published_or_final_version / Chinese / Master / Master of Arts

published_or_final_version / English Studies and Comparative Literature / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

published_or_final_version / Linguistics / Master / Master of Arts

Mandarin Chinese has a very interesting and complex aspectual system. This thesis studies this system from a new perspective, a modified version of Smith's (1991) two-component theory. It is shown that the modifications developed in the thesis increase the explanatory power of the theory so that a clearer picture of the Mandarin Chinese system is obtained. Situation aspect is compositional in nature. It is determined by the interaction of the intrinsic nature of the verb, the kind of argument the verb takes and certain other phrases that may occur in the sentence. In this thesis, a three level model is developed to account for the compositional nature of aspect. It is argued that aspect composition processes take place at three different levels: (i) the lexical level through some lexical processes; (ii) the subcategorizational level through the interaction of the verb and its arguments and (iii) the post-subcategorizational level through the interaction of the core sentence and certain adverbial constituents. This model has a few advantages. First, it defines clearly what plays what role in situation aspect composition processes. Secondly, this model makes it possible to talk in clear terms of verb types and situation types. Actually this model replaces Smith's situation shifting with situation formation. The three-level model is supplemented by two new criteria for verb classifications and a further distinction between boundedness and telicity. The two new criteria are: (i) the (±result) feature that distinguishes Accomplishment verbs from Achievement verbs and (ii) the (±bounded) feature that distinguishes Activity verbs from Semelfactive verbs. The distinction between boundedness and telicity differentiates temporal boundaries and spatial boundaries, the former is referred to by the feature (±bounded), and the latter is referred to by the feature (±telic). In light of the modified version of Smith's two component theory, the Mandarin Chinese aspectual system is shown to fit in the big picture of the universal grammar. The perfective and the imperfective are the two basic viewpoints in Mandarin Chinese. The perfective is marked by le and guo, and the imperfective is marked by zai and zhe. However, these viewpoints have some language specific properties. The most outstanding special properties are displayed by le. Unlike the perfective in languages like English and French, the perfective marker le does not provide a final endpoint. It only emphasizes the occurrence of a situation as a whole. As a consequence, it requires that the situation it marks is either (+bounded) or (+telic). Guo provides an endpoint to situations and so it is compatible with any situation type either open-ended or closed. However, as it emphasizes the experiential meaning of a particular event, it is limited in use pragmatically. Zai emphasizes the progress of a situation, it is not sensitive to endpoint at all. Its function is close to the English progressive form and like the English progressive form, it fits in the general imperfective schema. Zhe imposes a static view to situations, and because of this property, zhe is selective about situation types. In Mandarin Chinese, there are some constructions that show certain syntactic and semantic constraints. These constraints are studied in light of the aspectual theory adopted and developed in the thesis. And it is argued that a top-down approach advocated by the Construction Grammar and the Head-driven Phrase Structure Grammar may well explain the form-meaning correspondences of these constructions. / Graduate

by Ji Xiaoling. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1995. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 100-104). / Acknowledgment --- p.ii / Abstract --- p.iii / Chapter Chapter 1 --- Introduction --- p.1 / Chapter Chapter 2 --- The English Middle --- p.7 / Chapter 2.0. --- Introduction --- p.7 / Chapter 2.1. --- General properties of the middle construction --- p.8 / Chapter 2.2. --- The semantics of the middle construction --- p.15 / Chapter 2.3. --- Some syntactic issues of the middle construction --- p.21 / Chapter 2.4. --- The scope of the middle construction --- p.33 / Chapter 2.5. --- Summary --- p.37 / Chapter Chapter 3 --- The Chinese Middle --- p.39 / Chapter 3.0. --- Introduction --- p.39 / Chapter 3.1. --- Previous work on the Chinese middle --- p.39 / Chapter 3.2. --- Functions of qilai --- p.42 / Chapter 3.3. --- General properties of the Chinese middle marked by qilai --- p.46 / Chapter 3.4. --- The relationship between qilai and de --- p.54 / Chapter 3.5. --- Arguments against qilai as a middle marker --- p.67 / Chapter 3.6. --- Functions of qilai revisited --- p.71 / Chapter 3.7. --- Summary --- p.75 / Chapter Chapter 4 --- The Syntax of Evaluational qilai --- p.77 / Chapter 4.0. --- Introduction --- p.77 / Chapter 4.1. --- Two types of evaluational qilai --- p.77 / Chapter 4.2. --- Re NP <V-qilai1 > adjunct VP --- p.81 / Chapter 4.3. --- Re<NP V-qilai2>S VP --- p.84 / Chapter 4.4. --- Summary --- p.90 / Chapter Chapter 5 --- Conclusion --- p.93 / Notes --- p.95 / Reference --- p.100

陳榮開. / "2005年1月". / 論文(哲學碩士)--香港中文大學, 2005. / 參考文獻(leaves 68-72). / "2005 nian 1 yue". / Abstracts in Chinese and English. / Chen Rongkai. / Lun wen (zhe xue shuo shi)--Xianggang Zhong wen da xue, 2005. / Can kao wen xian (leaves 68-72). / 論文目錄 / 中文提要 --- p.3 / 英文提要 --- p.5 / Chapter 第一章- --- 引言 --- p.6 / Chapter 第二章- --- 今文《¯‘ة書´Ø周書》詞彙與西周金文互證 --- p.8 / Chapter 第一節： --- 《周書》詞彙訓釋證補 --- p.9 / Chapter (1) --- 《周書》「毖」字與金文「霸」字 / Chapter (2) --- 《周書》「由」、「迪」與金文「早」字 / Chapter (3) --- 《周書´Ø康誥》「衣德言」 / Chapter (4) --- 《周書´Ø召誥》「其惟王位在德元」 / Chapter (5) --- 《周書´Ø康誥》「不敢侮鰥寡，庸庸祗祗威威顯民」 / Chapter 第二節： --- 《周書》所見今、古文有異說之詞彙探析 --- p.29 / Chapter (1) --- 《周書》「懋」、「冒」、「勖」與金文「覭」字 / Chapter (2) --- 《周書》「懋」、「冒」、「勖」今、古文不同用法分析 / Chapter (3) --- 《周書》「寧王」問題 / Chapter (4) --- 《周書´Ø大誥》「休畢」 / Chapter (5) --- 《周書´Ø康誥》「周公初基作新大邑于東國洛」 / Chapter (6) --- 《周書´Ø酒誥》「辜在商邑越殷國滅無罹」 / Chapter (7) --- 《周書´Ø洛誥》「殷乃引考」 / Chapter (8) --- 《周書´Ø立政》「耿光」 / Chapter 第三章- --- 今文《¯‘ة書´Ø周書》歎詞、助詞、代詞與西周金文互證硏究 --- p.52 / Chapter 第一節： --- 歎詞、助詞與西周金文互證 --- p.52 / Chapter (1) --- 嗚呼 / Chapter (2) --- 已、噫、徂 / Chapter (3) --- 矣 / Chapter 第二節： --- 代詞與西周金文互證 --- p.59 / Chapter (1) --- 我 / Chapter (2) --- 予 / Chapter (3) --- 朕 / Chapter 第四章- --- 總結 --- p.64 / 參考書目及參考論文 --- p.68 / 附錄一----今文《周書》歎詞「嗚呼」用例表 --- p.73 / 附錄二----今文《周書》與西周金文字例互證舉隅 --- p.75 / 附錄三----本文引用古文字材料拓本或摹本 --- p.79

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published_or_final_version / abstract / toc / Linguistics / Master / Master of Philosophy

published_or_final_version / Linguistics / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

published_or_final_version / Chinese / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy