“书能读”及相关句式的语义和句法研究

A Semantic and Syntactic Analysis of “Shu neng du” and the Relevant Constructions

"书能读"、"这本书能读"这类"能"句,在语义上如何解释,句法上如何分析,国内学界对此并没有令人信服的研究。基于国外对情态动词以及中动句式的研究成果(Brennan 1993;Lekakou 2005),我们认为(1)"能"句中的"能"一般表达倾向性,语义上可采纳Brennan(1993)对动力情态动词"can"的解释模式;(2)句法上,"能"是二元的VP-算子,选择一个基础生成的主语和VP作补足语;(3)从中动的类型学角度来看,"能"句类中动介于英语和希腊语之间,体现出了跨语言的共性和多样性。

There is a long-standing puzzle about how to analyze a certain type of Chinese modal sentences involving ＇neng＇, which expresses a usage or property of the sentential subject. In this paper, based on the previous research on modals and middles such as Bretman （1993） and Lekakou （2005）, we argue that （1） this usage of ＇neng＇ often ex- presses disposition, and its interpretation can be given by employing Brennan＇s （1993） treatment of dynamic ＇can＇; （2） ＇neng＇ used here is a VP-operator, which selects a base- generated subject and a VP as its complement; （3） from the typological perspective, the middles involving ＇neng＇ in Chinese stand in between English and Greek middles, which reflect language universal and diversity.