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- Title
Argument reduction and anaphora resolution: the case of xiang−verbs in Mandarin Chinese.
- Authors
Wu, J.
- Abstract
In this paper, I discuss argument reduction and anaphora resolution of xiang−verbs in Mandarin Chinese. When xiang is prefixed to a verbal stem, one of the arguments of the verbal stem is absorbed, xiang functions as an anaphor replacing the absorbed argument and hence requires an antecedent. I argue that the argument reduction of xiang−verbs depends on the Thematic Role Hierarchy (Bresnan and Kanerva, Language 70:72-131, ; Bresnan, Linguistic Inq 20(1):10-50, ): the second highest role on the argument structure of a verbal stem to which xiang is attached, is absorbed. For anaphora resolution, I propose a non-subject constraint, Available Candidates for xiang, which includes a principle utilizing attachment sites of Segmented Discourse Representation Theory (for short, SDRT) to determine a set of candidates for the antecedent to xiang a last resort to include the speaker and addressee(s) in the set when there is no available candidate, and a pragmatic principle to select the most fitting one from the set of candidates to be the antecedent to xiang. And, I propose an SDRT account for the phenomena observed. I also discuss the reciprocity of xiang-verbs and suggest that reciprocal xiang-verbs and non-reciprocal xiang-verbs have the same origin. Furthermore, I demonstrate that the SDRT account argued in this paper can be extended to zero anaphora resolution (with some modification) and is, at least to a certain degree, applicable to the resolution of the third person singular anaphor ta 'he/she'.
- Subjects
XIANG dialects; LANGUAGES in China; VERBS; REDUCTION (Linguistics); ANAPHORA (Linguistics); MANDARIN dialects
- Publication
Journal of East Asian Linguistics, 2012, Vol 21, Issue 2, p115
- ISSN
0925-8558
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1007/s10831-011-9085-0