The Interpretation of Elliptical Predicate Constructions in Mandarin: Semantic Underspecification and Pragmatic Enrichment

摘要

This paper attempts to present a unitary account of a range of elliptical predicate constructions in Mandarin, such as Null Object Constructions, English-like VP ellipsis constructions, and gapping constructions. It is argued that (i) from an interpretative perspective, the ellipsis site in the above-mentioned elliptical constructions can be uniformly analyzed as a pro-form with underspecified content; (ii) the interpretation of both syntactically and semantically underspecified constructions as such is crucially dependent on context. Within the framework of Dynamic Syntax (Kempson et al. 2001; Cann et al. 2005), the null object in Null Object Constructions, the null verb phrase in English-like VP ellipsis constructions and the null verb in gapping constructions are consistently analyzed as projecting a metavariable whose semantic value is pragmatically enriched from context by means of "substitution"/"re-use". It is thus shown that syntactic and pragmatic processes interact to determine the underspecified content of elliptical predicate constructions in Mandarin. The dynamic analysis proposed provides a formal and unitary characterization of a variety of elliptical constructions without any stipulations.