The Prosodic Syntax of Chinese
Shengli Feng
University of Kansas
In linguistics, it has been commonly assumed that syntax can exert influence on prosody, but the opposite direction, prosody influences syntax, is much less widely recognized. The present manuscript argues for a bidirectional interaction between prosody and syntax: Syntax governs prosody and prosody also constrains syntax, based on data from Chinese. For example, a classical problem in Chinese syntax is this: only one constituent is, in general, allowed after the main verb. However, if the object is a destressed element (a pronoun, for example), two constituents can legitimately occur after the verb. This pattern is explained by proposing a prosodic feature assignment on elementary trees in the Tree Adjoining Grammar notation. The manuscript is the first work that a system of prosodically constrained syntax is proposed in the literature, and it will create a sub-field of linguistics in the study of human languages.
Table of Contents:
Preface
Chapter 1. Phrase Structure
1.1 Introduction
1.2 Problems of Phrase Structure in Chinese
1.2.1 Huang's Account
1.2.2 Li's Account
1.2.3 Huang's Revised Theory
1.3 The Prosodic Hypothesis
1.4 Accent, Stress and Focus
1.4.1 Accent and Stress
1.4.2 Stress and Focus
1.5 Summary
Chapter 2. Prosodic Syntax
2.1 Introduction
2.2 Phrasal Prosody in Mandarin Chinese
2.2.1. Chao's Last-Being-Strongest Generalization
2.2.2. Tang's From-Light-to-Heavy Principle
2.2.3. The Nuclear Stress Rule in Chinese
2.3 Theoretical Framework
2.3.1. TAG Formalism
2.3.2. Unification-Based TAG ----- Top and Bottom Feature Structures
2.3.3. Prosodic Feature Structures
2.3.3.1. VP Adjunction
2.3.3.2. NP Adjunction
2.3.3.3. Simple Sentences
2.4 Last-VP Syntax in Mandarin Chinese
2.4.1. Overview
2.4.2. The Problem of D/F Adjuncts
2.4.3. Prosodic Explanation
2.4.3.1. [V-NP-D/FP]
2.4.3.2. Structure of [V Pronoun D/FP]
2.4.3.3. [V __ D/FP]
2.4.3.4. Intransitive V with D/FP
2.5 The ba-Construction
2.5.1. Bare Verb Effect
2.5.2. Previous Accounts
2.5.2.1. Chao's Anticlimax
2.5.2.2. Liu's Perfectivity
2.5.3. A Prosodic Account
2.5.3.1 Basic Structure
2.5.3.2 Questions Regarding the Prosodic Hypothesis
2.5.3.3 A Branching V' Node
2.5.3.4 [Ba-NP V-XP] Structures
2.5.3.5 [BaP Adv V] Structures
2.5.3.6 Syllabic Branching Node V
2.5.3.7 The Acceptability of Disyllabic Verbs
2.5.3.8 Evidence for Weak and Strong Disyllabic Forms
2.5.3.9 An Analysis for Unacceptable Disyllabic Forms
2.5.3.10 [Ba-NP Zemeyang]
2.5.4. Summary
Chapter 3. Prosodic Word
3.1. Introduction
3.2. Word-stress in Mandarin Chinese
3.2.1. The Controversy over Compound Stress
3.2.2. The Underlying Pattern of Compound Stress
3.2.3. Tone Quality
3.2.4. Weakening
3.2.5. Summary
3.3. The Phrasal Origin of Chinese Compounds
3.4. The Lexicalized TAG System
3.4.1. An Introduction to Lexicalized TAG
3.4.2. Unified Stress Assignment on Elementary Trees
3.4.3. The Idiomatic Character of Chinese Compounds
3.4.4. Problems with Our Syntactic Account
3.5. Prosodic Morphology and Word Formation in Chinese
3.5.1. An Introduction to Prosodic Morphology
3.5.2. The Foot Formation Rule
3.5.3. Monosyllabicity
3.5.4. The Trisyllabic Foot -- the Mending Device
3.6. Prosodic Words and Compounding
3.6.1. The Constraint [M]=[s] and ALIGN:[ ]Compound=[ ]PrWd
3.6.2. The Derivation of PrWd (Compounding)
3.6.3. Remaining Problems
3.6.3.1. Impossible [[ss]s]VP Compounds
3.6.3.2. Trisyllabic [s[ss]]NP Forms
3.6.3.3. [sss] Coordinating compounds
3.7. Implications and Consequences
3.7.1. The Chinese Lexicon and Dictionary
3.7.2. Interaction between the Monosyllabic Axiom and the Foot Formation Rule
ISBN 9783895863691. LINCOM Studies in Asian Linguistics 44. 141pp. 2002.
