Department of Linguistics Wenzhounese ɦɔ and ba , and their positions in the Inner Aspect Pan Zhengyuan (Kyle), Rint Sybesma

Chinese Inner Aspect The postulated projections are not all obligatorily present in all Chinese languages. In Introduction 0 0 Sybesma (2017) postulated 3 functional projections between v and V that are marginal cases, the head of the four projections can be overt in Mandarin. Consider (4), A verb-final ɦɔ (or phonologically similar responsible for the various verb-final particles in Chinese languages. counterparts) is reported to be the perfective particle in [ v0 > Realization0 > Aspect0 > Telicity0 > V0 ] (4) wǒ bǎ tā nòng-sǐ-diào-le many Wu languages (Zhang , 1996). 我 把 他 弄 -死-掉 -了 However, in Wenzhounese, a new final particle ba is 1s ba 3s do-dead-off-PRF responsible for the formation of a perfective reading (Li, *Modifications were made to the labels to ensure ease of understanding. In Sybesma 2017, the labels “I killed him (off)” 2006), and the counterpart of ɦɔ in Wenzhounese seems were “Asp3，Asp2，Asp1” in descending order. (Adapted from Sybesma, 2020) to be in the process of losing that grammatical function, and is rather responsible for entailing a perfect event But for the most part, Mandarin Telicity0 and Asp0 seem to be in some sort of without being an actual perfective marker (c.f. Lǔ 2016). the complex verb occupies v0 at the end complementary distribution: Wenzhounese (Wu) (5) wǒ bǎ chē cā-{hǎo/gān}-le Indicating whether the action (V0) has 我 把 车 擦-{好/干}-了 reached its end pointc (brief) Ethnography 1s ba apple wipe-{good/dry}-PRF Sinitic 1. “I have wiped the car.” (using hǎo) A projection proposed for “phasal complements”. 2. “I have wiped the car dry.” (using gān) -Wu e.g. wán(finish) in chī-wán(eat-finish) -Oujiang The conclusion that 掉diào (off) in (4) is situated in Asp0 is based on comparative study of -Wenzhounese Changsha (Lǔ, 2017 Responsible for result denoting element. -Lucheng dialect e.g. sǐ (dead) in shā-sǐ(kill-dead) … The Prefecture of Wenzhou (Google, n.d.) The variety of Wenzhounese at issue is from Lucheng, Wenzhounese ɦɔ and ba Conclusion the most widely recognized Wenzhounese variety. The following preliminary study on Wenzhounese Inner Aspect has been explored, notably the distribution of what was The following structure has been postulated for conventionally considered the “perfective marker” of most Wu languages, ɦɔ, and what I consider to be the true perfective marker of Wenzhounese is not mutually intelligible with many Central Wenzhounese verb phrase containing ɦɔ and ba. Wenzhounese, ba. The extend of this study also aim to put these Wenzhounese final particles under the lense of generative syntax, or Northern Wu languages, making it special within consider that few studies of comparative syntax has been done within the Wu languages. comparative study of Wu languages. (7) ŋ24 tei33 kai42-i42 sei323-pʰa35-ɦɔ-ba212 (8) ŋ24 tei33 kai42-i42 sei323-pʰa35-ɦɔ Typology & Preliminaries 1sg ba CL-shirt wash-broken-ASP-PRF 1sg ba CL-shirt wash-broken-ASP The canonical word order of Wenzhounese is SVO, with “I washed the shirt and as a result it has been damaged” “I (will) wash the shirt and damage it.” “I have washed the shirt and damage it.” frequent SOV constructions. Like other Wu (ambiguous) languages(Dīng, 2017), Wenzhounese has a tendency for ba appears to be crucial here, disambiguating whether forbidding objects from preceding a complex verb (i.e., a the event has been completed before the Utterance Time. ba is verb attached with aspectual particles) also restricted from negated verb phrases.

(1) ŋ24 (tei33) pəŋ55 ku11 tsʰɨ42-ɦɔ-ba212 (9) ŋ24 naɤ24 tei33 kai42-i42 sei323-pʰa35-ɦɔ-(*ba212) (10) ŋ24 naɤ24 tei33 kai42-i42 sei323- ɦɔ-(*ba212) 1st.sg ba apple eat-ASP-PRF 1sg NEG.have ba CL-shirt wash-broken-ASP-PRF 1sg NEG.have ba CL-shirt wash-ASP-PRF “I have eaten an apple.” “I didn’t damage the shirt by washing it.” “I didn’t wash the shirt.” (2) * ŋ24 tsʰɨ42-ɦɔ-ba212 pəŋ55 ku11 The ɦɔ particle cannot be attached after certain telic verbs in Wenzhounese. This raises suspicion as to whether such telic verbs 0 0 1st.sg eat-ASP-PRF apple forbid Asp and Telic projections, simply because they are semantically sufficient. The ba particle, however, is allowed and needed to form the perfective reading in the same sentence. Intended: “I have eaten an apple.” (11) ŋ24 tə42-(*ɦɔ) kunada ba 24 42 55 11 (3) % ŋ tsʰɨ -ɦɔ pəŋ ku 1sg arrive-ASP Canada PRF st 1 .sg eat-ASP apple “I have arrived in Canada.” Intended: “I have eaten an apple.” Reference -Dīng Jiàn (2017). Wúyǔ Lùqiaóhuà dòngqián wúdìng shòushì de jùfǎxìngzhì yǔ xíngcéng dòngyīn [The syntactic features and origins of the preverbal indefinite patient in the Luqiao dialect of Wu]. Dāngdài Yǔyánxué 19/4, 475-493. -Handel, C.-T. James Huang and James Myers. Encyclopedia of Chinese Language and Linguistics.Leiden: Brill. Link to this poster Link to the complete dataset -Li, boya.2006.Chinese Final Particles and the Syntax of the Periphery. LOT.[Published PhD Thesis]. Leiden University -Lǔ, Màn.2017. The morpho-syntax of aspect in Xiāng Chinese. Doctoral dissertation, Leiden University. -Sybesma, Rint.(2020). Lecture: Comparative Chinese Syntax [PDF]. Retrieved from University of British Columbia LING 447C Canvas. -Sybesma, Rint.2017.Aspect, Inner. ed. Rint Sybesma, Wolfgang Behr, Yueguo Gu, Zev -Zhang, Shuangqing. 1996. DòngCí de Tǐ [Aspect of the verb].The Chinese University of Hong Kong