investigating the syntax of postverbal modals in hakka
investigating the syntax of postverbal modals in hakka
investigating the syntax of postverbal modals in hakka
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The Syntax <strong>of</strong> Postverbal Modals<br />
(38) a. * 阿明食得慢慢地這碗飯。<br />
* Am<strong>in</strong> siid-tet manman-e ia-von fan.<br />
Am<strong>in</strong> eat -TET slowly this-CL rice<br />
Intended mean<strong>in</strong>g:<br />
‘Am<strong>in</strong> can [is permitted to] eat this bowl <strong>of</strong> rice slowly.’<br />
b. * 阿明慢慢地食得這碗飯。<br />
* Am<strong>in</strong> manman-e siid-tet ia-von fan.<br />
Am<strong>in</strong> slowly eat -TET this-CL rice<br />
Intended mean<strong>in</strong>g:<br />
‘Am<strong>in</strong> can [is permitted to] eat this bowl <strong>of</strong> rice slowly.’<br />
To account for <strong>the</strong> ungrammaticality <strong>in</strong> (38), we follow <strong>the</strong><br />
substitution analysis which states that <strong>the</strong> head movement is a<br />
morphological <strong>in</strong>corporation subject for syntactic check<strong>in</strong>g under Agree<br />
(Henk van Riemsdijk 1998, Gaterner 2002), and such operation is found<br />
<strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> case <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> head movements <strong>in</strong>volved <strong>in</strong> tet modal construals. In<br />
<strong>the</strong> deontic V-tet alternate, <strong>the</strong> head movements (i.e.,V 0 -to-v 0 -Mod 0<br />
movements) are <strong>in</strong>terrupted by this functional head MODIFIER which<br />
heads <strong>the</strong> manner adverb, because <strong>the</strong> MODIFIER is not a verbal class<br />
which <strong>the</strong> verb can move <strong>in</strong>to <strong>the</strong> space occupied by it and substitute for<br />
it. Thus, <strong>the</strong> derivation <strong>in</strong> 0) fails.<br />
93
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