The syntax of aspecto-temporal adverbs from Late Archaic to Early Medieval Chinese

Abstract

In Late Archaic and Early Medieval Chinese aspectual distinctions are mainly expressed by aspectual adverbs. These adverbs are characterized by their close relation with the lexical aspect of the verb they modify. This paper argues for the existence of an Inner Aspect Phrase within an articulated VP (vP) in Late Archaic and Early Medieval Chinese which hosts the lexical aspect of the verb. This Inner Aspect Phrase corresponds to an Outer Aspect Phrase outside the VP, which hosts the grammatical aspect. The aspectual adverbs are analyzed as specifiers of the Outer Aspect Phrase. The correspondence of the two Aspect Phrases accounts for the close connection between aspectual adverbs and the telicity features of the verb in Late Archaic and Early Medieval Chinese. In ancient Chinese aspectual distinctions apparently have been marked by affixation. This morphological system concerns the lexical aspect, the Inner Aspect Phrase, rather than the grammatical aspect, the Outer Aspect Phrase. If this hypothesis proved to be correct, the grammatical aspect would not have been marked in the morphology of the verb at all, but purely by lexical means, i.e., by aspectual adverbs and possibly by sentence-final particles.