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noticed that the single sentence is also a sense unit. After defining which constituents in (34) are sense units, I will use these sense units to define the IP boundary. Based on the sense units defined above, maj tsHoj, loj ja maj tsHoj, sˆ-soN loj ja maj tsHoj, and kHiu-kuN sˆ-soN loj ja maj tsHoj theoretically can form an IP, respectively. The sense unit, maj tsHoj, is irrelevant to Yinping tone sandhi because there is not only no trigger for tone sandhi, but this sense unit also includes fewer than four syllables. The V’ loj ja maj tsHoj is qualified to be an IP, but loj is not preceded by a Yinping syllable; thus, it can be disregarded. What should be noticed here is the VP sˆ-soN loj ja maj tsHoj and the sentence kHiu-kuN sˆ-soN loj ja maj tsHoj. The Yinping word -kuN undergoes tone sandhi when the whole sentence forms an IP; whereas it remains invariant when sˆ-soN loj ja maj tsHoj, which includes six syllables, is an isolated IP. After sˆ-soN loj ja maj tsHoj forms a single IP on its own, the subject kHiu-kuN is restructured to be an IP. Under this construction, -kuN retains its base tone. From the perspective of sense unit and restructuring, that how the two readings are derived is explained.
3.6 Special constructions for IPs
Some types of IP formation, which form IPs on their own, are looked at closely in this section. The constructions such as tag questions, vocatives, nonrestrictive relative clauses, parenthetical expressions have priority over other constituents in a root sentence to form an IP. Nespor and Vogel (1986) suggest that it is universal for these types of constructions to compulsorily constitute an IP on their own. These constructions share a property, that is, that they are not part of the root sentence.
When they are included inside a root sentence, they take precedence to form an IP, even though the root sentence may be divided by them. After the special construction in a root sentence forms an IP on its own, the remaining portions of the root sentence
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立 政 治 大 學
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constitute respective IPs. For instance, in “Sam, as you know, is a good student.” as you know is a parenthetical expression and forms an IP at first, then Sam and is a good student further constitute the respective IPs although the two constituents are not a full sentence. In this section, these special constructions are investigated to argue whether the proposal of IP formation in (30) fits the data in Meinong Hakka.
3.6.1 Vocative
The vocative is a noun used to indicate the person whom the speaker calls out to attract his/ her attention in a conversation. An example of the use of the vocative is given in (35).
(35) ‘Boss, please come here for a moment.’
tHew-ka, t˛HjaN N ko loj it ha boss please you come a down
ML M HM ML H ML HM H Base Tone
[ ML M ] HM ML H ML HM H ] Surface Tone
It is noticed that the vocative -ka does not undergo Yinping tone sandhi although it is followed by a Shang syllable t˛HjaN. This result indicates that the vocative tHew-ka constitutes an IP on its own, namely, a tonal boundary exits between the vocative and the imperative sentence. This result supports the proposal (Nespor and Vogel, 1986), that vocatives can form an IP on their own.
3.6.2 Tag Question
When a declarative sentence is followed by a fragment indicating a question, this fragment is called a tag question. (36) is an example in Hakka of a tag question. (QM
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represents Question Mark.)
(36) ‘He and the boss are good friends, aren’t they?’
i tHuN tHew-ka he ho pHen-iu, m he ha?
he and boss is good friend no is QM
M ML ML M H H ML M ML H ML Base Tone M ML ML M H H ML M ] [ ML H ML ] Surface Tone
The subject complement -iu is a Yinping syllable and followed by a Yangping syllable m, but it retains it base tone. This provides evidence that a tag question can form an IP by itself, that is, this sentence is divided into two IPs, one is the tag question, and the other is the root sentence i kan tHew-ka he ho pHen-iu. A tonal boundary is predicted to be inserted between the clause and the tag question. That is why the Yinping syllable -iu does not undergo tone sandhi.
3.6.3 Parenthetical Expressions
A parenthetical expression is one where people add some relevant information to a sentence when speaking. This added information, called parenthetical expression, splits the primary sentence when appearing in the middle of the root sentence. An example is given in (37). (PL-S = plural suffix; AS = adjective suffix; G = goal)
(37) ‘The teacher is not as good as we think; actually, he is a bad man.’
sin-saN, mo t˛HjoN Naj nen kHon to e an ho, kHi-sˆt he faj ¯in teacher not like I PL-S see G AS so good actually is bad person
M M ML H ML ML H H H HM HM ML H H H ML Base Tone M M ] [ML H ML ML H H H HM HM ] ML H H H ML ] Surface Tone
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mo t˛HjoNNaj nen kHon to e an ho is a parenthetical expression, which divides the root sentence into two portions. If the parenthetical expression is not an IP by itself, this result will predict that the subject -saN undergoes tone sandhi because the whole sentence constitutes a single IP. Nevertheless, the result is opposite to the fact, which is that -saN remains invariant. This result reveals that the parenthetical expression forms an IP on its own at the beginning of restructuring; then, the subject sin-saN and the verb phrase constitute an isolated IP, respectively. Thus, the reason why -saN does not experience tone sandhi is accounted for by the placement of the tonal boundary marker between the subject and the parenthetical expression.
On basis of the investigation in this section, it is concluded that some types of constructions indeed form an IP by themselves. Therefore, the formation of an IP in (30) is modified to account for the special constructions, as in (38).
(38) The formation of an intonational phrase in Meinong Hakka (revised version)
a. Use Sense Unit Condition to define an intonational phrase.
b. A sense unit that contains four or more syllables takes priority over other sense units fewer than four syllables to form an IP when restructuring occurs.
c. Insert an IP boundary at each side of the special construction to form an independent IP.
(38) displays how an IP is formed. In the next chapter, the statements in (38) are transferred into the OT constraints in Chapter Four.
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立 政 治 大 學
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