IDENTIFYING WORD CATEGORIES IN MANDARIN CHINESE WITH CONSTRUCTIONAL APPROACH
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.35520/diadorim.2019.v21n2a28499Keywords:
word category, Construction Grammar, Mandarin Chinese, ge.Abstract
Ge as a classifier in Mandarin Chinese is typically followed by nouns. In the post-verbal position, ge is found to co-occur with prototypically non-nominal elements and the function of ge is unclear. This paper adopts a constructional approach to identify the word categories of the elements following ge in the post-verbal position. Instead of focusing on the elements in question alone, the constructions in which the elements occur are also taken into consideration. Within specific constructions, the elements following ge demonstrate variation in their grammatical behaviour. Their grammatical categories are determined by the constructions they occur in, not the preceding ge. In addition, within the Construction Grammar framework, the function of the post-verbal ge in these constructions is defined.
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