This dissertation studies leftward dislocation of object Noun Phrases in Mandarin Chinese
within the framework of Government and Binding theory. Although the canonical word order
in Chinese is S(ubject)-V(erb)-O(bject), it also exhibits OSV and SOV word orders. After an
introduction in Ch. 1, I discuss OSV constructions in Ch.2. I argue that the S-initial object NP
is moved there, since its association with a gap in the canonical object position obeys the
subjacency condition. Based on several diagnostic tests, I propose that Chinese has two kinds
of short-distance NP fronting: one is A’-movement and the other is A-movement. Adopting the
Split Infl Hypothesis, I postulate a fully articulated clause structure for Chinese. In particular,
I propose that the fronted NP in A-movement lands in [Spec AgrOP] as a kind of overt raising,
while the one in A’-movement further leaves that spec position and is CP-adjoined. I also
examine long-distance NP fronting, showing that it is invariably A’-movement.
In Ch. 3, I investigate object shift, which yields SOV constructions. I argue that this
syntactic process represents a type of A-movement, not A’-movement as concluded in previous
studies. Specifically, I propose that the subject NP and the object NP in this construction overtly
raise to [Spec AgrSP] and [Spec AgrOP] respectively.
In Ch.4, I examine the interactions between an object wh-NP and dou, the adverb of
universal quantification. I propose that wh-phrases, like indefinites, can be either
presuppositional or existential. If they are within VP (i.e. remain postverbal), they are subject
to existential closure and get an existential/interrogative reading. If, however, they are outside
VP (i.e. shifted to the left of dou), they define the range of the quantifier dou and obtain the
presuppositional/universal reading. The conclusion is that there is a strict correlation between
the S-structure positions of the wh-phrase and its interpretations. The exhaustive list reading of
the in-situ wh-object associated with the interrogative reading is derived from the fact that it is
in the scope of dou at S-structure.
In Ch. 5, I summarize the major findings of this dissertation and raise several issues for
future research. / Arts, Faculty of / Linguistics, Department of / Graduate
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UBC/oai:circle.library.ubc.ca:2429/8955 |
| Date | 05 1900 |
| Creators | Qu, Yanfeng |
| Source Sets | University of British Columbia |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text, Thesis/Dissertation |
| Format | 5085478 bytes, application/pdf |
| Rights | For non-commercial purposes only, such as research, private study and education. Additional conditions apply, see Terms of Use https://open.library.ubc.ca/terms_of_use. |
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