Subject in Chinese Existential Constructions: A Systemic Functional Approach

Abstract

There are different views as to which element in Chinese existential constructions takes the role of Subject, and this has resulted from a lack of clarity with regard to the concept of Subject in Chinese. In this study we look at Subject from a systemic functional perspective. We argue that Subject serves experiential, interpersonal and textual functions at the meaning level of language, and that its identification at the form level should be functionally motivated. Concerning the two types of Chinese existential constructions—existence and appearance/disappearance—we conclude that in either type the pre-Predicator locative element (a nominal group or a prepositional phrase) should be described as the Subject. This is essentially due to the fact that this locative element functions as a Participant Role in the transitivity structure of the clause. And it is also attributed to the fact that Chinese is characterized as having the basic clausal pattern of ‘Subject + Predicator + Complement’. We also make explicit the differences between the sub-classifications of the existence type and those between the existence and the appearance/disappearance type. The major differences lie in their intended meanings: whether existential clauses of a sub-type or a broad type are about a purely static state on their own, about a state of affairs achieved as a result of an action, about a continuing action or even about an existent that appears again in the subsequent text.