mandarin compound verbs

293 Pages·2015·6.05 MB·English

Taiwan Journal of Linguistics
Book Series in Chinese Linguistics
Mandarin Compound Verbs
(cid:5)(cid:10)(cid:8)(cid:3)(cid:2)(cid:9)
Karen Steffen Chung
(cid:15)(cid:13)(cid:7)(cid:1)(cid:6)(cid:12)(cid:12)(cid:11)
(cid:11)
(cid:5)
(cid:10)
(cid:3)
(cid:8)(cid:9)
(cid:4)
(cid:1)(cid:13)(cid:12)(cid:14)(cid:1)(cid:12)
(cid:6)
(cid:13)(cid:7)-
(cid:13)(cid:2)
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(cid:14)(cid:4)"
By excluding separable structures such as Verb-Object phrases and
resultative and directional constructions, we are able to establish that verbs,
lite nouns, are invariably right-headed,i.e. modifiers always precede what
they modify;-and also that compound verbs with relatively few exceptions
are disyllabic.
Compound verbs are divided into subordinate, coordinate, embedded,
and other miscellaneous compound verb types, based on the contextual
part of speech ofthe component morphemes and theirrelationship with
each other. Subordinate compound verbs are found to exhibit an extensive
system of verbal prefixation, contradicting the popularidea thatthere are
few examples of affixation in Mandarin. Differentrelative position in a
coordinate compound verb sometimes distinguishes different senses ofthe
same morpheme.Included among embedded compound verbs we find
lexical aspectual, passive, and causative structures. Many ofthe compound
verb types in the "othertypes" category, such as resultative compounds
and transitive VO compounds, mirror other structuraltypes; a few are foreign
imports. While most ofthe examples given in this study are established
lexicalitems, new analogicalformations continue to be created.
In short, separability serves as a clear criterion of whatis and is not a
compound verb in Mandarin. And in general, Mandarin compound verbs
are found to strictly follow rules very similarto those of Mandarin syntax,
with word orderthe mostimportant guiding principle.
Taiwan Journal of Linguistics
Book Series in Chinese Linguistics

M C V
ANDARIN OMPOUND ERBS
漢語複合動詞

Karen Steffen Chung

Taiwan Journal of Linguistics
Book Series in Chinese Linguistics
Editor: One-Soon Her

M C V
ANDARIN OMPOUND ERBS
漢語複合動詞

Karen Steffen Chung
史嘉琳

TABLE OF CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ix
TERMINOLOGY AND TECHNICAL CONVENTIONS xi
I. Terminology: terms and definitions xi
II. Technical conventions xxxi
CHAPTER I: LAYING THE GROUNDWORK 1
1.1 THE VARIETY OF CHINESE EXAMINED IN THIS STUDY 3
1.2 THE SPOKEN AND WRITTEN LANGUAGES 4
1.3 THE MONOSYLLABLE AND THE MORPHEME IN CHINESE;
FREE, SEMIBOUND, AND BOUND MORPHEMES 7
1.4 DIFFERENTIATING BETWEEN MORPHOLOGY, SYNTAX,
AND MORPHOSYNTAX 11
1.5 TRANSPARENCY AND OPACITY 12
1.6 DEFAULT AND CONTEXTUAL PART-OF-SPEECH ASSIGNMENT 13
1.7 DEFINING “MORPHOLOGICAL HEAD” AND “SEMANTIC HEAD” 18
1.7.1 Morphological head 18
1.7.2 Semantic head 22
1.8 SIMPLEX, COMPLEX AND COMPOUND VERBS; PURE VERBS 22
1.8.1 Simplex, complex and compound verbs 22
1.8.2 Pure verbs 24
1.9 COMPOUND VERB TYPES INCLUDED IN THIS STUDY 26
1.10 METHODS OF COMPOSITION OF VERB COMPOUNDS 28

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
1.11 METHODOLOGY 30
SUMMARY 31
CHAPTER II: PREFIXED AND OTHER SUBORDINATE
COMPOUND VERBS 33
2.1 PREFIXED VERB COMPOUNDS 33
2.1.1 Repeated action 41
2.1.2 Reflexivity and reciprocity 43
2.1.3 Activities done alone or in concert with other people;
doing one thing or groups of things at a time 47
2.1.4 Temporal duration, sequence, frequency 51
2.1.5 Entirety, completeness, thoroughness 52
2.1.6 Location and orientation 53
2.1.7 State 58
2.1.8 Manner and attitude 59
2.1.8.1 Manner and attitude: Mistaken and simulated action 60
2.1.8.2 Manner and attitude: Actions done in private,
surreptitiously or illegally 61
2.1.8.3 Manner and attitude: Actions done recklessly 62
2.1.8.4 Further prefixes of manner and attitude 63
2.1.9 Honorifics 65
2.1.10 Intensity, degree 67
2.2 DENOMINAL ADVERB + VERB COMPOUNDS 73
2.2.1 Instrumentals 74
2.2.2 Manner via metaphor 79
2.3 CONJUNCTIVE SUBORDINATION 83
2.3.1 Physical position and actions 84
2.3.2 Gathering, interchange, alternation, separation 86
2.3.3 Imitation, emulation 87
2.3.4 Emergency, forced and tentative action 88
2.3.5 Borrowing, accepting hospitality, doing something
in the stead of/on behalf of another 89
2.3.6 Verbal partitives 90
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
2.4 PRODUCTIVITY 90
SUMMARY 92
CHAPTER III: COORDINATE COMPOUND VERBS 95
3.1 PROSODIC CONSIDERATIONS 96
3.2 ORDERING OF COMPONENTS 100
3.2.1 Type (1): Relative position of elements is decided largely
by “preference” of individual morpheme 103
3.2.2 Type (2): Specific + generic coordinate compound verbs 118
3.2.3 Type (3): Coordinate compound verbs with resultative force 126
3.2.4 Type (4): High-frequency morpheme + lower
frequency morpheme 128
3.3. RELATED ACTIONS 129
3.4 LEXICAL SERIAL VERBS 130
3.5 ANTONYMOUS COORDINATE COMPOUND VERBS 133
3.6 SOUND SYMBOLISM COMPOUNDS 136
SUMMARY 142
CHAPTER IV: EMBEDDED COMPOUND VERBS 145
4.1 TYPES OF COMPOUND VERBS WITH EMBEDDING 145
4.2 LEXICAL ASPECT 147
4.2.1 Defining and exemplifying lexical aspect 148
4.2.2. Inceptive action: The aspect markers: 起qi3 ‘to rise’, 啟qi3
‘to open’, 興xing1 ‘to activate’, 創chuang4 ‘to create’ 152
4.2.3 From concrete to aspectual verb: 開kai1 ‘to open’
and 發fa1 ‘to emit’ 153
4.2.4 Inceptive aspect compounds with miscellaneous verbs:
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
就jiu4 ‘to realize’, 承cheng2 ‘to assume’, 獲huo4 and
得de2 ‘to obtain, get’, 行xing2 ‘carry out’, 作zuo4 ‘to do’ 156
4.2.5 Embedded compounds formed with the light verb
打da3 ‘to strike’ 158
4.2.6 Terminative aspect: 停ting2 ‘to stop’, 止zhi3 ‘to stop’, 休xiu1
'to stop, suspend, rest', 斷duan4 ‘to break off, sever’, 拒ju4 ‘to
resist, refuse’, 防fang2 ‘to prevent’; 失shi1 ‘to lose, fail to’ 162
4.2.7 Continuative or resumptive action: 續xu4 and 繼ji4
‘to continue, renew’ 166
4.2.8 Additive and supplemental aspect: 加jia1 and 增zeng1
‘to add on to, do additionally, do anew’; 補bu3
‘to compensate for, supplement’ 167
4.2.9 Commutative action: 改 gai3 ‘to change’, 換huan4 ‘to change,
to trade one thing in for another’, 轉 zhuan3 ‘to transfer to’ 169
4.3 LEXICAL PASSIVE COMPOUNDS 171
4.4 LEXICAL CAUSATIVE AND PASSIVE-CAUSATIVE COMPOUNDS 174
4.4.1 Lexical causatives 174
4.4.2 Passive-causatives: Emissive compound verbs 183
4.4.3 ‘Available for’ 184
SUMMARY 184
CHAPTER V: OTHER COMPOUND VERB TYPES 187
5.1 NOUN + NOUN COMPOUND VERBS 188
5.2 VERB/ADVERB/ADJECTIVE/NOUN + PARTICLE COMPOUND VERBS 189
5.2 VERB/ADVERB/ADJECTIVE/NOUN + PARTICLE COMPOUND VERBS 189
5.3 RESULTATIVE AND DIRECTIONAL COMPOUNDS 193
5.4 DEGREE-CHANGING DEADJECTIVAL COMPOUND VERBS 195
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