Papers by Jacqueline Laws
Chinese Language and Discourse, 2010
This paper presents the results of an empirical investigation into the characteristics of unaccus... more This paper presents the results of an empirical investigation into the characteristics of unaccusativity in Mandarin by building on the gradient approach to split intransitivity (Sorace, 2000) and previous analyses of Mandarin within that framework (Liu, 2007). The study explores the acceptability of unaccusative verbs in the verb-subject construction with respect to their core-peripheral features. The results clearly demonstrate support for the gradient approach; however, some important departures from the patterns observed in Western European languages are noted. The analysis of variability between and within semantic categories reveals that verbs in certain peripheral categories exhibit behaviour more characteristic of core unaccusative verbs; conversely, some members of the core category Change of Location display characteristics more typical of peripheral verbs. A refined definition of peripheral verbs (true and pseudo) is proposed which has relevance for the cross-linguistic s...
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Papers by Jacqueline Laws