• ISSN: 2382-6282 (Print); 2972-3108 (Online)
    • Abbreviated Title: Int. J. Lang. Lit. Linguist.
    • Frequency: Bimonthly
    • DOI: 10.18178/IJLLL
    • Editor-in-Chief: Dr. Jason Miin-Hwa Lim
    • Managing Editor:  Jennifer X. Zeng
    • Indexed by:   CNKI, Google Scholar, Crossref,
    • E-mail: ijlll_Editor@126.com
IJLLL 2021 Vol.7(3): 122-126 ISSN: 2382-6282
DOI: 10.18178/IJLLL.2021.7.3.298

A Novel Approach to the Syntax of Chinese Adjectival Predicates: Differences between Standard Mandarin and Sichuanese Mandarin

Fu Haoyue

Abstract—In Mandarin Chinese, bare adjectives can only function as predicates when they co-occur with some other elements in certain contexts, most typically the degree adverb hen ‘very’. This phenomenon cannot be found in other languages like English. To explain this crosslinguistic variation, researchers have developed different theories, among them the most developed theory regards hen ‘very’ as an overt positive morpheme. Previous studies have all focused on just one Mandarin variety, namely Standard Mandarin (STM). However, the present theory cannot apply to other Mandarin varieties like Sichuanese Mandarin which, as this paper demonstrates, does not have an overt positive morpheme. This paper provides new data from Sichuanese Mandarin and proposes that register grammar should be taken into consideration. A novel, hybrid approach to explain this crossdialectal variation is given in this paper.

Index Terms—Adjectival predicates, Mandarin Chinese, positive morpheme, register grammar, Sichuanese Mandarin.

F. Haoyue is with the Capital Normal University, Beijing 100048 China (e-mail: 1172061004@cnu.edu.cn).

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Cite:Fu Haoyue, "A Novel Approach to the Syntax of Chinese Adjectival Predicates: Differences between Standard Mandarin and Sichuanese Mandarin," International Journal of Languages, Literature and Linguistics vol. 7, no. 3, pp. 122-126, 2021.

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