LT3216 Chinese Linguistics Week 8 Quiz: Ellipsis
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Questions and Answers

Which of the following describes VP ellipsis?

  • A common form of slang in English.
  • A method for adding complexity to sentences.
  • A type of ellipsis that replaces a verb phrase. (correct)
  • A theory about sentence structure.

    • Argument ellipsis is especially prevalent in the English language.

    False

    Name one issue related to ellipsis.

    Recoverability of deletion

    Sluicing is a form of ___ ellipsis.

    <p>TP</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Match the types of ellipsis with their descriptions:

    <p>VP ellipsis = Omission of a verb phrase Argument ellipsis = Omission of an argument or subject TP ellipsis (Sluicing) = Deletion with a wh-word left Recoverability of deletion = Ability to infer the omitted information</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which issue is NOT mentioned regarding ellipsis?

    <p>Psycholinguistic impact on sentence construction</p> Signup and view all the answers

    VP ellipsis has variants that are linguistically identical across different languages.

    <p>False</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Provide an example of a language that may not exhibit VP ellipsis.

    <p>Japanese</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the primary focus of VP ellipsis?

    <p>To omit repeating verb phrases</p> Signup and view all the answers

    In VP ellipsis, the abstract structure ∆ can be considered a pro-form.

    <p>False</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What does the symbol ∆ represent in the context of the examples given in the content?

    <p>An abstract syntactic structure</p> Signup and view all the answers

    John was arrested, and Bill was ______ too.

    <p>∆</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Match the type of ellipsis with its description:

    <p>VP ellipsis = Omission of repeating verb phrases Argument ellipsis = Omission of arguments in a sentence TP ellipsis = Omission of tense phrases Sluicing = Omission of a complete clause</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which of the following sentences illustrates VP ellipsis?

    <p>John was arrested, and Bill was too.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    VP ellipsis can only occur in English.

    <p>False</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Provide an example of a sentence with VP ellipsis.

    <p>I will submit my work, and he will too.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the main property of ellipsis discussed in the content?

    <p>Enables sloppy reading</p> Signup and view all the answers

    VP ellipsis behaves differently in English than in Chinese.

    <p>False</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What are the two readings of the sentence "張三想跟他的女朋友去旅行。李四也想 ∆"?

    <p>Strict reading and sloppy reading</p> Signup and view all the answers

    In Chinese, additional constructions that resemble VP ellipsis are called _____ constructions.

    <p>shi</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Match the type of ellipsis with its characteristics:

    <p>VP ellipsis = Omitted verb phrases that rely on context Argument ellipsis = Omission of entire arguments or subjects TP ellipsis = Elision of tense phrases in sentences Sluicing = Removing the wh-phrase from a question structure</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which statement is true regarding the abstract structure in relation to VP ellipsis?

    <p>It helps explain the extraction from ellipsis site.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    The referent of ∆ in the sloppy reading can refer to someone that is not mentioned _____ .

    <p>previously</p> Signup and view all the answers

    The pro-form in an ellipsis reading results in identical meaning to its antecedent.

    <p>False</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What does the term 'ellipsis' refer to in the context of language?

    <p>A linguistic phenomenon where elements are omitted.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    The second clause in an ellipsis construction does not need to relate to the first clause.

    <p>False</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is an example of an argument ellipsis?

    <p>He wants to meet a language teacher, I also want to meet ∆.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    In Mandarin, adjunct ellipsis is considered _______ compared to argument ellipsis.

    <p>not available</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which of the following sentences demonstrates a failure of subject-object asymmetry?

    <p>*He saw a customer catching lobster, I saw ∆ a customer catching fish.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    The missing object can correspond to an indefinite reading in the context of ellipsis.

    <p>True</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the main difference between argument ellipsis and adjunct ellipsis based on the content?

    <p>Argument ellipsis allows omission of essential arguments, while adjunct ellipsis is largely unavailable.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What type of ellipsis does not allow for object ellipsis when there are additional arguments?

    <p>Argument ellipsis</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Missing subjects are typically derived through an ellipsis operation.

    <p>False</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Provide an example of a sentence that contains CP ellipsis.

    <p>張三看見 [李四在學校打籃球] 。王五也看見了 ∆。</p> Signup and view all the answers

    In ellipsis, arguments are typically ________ by verbs, while adjuncts are not.

    <p>selected</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Match the terms related to ellipsis with their descriptions.

    <p>Argument ellipsis = Does not allow for object ellipsis with additional arguments VP ellipsis = Ellipsis involving verbs and their predicates CP ellipsis = Involves clauses that can be elided Argument-adjunct asymmetries = Differentiation between arguments and adjuncts in selection</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which statement about CP ellipsis is correct?

    <p>Only certain verbs can license CP ellipsis.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Silent pronouns can replace missing objects in ellipsis.

    <p>False</p> Signup and view all the answers

    When an additional argument is present, the ________ cannot be elided anymore.

    <p>object</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What does sluicing in English involve?

    <p>Ellipsis of the whole clause</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Sluicing requires head licensing.

    <p>False</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is one way that sluicing differs from VP ellipsis?

    <p>The subject is included in sluicing.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Sluicing in Chinese has a ______ to English, as seen in examples like: '他不唸書了，我想知道為什麼 ∆他不唸書了' meaning 'I want to know why he is not studying'.

    <p>parallel structure</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which of the following is an example of sluicing?

    <p>Jack bought something, but I don’t know what ∆Jack bought.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    The subject is omitted in English sluicing.

    <p>False</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Based on Li's generalization, what should be evaluated regarding the verbs listed?

    <p>Whether Li’s generalization is accurate.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Match the following verbs with their meanings:

    <p>相信 = To believe 聽說 = To hear (or have heard) 知道 = To know 希望 = To hope</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Study Notes

    Course Information

    • Course: LT3216 Chinese Linguistics
    • Topic: Ellipsis
    • Week: 8
    • Semester: A, 2023/24
    • Instructor: Dr. LEE Tsz Ming (Tommy)
    • Email: [email protected]
    • University: City University of Hong Kong
    • Date: 24 October, 2024

    Table of Contents

    • Introduction
    • Ellipsis
    • VP ellipsis
    • Argument ellipsis
    • TP ellipsis (Sluicing)
    • Before we go

    Before We Start

    • Class presentations next week
    • Final handout due today (for Group 1-5)
    • VP ellipsis: missing a verb phrase
    • Argument ellipsis: missing arguments
    • Sluicing constructions: missing some larger clausal structures

    Issues in Ellipsis

    • Ellipsis: deleting something meaningfully
    • Constituents can be inaudible or invisible, but still meaningful
    • Examples of different types of ellipsis
      • VP ellipsis: 如果他會△,我也一定會把書看完。
      • Argument ellipsis: △看到了。
      • Pseudo-sluicing: 他不唸書了,我想知道為什麼△。

    Issues in Ellipsis Continued

    • Issue 1: Recoverability of Deletion
    • Is the pro-form a linguistic antecedent?
    • Does it contain a silent structure (VP, VO)?
    • Is the abstract syntactic structure of the ellipsis site identical to the overt syntactic structure of its antecedent?
    • Issue 2: Licensing Conditions of Deletion
    • Even if recoverable, might not yield a well-formed result
    • What are the licensing conditions?
    • Issue 3: Cross-linguistic Variations
    • Does each language have its own ellipsis profile?
    • What does this tell us about grammar?

    Conclusion

    • VP ellipsis is common in both Chinese and English, but less clear in Object-Verb languages (e.g., Japanese, Korean)
    • Argument ellipsis is considered special in English, but common in East Asian languages
    • Sluicing is common to both, but the parallel is superficial

    VP Ellipsis

    • Licensing conditions
      • Different variants in English
        • VP Ellipsis: John likes candy, but Bill doesn't
        • British English do: John will eat candy, and Bill will do too..
        • Modal Complement Ellipsis: John doesn't want to participate, but he will
    • Licensing in Chinese
    • Modal verbs and auxiliary verbs license VP ellipsis
      • Examples given in Chinese for this use
    • VP ellipsis is disallowed without these elements. (Examples given)

    VP Ellipsis Continued

    • Observations
    • Chinese does not have a counterpart to dummy/auxiliary "do."
    • Head/verb licensing is critical for both languages. Head/verb must appear before the ellipsis site.
    • Note: Head licensing is a necessary but not sufficient condition for VP ellipsis.

    Discussion 1

    • Come up with examples of head/verbs that fail to license VP ellipsis.
    • Consider configurations: Subject ... V ... [VP Δ]

    Discussion 2

    • Using examples (and Chinese), challenge head licensing generalization.
      • Are there any non-head/verb elements that can license VP ellipsis?
    • Examples using configurations: Subject ... Adv ... [VP Δ]
      • Example sentences given (Chinese) of the form: Subject ... Adv ... [VP Δ]

    Discussion 3

    • Aspects can license VP ellipsis
    • Two type of aspectual elements can license VP ellipsis

    VP Ellipsis: Recoverability of Deletion

    • Two prominent analyses of silence
    • Pro-form analysis (no ellipsis involved)
    • Abstract structure analysis (ellipsis applies to structure)

    VP Ellipsis: Evidence #1

    • Extraction from ellipsis site (potato example
      • Example sentences given to illustrate differences in analyses

    VP Ellipsis: Evidence #2

    • Passives (involve displaced arguments)
      • Examples are given to show how these are related to VP Ellipsis
      • Examples shown illustrating a similar analysis in Chinese

    VP Ellipsis: Constructed Similar Argument in Chinese

    • Examples given to illustrate

    VP Ellipsis: Evidence #2. Sloppy Identity Reading

    • Consider two possible readings of (given Chinese sentence example)

    VP Ellipsis: Allowing Sloppy Reading

    • Sloppy reading - an important property of ellipsis
    • The referent of A is not precise
    • If A is a pro-form, strict reading meaning should be identical to antecedent
    • If A is an abstract structure, it can be interpreted differently from antecedent

    English Behaviour

    • English exhibits similar behaviour
    • Summary on recoverability of deletion
    • Options for interpreting silence are silent pro-form, or abstract structure
    • Evidence for abstract structure.

    Discussion: Shi-constructions

    • Chinese's shi-constructions similar to VP ellipsis

    Discussion: Shi-constructions Continued

    • Determine if it allows extraction from ellipsis sites
    • Verify if sloppy reading is applied
    • Verify if adjunct inclusion is applied

    Argument Ellipsis

    • Argument ellipsis in Chinese (and other East Asian languages), but not English
    • Arguments and adjuncts in Chinese differ in applicability. - What arguments can be silent? - Subject example (given Chinese sentence example to illustrate) - Object examples.

    Argument Ellipsis Continued

    • Examples of how this affects Mandarin ditransitive constructions.
    • Direct objects can/cannot be elided
    • Indirect objects can/cannot be elided
    • Objects can be elided given adjuncts to verb

    Argument Ellipsis: Non-arguments

    • How non-arguments (i.e. adjuncts/adverbials) interact with ellipsis.
    • Must interpretation of 2nd clause include adjuncts of 1st clause?
    • Considerations when configuration of ellipsis is satisfied
    • Example sentence given (Chinese) to illustrate

    Argument Ellipsis: Asymmetry

    • Argument-adjunct asymmetry.
    • Un availability of indefinite readings (examples given to illustrate)
    • Missing objects can correspond to an indefinite, but missing subject cannot
    • Example (Chinese) illustrating this

    Argument Ellipsis: Sloppy Readings

    • Missing objects can allow for sloppy readings.
    • Strict reading versus sloppy reading example given (Chinese example).
    • Sloppy reading possibilities.

    Argument Ellipsis: Missing Subject

    • Sloppy reading is unavailable with a missing subject
    • Example given (Chinese) illustrating this
    • Strict reading versus sloppy reading example given.

    Argument Ellipsis: Object Asymmetry

    • not all objects can be elided
    • Double object constructions and affected objects
    • Example (Chinese) illustrating this.

    Argument Ellipsis: Object Properties of Intransitive Verbs

    • Object behaves differently in intransitive verb constructions.
    • Examples are given (Chinese)

    Argument Ellipsis: Elidable Objects

    • These objects cannot be elided
      • Example (Chinese) is given to illustrate

    Argument Ellipsis: Summary and Potential Analysis

    • Argument-adjunct asymmetry
    • Subject-object asymmetry
    • Object asymmetry

    Discussion: NP & CP Objects

    • Some objects are clauses, and elidible
    • Not all CP objects can be elided
    • Conditions on CP ellipsis (generalizations proposed for this)
    • Verbs that can license CP ellipsis take nominal objects Verbs that fail to license take nominal objects

    Discussion: NP & CP Objects Continued

    • Determine if Li's generalization is accurate using different verbs

    Sluicing

    • Sluicing in English
    • Examples given (English) to illustrate this phenomenon
    • Sluicing is different from VP ellipsis
    • Sluicing in English, similar to VP ellipsis, can allow for sloppy readings

    Sluicing: Chinese Sluicing

    • Does Chinese have sluicing?
    • Parallels to sluicing for wh-expressions that are given
      • Example(Chinese) demonstrating this

    Sluicing: Unacceptable Sluicing

    • Less acceptable sluicing with other wh-expressions
    • Copula is preferred for these expressions
    • Example sentences illustrating the need for a copula

    Sluicing: Unacceptable Sluicing Continued

    • A is entirely unformulatable in some circumstances.
    • Examples are given illustrating this

    Sluicing: English Pseudo-Sluicing

    • reminiscent of English pseudo-sluicing
    • Examples of English examples of pseudo-sluicing
    • What if there isn't sluicing in Chinese?
    • Idea: no ellipsis, but rather just one clause (examples given)

    Sluicing: Missing Subject

    • Helps account for 2 earlier examples
    • Missing subjects can be silent in Chinese, unlike English

    Summary

    • Languages have own ellipsis profiles.
    • Summary table (Chinese and English types of ellipsis)
    • Linguistic variations and understanding language.

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    LT3216 Chinese Linguistics: Week 8 Ellipsis (PDF)

    Description

    Test your understanding of Ellipsis as covered in LT3216 Chinese Linguistics. This quiz includes topics like VP ellipsis, Argument ellipsis, and Sluicing. Gain insights into the meaningful deletion of constituents and explore examples to enhance your comprehension.

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