Syntax of the Bi Comparative Construction in Mandarin Chinese
Syntax of the Bi Comparative Construction in Mandarin Chinese
Syntax of the Bi Comparative Construction in Mandarin Chinese
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<strong>Syntax</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>Bi</strong> <strong>Comparative</strong> <strong>Construction</strong> <strong>in</strong> Mandar<strong>in</strong> Ch<strong>in</strong>ese<br />
b. Zhangsani [bi Lisij _____ ] geng ai zijii/*j<br />
Zhangsan COM Lisi more love oneself<br />
(95) a. ta zuotian zai xuexiao bi [wo j<strong>in</strong>tian zai jiali] gaox<strong>in</strong>g<br />
s/he yesterday at school COM I today at home] happy<br />
‘S/He was happier at school yesterday than I am at home today.’<br />
Moreover, both English and MC have <strong>the</strong> close historical relation between a<br />
complementizer and a preposition. The words before, after, and for are <strong>the</strong> examples<br />
<strong>in</strong> English (96), while y<strong>in</strong>wei ‘because’ and jiaru ‘if’ are <strong>the</strong> examples <strong>in</strong> MC (97).<br />
(96) a. After graduation, he went abroad.<br />
b. After he graduated, he went abroad.<br />
(97) a. y<strong>in</strong>wei zhe jian shi, ta shou dao biaoyang<br />
because this CL event he accept to praise<br />
‘Because <strong>of</strong> this event, he was praised.’<br />
b. y<strong>in</strong>wei tianqi buhao, women quxiao huodong<br />
because wea<strong>the</strong>r bad we cancel activity<br />
‘Because <strong>the</strong> wea<strong>the</strong>r was bad, we cancel <strong>the</strong> activity.’<br />
In (96a), <strong>the</strong> word after functions as a preposition takes <strong>the</strong> nom<strong>in</strong>al graduation. But,<br />
<strong>in</strong> (96b) <strong>the</strong> word after is called a subord<strong>in</strong>ate conjunction <strong>in</strong> traditional grammars,<br />
which jo<strong>in</strong>s <strong>the</strong> two clauses toge<strong>the</strong>r. It is a complementizer <strong>in</strong> generative approaches.<br />
Similarly, <strong>in</strong> MC, y<strong>in</strong>wei is a preposition <strong>in</strong> (97a), but it is a complementizer <strong>in</strong> (97b).<br />
It seems that, complementizers <strong>in</strong> MC have a pretty close relationship with<br />
58<br />
中正大學 e-Thesys (94 學年度)
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