2026/01/23 by Yanru Lu, St. Müller · 2 voices
Arts and Humanities · Neuroscience · Psychology · #Syntax, Semantics, Linguistic Variation #Neurobiology of Language and Bilingualism #Phonetics and Phonology Research
paper · pdf · doi:10.1017/s0022226725101047
openalex publication_date 2026/01/23 · openalex created_date 2026/01/24 · openalex updated_date 2026/05/21
Abstract The current study presents an HPSG analysis for deliminative verbal reduplication in Mandarin Chinese. We provide a detailed description of the phenomenon. After discussing reduplication’s interaction with verb classes and aspect markers, we argue that it is better analyzed as a morphological rather than a syntactic process. We put forward a lexical rule for verbal reduplication in Mandarin Chinese, and the different forms of reduplication are captured in an inheritance hierarchy. The interaction between verbal reduplication and aspect marking is handled by multiple inheritance. This analysis covers all forms of deliminative verbal reduplication in Mandarin Chinese and has none of the shortcomings of previous analyses.