The Syntax of Chinese

The past quarter of a century has seen a surge in Chinese syntactic research that has produced a sizeable literature on the analysis of almost every construction in Mandarin Chinese. This guide to Chinese syntax analyses the majority of constructions in Chinese that have featured in theoretical linguistics in the past 25 years, using the authors' own analyses as well as existing or potential alternative treatments. A broad variety of topics are covered, including categories, argument structure, passives and anaphora. The discussion of each topic sums up the key research results and provides new points of departure for further research. This book will be invaluable both to students wanting to know more about the grammar of Chinese, and graduate students and theoretical linguists interested in the universal principles that underlie human languages.

James Huang is a Professor in the Department of Linguistics at Harvard University. Audrey Li is a Professor in the Department of Linguistics and Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures at the University of Southern California. Yafei Li is a Professor in the Department of Linguistics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.