan, Joan, and Mchombo, Sam A. 1987 Topic, Pronoun, and Agreement in Chichewa. Language 63: 740782.Google Scholar
Bresnan, Joan, and Moshi, Lioba 1990 Object Asymmetries in Comparative Bantu Syntax. Linguistic In quiry 21:147185.Google Scholar
Browning, Marguerite 1987 Null Operator Constructions. PhD thesis, MIT.Google Scholar
Carsten, Vicki, and Kinyalolo, Kasangati 1990 On IP Structure: Tense, Aspect and Agreement. Ms.Google Scholar
Chao, Yuan-ren 1968 A Grammar of Spoken Chinese. Berkeley: University of California Press. Google Scholar
Chen, Chung-yu 1978 Aspectual Features of the Verb and the Relative Position of the Locatives. Journal of Chinese Linguistics 6:76103.Google Scholar
Cheng, Lisa L.-S. 1988 Aspects of the BA-construction. Pp. 7384 in Studies in Generative Approach to Aspect. Tenny, Carol, ed. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press.Google Scholar
Cheng, Lisa L.-S. 1992 Deriving the Locality Restrictions in DOU in Mandarin Chinese. Paper given at the Canadian Linguistics Association meeting, Charlottetown, PEI.Google Scholar
Chomsky, Noam 1957 Syntactic Structures. The Hague: Mouton.Google Scholar
Chomsky, Noam 1986a Knowledge of Language: Its Nature, Origin and Use. New York: Praeger.Google Scholar
Chomsky, Noam 1986b Barriers. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press.Google Scholar
Chomsky, Noam 1988 Some Notes on Economy of Derivation and Representation. Ms.Google Scholar
Chomsky, Noam 1992 A Minimalist Program for Linguistic Theory. Ms.Google Scholar
Chomsky, Noam, and Lasnik, Howard 1991 Principles and Parameters. Ms.Google Scholar
Demuth, Katherina 1990 Locatives, Impersonale and Expletives in Sesotho. The Linguistic Review 7:233249.Google Scholar
Goodall, Grant 1990 X’-Internal Word Order in Mandarin Chinese and Universal Grammar. Linguistics 28:241261.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Grimshaw, Jane 1990 Argument Structure. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press. Google Scholar
Hoekstra, Teun, and Mulder, Rene 1990 Unergatives as Copular Verbs: Locational and Existential Predication. The Linguistic Review 7:179.Google Scholar
Huang, C.-T. James 1982 Logical Relations in Chinese and the Theory of Grammar. PhD thesis, MIT.Google Scholar
Huang, C.-T. James 1984 On the Distribution and Reference of Empty Pronouns. Linguistic Inquiry 15:531574.Google Scholar
Huang, C.-T. James 1987 Existential Sentences in Chinese and (In)definiteness. Pp. 227253 in The Representations of (In)definiteness. Reuland, Eric. J. and Meulder, Alice G.B. ter, eds. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press.Google Scholar
Huang, C.-T. James 1989 Pro-Drop in Chinese: A Generalized Control Theory. Pp. 185214 in The Null Subject Parameter. Jaeggli, Osvaldo and Safir, Kenneth J., eds. Dordrecht: Kluwer.Google Scholar
Huang, Lillian, and Davis, Philip 1989 An Aspectual System in Mandarin Chinese. Journal of Chinese Linguistics 17:128166.Google Scholar
Iatridou, Sabine 1990 About Agr(P). Linguistic Inquiry 21:551576.Google Scholar
Jackendoff, Ray 1990 Semantic Structures. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press. Google Scholar
Jiang, Zixin 1990 A Constraint on Topic in Chinese. Journal of Chinese Linguistics 18:231260.Google Scholar
Koopman, Hilda 1984 The Syntax of Verbs: From V Movement in the Kru Languages to Universal Grammar. Dordrecht: Foris.Google Scholar
Koopman, Hilda, and Sportiche, Dominique 1990 The Position of Subject. Ms.Google Scholar
Li, Charles, and Thompson, Sandra 1981 Mandarin Chinese: A Functional Reference Grammar. Berkeley: University of California Press. Google Scholar
Li, Y.-H.|Audrey 1990 Order and Constituency in Mandarin Chinese. Dordrecht: Kluwer. Google Scholar
Liu, Yuehua 1983 Practical Chinese Grammar. Beijing: Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press. Google Scholar
Pollock, Jean-Yves 1989 Verb Movement, Universal Grammar, and the Structure of IP. Linguistic Inquiry 20:365424.Google Scholar
Qu, Yanfeng 1992 Locative Inversion in Mandarin Chinese. Ms.Google Scholar
Rochemont, Michael 1989 Topic islands and the Subjacency Parameters. Canadian Journal of Linguistics 34:145170.Google Scholar
Rochemont, Michael, and Culicover, Peter 1990 English Focus Constructions and the Theory of Grammar. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Google Scholar
Shi, Dingxu 1989 Topic Chains as a Syntactic Category in Chinese. Journal of Chinese Linguistics 17:223262.Google Scholar
Speas, Margaret 1990 Phrase Structure in Natural Language. Dordrecht: Kluwer. Google Scholar
Tang, Jane 1989 Chinese Reflexives. Natural Language and Linguistic Theory 7:93121.Google Scholar
Tenny, Carol 1987 Grammaticalizing Aspect and Affectedness. PhD thesis, MIT.Google Scholar
Travis, Lisa 1984 Parameters and Effects of Word Order Variations. PhD thesis, MIT.Google Scholar
Travis, Lisa 1989 Parameters of Phrase Structures. Pp. 263279 in Alternative Conceptions of Phrase Structure. Baltin, Mark R. and Kroch, Anthony S., eds. Chicago, Illinois: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Xu, Liejiong, and Langendoen, Terrence 1985 Topic Structures in Chinese. Language 61:127.Google Scholar