This paper presents the results of an empirical investigation into the characteristics of unaccusativity in Mandarin by building on the gradient approach to split intransitivity (Sorace, 2000) and previous analyses of Mandarin within that framework (Liu, 2007). The study explores the acceptability of unaccusative verbs in the verb-subject construction with respect to their core-peripheral features. The results clearly demonstrate support for the gradient approach; however, some important departures from the patterns observed in Western European languages are noted. The analysis of variability between and within semantic categories reveals that verbs in certain peripheral categories exhibit behaviour more characteristic of core unaccusative verbs; conversely, some members of the core category Change of Location display characteristics more typical of peripheral verbs. A refined definition of peripheral verbs (true and pseudo) is proposed which has relevance for the cross-linguistic study of split intransitivity, and the unaccusative gradient for Mandarin is reformulated on the basis of stativity.
2021. Acceptability and Truth-Value Judgment Studies in East Asian Languages. In The Cambridge Handbook of Experimental Syntax, ► pp. 421 ff.
吴, 丽丽
2021. A Comparative Study of Surface Unaccusativity in English and Chinese at the Syntax-Semantics and Syntax-Discourse Interface. Modern Linguistics 09:06 ► pp. 1456 ff.
Chen, Zhong, Yuhang Xu & Zhiguo Xie
2020. Assessing introspective linguistic judgments quantitatively: the case of The Syntax of Chinese. Journal of East Asian Linguistics 29:3 ► pp. 311 ff.
Graf, Tim, Markus Philipp, Xiaonan Xu, Franziska Kretzschmar & Beatrice Primus
2017. The interaction between telicity and agentivity: Experimental evidence from intransitive verbs in German and Chinese. Lingua 200 ► pp. 84 ff.
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