Syntax of the Bi Comparative Construction in Mandarin Chinese

Syntax of the Bi Comparative Construction in Mandarin Chinese
(27) ta zhaoxiang zhao de bi wo zhaoxiang zhao de hao
s/he take picture take DE COM I take picture take DE well
‘S/he takes pictures better than I do.’
Tsao suggests a coordination analysis for the syntactic structure of CC. The
comparative marker bi is a coverb and functions like a conjunction linking two
compared clauses in the underlying structure. He puts much emphasis on different
rank of topics, also the semantic and pragmatic parallel relationship between the two
compared topics.
2.2.2 Conjunction Analysis
Logically, the two compared items in the CC should be parallel both
semantically and syntactically so that the comparison can be made, which conform to
the characteristics of the conjuncts in the coordinate structure (CS) (Napoli 1983, Tsao
1989, Hong 1991). Therefore, grounded on the Generalized Phrase Structure
Grammar (GPSG), Hong (1991) proposes that BCC is a Binary Coordination in which
the VP is obligatorily raised.
Hong (1991) regards bi as the coordinator of the two compared clauses, for bi
shares four main characteristics of conjunctions as follows. First of all, examples in
(28) show that the two compared constituents in CC should be of the same category.
Second, in addition to categorical identity, the compared constituents also have to be
semantically parallel as illustrated in (29). Third, parallel phrases can be extracted out
of both the compared constituents. That is, extraction works across-the-board (ATB).
See (30). Fourth, the two elements connected by bi bear the same co-occurrence
restriction to the main verb as (31).
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中正大學 e-Thesys (94 學年度)