An HPSG approach to Chinese syllable structure and tone sandhi

•Fleshes out a phonological module of Head-Driven Phrase Structure Grammar.•Inherits the strengths of HPSG, such as parsimony, interfaces, process independence.•Describes structures of different linguistic modules using Typed Feature Structures.•Proposes a syllable structure analysis of Mandarin Chi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Lingua 2021-07, Vol.258, p.103048, Article 103048
Main Authors: Yang, Chunlei, van de Weijer, Jeroen
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Constraints
Head-driven phrase structure grammar
Head-driven Phrase Structure Grammar (HPSG)
Mandarin
Mandarin Chinese
Modularity
Phonological rules
Phonology
Sandhi
Syllable structure
Syntax
Tone
Tone sandhi (TS)
Typed feature structures
Typed Feature Structures (TFSs)
X-bar theory
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Summary:•Fleshes out a phonological module of Head-Driven Phrase Structure Grammar.•Inherits the strengths of HPSG, such as parsimony, interfaces, process independence.•Describes structures of different linguistic modules using Typed Feature Structures.•Proposes a syllable structure analysis of Mandarin Chinese in X-bar Theory.•Integrates tones in the analysis and proposes an approach to tone sandhi. In Head-driven Phrase Structure Grammar (HPSG), the phonological module has been strikingly underinvestigated compared to other parts of the grammar. To remedy this situation, the aims of this study are both theoretical and empirical. We employ revised Typed Feature Structures (TFSs) to describe a number of phonological structures in Mandarin Chinese, mostly concerned with syllable structure and tone, based on the X-bar approach to the syllable structure of Mandarin (van de Weijer, 2012; van de Weijer and Zhang, 2008; Zhang, 2008). Specifically, we integrate tone features in the HPSG framework, and analyze tone sandhi (TS) by way of TFSs and constraints. We demonstrate that the enriched definitions and constraints using TFSs in phonology, like in morphology and syntax in HPSG, can successfully capture the relevant phonological generalizations and are therefore a step on the way toward a more comprehensive HPSG account of Mandarin grammar, illustrating its advantages such as simplicity, constructional consistency, modularity and facilitating interface description.
ISSN:0024-3841
1872-6135
DOI:10.1016/j.lingua.2021.103048