TY - JOUR
T1 - ON THE BIG SILENT APPOSITIVE TIME IN DÀ NP DE CONSTRUCTION IN CHINESE
T2 - A COMPOSITIONAL APPROACH
AU - Wang, Changsong
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 by the Journal of Chinese Linguistics.
PY - 2022/6
Y1 - 2022/6
N2 - This article explores the compositionality of [dà NP de] construction in Chinese. The NP should be a direct time-denoting NPTIME or an indirect time-denoting NPITIME. Following Kayne (2016), we assume there is a silent TIME following de. Meanwhile, a less-discussed use of de—that is, the equational/appositional use of de (Chao 1968), has been revived to link the silent TIME and NPTIME/NPITIME. This analysis of de helps explain why the NP is preferably time-related, as it is easier for a time-denoting NP to establish an equational/appositional relation with the silent TIME. Dà ‘big’ is neither a size-denoting adjective, nor an evaluative morpheme. It is analyzed as an element like the restrictive adjective very (e.g., the very book) in English. Dà modifies the appositive conjunction phrase [NP de TIME], bringing emphasis to the construction, which in turn imposes certain semantic and pragmatic constraints on its subsequent clauses.
AB - This article explores the compositionality of [dà NP de] construction in Chinese. The NP should be a direct time-denoting NPTIME or an indirect time-denoting NPITIME. Following Kayne (2016), we assume there is a silent TIME following de. Meanwhile, a less-discussed use of de—that is, the equational/appositional use of de (Chao 1968), has been revived to link the silent TIME and NPTIME/NPITIME. This analysis of de helps explain why the NP is preferably time-related, as it is easier for a time-denoting NP to establish an equational/appositional relation with the silent TIME. Dà ‘big’ is neither a size-denoting adjective, nor an evaluative morpheme. It is analyzed as an element like the restrictive adjective very (e.g., the very book) in English. Dà modifies the appositive conjunction phrase [NP de TIME], bringing emphasis to the construction, which in turn imposes certain semantic and pragmatic constraints on its subsequent clauses.
KW - Dà
KW - Equational/Appositional de
KW - Restrictive adjective very
KW - TIME
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85134035076&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1353/jcl.2022.0014
DO - 10.1353/jcl.2022.0014
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85134035076
SN - 0091-3723
VL - 50
SP - 348
EP - 384
JO - Journal of Chinese Linguistics
JF - Journal of Chinese Linguistics
IS - 2
ER -