汉语保留宾语结构句法生成的最简分析

A Minimalist Account of the Syntactic Derivation of Chinese Retained Object Constructions

本文探讨汉语保留宾语结构的句法生成。在基于语段的分析中,非宾格动词与被动动词的轻动词投射vP具有不及物性,不构成语段,T通过与动词后论元名词组所建立的探针—目标一致关系赋予其结构主格。句首的非论元名词组为基础生成的悬垂话题,由述题中的语义变量允准,而论元名词组则作为句末自然焦点,或无标记呈现焦点,被锁定在句末位置之上。语境显著的话题为句末呈现焦点提供背景。T的EPP语义无解特征删除不涉及论元名词组到Spec-TP位置的显性句法移位,在这点上汉语与英语之间存在跨语言差异。

This paper deals with the syntactic derivation of Chinese retained object constructions and proposes a phase-based analysis under which the intransitive vP of unaccusative or passive verbs does not constitute a phase and the T probe agrees with and assigns structural nominative Case to the postverbal argument NP goal.It is argued that the unselected preverbal nominal should be treated as a dangling topic,base-generated in the specifier position of a Topic Phrase and semantically licensed by a variable in the comment,and the argument NP is frozen in the sentence-final position as natural focus or unmarked presentational focus.On this view,the contextually salient topic sets a background for the end-focus.The deletion of the uninterpretable EPP feature on T involves no overt movement of the argument NP to spec-TP,and in this respect there is a cross-linguistic variation between Chinese and English.