Chinese Middle Constructions: Lexical Middle Formation

by Jiajuan Xiong

Overview

This book defines Chinese middle constructions as generic constructions, with their highest syntactically saturated argument always understood as an arbitrary one. This working definition sets “middle construction” apart from “middle voice” in that it can be instantiated by various constructions in Chinese. By scrutinizing these constructions in the framework of Generative Syntax, the book concludes that their formation takes place at the lexical level, without resorting to any syntactic mechanisms and thus that Chinese falls into the category of “lexical middle languages”, which are in contrast to “syntactic middle languages”.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9789811061875
Publisher:	Springer-Verlag New York, LLC
Publication date:	11/14/2017
Series:	Frontiers in Chinese Linguistics , #2
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	290
File size:	6 MB

About the Author

​Dr. Jiajuan Xiong is currently an associate professor at the School of Foreign Languages for Business, Southwestern University of Finance and Economics in Chengdu, China. Her areas of work include Chinese syntax, Sinhala syntax, synaesthesia and Buddhist philosophy of language. She received the Excellent Ph.D. Thesis award from Hong Kong University.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 The Middle Voice vs. the Middle Construction1.1 The Middle Voice1.2 The Middle Construction1.3 The Relationship between the “Middle Voice” and the “Middle Construction”1.4 Chinese Middle ConstructionsChapter 2 Middle Constructions: Previous Research2.1 Syntactic Approaches2.2 Lexical Approaches2.3 Semantic Approaches2.4 Parametric Approaches2.5 Chapter SummaryChapter 3 The Qilai Middle3.1 The Various Usages of Qilai3.2 The [NP Theme V-qilai AP] Pattern3.3 The Middlehood of the [NP theme V-qilai AP] Structure3.4 Verbal Constraints on the Qilai Middle3.5 The Qilai Adjunct Middle3.6 Ditransitivity in the Qilai Middle3.7 Chapter SummaryChapter 4 The Hao and Rongyi/nan Middles4.1 Two Different Uses of the Prefix Hao4.2 Hao versus Rongyi/Nan4.3 The Hao Construction Versus the Rongyi/Nan Construction4.4 The Middle Construction Versus the Tough Construction4.5 Verbal Constraints on the Hao Middle and the Rongyi/Nan Middle4.6 Are There Any Hao/Rongyi/Nan Adjunct Middles?4.7 Ditransitivity in the Hao/Rongyi/Nan Middles4.8 Chapter SummaryChapter 5 The De and Bu Middles5.1 The Semantic Volatility of De Constructions5.2 The Syntactic Analyses of the three De Constructions5.3 [NP Theme V-bu-A theme ]: the Unergative5.4 [NP Theme V-de-A theme ] and [NP Theme V-bu-A theme ]: the Middles5.5 Formational Constraints on the De-middle and the Bu-middle5.6 Are There Any Adjunct De-middles or Bu-middles?5.7 Are De and Bu Full-fledged Modals?5.8 More on De: Its Chengdu Chinese Counterpart Te5.9 Chapter SummaryChapter 6 More on Chinese Middles6.1 Transitive Middles6.2 Genericity in Chinese6.3 Theme-as-Subject Constructions in Chinese6.4 Lexical Middles: Unergative and Transitive6.5 Unergativity at the Clausal Level6.6 Chapter SummaryChapter 7 Conclusions7.1 Summary of the Dissertation7.2 Questions for Future ResearchAppendix 1Appendix 2References