The Components of Sideward Movement in the Verb Copying Construction in Mandarin Chinese

Abstract

In this paper, I explore the components of the sideward movement involved in the verb copying construction proposed by Cheng (2007). I first present some facts of the resultative de-clause of the verb copying construction which seems to be puzzling under Cheng’s analysis. An extended analysis is then proposed. Under the extended analysis, I propose that the sideward movement mechanism involved in the resultative de-clause can be further analyzed as internal topicalization plus differential object marking. This analysis of sideward movement is also attested in the manner de-clause of the verb copying construction. The proposed components relate the sideward movement in the verb copying construction to the syntactic mechanisms which are also observed widely in Mandarin Chinese and other languages.

Keywords

• verb copying
• standard movement
• sideward movement
• internal topicalization
• differential object marking
• ba construction