Coordination versus separation: difference of gapping between Chinese and English and its prosodic attribution

Abstract In this paper, we have analyzed a whole set of data of gapping in Mandarin Chinese from a novel point of view and fleshed out a bi-sentential derivation analysis for the formation of this construction. While taking the canonical gapping in English as a reference, we have explored some idiomatic properties of the relevant structures in Chinese and summarized core differences: the gapping constructions in English follow a strict rule of sentence grammar while those of Chinese have demonstrated kind of inter-sentential effect. We propose that such differences can be attributed to the prosodic factors: The Constraint on Sentential Intonation in Chinese (CSIC for short), firstly proposed in Feng (Feng, Shengli. 2017. Hanyu jufa zhongyin yudiao xianghu zuoyong de yufa xiaoying. ‘On grammatical effects of interactions between intonation, stress and syntax’. Yuyan Jiaoxue yu Yanjiu [Language Teaching and Linguistic Study] (1). 1–15), bans the occurrence of the coordinate [VP & VP] structures, and thus two parallel but separate sentences are used in the contexts where a sentence with VP coordination in English is used. Then, the verb in the second sentence is deleted at PF under the identity condition. Consequently, the gapping structures thus formed demonstrate their own unique properties and are different from the canonical gapping in English. The result of our discussion indicates that prosody can play a role in accounting for language specificities as well as cross-linguistic variations.