A Contrastive Study Of The V-De Structure In Shuangfeng Dialect And Mandarin Chinese

The purpose of this thesis is to develop an analysis to account, in a Principle-and-Parameter Approach, for the difference between the V-De structure in Shuangfeng Dialect and its counterpart in Mandarin Chinese.Our discussion is focused on the X-bar theory and Direct Object Restriction (DOR) applied to account for the Postverbal Constraint in the V-De structure in Mandarin Chinese. We show that the X-bar theory and DOR cannot satisfactorily explain the phenomena in the V-De structure in Shuangfeng Dialect, because V2 in Shuangfeng Dialect V-De structure does not necessarily predicate of the direct object of the V-De structure even when the structure has an object.We claim that there are two V-De structures in Shuangfeng Dialect: one is similar to the V-De structure in Mandarin Chinese, and the other is a semantic equivalent of the RVC observed in Mandarin Chinese. The X-bar theory and DOR are observed in the first type of V-De structure, not in the second type. It is demonstrated in this thesis that it is impossible to predict the presence of object of the second V-De structure. This leads to the conclusion that V2 in the second type V-De structure mainly make the whole structure to be telic. We argue that the difference between the two V-De structure lies in the choice between de-merger and head-raising, and the difference between the RVC and the second type of V-De structure lies in the presence/absence of de in the head of DeP phase.Our discussion also shows that the second type V-De and RVC in Shuangfeng Dialect bear both completion meaning and potentiality meaning. I assume that de is an indication of inner functional head DE, structurally, generated between V1 and V2. I further argue that de is licensed by either Modality or Aspect, de and F_[M] or F_[Asp] must be syntactically related in order to check the relevant feature. The correlation between De and F_[m] or F_[Asp] is a derivation through a syntactic LF movement which has to obey locality constraints.A survey of the RVC and its associated constructions such as disposal construction and Bei construction in Shuangfeng Dialect is also conducted, and...