On the Patient-Subject Construction in Chinese
On the Patient-Subject Construction in Chinese

Author: Xiaoling He

Publisher: Open Dissertation Press

Published: 2017-01-26

Total Pages:

ISBN-13: 9781361071250

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This dissertation, "On the Patient-subject Construction in Chinese" by Xiaoling, He, 賀曉玲, was obtained from The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong) and is being sold pursuant to Creative Commons: Attribution 3.0 Hong Kong License. The content of this dissertation has not been altered in any way. We have altered the formatting in order to facilitate the ease of printing and reading of the dissertation. All rights not granted by the above license are retained by the author. Abstract: Abstract of thesis entitled On Patient-Subject Construction in Chinese Submitted by He Xiaoling For the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at The University of Hong Kong in October 2005 The aim of this thesis is to achieve a better understanding of the Patient-Subject Construction (PSC) in Chinese through an investigation of its syntax and semantics. Typical examples of PSCs include 那封信早就写好了('That letter has already been written a long time ago.') or 绳子拉上去了('The rope has been pulled up.'), which have a patient in subject position but no passive marking on the verb or other parts of the sentence. For a construction as widely used and commonly seen as the PSC, the amount of knowledge about it and the quantity of scholarly attention that has been given to it are surprisingly small. Previous researchers have adopted two exactly opposite viewpoints. Those who give priority to meanings see it as a 'notional passive'. Others who regard form as the more important factor treat it as a sub-class of SVO sentences. From this 'either-form-or-function circle' there seemed little hope of escape. In this thesis, a new approach is used, one in which consideration is given equally to both form and function, and especially to the interaction between them. First a historical survey was made, which provided a diachronic background to the subsequent synchronic study. From this survey it was seen that the PSC was one of the oldest and most stable grammatical patterns of the language. Next, three theoretically possible accounts of the PSC have been considered: as topicalization; as passive; as ergative construction, but each was found to be inadequate in one way or another. A corpus of some 2000 instances of PSCs are collected and studied in detail, resulting in several generalizations about its variety of forms and functions as they were found in the language. The theory of Construction Grammar is brought in to elucidate the relationship between the PSC and other constructions, as well as between different sub-types of PSCs. Finally, the PSC was placed in a typological context. Through comparisons and contrasts with cross-linguistic data and findings, it became clear that the PSC is a basic and unmarked construction that comes closer to being a middle than a passive. In conclusion, it was found that a fundamental opposition existed within the Chinese voice system between the active (SVO) and the middle (PSC), and that the real passive (i.e. the bei-construction), being marked and less stable, was historically a subsequent development from the PSC. (403 words) DOI: 10.5353/th_b3461547 Subjects: Chinese language - Passive voice Construction grammar

Patient-Subject Constructions in Mandarin Chinese
Patient-Subject Constructions in Mandarin Chinese

Author: Xiaoling He

Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing Company

Published: 2019-06-15

Total Pages: 204

ISBN-13: 9027262349

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As a distinctive syntactic structure in Mandarin Chinese, the Patient-Subject Construction (PSC) is one of the most interesting but least well-understood structures in the language. This book offers a comprehensive account of the history, structure, meaning and use of the PSC. Unlike previous descriptions which were framed in terms of pre-existing grammatical notions such as ‘topicalization’, ‘passivization’ and ‘ergativization’, this book offers a fresh look at the PSC, in which its syntactic and semantic as well as its discourse functions are examined within the system of major construction-types of the language as a whole. The PSC, being low in transitivity, serves primarily the function of backgrounding in discourse. Typologically, the PSC bears a resemblance to middle constructions in Indo-European and other languages, raising interesting questions about ways to understand congruent and divergent syntactic structures across the world’s languages. This book will be of interest to students of Chinese Linguistics as well as Language Typology.

The Routledge Handbook of Chinese Second Language Acquisition
The Routledge Handbook of Chinese Second Language Acquisition

Author: Chuanren Ke

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2018-03-29

Total Pages: 662

ISBN-13: 1317367901

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The Routledge Handbook of Chinese Second Language Acquisition is the first reference work of its kind. The handbook contains twenty contributions from leading experts in the field of Chinese SLA, covering a wide range of topics such as social contexts, linguistic perspectives, skill learning, individual differences and learning settings and testing. Each chapter covers historical perspectives, core issues and key findings, research approaches, pedagogical implications, future research direction and additional references. The Routledge Handbook of Chinese Second Language Acquisition is an essential reference for Chinese language teachers and researchers in Chinese applied linguistics and second language acquisition.

Typological Change in Chinese Syntax
Typological Change in Chinese Syntax

Author: Dan Xu

Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA

Published: 2006

Total Pages: 272

ISBN-13: 0199297568

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This new interpretation of the early history of Chinese argues that Old Chinese was typologically a 'mixed' language. It shows that, though its dominant word order was subject-verb-object, this coexisted with subject-object-verb. Professor Xu demonstrates that Old Chinese was not the analytic language it has usually been assumed to be, and that it employed morphological and lexical devices as well as syntactic means. She describes the typological changes that have taken place sincethe Han period and shows how Chinese evolved into a more analytic language, supporting her exposition with abundant examples. She draws where possible on archaeological findings in order to distinguish between versions of texts transmitted and sometimes modified through the hands of generations ofcopyists.The author focusses on syntactic issues, including word order, verbs, causative structures, resultative compounds, and negation, but also pays close attention to what she demonstrates are closely related changes in phonology and the writing system.The book will interest scholars and graduate students of Chinese linguistics, philology, classical literature as well as general linguists interested in word-order typology and language universals. It may be also be used as a text for advanced courses in Classical Chinese and Chinese diachronic syntax.

International Encyclopedia of Linguistics
International Encyclopedia of Linguistics

Author: William Frawley

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2003-05

Total Pages: 2198

ISBN-13: 0195139771

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The International Encyclopedia of Linguistics, 2nd Edition encompasses the full range of the contemporary field of linguistics, including historical, comparative, formal, mathematical, functional, and philosophical linguistics with special attention given to interrelations within branches of linguistics and to relations of linguistics with other disciplines. Areas of intersection with the social and behavioral sciences--ethnolinguistics, sociolinguistics, psycholinguistics, and behavioral linguistics--receive major coverage, along with interdisciplinary work in language and literature, mathematical linguistics, computational linguistics, and applied linguistics.Longer entries in the International Encyclopedia of Linguistics, ranging up to four thousand words, survey the major fields of study--for example, anthropological linguistics, history of linguistics, semantics, and phonetics. Shorter entries treat specific topics within these fields, such as code switching, sound symbolism, and syntactic features. Other short entries define and discuss technical terms used within the various subfields or provide sketches of the careers of important scholars in the history of linguistics, such as Leonard Bloomfield, Roman Jakobson, and Edward Sapir.A major portion of the work is its extensive coverage of languages and language families. From those as familiar as English, Japanese, and the Romance languages to Hittite, Yoruba, and Nahuatl, all corners of the world receive treatment. Languages that are the subject of independent entries are analyzed in terms of their phonology, grammatical features, syntax, and writing systems. Lists attached to each article on a language group or family enumerate all languages, extinct or still spoken, within that group and provide detailed information on the number of known speakers, geographical range, and degree of intelligibility with other languages in the group. In this way, virtually every known language receives coverage.For ease of reference and to aid research, the articles are alphabetically arranged, each signed by the contributor, supported by up-to-date bibliographies, line drawings, maps, tables, and diagrams, and readily accessible via a system of cross-references and a detailed index and synoptic outline. Authoritative, comprehensive, and innovative, the 2nd edition of the International Encyclopedia of Linguistics will be an indispensable addition to personal, public, academic, and research libraries and will introduce a new generation of readers to the complexities and concerns of this field of study.

Body, Subject, and Power in China
Body, Subject, and Power in China

Author: Angela Zito

Publisher: University of Chicago Press

Published: 1994-05-16

Total Pages: 328

ISBN-13: 9780226987262

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For the first time, this volume brings to the study of China the theoretical concerns and methods of contemporary critical cultural studies. Written by historians, art historians, anthropologists, and literary critics who came of age after the People's Republic resumed scholarly ties with the United States, these essays yield valuable new insights not only for China studies but also, by extension, for non-Asian cultural criticism. Contributors investigate problems of bodiliness, engendered subjectivities, and discourses of power through a variety of sources that include written texts, paintings, buildings, interviews, and observations. Taken together, the essays show that bodies in China have been classified, represented, discussed, ritualized, gendered, and eroticized in ways as rich and multiple as those described in critical histories of the West. Silk robes, rocks, winds, gestures of bowing, yin yang hierarchies, and cross-dressing have helped create experiences of the body specific to Chinese historical life. By pointing to multiple examples of reimagining subjectivity and renegotiating power, the essays encourage scholars to avoid making broad generalizations about China and to rethink traditional notions of power, subject, and bodiliness in light of actual Chinese practices. Body, Subject, and Power in China is at once an example of the changing face of China studies and a work of importance to the entire discipline of cultural studies.

New Horizons in Chinese Linguistics
New Horizons in Chinese Linguistics

Author: C-T James Huang

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 1996

Total Pages: 408

ISBN-13: 9780792338673

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The past decade and a half has witnessed a great deal of renewed interest in the study of Chinese linguistics, not only in the traditional areas of philological studies and in theoretically oriented areas of syn chronic grammar and language change but also in the cultivation of new frontiers in related areas of the cognitive sciences. There is a significant increase in the number of students studying one area or another of the linguistic structure of Chinese in various linguistic programs in the United States, Europe, Australia and in China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, and other parts of Asia. Several new academic departments devoted to the study of linguistics have been established in Taiwan and Hong Kong in the past few years. The increasing research and study activities have also resulted in a number of national and international conferences, including the North American Conference on Chinese Linguistics (NACCL), which has been held annually in the United States; the International Symposium on Chinese Languages and Linguistics (IsCLL), which has had its fourth meeting since it was launched by Academia Sinica in Taiwan in 1990; the International Association of Chinese Linguistics (lACL), created in Singapore in 1992 and now incorporated in Irvine, California, which has held its annual meetings at major institutions in Asia, Europe, and the US.