Chinese Raising Adverbials

presented by Emmie Li

Ph. D. student of

Tsing Hua University in Taiwan

Hen Nan & Hen Rongyi

E.g. Zhangsan hen rongyi shengqi

= Zhangsan is easy to get angry.

• he nan equals to “It is hard/difficult to….”

• hen rongyi equals to “….is easy to….”

E.g. Zhangsan hen nan xiang xin bieren

= It is difficult for Zhangsan to believe any person.

Theory Construction

• The whole theory is constructed with the normal X-bar theory.

Eval P

Spec Eval´

Eval0 VP

•The seemingly random alternations of surface structure with this kind of adverbials are in fact shaped by factors such as semantic relation and syntactic function.

Semantic Evidence

• This kind of adverbials always express speaker’s evaluation or judgment upon the whole proposition.

Eg. Zhe shan men hen nan kai = It is difficult to open the door.

• These adverbials take the whole proposition within their semantic scope domain

hen nan [ e kai zhe shan men]difficult [ e open the door]

Syntactic Evidences

• These adverbials are able to lift the subject NP/IP or even the object out of the lower clause and make the former lower subject or object a derived main subject.

hen nan [IPe [VPkai zhe shan men]]zhe shan meni ti ]]

hen nan [IP S V O ]

S to S raising

S ti

Object preposingS to S raising

S t´i

1. Why raise?

• To fulfill the EPP.

Every Sentence must have its subject.D-S: hen nan [IP e [VP kai zhe shan men ]]

S-S: hen nan [IP e [VP kai ]]zhe shan men i t i

2. Evidences support for raising.

(1) Subject Specificity requirement is violable.

(2) Relativized Minimality requirement must be observed.

Violation of Subject Specificity

• In Mandarin Chinese, the subject of a sentence has to be specified.

(1) *San ge xigua shi Mama mai de (three watermelons were Mama bought.)

(2) Zhe san ge xigua shi Mama mai de (the three watermelons were Mama bought.) (3) San ge xigua hen nan yi tsi chi wuan. ( three watermelons hard to at the same time eat all)

E.g. hen nan [ Zhangsan xiang xin bieren ]

 

difficult [ Zhangsan believe anyone ]

(It is difficult for Zhangsan to believe anyone else.) 

Observation of Relativized Minimality

• Relativized Minimality: constituent may block the way of the other one if they have the same property.

Bieren hen nan [ Zhangsan xiang xin e ]*

Zhangsan i hen nan [ t i xiang xin bieren ]

`

• Semantic evidence: they tend to take the whole proposition within their scope domain.

• Syntactic evidences:1. The requirement of Subject Specificity is violable.2. The requirement of Relativized Minimality has to be observed.