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Noam Chomsky. Soh, Hooi Ling, 1968- Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Linguistics and Philosophy 2009-01-13T19:11:27Z 2009-01-13T19:11:27Z 1998 1998 http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/9672 42465197 Thesis (Ph.D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Linguistics and Philosophy, 1998. Includes bibliographical references (p. [281]-285). This thesis examines the role of prosody and semantics in word order variations in Chinese. In particular, I address the controversial issue of whether overt object scrambling is available in Chinese. I argue that overt object scrambling exists in Chinese on the basis of (i) scope evidence, and (ii) the similarities between the distribution of the object in Chinese and object scrambling in Dutch and German. I show that the distribution of the object in Chinese exhibits prosodic, semantic and discourse information structure effects, similar to object scrambling in Dutch and German (Neeleman and Reinhart, to appear). I suggest that certain differences between Chinese and Dutch/German in the distribution of the object follow from the different word orders in these languages and how the word orders interact with the possibility of stress shift. There is evidence from the distribution of the object(s) in serial verb constructions and double complement constructions that the scrambled object occupies a position within the VP. This study places Chinese among languages such as Dutch and German which allow object scrambling and by doing so, enriches the data base for determining why scrambling occurs. by Hooi Ling Soh. Ph.D. 285 p. eng Massachusetts Institute of Technology M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission. http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582 Linguistics and Philosophy Object scrambling in Chinese Thesis application/pdf Publication unknown unknown <Publication xmlns="https://www.openaire.eu/cerif-profile/1.1/" id="71c63062-a835-45da-9448-ca51364d2ea7"> <Type xmlns="https://www.openaire.eu/cerif-profile/vocab/COAR_Publication_Types">http://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_1843</Type> <Language>eng</Language> <Title>Object scrambling in Chinese</Title> <PublishedIn> <Publication> </Publication> </PublishedIn> <PublicationDate>1998</PublicationDate> <Authors> <Author> <DisplayName>Soh, Hooi Ling, 1968-</DisplayName> <Affiliation> <OrgUnit> </OrgUnit> </Affiliation> </Author> </Authors> <Editors> </Editors> <Publishers> <Publisher> <DisplayName>Massachusetts Institute of Technology</DisplayName> <OrgUnit /> </Publisher> </Publishers> <License>http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582</License> <Keyword>Linguistics and Philosophy</Keyword> <Abstract>This thesis examines the role of prosody and semantics in word order variations in Chinese. In particular, I address the controversial issue of whether overt object scrambling is available in Chinese. I argue that overt object scrambling exists in Chinese on the basis of (i) scope evidence, and (ii) the similarities between the distribution of the object in Chinese and object scrambling in Dutch and German. I show that the distribution of the object in Chinese exhibits prosodic, semantic and discourse information structure effects, similar to object scrambling in Dutch and German (Neeleman and Reinhart, to appear). I suggest that certain differences between Chinese and Dutch/German in the distribution of the object follow from the different word orders in these languages and how the word orders interact with the possibility of stress shift. There is evidence from the distribution of the object(s) in serial verb constructions and double complement constructions that the scrambled object occupies a position within the VP. This study places Chinese among languages such as Dutch and German which allow object scrambling and by doing so, enriches the data base for determining why scrambling occurs.</Abstract> <Access xmlns="http://purl.org/coar/access_right" > </Access> </Publication>