<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p>Taking “sluicing” to be derived by movement + deletion, as represented by <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="j_scl-2017-0004_ref_025_w2aab3b7b1b1b6b1ab1ac25Aa">Merchant (2001)</xref>, and “pseudo-sluicing” to be a base-generated structure [<italic>pro</italic> (+<italic>be</italic>) + <italic>wh</italic>] (going by <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="j_scl-2017-0004_ref_037_w2aab3b7b1b1b6b1ab1ac37Aa">Wei 2004</xref>; Adams 2004), this paper reviews arguments for and against the presence of a sluicing construction in Mandarin Chinese. We show that all the tests available in the literature do not argue against the presence of such a sluicing construction, except the test building on the distribution of the copula <italic>shi</italic>. Unfortunately, the <italic>shi</italic> test is demonstrated to be uncertain and it cannot be used to argue conclusively that only a base-generation pseudo-sluicing analysis should be adopted. We show that a much clear evidence for an exclusive pseudo-sluicing analysis comes from the behavior of the sprouting construction. Investigation of sprouting also sheds light on the properties of null arguments, topic-variable relation, locality, and subcategorization of verbs in the language.</p></abstract>

Taking “sluicing” to be derived by movement + deletion, as represented by Merchant (2001), and “pseudo-sluicing” to be a base-generated structure [pro (+be) + wh] (going by Wei 2004; Adams 2004), this paper reviews arguments for and against the presence of a sluicing construction in Mandarin Chinese. We show that all the tests available in the literature do not argue against the presence of such a sluicing construction, except the test building on the distribution of the copula shi. Unfortunately, the shi test is demonstrated to be uncertain and it cannot be used to argue conclusively that only a base-generation pseudo-sluicing analysis should be adopted. We show that a much clear evidence for an exclusive pseudo-sluicing analysis comes from the behavior of the sprouting construction. Investigation of sprouting also sheds light on the properties of null arguments, topic-variable relation, locality, and subcategorization of verbs in the language.

Sluicing, Sprouting and Missing Objects

Studies in Chinese Linguistics

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

{"article-title":"Sluicing, Sprouting and Missing Objects"}

Taking “sluicing” to be derived by movement + deletion, as represented by Merchant (2001), and “pseudo-sluicing” to be a base-generated structure [pro (+be) +...

Sluicing, Sprouting and Missing Objects

Publicado en línea: 29 dic 2017

Páginas: 63 - 92

Recibido: 29 oct 2016

Aceptado: 29 may 2017

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/scl-2017-0004

Palabras clave
sprouting, sluicing, pseudo-sluicing, topic, variable

© 2017 Yen-Hui Audrey Li et al., published by De Gruyter Open

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

Sluicing, Sprouting and Missing Objects

Publicado en línea: 29 dic 2017

Páginas: 63 - 92

Recibido: 29 oct 2016

Aceptado: 29 may 2017

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/scl-2017-0004

Palabras clavesprouting, sluicing, pseudo-sluicing, topic, variable

© 2017 Yen-Hui Audrey Li et al., published by De Gruyter Open

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

Palabras clave
sprouting, sluicing, pseudo-sluicing, topic, variable