Argument reduction and anaphora resolution: the case of xiang−verbs in Mandarin Chinese

Abstract

In this paper, I discuss argument reduction and anaphora resolution of xiang−verbs in Mandarin Chinese. When xiang is prefixed to a verbal stem, one of the arguments of the verbal stem is absorbed, xiang functions as an anaphor replacing the absorbed argument and hence requires an antecedent. I argue that the argument reduction of xiang−verbs depends on the Thematic Role Hierarchy (Bresnan and Kanerva, Language 70:72–131, 1989; Bresnan, Linguistic Inq 20(1):10–50, 1993): the second highest role on the argument structure of a verbal stem to which xiang is attached, is absorbed. For anaphora resolution, I propose a non-subject constraint, Available Candidates for xiang, which includes a principle utilizing attachment sites of Segmented Discourse Representation Theory (for short, SDRT) to determine a set of candidates for the antecedent to xiang a last resort to include the speaker and addressee(s) in the set when there is no available candidate, and a pragmatic principle to select the most fitting one from the set of candidates to be the antecedent to xiang. And, I propose an SDRT account for the phenomena observed. I also discuss the reciprocity of xiang-verbs and suggest that reciprocal xiang-verbs and non-reciprocal xiang-verbs have the same origin. Furthermore, I demonstrate that the SDRT account argued in this paper can be extended to zero anaphora resolution (with some modification) and is, at least to a certain degree, applicable to the resolution of the third person singular anaphor ta ‘he/she’.