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Volume 11, Issue 2
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Abstract

Abstract

This paper investigates the finiteness of complement clauses in Chinese within the theoretical framework of the Minimalist Program, with a specific focus on the independency and opacity features. Following He (2020) and Huang (2022), this study proposes that the feature [IND] represents the independent reference time of the complement clause, and the feature [OPA] indicates the degree of opacity for syntactic operations. By integrating these two features, the paper establishes a robust differentiation between finiteness and nonfiniteness within Chinese complement clauses. Under the assumption that all complement clauses in Chinese are CP, a propositional CP is classified as finite when its Co head is positively specified for both features [+IND, +OPA]. Conversely, an event/action CP is considered nonfinite when the Co head carries a negative specification: [+ IND, −OPA] or [−IND, −OPA]. It is worth noting that if the reference time of a complement clause depends on the matrix clause, it cannot be opaque, and therefore exhibits transparency. This research sheds light on the intricate relationship between the independency and opacity features, providing valuable insights into the syntactic mechanisms underlying complement clauses in Chinese.

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/content/journals/10.1075/ijchl.00030.hu
2024-12-05
2025-01-20

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/content/journals/10.1075/ijchl.00030.hu
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On the finiteness of complement clauses in Chinese
International Journal of Chinese Linguistics 11, 247 (2024); https://doi.org/10.1075/ijchl.00030.hu
/content/journals/10.1075/ijchl.00030.hu
/content/journals/10.1075/ijchl.00030.hu
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  • Article Type: Research Article
Keyword(s): complement clause; finiteness; independency; opacity

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