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ORCID
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2577-7655
Access Type
Open Access Thesis
Document Type
thesis
Embargo Period
1-17-2023
Degree Program
Chinese
Degree Type
Master of Arts (M.A.)
Year Degree Awarded
2023
Month Degree Awarded
February
Abstract
Mandarin Chinese has long been known to possess a category of words known as ‘coverbs’ in the literature, which sit in the gray area between verb and preposition. Li and Thompson (1974) describe the historical origins of Mandarin coverbs to be full transitive verbs, despite their modern state being decidedly less verbal. They also note that coverbs are a non-homogenous class. This thesis works to establish categories of coverbs in Mandarin Chinese and their distance from true verbhood in order to understand the diachronic shift that coverbs are currently undergoing before our very eyes. I will draw on the work of scholars of Atlantic-Congo languages, Oceanic languages, and other languages of mainland Southeast Asia, to create semantic, syntactic, and morphological testing for Mandarin coverbs. Using the results of this three-pronged testing approach, I will map the results on a six-pointed verb-preposition matrix in order to visualize the space between verb and preposition and how Mandarin coverbs inhabit it. I will then use these diagrams to create a numerical score for each category of coverb and place them on a linear progression between verbhood and prepositionhood. Lastly, this work will analyze the theta roles assigned by Mandarin coverbs in each category and propose stages of diachronic development for Mandarin coverbs.
DOI
https://doi.org/10.7275/33233359
First Advisor
Zhijun Wang
Second Advisor
Ellen Woolford
Recommended Citation
Jones, Glynis, "Between Verb and Preposition: Diachronic Stages of Coverbs in Mandarin Chinese" (2023). Masters Theses. 1267.
https://doi.org/10.7275/33233359
https://scholarworks.umass.edu/masters_theses_2/1267
Included in
Chinese Studies Commons, Comparative and Historical Linguistics Commons, Morphology Commons, Semantics and Pragmatics Commons, Syntax Commons, Typological Linguistics and Linguistic Diversity Commons