THE STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION OF THE CHINESE COPULAR CONSTRUCTION A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE DEPARTMENT OF EAST ASIAN LANGUAGES AND CULTURES AND THE COMMITTEE ON GRADUATE STUDIES OF STANFORD UNIVERSITY IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN CHINESE Fangqiong Zhan August 2012 © 2012 by Fangqiong Zhan. All Rights Reserved. Re-distributed by Stanford University under license with the author. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution- Noncommercial 3.0 United States License. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/us/ This dissertation is online at: http://purl.stanford.edu/ps422bz6821 ii I certify that I have read this dissertation and that, in my opinion, it is fully adequate in scope and quality as a dissertation for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Chao Sun, Primary Adviser I certify that I have read this dissertation and that, in my opinion, it is fully adequate in scope and quality as a dissertation for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Elizabeth Traugott, Co-Adviser I certify that I have read this dissertation and that, in my opinion, it is fully adequate in scope and quality as a dissertation for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Yoshiko Matsumoto I certify that I have read this dissertation and that, in my opinion, it is fully adequate in scope and quality as a dissertation for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. John Wang Approved for the Stanford University Committee on Graduate Studies. Patricia J. Gumport, Vice Provost Graduate Education This signature page was generated electronically upon submission of this dissertation in electronic format. An original signed hard copy of the signature page is on file in University Archives. iii ABSTRACT This thesis examines the structure and function of the Chinese copular construction within the framework of Construction Grammar (Goldberg 2006; Croft 2001; etc.) and Constructionalization (Trousdale 2010; Traugott and Trousdale 2011; etc.). My analysis begins with the argument that shì is the systematic copula verb in Chinese. After identifying problems with previous accounts, I outline my own, original analysis of the syntax and semantics of the copular construction. I define the Chinese copula as an invariant non-inflectional verb that co-occurs with certain lexemes when they together form the predicate of a copular sentence. I propose that the copular construction is a form and meaning pairing: [(XPi) COP XPj] (XP=NP/VP/S)[SEMi copulative linking SEMj] with [NP COP NP] as the prototype. The copular construction has two subschemas: specificational and predicational. A cleft sentence is a special specificational copular sentence. The Chinese cleft construction is a form and meaning pairing: [NPi COP NOMj] (NOM=(ADV/TP/PP) NP/VP/S de)[SEMi specificational+contrastive SEMj]. I suggest shì is consistently the copula verb in the cleft construction and signals the immediate post-copula element as contrastive focus. The cleft construction also has two subschemas: cleft-obj and cleft-sbj. My constructional analysis improves on similar accounts of the cleft sentences in two ways. First, my analysis helps understand the grammatical status of shì and provides a schematic framework to understand the commonality and distinction between cleft sentences and copular sentences. Second, my analysis allows for a straightforward account of the relationship between the two subschemas of the cleft construction, and of iv the relationship among variations of the cleft-sbj. The thesis also examines the constructionalization processes of the copular construction and the cleft construction. I suggest that the Old Chinese (500 BCE- 200 CE) topic-comment construction, in which the demonstrative pronoun shì occurred at the subject position of the comment clause functioning as an anaphor, was reanalyzed as a subject-predicate construction via analogization to the construction of the Old Chinese verb wéi ‘to be.’ As the copular construction was entrenched and conventionalized in Middle Chinese (200 CE -1000), it gave rise to the emergence of the cleft construction through host-class expansion, syntactic expansion (the nominalization was recruited into the predicate position of a copular sentence), and semantic-pragmatic expansion. Together, my synchronic and diachronic analyses add up to a maximally explanatory account of the copula shì and the copular construction. v ACKNOWLEDGMENTS My interest in the topic of grammaticalization and constructionalization was first inspired by a graduate seminar on the history of Chinese taught by Chaofen Sun during my first year of PhD study at Stanford University, and subsequently in a seminar on the theory of constructionalization taught by Elizabeth Traugott. More recently I have immersed myself in the theory of construction grammar and constructionalization, and have been amazed by the extent to which this framework can account for Chinese data both synchronically and diachronically. My dissertation process has basically entailed scrutinizing data from both classical and modern Chinese, consulting a broad range of scholarly works, and educating myself in the new critical framework and modes of analysis. None of this would have been possible without the guidance and support I have received from my graduate advisors, teachers, friends, and family. First and foremost, I would like to thank my advisors, Chaofen Sun and Elizabeth Traugott. Over the years, Chaofen has continuously stimulated my academic curiosity and supported my aspiration to search for new ideas and new methods. He has always been open and available for discussion, and his invaluable guidance and feedback have been the fuel that allowed me to develop this dissertation. I am also truly lucky and grateful to have had Elizabeth Traugott as my co-advisor; it was Elizabeth who introduced me to construction grammar and constructionalization, and saw me through the writing. She read every single draft of every chapter with meticulous care and her theoretical vision and analytical insight helped shape this project from its inception. I thank both Chaofen and Elizabeth for countless illuminating discussions and for their vi unflagging patience, support, and encouragement. This dissertation could not have been written without them. I also owe a great debt of gratitude to Yoshiko Matsumoto for serving on my committee, reading the chapters, and making time for discussions throughout the dissertation process. I thank her for raising insightful questions and offering informed, incisive comments and feedback. I am also deeply grateful to John Wang, who has been serving as one of my references during my job hunting. He has always treated me with understanding and patience. I thank him for attending my oral defense, and for many wonderful and inspiring literature classes. I also thank Elizabeth Bernhardt for chairing my oral defense and Ban Wang for his constant advice throughout my graduate study. I wholeheartedly thank Sandra A. Thompson and Hsiao-Jung (Sharon) Yu, my advisors at the University of California, Santa Barbara, who opened the door of functional linguistics to me and brought me into this fascinating world of linguistics to which I intend devoting the rest of my life. I also thank John Nathan, Ron Egan, and my other teachers at UCSB. They were tremendously helpful when I first came to United States. I am truly fortunate to have been surrounded by many great friends. I especially want to thank Zhang Yu. We came to Stanford from UCSB together, and we have shared so many laughs and memories. Without her, my graduate life would have been much lonelier and less colorful. I would also like to thank Xiaoman Miao, Jingxia Lin, Chenshu Zhou, Tingting Zhao, Yanshuo Zhang, Jeff Knott, Melvin Su, Ming Chew Teo, Hisaaki Wake, Judy Kroo, Yao Wu, Rui Wang, and many other friends in the department as well vii as Xiaofang Zhou, Hong Zeng, Huazhi Wang, Marina Chung, and Nina Lin who have helped me improve my language teaching. I want to thank my dear friend Jerry Scots, who has been keeping me company from afar throughout my dissertation writing. I thank him for the extensive discussions and arguments that kept me awake, sane, and productive. I thank him for listening to my complaints and excitement, and offering support and encouragement. Without him, the writing process would have been a tedious chore. Finally, I dedicate whatever I have achieved, with love and gratitude, to my parents Huadong Zhan and Yajun Ma, and thank them from the bottom of my heart for their unconditional love, constant care and support throughout my life. viii TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Tables .................................................................................................................... xii List of Figures.................................................................................................................. xiii Abbreviations................................................................................................................... xiv 1 Introduction.......................................................................................................................1 1.1 The construction shì in Modern Chinese .......................................................................1 1.1.1 ‘Right, okay, or fine’..............................................................................................2 1.1.2 Demonstrative pronoun..........................................................................................3 1.1.3 Existential