Query Details
| Query Subject: |
Resultatives from a Cross-linguistic Perspective
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| Author: | Chao Li | |
| Submitter Email: | click here to access email | |
| Linguistic LingField(s): |
Syntax
Typology |
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| Query: |
Dear Linguists,
I'm writing to consult with you on some questions concerning resultatives. As far as the English resultative construction is concerned, it is often said that the resultative phrase can be an AP as in (1-2) or a PP as in (3-4). (1) He pounded the metal flat. (2) He yelled himself hoarse. (3) He swept the leaves off the sidewalk. (4) He danced out of the room. While in English resultatives are realized “analytically” in the sense that in examples like (1-3), on the surface, there is an “object” between the main verb and the resultative phrase, in Mandarin they are realized as verb compounds, as in (5-7). (5) Zhangsan ca-jing-le zhuozi. Zhangsan wipe-clean-Perf. table ‘Zhangsan wiped the table clean.’ (6) Zhangsan zou-lei-le. Zhangsan walk-tired-Perf. ‘Zhangsan walked and as a result he became tired.’ (7) Zhangsan kan-lei-le shu. Zhangsan read-tired-Perf. book ‘Zhangsan read books and as a result he became tired.’ It is often claimed that AP resultatives are cross-linguistically rare but PP resultatives (indicating change of location) are cross-linguistically much more frequent. As the information on whether or not resultatives are allowed in a language is usually not available in a grammar book on that language, I want to know from you, the experts on different world languages: (i) Do the language(s) you are familiar with have resultatives or not? (ii) If they have, are both AP resultatives and PP resultatives allowed? If only PP resultatives are allowed, do you have idea about why AP resultatives are not allowed? Or more generally, if it is true that PP resultatives are cross-linguistically more frequent than AP resultatives, why is it so? (iii) If they have, are the resultatives realized in the English way or the Mandarin way? (iv) If the resultatives are realized as verb compounds as in Mandarin, what is the order of the two components forming the compound? That is, does the activity component precede or follow the result component? (v) Although I used “activity component” in the above question, Mandarin in fact allows both an activity verb and a stative verb as the non-result component, as shown in (8) below. Are there any other languages that allow the use of a stative verb as the non-result component of resultatives? (vi) Do the languages that have resultatives allow both the object-oriented reading and the subject-oriented reading as Mandarin does [see (6-7) for the subject-oriented reading of Mandarin resultative verb compounds]? To express (6) in these languages, is the use of “fake reflexive” obligatory? (vii) Are the counterparts of Mandarin sentences like (9) below (which has the SVO word order) grammatical in other languages that have resultatives? (viii) Are the counterparts of Mandarin sentences like (10) below (which is transitive on the surface and whose non-result component is an unaccusative verb) grammatical in other languages that have resultatives? (8) Zhangsan bing-ji-le ta-de taitai. Zhangsan sick-worried-Perf. he-Poss. wife ‘Zhangsan was sick and as a result his wife became worried.’ (9) Na-ping jiu he-zui-le Zhangsan. that-CL liquor drink-drunk-Perf. Zhangsan ‘Zhangsan drank that bottle of liquor and this caused him to get drunk.’ (10) Bingxue hua-shi-le lu-mian. sleet melt-wet-Perf. road-surface’ ‘The sleet melted and as a result the road became wet.’ My curiosity has urged me to ask so many questions about resultatives. I would greatly appreciate it if you could provide me with any information about any or all of the questions raised above. Sources and examples are especially welcome if the languages you are familiar with have resultatives. I’ll post a summary of the responses. Thank you in advance for your help and your precious time! Best, Chao chao.li@yale.edu |
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| LL Issue: | 16.1344 | |
| Date posted: | 27-Apr-2005 | |
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