The 9th International Conference on English Language Teaching (ELT) In China (ELT2020)

437 / 2020-02-29 01:39:01

How do Syntax Correlate with the Derivation of Mandarin and English Denominal Verbs the Exploration under Distributed Morphology

Denominal verb; Derivation; Distributed morphology; Syntactic word-formation; High/Low attachment hypothesis

Lexicology > Lexicology

he differences recognized between Mandarin and English denominal verbs (hereafter DNV) lie in several aspects: typology, aspect, quantity, and sentence pattern. These asymmetries suggest that seemingly Mandarin DNVs are derived under more syntactic constraints while the derivation of English DNVs is almost syntax-free. The previous studies concerning this field are limited, some accounting for the differences based on Lexicon theory, some spelling out them from Lexical-syntactic perspective by incorporating Roots and others through setting parameters assumedly. Thus, to shed light on the reasons behind these asymmetries in a more precise way, this research uses the predecessors' achievements for reference and explores derivational mechanisms for Mandarin and English DNVs based on the assumptions of distributed morphology.

Interpreting morphemes as the terminal elements of syntactic trees, this study finds that the derivations of Mandarin and English DNVs are both constrained by syntax generally in the same way. But based on High/low attachment hypothesis, they differ in their structural approach to word formation. Especially, as for the problem that the incorporation of Root √P through category-assigning morpheme P to V—the traditional syntactic analysis of Denominal location/locatum verbs’ derivation—is not suitable to the sentence like “我用锁锁门” , High/low attachment hypothesis along with aspect also provides an rational explanation.

In a word, this paper contributes to ongoing discussion on the composition of words in synthetic and analytic languages, the nature of root incorporation, and the relationship between morphology and syntax, and makes some progresses on Distributed Morphology.