3. Extent in Mandarin Chinese
3.1 Number expression as Extent
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Chapter 3 Extent in Mandarin Chinese
3.1 Number expression as Extent
In Mandarin Chinese, indefinite number phrases with the form [Number + Classifier + Noun] have two interpretations. One concerns quantity and the other refers to concrete references, someone or something (Li 1998). It was suggested by Li that number expression be divided into two categories, which are number expression with a quantity interpretation and that with a nonquantity indefinite individual-denoting interpretation. The former can occur in the subject and topic position but the latter cannot do so.
(33) *三個 學生 在 學校 受傷了
san3ge5 xue2sheng1 zai4 xue2xiao4 shou4shang1 le5 Three-CL student at school hurt-ASP
‘*Three students were hurt at school.’
(34) 五個 小孩 吃不完 十碗 飯 wu3ge5 xiao3hai2 chi1bu4wan2 shi2wan3 fan4 Five-CL child eat-not-finish ten-bowl rice ‘Five children cannot finish ten bowls of rice.’
The number expressions in the above two sentences are both indefinite, but (33) is ungrammatical because the NP 三個學生 san3ge5 xue2sheng1 ‘three students’ in
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(33) should refer to three individuals, who have been hurt at school. That is to say, the NP has a nonquantity indefinite individual-denoting interpretation. It cannot be in the subject position and it needs the existential marker 有 you3 ‘have, exist’ to make the sentence acceptable.
(35) 有 三個 學生 在 學校 受傷了
you3 san3ge5 xue2sheng1 zai4 xue2xiao4 shou4shang1le5 Have three-CL student at school hurt-ASP ‘There are three students hurt at school.’
It is obvious that the two number expressions 三個學生 san3ge5 xue2sheng1 ‘three students’ and 五個小孩 wu3ge5 xiao3hai2 ‘five children’ are assigned different thematic roles. The former 三個學生 san3ge5 xue2sheng1 ‘three students’ have specific references and they undergo a change of state. In addition, in terms of the verb 受傷 shou4shang1 ‘hurt’, the three students are people who are “affected” so it is reasonable to regard this number expression as Patient. The other number expression 五個小孩 wu3ge5 xiao3hai2 ‘five children’ is the Agent of the verb 吃 chi1 ‘eat’, but it does not have a specific reference. It is a quantity expression and can
also be considered as a measure element as noted in the previous section. According to previous literature, the NP 五個小孩 wu3ge5 xiao3hai2 ‘five children’ can also be categorized as quantity extent and be assigned the thematic role Extent. Therefore, the number phrase can be regarded as a composite role of Agent and Extent.
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Her (2009) proposed that in Mandarin Chinese, sentences containing consumption verbs, such as 吃 chi1 ‘eat’, and accommodation verbs, such as 住 zhu4 ‘live’ are allowed with subject-object inversion when the subject is a composite
role of Agent and Extent. The following sentences are presented by Her as illustration.
(36) a. 他們 / 張三 和 李四 吃 這 鍋 肉 ta1men5/Zhang1san1 han4 Li3si4 chi1 zhe4 guo1 rou4 They / John and Lee eat this pot meat ‘They/ John and Lee eat this pot of meat.’
b. *這 鍋 肉 吃 張三 和 李四 / 他們 zhe4 guo1 rou4 chi1 Zhang1san1 han4 Li3si4/ta1men5 this pot meat eat John and Lee / they ‘This pot of meat feeds/serves John and Lee/Them.’
In Sentence (36), the subject has specific references. The pronoun ‘they’ refers to certain people, and ‘John and Lee’ refers to two people named John and Lee. The subject therefore can only be assigned Agent. According to Her (2009), a subject that only has the thematic role Agent cannot invert with an object. Sentence (36b) shows that it is unacceptable when there is inversion of subject and object.
(37) a. 兩個 人 吃 ㄧ 磅 肉 liang3ge5 ren2 chi1 yi2 bang4 rou4 Two-CL person eat one pound meat ‘Two people eat one pound of meat.’
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b. ㄧ 磅 肉 吃 兩個 人 yi2 bang4 rou4 chi1 liang3ge5 ren2
one pound meat eat two-CL person ‘One pound of meat feeds/serves two people.’
In Sentence (37), there is subject-object inversion and the inverted sentence (37b) is acceptable. Her (2009) proposed that it is because the subject 兩個人 liang3ge5ren2
‘two people’ is not only the Agent of the verb but also contains the interpretation of Extent. It is also an indefinite number phrase and the same as what was described by Li as quantity interpretation. Therefore, it is also reasonable to assign it the thematic role Extent.
On the basis of the arguments of Li (1998) and Her (2009), we can find that in Mandarin Chinese there is one type of Extent composed of indefinite number phrases.
Some of them may be composite roles, or at least, they are roles with extent interpretation.
(38) 十個 蘋果 裝 ㄧ 盒 shi2ge5 ping2guo3 zhuang1 yi4 he2
Ten-CL apple pack one box
‘Ten apples pack into one box.’
(39) 三個 人 擠 這張 床
san3ge5 ren2 ji3 zhe4 zhang1 chuang2 Three-CL person crowd this-CL bed
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‘Three people crowd into this bed. ’
In Sentence (38), in terms of the verb 裝 zhuang1 ‘pack’, the NP ㄧ盒 yi4he2 ‘one box’ is “effected”, which means it is not a pre-existent object and it is the result of the action. Therefore, the NP ㄧ盒 yi4he2 ‘one box’ can be regarded as Extent. The other NP 十個蘋果 shi2ge5 ping2guo3 ‘ten apples’ also has the feature of quantity extent. In addition, it is also the Theme of the verb since it participates in the action.
Therefore, the NP 十個蘋果 shi2ge5 ping2guo3 ‘ten apples’ can be considered as a Theme with extent interpretation. In Sentence (39), the number expression 三個人 san3ge5ren2 ‘three people’ is the Agent of the verb 擠 ji3 ‘crowd’ but it also has the
interpretation of Extent.