LINGUIST List 26.3744

Mon Aug 24 2015

Books: Temporal Construals of Bare Predicates in Mandarin Chinese: Sun

Editor for this issue: Sara Couture <saralinguistlist.org>

Date: 20-Aug-2015
From: Martine Paulissen <gw.uilots.lotuu.nl>
Subject: Temporal Construals of Bare Predicates in Mandarin Chinese: Sun
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Title: Temporal Construals of Bare Predicates in Mandarin Chinese
Published: 2014
Publisher: Netherlands Graduate School of Linguistics / Landelijke (LOT)
                http://www.lotpublications.nl/

Book URL: http://www.lotpublications.nl/temporal-construals-of-bare-predicates-in-mandarin-chinese

Author: Hongyuan Sun
Paperback: ISBN: 9789460931550 Pages: Price: ----
Abstract:

Cet ouvrage propose une description comparative et diachronique de cinq langues mayas parlées au Mexique et au Guatemala : le cholti’, le ch’orti’, le chontal d’Acalán, le chontal moderne et le chol. Ces langues, en partie disparues (cholti’ et le chontal d’Acalán) ou classées selon l’UNESCO comme langues sérieusement en danger (chontal moderne) voire en situation critique (ch’orti’), font partie d’un même groupe de langues, celui des langues cholanes. Ce travail, principalement fondé sur des données de première main, a le double but d’offrir une meilleure description de chacune de ces langues grâce à une approche comparative, mais aussi de reconstruire en partie leur protolangue. Cet accès au passé est d’autant plus important que ce groupe linguistique comprend une autre langue particulièrement importante au sein de la famille maya, celle de l’écriture glyphique précolombienne. L’introduction de cette thèse sera notamment l’occasion d’une synthèse de nos connaissances sur l’histoire des populations cholanes au sein de l’aire maya depuis le début de notre ère. Nous nous focaliserons ici principalement sur la phonologie, la morphophonologie et la morphosyntaxe, étude qui nous permettra d’analyser plus de 200 morphèmes grammaticaux différents de ces langues agglutinantes.

This dissertation contributes to the research on tense and eventualities across languages. It presents the first systematic investigation and detailed theoretical analysis of the temporal interpretations of sentences with bare (aspectually unmarked) predicates in Mandarin. Traditionally considered a “tenseless” language, Mandarin lacks the morphological tense that we find in “tensed” languages such as English and French. Instead, its grammatical system displays a variety of aspectual markers giving information on the perspective on the eventuality described by the predicate. This study shows how a careful investigation of the temporal construals of sentences without overt morphological aspect can lead to novel and insightful generalizations about temporal reference in Mandarin. It attributes the contrast between stative and eventive predicates in the temporal interpretation to their argument structure, and claims that aspect must be overt in Mandarin root clauses. The interaction of past vs. future time adverbs and bare predicates provides evidence for a covert semantic tense in Mandarin, restricting the time reference of bare root clauses to non-future times. It is argued that bare sentences yielding “future” construals involve a non-future plan.

Linguistic Field(s): Morphology
                            Syntax

Subject Language(s): Chinese, Mandarin (cmn)

Written In: English (eng)

See this book announcement on our website:
http://linguistlist.org/pubs/books/get-book.cfm?BookID=89413


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