Locality, focus and covert movement

IF 0.5 3区文学 N/A LANGUAGE & LINGUISTICS Journal of East Asian Linguistics Pub Date : 2024-04-17 DOI:10.1007/s10831-024-09273-1

C.-T. James Huang, Barry C.-Y. Yang

引用次数: 0

Abstract

This paper offers new evidence for covert focus movement in two areas of Chinese syntax, concerning A’-extraction and the distribution of anaphoric definite bare nouns. A left-right asymmetry in Mandarin topic and relative structures has long been observed (since Huang in Linguistic Inquiry 15: 531–574, 1984) whereby apparent extraction from an island is possible if the island occurs as a subject or fronted object, but not if it occurs postverbally. The definite interpretation of a bare noun exhibits a similar asymmetry (Jenks in Linguistic Inquiry 49:501–536, 2018): a bare noun may have anaphoric definite interpretation if occurring as a subject or topic, but not as a postverbal object. In both patterns, the occurrence of focus may exceptionally cancel the asymmetry, allowing extraction from a postverbal island and the anaphoric definite interpretation of a postverbal bare noun. We argue that these patterns of exception are explained if the phrases associated with focus undergo covert movement in LF.

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地点、重点和秘密行动

本文为汉语句法中两个领域的隐蔽焦点移动提供了新的证据，这两个领域分别涉及 "A'-提取 "和 "隐喻定语光名词的分布"。在普通话的主题结构和相对结构中，左右不对称的现象早已被观察到（自 Huang 发表于 Linguistic Inquiry 15: 531-574, 1984），根据这种现象，如果岛屿作为主语或前置宾语出现，就有可能从岛屿中明显提取，但如果岛屿出现在后置动词中，则不可能。裸名词的定解也表现出类似的不对称性（Jenks in Linguistic Inquiry 49:501-536，2018）：裸名词如果作为主语或话题出现，则可能有拟声定解，但如果作为语后宾语出现，则不可能有拟声定解。在这两种模式中，焦点的出现可能会在例外情况下取消不对称，允许从语后岛中提取，并对语后裸名词进行拟定语解释。我们认为，如果与焦点相关的短语在 LF 中发生隐蔽移动，就可以解释这些例外模式。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Journal of East Asian Linguistics Multiple-

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0.90

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0.00%

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期刊介绍： The study of East Asian languages, especially of Chinese, Japanese and Korean, has existed for a long time as a field, as demonstrated by the existence of programs in most institutions of higher learning and research that include these languages as a major component. Speakers of these three languages have shared a great deal of linguistic heritage during the development of their languages through cultural contacts, in addition to possible genealogical linkage. These languages accordingly possess various common features. Another important factor that ties them together as a field is that they have shared a common tradition of linguistic scholarship, a tradition that distinguishes itself from the study of western languages. Against this tradition, much recent work has approached these languages from a broader perspective beyond the area, considering them within contexts of general theoretical research, bringing new lights to old problems in the area and contributing to current issues in linguistic theory. But there continues to be good reason for scholars working in this approach to hold a special interest in each other''s work. Especially with the amount of most recent theoretical work on these languages, the field of theoretical East Asian linguistics has been fast growing. The purpose of the Journal of East Asian Linguistics is to provide a common forum for such scholarly activities, and to foster further growth that will allow the field to benefit more from linguistic theory of today, and enable the languages to play a more important role in shaping linguistic theory of tomorrow.

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