No abstract

Inspired by the split-CP hypothesis, different orders of the functional projections in the left periphery are proposed for Chinese. Based on previous studies, this paper proposes the following hierarchy for Chinese: AttitudeP1 > AttitudeP2 > Special QuestionP > Illocutionary ForceP > Only-focusP > Sentential.AspectP > TP. These projections host sentence final particles (SFP) or null operators. When the compared projections are both head-final, the syntactic word order reflects the relevant hierarchy; when the compared projections are not uniformly head-final, their scope interaction reflects the order. This study shows that the higher a projection, the more subjective its interpretation and the harder it can be embedded. For instance, being subject-oriented sentential aspects and only-type focus are not directly linked to the speaker's attitude and therefore, they can be embedded and be interpreted within the subordinate clause. As for the SFPs linked to illocutionary forces, some can be embedded, while others cannot. Special questions and the SFPs expressing the speaker's mood, interjection and attitude cannot be embedded at all. This fact is regarded as an indirect argument in favor of my proposal.Keywords: left-periphery, sentence final particles, Mandarin Chinese, root, Main Clause Phenomena IntroductionAdopting the split-CP hypothesis (Rizzi 1997, among others), a number of generative linguists have been working on the "cartography" of the left-periphery with the aim of establishing a map, as detailed as possible, of the functional projections in the CP domain. The study of Italian (Cinque 1999, Rizzi 2004, Benincà and Poletto 2004, Cinque and Rizzi 2008 shows that functional projections which host elements such as topics, foci, interrogative words, different adverbs, etc. are hierarchically ordered in precise ways. Whether these heads/projections whose existence has been argued for in Italian are universally true is still an issue. However, this hypothesis helps us to study the left periphery in many other languages, for instance, Chinese (Paul 2002, 2015, Badan 2007, Stepanov and Tsai 2008, 2011, 2015, Pan 2011b. Based on the previous work, this article intends to establish an even more fine-grained cartography of the Mandarin left-periphery. It will also show in what way the hierarchy of the functional projections proposed here is compatible with the previously established orders. The general conclusion of this study reveals that the

No abstract

International audienceIn a recent paper, Biberauer, Holmberg and Roberts (2014) claim that the Chinese sentence-final particles (SFPs) ne and ma only “double” the information encoded elsewhere in the sentence and are to be analysed as “acategorial” conjunctions. This contrasts with the current analysis of e.g. ma as an interrogative force head. The present article provides evidence in favour of the SFPs ma and ne as C-elements and challenges some of the preconceived ideas commonly encountered in the literature. Within the head-final split CP proposed for Chinese ‘Low C < Force < Attitude’, ma instantiates a Force head, whereas ne realizes the discourse-related AttitudeP, not a wh-question typing particle (pace Lisa L.-S. Cheng’s 1991). Furthermore, evidence is provided to show that the surface sentence-final position of SFPs in Chinese must be taken at face value

Erlewine (2017) suggests that certain sentence-final particles (SFPs) in Mandarin Chinese such as "sentential le" and eryi are located lower than the C-domain, using a number of arguments relating to the scopal interaction of these SFPs, subjects, and other verb phrase (vP) level elements. The present paper proposes an alternative view of the phenomena considered by Erlewine (2017) and maintains the claim that sentential le and eryi are C-domain elements. First, I argue that shi 'be', in the negative form -bu shi 'not be' -should be analyzed as an independent verb, which takes a clausal complement headed by le or eryi. The apparent narrow scope of le and eryi is due to the biclausal analysis of the entire sentence. Second, the sentence-initial determiner phrase (DP) cannot be analyzed as the real subject of the verb shi 'be' but must be analyzed as the matrix topic of the entire sentence and, therefore, is higher than the complementizer phrase (CP) headed by le or eryi. This explains why sometimes le or eryi does not have scope over the subject. Third, the wh-subject cannot get an indefinite reading in a sentence with a final particle le because the $-closure triggered by le applies at the I′-level by excluding the subject systematically (Huang 1982). The $-quantifier, which is introduced in a position lower than the surface subject position, cannot bind the wh-subject as a variable. The position where $ is generated remains independent of whether the $-closure is triggered by low particles, such as le, or by high particles, such as the yes-no question particle ma. Therefore, the low peripheral particles le and eryi are still within the CP domain and thus higher than vP.

The present article presents an in-depth analysis of the head-final three-layered split CP realized by sentence-final particles (SFPs) in the SVO language Mandarin Chinese. These SFPs are shown to be fully-fledged functional heads with a complex feature make-up, on a par with C elements in e.g. Indo-European languages. Chinese SFPs select and project, as evidenced by the strict hierarchy for co-occurring SFPs in the split CP. This structure must be merged as such and cannot be derived by postulating movement from a head-initial CP. It straigthforwardly invalidates empirically superficial statements that attempt to turn Chinese SFPs into a grammatical quantité négligeable in order to uphold problematic word order generalizations such as the Final-over-Final Constraint.

This paper examines the derivation of two types of A′-dependencies — relative clauses and Left-Dislocation structures — in the framework of Minimalist Program based on Mandarin data. Relatives and LD structures demonstrate many distinct syntactic and semantic properties when they contain a gap and a resumptive pronoun respectively. A thorough study of the relevant data reveals that when a gap strategy is adopted, island effects and crossover effects are always observed, irrespective of whether the relevant gap is embedded within a relative clause or within an LD structure; on the contrary, when the resumptive strategy is adopted, a sharp distinction is observed between these two structures. A resumptive relative clause gives rise to island effects and crossover effects systematically; by contrast, a resumptive LD structure never gives rise to these effects. In the Minimalist Program, island effects and crossover effects are not exclusively used as diagnostic tests for movement since the operationAgreeis also subject to locality constraints. I will argue that a relative clause containing either a gap or an RP and an LD structure with gap are derived byAgreeand they are subject to the locality condition whereas a resumptive LD structure is derived byMatchthat is an island free operation and it is not subject to the locality constraint. MultipleTransferand multiple Spell-Out are possible in anAgreechain, but not in aMatchingchain. The choice of the derivational mechanism depends on the interpretability of the formal features attached to the Probe and to the Goal in the relevant A′-dependencies.

No abstract