The positive morpheme in Chinese and the adjectival structure

• Published in: Lingua 2010-04, Vol.120 (4), p.1010-1056
• Main Author: Liu, Chen-Sheng Luther
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adjectival structures; Condition on saturating Chinese gradable adjectives; Descriptive studies and applied theories; Linguistics; Polarity items; Positive morphemes; Predicate-accessible operator [-wh] domains; Predicate-accessible operators [-wh]; Semantics and pragmatics; Unmarked forms
• ISSN: 0024-3841; 1872-6135
• DOI: 10.1016/j.lingua.2009.06.001

Chinese has a positive morpheme that has two allomorphs: a covert one and an overt one (i.e., the degree word hen). The former, behaving like a polarity item, only occurs in a predicate-accessible operator [-wh] domain with a structure like [ O p [ -wh ] … X [ -wh-operator ] 0   [ Deg   P … De g 0 [ AP … ] ] ] , where the head X 0, carrying the predicate-accessible operator [-wh] feature, not only introduces a predicate-accessible operator [-wh] but also licenses the occurrence of a degree phrase headed by the covert positive morpheme (i.e., Deg 0), while the latter in other contexts. Having this as basis, I propose a condition on saturating Chinese gradable adjectives through which the bifurcated use of the ‘unmarked’ form of Chinese gradable adjectives can be well captured. Besides, the obligatory overt realization of a covert positive morpheme occurring in a predicate-accessible operator [-wh] domain, when the predicative adjective is substituted for by a pro-form, further implies that Chinese has an adjectival structure simpler than English.