In light of the observation made by Bowers (1991: 19) that Mandarin classifiers are phonetic realization of a functional head Nm, whose semantic function is to turn properties into propositional functions, it is postulated that classifiers in Nuosu Yi can also be identified as this type of predication operator (Pr). / The classifier in Nuosu Yi can appear in possessives. Its function is to link the possessor noun and possessed noun and form a possession relation between them. However, Pr in Nuosu Yi possessives may not always be realized as a CL. When a Nuosu Yi speaker does not want to specify the number of the possessed item, he will not use classifiers to link the possessor and the possessed noun. In this case, Pr has no phonetic realization. Based on this observation, we propose that classifiers in East Asian classifier languages are likely to be grammaticalized into Pr, but this grammaticalization path is not unitary. Besides classifiers, Pr may take on other forms such as possessive marker ge in Cantonese, possessive marker de in Mandarin, possessive marker a in Jingpo, and an empty possessive marker in Nuosu Yi. / The conclusion of this thesis is that possessive markers and relative markers are indeed of the same syntactic category Pr and they come into narrow syntax computation (from Numeration to LF) in the same manner. / The nature of predication within complex nominals is studied through examination of the syntax and semantics of possessive and relative constructions in Nuosu Yi. The proposed theory is also shown to be applicable to Mandarin, Cantonese, and Jingpo. / The whole picture of the complex nominal structure in Yi is further complicated by the cooccurrence of su and a classifier with a RC. In this case, su is analyzed as a D-element. The real predication operator is still the classifier. / When classifiers serve as RC markers in Nuosu Yi, we are able to tell the exact number of the relativized item. When a Nuosu Yi speaker does not want to specify the exact number of the relativized item, he will use the morpheme su. Semantically, it does not specify the number of the relativized noun, but it renders the relativized noun definite. We propose that this morpheme su is a definite article D, which plays a deciding role in encoding the definiteness of the whole complex nominal which contains a RC. The relative clause marker, in this case, is a phonetically null element. / Liu, Hongyong. / "November 2006." / Adviser: Yang Gu. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 68-08, Section: A, page: 3369. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 239-245). / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Electronic reproduction. [Ann Arbor, MI] : ProQuest Information and Learning, [200-] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Abstracts in English and Chinese. / School code: 1307.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:cuhk.edu.hk/oai:cuhk-dr:cuhk_343802 |
| Date | January 2006 |
| Contributors | Liu, Hongyong, Chinese University of Hong Kong Graduate School. Division of Linguistics. |
| Source Sets | The Chinese University of Hong Kong |
| Language | English, Chinese |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text, theses |
| Format | electronic resource, microform, microfiche, 1 online resource (xi, 245 p. : ill.) |
| Rights | Use of this resource is governed by the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons “Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International” License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/) |
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