The Mandarin you existential: A verbal Analysis (original) (raw)

On the Mandarin possessive and existential verb you and its idiomatic expressions

Language Sciences, 1991

Three usages of you3 'exist, have' as a verb are recognized: (1) possessive; (2) existential; and (3) (subjectless) locational. This paper discusses these usages and also the stative use of you3 in idiomatic expressions such as you3-yili 'interesting'. Semantically, we argue that the possessive and (subjectless) locational usages can both be explained within the concept of 'existence', and syntactically you3 always requires both subject and object. We therefore reject the analysis of multiple ~0~3's and formulate a single lexical entry of you3, within Lexical-Functional Grammar. We then discuss the three possible treatments of expressions like you3-y&i. We provide linguistic data to prove that they cannot be treated as regular verb phrases of [you3 NPI nor can they be regarded as lexicalized complex verbs listed as separate entries in the lexicon. We argue that it is best to treat them as idioms whose internal syntactic structure is relevant to that of the sentence. We also demonstrate the similarities between English idiom chunks and these stative, gradeable [you3-NPI expressions. Finally, we expand the lexical entry of you3 to account for the idiomatic expressions.

The Definiteness and Information Status of the NPs in Mandarin ‘You’-Existentials

The DEFINITENESS EFFECT stands for the infelicity of definite NPs occurring in existential sentences, as illustrated in example (1) from English and (2) from Mandarin. (1) There is a/#the book on the table. (2) 有 一本/#那本 書 在 桌子上. have one-CL/that-CL book ZAI table on (CL: classifier, ZAI: locative marker) ‘There is one/#that book on the table.’ The Definiteness Effect, however, does not apply across the board to English or Mandarin existentials. As shown in the following examples, a definite postverbal NP is allowed in some cases. (3) A: Is there anything to eat? B: There is the leftover chicken from last night. (4) 有 那個 學生 在 教室裡, 老師 不能 放心 have that-CL student ZAI classroom in, teacher not can rest assured ‘There is that student in the classroom, the teacher cannot rest assured.' Sentences (3B) and (4) are existential constructions because the basic function of such constructions, namely introducing a new entity to the discourse, is fulfilled. A problem arises as to why existential sentences like (1) and (2), exhibit the Definiteness Effect, but (3B) and (4) do not. To account for the acceptability of (3B), Abbott (1993) argues that an existential sentence allowing a definite NP in a focus position “requires special contextualization,” and as (3B), this kind of CONTEXTUALISED EXISTENTIAL cannot be discourse initial. In this paper, we assume Abbott’s account and find that it not only explains when a definite NP is allowed in Mandarin existentials, but also accommodates the generalization found by pervious researches, Huang (1987) and Li (1996). However, contrary to Abbott’s observation that existentials with definite NPs usually do not appear initially in discourse, Mandarin data shows that in some circumstances, this kind of existential can be discourse initial, as illustrated in (4) and (5). Besides, different from the view of Prince (1992) and Ward and Birner (1995) that a postverbal NP in an existential will represent a hearer-new entity, sentence (5) may introduce hearer-old entities. (5) 從前 只要 有 我的妹妹/張三 在 教室裡, 老師 就 不能 放心 ago as long as have my sister/Zhangsan ZAI classroom in, teacher then not can rest assured ‘Long ago as long as there was my sister/Zhangsan in the classroom, the teacher cannot rest assured.’ In sum, it is not the linguistic form, the definiteness of the NPs, that is incompatible with the existential construction. It is the function of existentials that confines the kind of NPs that can appear in it. The tendency of the NP to be formally indefinite in existentials is not independent. It is a reflex of the tendency to be informationally new. As long as some context information is given, a definite NP can convey novel information and thus appear in an existential sentence.

Appearance and Existence in Mandarin Chinese

Studies in Chinese Linguistics, 2019

In Mandarin Chinese, the string of three overt elements in a row, a locative, a verb, and a nominal, asserts the existence of the entity denoted by the nominal in the location. This paper argues that the verb is contained in an adjunct, while the locative in its base-position and the nominal establish a matrix predication relation. Thus, instead of the overt verb, the head of the matrix predicate of the construction is null. Moreover, a new analysis is provided to explain the obligatory argument-sharing between the verb and the matrix predication of the construction. Furthermore, the paper argues that the agent of a transitive verb in certain types of embedded clauses needs to be Case-licensed by either the v of the selecting verb, as in an ECM construction, or a local c-commanding functional element, such as a complementizer, as in the English infinitive for construction. This Case-licensing explains why the transitive verb in the string has no agent. The research shows that the syntactic strategies to license abstract Cases in Chinese are similar to the ones found in other languages. Finally, the paper argues that the post-verbal-zhe is an adessive marker when it occurs in a non-progressive context.

On the semantics of Cantonese pre-predicate jau5 ‘have’ — An assertive existential quantifier

Lingua, 2018

The verb jau5 ‘have’ in Cantonese can be placed immediately before the verbal or adjectival predicate, forming “jau5 + predicate” construction (henceforth pre-predicate jau5), and pervious analyses consider the pre-predicate jau5 as the preposed perfective marker –zo2. The same construction “you ‘have’ + VP” renders ungrammaticality in Mandarin, with the post-verbal perfective –le being its only form. In this paper, contra previous analyses, I argue that pre-predicate jau5 and post-verbal perfective –zo2 cannot be equivalents. Following S.F. Huang's (1981) ideas on determiner quantifiers, I propose that Cantonese pre-predicate jau5 ‘have’ is an assertive existential quantifier operating in the domain of verbs and their event time, which gives rise to two assertive meanings: (i) When the situation is interpreted as non-specific, pre-predicate jau5 asserts at least one occurrence of the event; and (ii) when the situation is interpreted as specific, jau5 asserts the actualization o...

ZHI-{YAO, YOU} 'only-{need, have}': on two conditional connectives in Mandarin

Journal of East Asian Linguistics (JEAL), 2022

This paper offers a compositional take on two internally complex conditional connectives in Mandarin, ZHI-YAO 'only-need' and ZHI-YOU 'only-have'. While the former conveys the antecedent proposition's minimal sufficiency, the latter conveys its necessity for the consequent proposition to come true. Both connectives will be treated as pairing an exclusive particle, ZHI, with a modal, an assumption that is less controversial for the necessity modal YAO than for YOU, which will be treated as a possibility modal. Accepting this treatment, however, we have two connectives that openly differ in modal force. While the surface order will be preserved for ZHI-YOU, an inversion will be shown to lead to better results for ZHI-YAO. In both cases, a possible extension to monoclausal uses is considered.

On the syntax of non-verbal predication in Mandarin Chinese

2009

The central issue of this study is nominal predication in Mandarin Chinese, which specifically refers to the construction composed of a subject and a nominal predicate without the intervention of a copula. Based on Davidson's (1967) event theory, especially the neo-Davidsonian event theory (Parsons 1990; Chierchia 1995, among many others), which claims that each sentence is endowed with a Davidsonian event/state argument, this study intends to give a unified account to the copulaless nominal predication construction in Mandarin Chinese, i.e., the grammaticality of the nominal predicate construction is dependent on whether the Davidsonian argument is visible or not. Three types of nominal predicate constructions are examined, namely, the constructions whose predicates are temporal/locative nominals, modified noun phrases and possessive noun phrases. The three types of copulaless nominal predication constructions, distinctive as their syntactic manifestations are, have one vi TABLE OF CONTENTS

Nominal Predicates in Mandarin Chinese

Taiwan journal of linguistics, 2007

This article reconsiders Tang's (1998) analysis of Mandarin matrix small clauses (SC) in an attempt to get a heifer understanding of the structure of the Mandarin nominal predicate. It is found that the structures which the nominal predicate can take can be a bare NP or even not-so-bare projections. All the nominal predicates manifest a kind of modifier-modifiee pattern, which implements 'modificational predication' of the subject Thus, the matrix SC is structurally ”not-so-bare” rather than ”tare” Finally, the claim of Mandarin indefinite/definite DP as an argument, not a predicate is further strengthened in this work.

When Time is a Fact: A Semantic and Time-Relational Analysis of 'You + VP' in Taiwan Mandarin

The aim of this study is to investigate the semantic value of the auxiliary you in Taiwan Mandarin. This auxiliary has long been viewed as denoting perfectivity (Tsai, 2002), while recent analyses argue that it could also be a past tense (Chen, 2010) or a realis marker (Liu, 2011). However, none of these analyses is completely satisfactory, as they can't account for some data. Therefore, the main proposal is to argue that the core meaning of you in 'you + VP' is that it is a factual marker, asserting the trueness of the described situation. Along with this analysis, a time-relational one (Klein, 1994) is also proposed to explain the different temporal interpretations of 'you + VP'.