"Kan" as a Performative Verb in Mandarin Chinese: A Case of Interaction between Semantics/Pragmatics and Syntactic Structure

Abstract

This study aims at investigating a particular use of the Chinese perception verb ”kan” (to see) in explicit performative utterances as a performative verb. It is interesting to note that the perception verb ”kan” pragmatically functions as a performative verb with the semantic content 'to suggest/to advise' in such sentences as Wo kan ni bie qu le (I suggest that you should not go). First of all, the syntactic structure of the kan-performative utterance will be examined. Then the felicity conditions for the kan-performative utterance will be discussed. Finally the semantic shift from a perception verb meaning 'to see' to a pragmatically performative verb meaning 'to suggest/to advise' will be explicated in terms of cognitive linguistics in general and in terms of conceptual metaphor, i.e. vision/intellection metaphor, and subjectivity in particular. The data examined and analyzed are extracted both from the Balanced Corpus of Academia Sinica in Taiwan and from ordinary daily natural conversations. It is hoped that the present study will shed some light on the interface between Semantics/Pragmatics and Syntax.