2.4 Dependency and selectional restrictions
2.4.2. yuè and situation types
Smith(1991,1997) distinguishes five types of situation.7 They are state, activity, accomplishment. semelfactive, and achievement. Yuè1 but not yuè2 goes well with activities and semelfactives. Besides, none of them can occur in accomplishment and achievement situations.
7 Vendler (1967) was the first to classify verbs according to their situational types. It is argued that a larger unit such as the whole verbal phrase or the whole sentence rather than the verb alone is relevant in terms of situational types (Dowty (1979), Smith (1991, 1997), Hsiao (1992, 1993, 1995), and Tsao and Hsiao (2002), among others.)
2.4.2.1 States
Both yuè1 and yuè2 may modify scalar states, which can be modified by degree adverb h(n ‘very’ as well. (62) illustrates this point.
((((a( P(nggu( yu( [ti(n] yu( [h(och(](
apple more sweet more delicious
‘The sweeter an apple is, the more delicious it is.’
b( Zh( ge p(nggu( h(n [ti(n](
this CL apple very sweet
‘This apple is very sweet.’
c( Zh( ge p(nggu( h(n [h(och(](
this CL apple very delicious ‘This apple is very delicious
Some modal verb phrases are also scalar and might be modified by yuè.
(((( Zh(ngs(n h(n k(n(ng hu( r(xu(n(
Zhangsan very possible will enter-selection
‘Zhangsan is very likely to be selected.’
((((a( Yu( k(n(ng r(xu(n de r(n yu(
j(nzh(ng(
more possible enter-selection RC person more nervous
‘The more likely for a person to be selected, the more nervous (s)he becomes.’
b( Yu( n(l( de r(n yu( k(n(ng
hu( ch(ngg(ng(
more (work)-hard RC person more possible will succeed
‘People who work harder are more likely to succeed,’
Like the degree adverb h(n and the comparative marker jiào, yuè may not modify a reduplicated predicate. Compare (65) and (66).
((((a( N( ji(n f(ngzi h(n ji((
that CL house very old
‘That house is very old.’
b( N( ji(n f(ngzi b( zh( ji(n ji((
that CL house than this CL old
‘That house is older than this one.’
c( N( ji(n f(ngzi ji(ji( de(
that CL house old-old DE
‘That house is quite old.’
d( (N( ji(n f(ngzi h(n ji(ji( de(
that CL house very old-old DE
e( (N( ji(n f(ngzi b( zh( ji(n ji(ji( de(
that CL house than this CL old-old DE
((((a( F(ngzi yu( ji( yu( n(n zh(ngl((
house more old more difficult clear
‘The older the house is, the more difficult it is to clear it.’
b( (F(ngzi yu( ji(ji( de yu( n(n zh(ngl((
house more old-old DE more difficult clear
Semantically, the reduplicated form of a predicate is not scalar any more though its base form is. Reduplication has the effect of making an adverb absolute rather than ralative.
The feature ‘scalar’ seems to be relative, however. There are states which can be modified by yuè but not by . For example, yào ‘want’ and huì ‘will’ may take yuè as its adjunct but cannot take h(n ‘very.’
((((a( N( yu( b( r(ng (( q( ((n (( yu(
y(o q((
you more not let me go play I more want go
b( Yu( k(n n(l( de r(n yu(
hu( ch(ngg(ng(
more willing (work)-hard RC person more will succeed
‘People who are more willing to work hard are more likely to succeed.’
((((a( ((( h(n y(o q( ((n(
I very want go play
‘I want to play very much.’
b( (Zh(ngs(n h(n hu( ch(ngg(ng(
Zhangsan very will succeed
‘*Zhangsan will succeed very much.’
((((a( Yu( sh( h(o p(ngy(u yu( g(i h(xi(ng b(ngm(ng(
more be good friend more should each-other help
‘The better friends they are, the more necessary for them to help each
Unlike h(n ‘very,’ yuè may be followed by quantifiable activities. Yuè1 can modify quantifiable activities and semelfactives even though yuè2 cannot. Compare (70)b, c and d.
((((a( Zh(ngs(n ch(ngch(ng d( l(nqi((
‘The more frequently Zhangsan plays the basketball, the better he plays it.’
8 One of the reviewers pointed out that ‘yuè...yuè...’ is compatible with achievements like shu(i suì
‘break to pieces’ and accomplishments like x( g(nj(ng ‘wash clean’, as shown in (i)a and (i)b.
(i(a( B(izi shu(i de yu( su( yu( n(n q(ngs(o(
The above sentences, however, are not counterexamples for our generalization. Though the VC constructions shu(i su( and x( g(nj(ng are an achievement and accomplishment respectively, suì and g(njìng are gradable states. Yuè can modify the gradable complement part of a V(-de-)C construction as in (i)a and (i)b, but cannot modify a bounded VC construction, as shown in (ii)a,b.
(ii(a( (B(izi yu( shu(i su( yu( n(n q(ngs(o(
Cup more break fragmentary more hard clean
natural consequence because accomplishments and acheivements are bounded and thus not gradable.
((((a( (N( l(n((n yu( xi((((n yu( y(u sh(ji(n zh(nb(i k(osh((
you thesis more write-finish more have time prepare exam b( (N( yu( y(u sh(ji(n l(n((n yu(
xi((((n(
you more have time thesis more write-finish
‘The more pieces a cup is broken into, the harder it is to clean them up.’
b( (Y(f( yu( x( g(nj(ng yu( h(o(
Clothes more wash clean more good ‘The cleaner clothes are washed, the better.’
c( (N( l(n((n h(n xi((((n le(
you thesis very write-finish LE
((((a( (T( yu( s( yu( y(u m(ng(
(s)he more die more have fame
b( (T( yu( y(u m(ng yu( s((
(s)he more have fame more die c( (T( h(n s( le(
(s)he very die LE
‘*(S)he is very dead.’
Yuè does not modify the VPs with adjuncts or complements of quantity or frequency.
Compare (73) and (74).
((((a( Zh(ngs(n b(y( y( ni(n le(
Zhangsan graduate one year LE
‘Zhangsan has graduated for one year.’
b( Zh(ngs(n yu( z(o b(y( yu( h(o(
Zhangsan more early graduate more good
‘The earlier Zhangsan graduates the better.’
c( (Zh(ngs(n yu( z(o y( ni(n b(y(
yu( h(o(
Zhangsan more early one year graduate more good ((((a( (( t(n g(ngq(n t(n s(n ni(n le(
I play piano play three year LE
‘I have been playing the piano for three years.’
b( ((ngq(n (( yu( t(n yu( y(u x(ngq((
piano I more play more have interest
‘The longer I play the piano, the more interested I get in it.’
c( (((ngq(n (( yu( t(n s(n ni(n yu(
y(u x(ngq((
piano I more play three year more have interest
Likewise, because a verb phrase with quantity or frequency adjuncts or complement has a fixed point in the scale of quantity or frequency, it is not gradable and cannot take yuè as an adjunct. Therefore, it is natural that yuè and the quantity or frequency adjuncts or complements are mutually exclusive.
To sum up, yuè1 may modify scalar states and quantifiable activities, while yuè2 modifies scalar states only. We might generalize that yuè1 appear before ‘quantifiable’
unbounded situations. States and activities/semelfactives are unbounded while achievements and accomplishments are bounded. Bounded situations are not quantifiable because they contain information of the quantity inherently. A nongradable state is homogeneous, not scalar, and for that reason it is not quantifiable.
2.5 Summary
Summarizing the sections above, the characteristics of the yuè...yuè... constructions are:
The constructions are Topic-Comment constructions, with yuè1 in the topic portion and yuè2 in the comment part.
Yuè is an adjunct of a predicate.
Yuè can only be used to express proportional proposition consisting of two variables, not more than two.
Yuè1 and yuè2 are mutually dependent, and the distance between yuè1 and yuè2 are unbound.
Yuè1 modifies quantifiable unbounded situations including scalar states and quantifiable activities/semelfactives, but yuè2 modifies scalar states.
3. The ‘xedii...tödii...’ Construction in Mongolian
The correlative construction ‘xedii...tödii...’ in Mongolian has some striking similarities with its counterparts in other languages such as Latin and Chinese.
3.1 The semantics of the ‘xedii...tödii...’ constructions
The ‘xedii...tödii...’ construction has two readings. Like the ‘èè’
construction, it can express a link between two variables, as (75) illustrates. In this case, however, the value of the dependent variable Y always equals to that of the independent variable X, as shown in (75)b.
(75)a. xedii ix bol tödii sain.
how-much many TOPIC that-much good
‘The more the better.’
b( y ( x
sain
Unlike the ‘yuè...yuè...’ construction, it might express an equivalence between two fixed values on two scales, as shown in (76).9
(76)a. Bat xedii nas-tai bol, bi tödii nas-tai.
‘Quanto...tanto’ in Latin has the variable reading and the constant reading, too. The sentence (77)a yields a variable reading in which the degree of someone’s grief increases as the duration of deliberation increases. (77)b yields a constant reading where the height attained equals to downfall suffered.
‘The more I turn this matter over in my mind, the greater the grief is in my soul.’ (Michaelis (1992): (1))
‘But by not setting a limit to his success, to the extent that he {M. Atilius]
had risen high, he fell badly.’ (Michaelis (1992): (2))
‘The amount of money which Zhangsan donated is the same as that donated by Lisi.’
b( Y(o z(nme sh(uhu(( xi(n (z(nme(n(me( z(i(
want how harvest first how/that-method plant
‘Pay as much effort as the harvest you wish to get.’
Michaelis (1992:175) schematized the difference between the two readings of the proportional correlative constructions as (78). Mongolian ‘xedii...tödii’ constructions can be schematized as such, too. Note that both Latin quanto and Mongolian xedii mean ‘how much’, while tanto and tödii mean ‘that much’. The “how much...that much...” construcion is a special case of the proportional correlative construction in general. If a=1 and b=0 in (12), then y always equals to x, as shown in (75)b and (78)a. In that case, the ration between x and y is 1. When we assign a fixed value to x in (75)b, we get the constant reading (78)b. Therefore, it is a natural consequence that the “how much...that much...”
type proportional correlative constructions have two readings.
((((
(a) (b)
(Michaelis (1992:175), figure 2) A
B
A
B
3.2 The types of the ‘xedii...tödii...’ constructions
Like their counterpart in Chinese, the ‘xedii...tödii...’ constructions may consist of two parts, one subordinate clause and one main clause, with the marker xedii ‘how much’ and tödii ‘that much’ in the clause respectively, as (79) and (80) exemplify.10
(79) margaash ta xedii ert ir-vel, tödii sain.
tomorrow you how-much early come-if that-much good
‘Tomorrow the earlier you come, the better.’
(80) güilt-iin uraldaan-d xedii xurdan güi-vel, running-GEN race-DAT how-much fast run-if tödii ix shagnal av-na.
that-much big prize take-FUTURE
‘In running races the faster one runs, the bigger prize (s)he will get.’
Again, the constructions might be sentences with complex NP as subjects, with xedii in
10 The word order in Mongolian is SOV. The Mongolian data in this paper were collected by the author during 1992–1993.
the subject and tödii in the predicate part.
(81) xedii targan max tödii amttai.
how-much fat meat that-much delicious
‘The fatter a piece of meat is, the more delicious it is.’
(82) xedii oroitoj ir-sen xün-d tödii how-much be-late come-PAST person-DAT that-much bag xool onoo-gd-son.
small food distribute-PASSIVE-PAST
‘The later a man came, the less food was given (to him).’
In the third type of the ‘xedii...tödii...’ constructions, xedii appears in the topic portion and todii appears in the comment part of a sentence, as (83), (84) and (85) illustrate.
(83) xedii targan maxan-d bol bi tödii durtai.
‘The better a book is, the more people will read it.’
To sum up, xedii and tödii can appear in a conditional and consequence clauses, subject and predicate as well as topic and comment respectively. It is interesting that
‘yuè1...yuè2’ in Mandarin Chinese and ‘lú...lú...’ in Southern Min have the same distributions (Hsiao 1993; Tsao and Hsiao 2002; Section 2 above). We have generalized that yuè1 and lú1 occur in the topic portion while yuè2 and lú2 appear in the comment part of a sentence. Now let's look at the Mongolian case. According to Hammar (1983), bol is a topic and contrast marker as well as a conditional marker. We find that the subject-predicate type sentences (81) and (82) may be analyzed as topic-comment type sentences as (81') and (82'). If we analyze conditional clauses as topics, then we can get the same generalization as we have in Chinese and say that xedii occurs in topic and tödii appears in comment part.
(81') xedii targan max bol tödii amttai.
how-much fat meat TOPIC that-much delicious (82') xedii oroitoj ir-sen xün-d bol
how-much be-late come-PAST person-DAT TOPIC
tödii bag xool onoo-gd-son.
that-much small food distribute-PASSIVE-PAST
3.3 Summary
Summarizing the observations above, xedii appears in a topic while tödii occurs in the comment part of the sentence.
As far as meaning is concerned, like ‘quanto...tanto’ in Latin, the’xedii...todii...’
construction has two kinds of readings, a variable reading and a constant reading. In the variable reading, the part with xedii contains an independent variable X while the part with todii contains a dependent variable Y. When the degree of X increases the degree of Y increases proportionally. In the constant reading, the degree of Y equals to the degree of X.