This thesis investigates the morpho-syntax of the aspectual system in one variety of Xiāng (namely: Chángshā), which is one of the ten sub-families of Chinese. Two of the idiosyncratic properties... Show moreThis thesis investigates the morpho-syntax of the aspectual system in one variety of Xiāng (namely: Chángshā), which is one of the ten sub-families of Chinese. Two of the idiosyncratic properties in Xiāng Chinese is that one aspect marker is used to express more than one meaning or that more than one element is used to express one aspectual meaning. I base my analysis on the assumption that inner aspect in Xiāng is a three-layered structure: Asp3P, Asp2P and Asp1P.I focus on two aspect particles, ta21 and ka41. I argue that we have two particles sharing the same morphological form: ta21PERF and ta21PROG. The difference between the two particles lies in the different syntactic positions they occupy. I also point out that ka41 should not be treated as a perfective marker. I suggest that descriptively, ka41 doubles the already existing endpoint and that it does so to make the endpoint definitive. ka41 is used to block further access to the activity preceding the lexical endpoint (for example, such event cannot be present in the progressive). I point out that in Chángshā and Xiāng in general, all three Inner aspect positions can be lexically realized. Show less
The main topic of the book is the nature of inner aspect of the Verb Phrase, and the relation between the decompositional and the quantificational approaches to this problem. Decompositional... Show moreThe main topic of the book is the nature of inner aspect of the Verb Phrase, and the relation between the decompositional and the quantificational approaches to this problem. Decompositional approaches analyze eventualities into simpler components, organized by some kind of structure. In this view, an eventuality is telic if, in decomposition, it can be shown to involve a result component (also referred to as the culmination or termination component, or as the telos). Quantificational approaches see telicity as a property of the predicate of an eventuality, usually described as boundedness, lack of the subinterval property, or a specified quantity. The major advantage of the decompositional approaches is that they directly match the syntax-semantics interface of the VP with the conceptual image of an eventuality. Quantificational approaches blur the picture in this respect, because they involve effects like distributive readings, which are not a typical interpretational component of the VP domain. On the other hand, the major advantage of the quantificational approaches is that they assign similar or identical properties to (the predicates of) eventualities and nominal expressions. This enables them to capture the phenomenon of incremental themes (participants that appear to measure out the eventuality in which they take part), by relating the predicates of eventualities and those of their arguments. The dissertation presents a new approach, which not only combines the two approaches above, but also shows how they are directly mutually related, and how some quantificational properties can be derived from the domain of decomposition. Show less
