Journal of Universal Language

Sejong University Language Research Institue

J. Univers. Lang. 2014; 15(1):1-70

pISSN: 1598-6381

DOI: https://doi.org/10.22425/jul.2014.15.1.1

Article

Mandarin Bare Classifier-Nouns: Towards a Universal Structure for Classifiers and Plurals

Hsiang-Hua Chang¹^,^†

¹Oakland University, USA

^†Corresponding Author : Hsiang-Hua Chang, Department of Modern Languages and Literatures, Oakland University Rochester, Michigan 48309, United States of America. Phone: 12483704248; Email: chang23@oakland.edu

Copyright ⓒ 2016, Sejong University Language Research Institue. This is an Open-Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Received: Feb 11, 2014; Revised: Mar 10, 2014; Accepted: Mar 15, 2014

Published Online: Jan 01, 2017

Abstract

Mandarin, as other classifier languages, usually requires a classifier when numerals, quantifiers, or demonstratives are present, but also allows bare classifier-nouns (CL-N) without any determiners. This paper examines two empirical questions: (i) What is the structure of CL-N that can account for its behavior?

Under what conditions are bare CL-Ns acceptable? Following Borer’s Exo-Skeletal framework, I draw a parallel between Mandarin classifiers and the English plural. Mandarin ben shu ‘CL book’ and English books both are CLASSIFIER PHRASES carrying no quantity information. Numeral-classifier-nouns (Num-CL-Ns), such as san ben shu ‘three books,’ are QUANTITY PHRASES carrying quantity information. This proposal correctly predicts that CL-Ns and Num-CL-Ns have different distributions due to different structures. Supporting data are drawn from CL-Ns in argument and non-argument positions in various constructions to attest the prediction that when the quantity information is needed in the discourse, Num-CL-Ns will be obligatory; in contrast, when the quantity information is not crucial, CL-Ns will be preferred or obligatory.

Keywords: Mandarin; classifier; noun phrase; quantity; telicity; (non-)argument

REFERENCES

Biq, Y-O. 2002. Classifier and Construction: The Interaction of Grammatical Categories and Cognitive Strategies. Language and Linguistics 3, 521-542.

Borer, H. 2005a. In Name Only. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Borer, H. 2005b. The Normal Course of Events. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Chang, H-H. 2013. The Aspect Marker -Le in Early Child Mandarin. Journal of Universal Language 14.1, 7-54.

Chao, Y-R. 1968. A Grammar of Spoken Chinese. Berkeley: University of California Press.

Chen, P. 2003. Indefinite Determiner Introducing Definite Referent: Special Use of 'Yi 'One' + Classifier' in Chinese. Lingua 113, 1169-1184.

Cheng, L. 2005. On Every Type of Quantificational Expression in Chinese. Paper presented at The Workshop on QP structure, nominalization, and the role of DP. Saarbrücken.

Cheng, L. & R. Sybesma. 1999. Bare and Not-So-Bare Nouns and the Structure of NP. Linguistic Inquiry 30, 509-542.

Cheng, L. & R. Sybesma. 2005. Classifiers in Four Varieties of Chinese. In G. Cinque & R. Kayne (eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Comparative Syntax 259-292. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

10.

Comrie, B. 1976. Aspect: An Introduction to the Study of Verbal Aspect and Related Problems. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

11.

Dowty, D. 1979. Word Meaning and Montague Grammar. Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers.

12.

Egerod, S. 1994. Aspect in Chinese. In C. Bache, H. Basbøll, & C-E. Lindberg (eds.), Tense, Aspect, and Action: Empirical and Theoretical Contributions to Language Typology 279-309. New York: Mouton de Gruyter.

13.

Gao, Q. 1994. Chinese NP Structure. Linguistics 32, 475-510.

14.

Grice, H. (1975) 1989. Logic and Conversation. Studies in the Way of Words 22-40. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

15.

Hu, F. 1958. Shu ci he liang ci [Numeral phrases and measure phrases]. Shanghai: Xinzhishi Chubanshe.

16.

Li, C. & S. Thompson. 1981. Mandarin Chinese: A Functional Reference Grammar. Los Angeles, CA: University of California Press.

17.

Li, P. & M. Bowerman. 1998. The Acquisition of Lexical and Grammatical Aspect in Chinese. First Language 18.3, 311-350.

18.

Li, Y-H. 1998. Argument Determiner Phrases and Number Phrases. Linguistic Inquiry 29, 693-702.

19.

Li, W. 2000a. Numeral-Classifiers as a Grounding in Mandarin Chinese. Journal of Chinese Linguistics 28, 337-368.

20.

Li, W. 2000b. The Pragmatic Function of Numeral-Classifiers in Mandarin Chinese. Journal of Pragmatics 32, 1113-1133.

21.

Liu, F-H. 2003. Definite NPs and Telicity in Chinese. Snippets 7, 13-15.

22.

Lü, S. (1945) 1955. Ge zhi de yingyong fanwei fulun danwei ci qian yi zhi de tuoluo [The application range of 'ge' and the omission of 'yi' before the classifiers]. Hanyu yufa lunwen ji [The paper collection of Chinese grammar] 69-94. Beijing: Kexue chubanshe.

23.

Lü, S. 1980. Xiandai Hanyu babai ci [800 Phrases of Modern Chinese]. Hong Kong: Shangwu yingshuguang.

24.

Munn, A. & C. Schmitt. 2005. Number and Indefinites. Lingua 115, 821-855.

25.

Peyraube, A. 1998. On the History of Classifiers in Archaic and Medieval Chinese. In B. T'sou, A. Peyraube, & L. Xu (eds.), Studia Lingusitica Serica 131-145. Hong Kong: Hong Kong City University.

26.

Smith, C. 1997. The Parameter of Aspect (2nd edition). Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers.

27.

Soh, H. & J. Kuo. 2005. Perfective Aspect and Accomplishment Situations in Mandarin Chinese. In H. Verkuyl, H. de Swart, & A. van Hout (eds.), Perspectives on Aspect 199-216. Dordrecht: Springer.

28.

Sybesma, R. 1992. Causatives and Accomplishments: The Case of Chinese ba. Ph.D. Dissertation. HIL/Leiden University.

29.

Tang, C-C. 1990. A Note on the DP Analysis of the Chinese Noun Phrase. Linguistics 28, 337-354.

30.

Yang, R. 2001. Common Nouns, Classifiers, and Quantification in Chinese. Ph.D. Dissertation. Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey.