A Study on the Middle Construction in Mandarin Chinese--A Prototype Middle Construction Perspective

Huan Bai

doi:doi:10.11648/j.ijll.20210903.11

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A Study on the Middle Construction in Mandarin Chinese--A Prototype Middle Construction Perspective

Huan Bai

Published in International Journal of Language and Linguistics (Volume 9, Issue 3)

Received: 23 March 2021 Accepted: 15 April 2021 Published: 8 May 2021

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Abstract

English middle construction (MC) is one of the most heatedly discussed language phenomenon, however, disagreements and inconsistencies still exist among scholars as for the research scope of the Chinese MC. Based on the prototype elements of English MC, this paper compares the features of those constructions in different scholars’ paper and pin down which one is the prototype of Chinese MC and offer an order of their closeness to the prototype. Findings and explanations are demonstrated as follows: firstly, under the framework of prototype theory, it is argued that MC has its own prototype. The author assumes” the bread slices smoothly” as the English prototype for the high frequency of being cited at discussing the related topics of MC in literature. The prototypical properties of prototype elements are presented below: (1) implicit agent; (2) active in form; (3) simple present tense; (4) patient subject; (5) primary responsibility of subject; (6) adverb and experiencer sub-role of agent; (7) the aspect of the middle verb is either activity or accomplishment verb; (8) general modality reading; (9) causative and affected subject. Secondly, a closer look at Chinese MC is conducted, which reveals that different scholars have different ideas on what kind of construction is Chinese MC. Taking the prototype elements of prototypical English middle construction as criterion, the author compares the constructions in those scholars’ paper with them and finds out that they share different number of features. Construction in Yu &Si’s paper and parts of construction in Cao’s paper are regarded as typical Chinese MC because they share all the prototype elements of prototypical English MC. Their closeness to the prototype depends on the number of similarities they have in common. The author ranks these constructions from the most typical member to the worst member in the following order: Yu &Si, He, Chen, Ding, Cao, and GU. They structure around the prototype and exhibit graded centrality to the prototype. Thirdly, this paper also explains why the same construction can be classified into different grammatical categories, to be more specific, why the construction in Ding’s paper is regarded as notional-passives and construction in Chen’s paper is classified into the grammatical category of tough construction. According to prototype theory, category has fuzzy boundaries and a category may merge with neighboring category, therefore, MC merges with notional-passives and tough construction for they have overlapping areas.

Published in	International Journal of Language and Linguistics (Volume 9, Issue 3)
DOI	10.11648/j.ijll.20210903.11
Page(s)	62-73
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

English Middle Construction, Mandarin Chinese Middle Construction, Prototype Theory, Prototype Features

References

[1]	Keyser, S, J & Roeper, T. On the middle and ergative constructions in English [J]. Linguistic Inquiry, 1984 (15): 381-416.
[2]	Sung, K, M. Chinese Middle and the Affectedness Condition, [C], paper presented at the first international conference on Chinese Linguistics, Singapore, 1992.
[3]	Ting Ren. The Middle Construction in Mandarin Chinese and the Syntactic Approach. [C]. Paper presented at the 15^th North America Conference on Chinese Linguists at Michigan State University. 2003.
[4]	Hong Cao. On the Relationship between the Hierarchical Structure and Grammar of Middle Constructions [J]. Language Teaching and Research. 2004 (5): 42-52.
[5]	Wen-zhong He. Definition of Middle Construction. [J]. Foreign Language Education. 2005 (4): 9-14.
[6]	Chuan-yu Gu. Middle voice Sentence Patterns in Modern Chinese--Syntactic and Lexical Realization of Voice Transformation. Chinese Journal 2005 (2), 22-32+95.
[7]	Guang-wu Yu & Hui-wen Si. The Definition of Chinese Middle Construction--Concurrent Research on Differentiation of NP+V-qilai+AP Structures. Studies in Language and Linguistics. 2008 (1): 69-78.
[8]	Liming Chen. Comments on middle construction in Cao’s paper. http://www.pkucn.com/viewthread.php?action=printable&tid=168457. 2006.
[9]	Wittgenstein, L. Philosophical Investigation.[M] Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1983.
[10]	Rosch, E & Mervis, C, B. Family Resemblance: studies in the internal structure of categories [J]. Cognitive Psychology, 1975 (7): 573-605.
[11]	Taylor, J. R. Linguistic Categorization: prototypes in Linguistic Theory [M]. Oxford: Clarendon Press: 1995.
[12]	Brown. C. H. A Survey of Category types in Natural Language in Meaning and Prototype [M] Savas L. Tsohatzidis. Routledge: 1989.
[13]	Croft, W & Cruse. D. Cognitive Linguistics [M]. Cambridge University Press. 2004.
[14]	Halliday, M, A, K. An Introduction to Functional Grammar [M]. London, Edward Arnold, 1985.
[15]	Van Oosten, J. 1977. Subjects and agent hood in English [A]. In Beach, W., S. Fox & S. Philosophy. Papers from the Thirteenth Regional Meeting of the Chicago Linguistic Society [C]. Chicago: Chicago Linguistics Society. 459-471.
[16]	Vendler, Z. Adverbs pf Action, CLS20, part 2 [C]. Papers from the Para session on Lexical Semantics. 1984.

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Huan Bai. (2021). A Study on the Middle Construction in Mandarin Chinese--A Prototype Middle Construction Perspective. International Journal of Language and Linguistics, 9(3), 62-73. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijll.20210903.11

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ACS Style

Huan Bai. A Study on the Middle Construction in Mandarin Chinese--A Prototype Middle Construction Perspective. Int. J. Lang. Linguist. 2021, 9(3), 62-73. doi: 10.11648/j.ijll.20210903.11

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AMA Style

Huan Bai. A Study on the Middle Construction in Mandarin Chinese--A Prototype Middle Construction Perspective. Int J Lang Linguist. 2021;9(3):62-73. doi: 10.11648/j.ijll.20210903.11

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@article{10.11648/j.ijll.20210903.11,
  author = {Huan Bai},
  title = {A Study on the Middle Construction in Mandarin Chinese--A Prototype Middle Construction Perspective},
  journal = {International Journal of Language and Linguistics},
  volume = {9},
  number = {3},
  pages = {62-73},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ijll.20210903.11},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijll.20210903.11},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijll.20210903.11},
  abstract = {English middle construction (MC) is one of the most heatedly discussed language phenomenon, however, disagreements and inconsistencies still exist among scholars as for the research scope of the Chinese MC. Based on the prototype elements of English MC, this paper compares the features of those constructions in different scholars’ paper and pin down which one is the prototype of Chinese MC and offer an order of their closeness to the prototype. Findings and explanations are demonstrated as follows: firstly, under the framework of prototype theory, it is argued that MC has its own prototype. The author assumes” the bread slices smoothly” as the English prototype for the high frequency of being cited at discussing the related topics of MC in literature. The prototypical properties of prototype elements are presented below: (1) implicit agent; (2) active in form; (3) simple present tense; (4) patient subject; (5) primary responsibility of subject; (6) adverb and experiencer sub-role of agent; (7) the aspect of the middle verb is either activity or accomplishment verb; (8) general modality reading; (9) causative and affected subject. Secondly, a closer look at Chinese MC is conducted, which reveals that different scholars have different ideas on what kind of construction is Chinese MC. Taking the prototype elements of prototypical English middle construction as criterion, the author compares the constructions in those scholars’ paper with them and finds out that they share different number of features. Construction in Yu &Si’s paper and parts of construction in Cao’s paper are regarded as typical Chinese MC because they share all the prototype elements of prototypical English MC. Their closeness to the prototype depends on the number of similarities they have in common. The author ranks these constructions from the most typical member to the worst member in the following order: Yu &Si, He, Chen, Ding, Cao, and GU. They structure around the prototype and exhibit graded centrality to the prototype. Thirdly, this paper also explains why the same construction can be classified into different grammatical categories, to be more specific, why the construction in Ding’s paper is regarded as notional-passives and construction in Chen’s paper is classified into the grammatical category of tough construction. According to prototype theory, category has fuzzy boundaries and a category may merge with neighboring category, therefore, MC merges with notional-passives and tough construction for they have overlapping areas.},
 year = {2021}
}

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TY  - JOUR
T1  - A Study on the Middle Construction in Mandarin Chinese--A Prototype Middle Construction Perspective
AU  - Huan Bai
Y1  - 2021/05/08
PY  - 2021
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijll.20210903.11
DO  - 10.11648/j.ijll.20210903.11
T2  - International Journal of Language and Linguistics
JF  - International Journal of Language and Linguistics
JO  - International Journal of Language and Linguistics
SP  - 62
EP  - 73
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2330-0221
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijll.20210903.11
AB  - English middle construction (MC) is one of the most heatedly discussed language phenomenon, however, disagreements and inconsistencies still exist among scholars as for the research scope of the Chinese MC. Based on the prototype elements of English MC, this paper compares the features of those constructions in different scholars’ paper and pin down which one is the prototype of Chinese MC and offer an order of their closeness to the prototype. Findings and explanations are demonstrated as follows: firstly, under the framework of prototype theory, it is argued that MC has its own prototype. The author assumes” the bread slices smoothly” as the English prototype for the high frequency of being cited at discussing the related topics of MC in literature. The prototypical properties of prototype elements are presented below: (1) implicit agent; (2) active in form; (3) simple present tense; (4) patient subject; (5) primary responsibility of subject; (6) adverb and experiencer sub-role of agent; (7) the aspect of the middle verb is either activity or accomplishment verb; (8) general modality reading; (9) causative and affected subject. Secondly, a closer look at Chinese MC is conducted, which reveals that different scholars have different ideas on what kind of construction is Chinese MC. Taking the prototype elements of prototypical English middle construction as criterion, the author compares the constructions in those scholars’ paper with them and finds out that they share different number of features. Construction in Yu &Si’s paper and parts of construction in Cao’s paper are regarded as typical Chinese MC because they share all the prototype elements of prototypical English MC. Their closeness to the prototype depends on the number of similarities they have in common. The author ranks these constructions from the most typical member to the worst member in the following order: Yu &Si, He, Chen, Ding, Cao, and GU. They structure around the prototype and exhibit graded centrality to the prototype. Thirdly, this paper also explains why the same construction can be classified into different grammatical categories, to be more specific, why the construction in Ding’s paper is regarded as notional-passives and construction in Chen’s paper is classified into the grammatical category of tough construction. According to prototype theory, category has fuzzy boundaries and a category may merge with neighboring category, therefore, MC merges with notional-passives and tough construction for they have overlapping areas.
VL  - 9
IS  - 3
ER  -

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Author Information

Huan Bai

Department of Basic Courses, Guangdong Communication Polytechnic, Guangzhou, China

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Huan Bai. (2021). A Study on the Middle Construction in Mandarin Chinese--A Prototype Middle Construction Perspective. International Journal of Language and Linguistics, 9(3), 62-73. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijll.20210903.11

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ACS Style

Huan Bai. A Study on the Middle Construction in Mandarin Chinese--A Prototype Middle Construction Perspective. Int. J. Lang. Linguist. 2021, 9(3), 62-73. doi: 10.11648/j.ijll.20210903.11

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AMA Style

Huan Bai. A Study on the Middle Construction in Mandarin Chinese--A Prototype Middle Construction Perspective. Int J Lang Linguist. 2021;9(3):62-73. doi: 10.11648/j.ijll.20210903.11

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@article{10.11648/j.ijll.20210903.11,
  author = {Huan Bai},
  title = {A Study on the Middle Construction in Mandarin Chinese--A Prototype Middle Construction Perspective},
  journal = {International Journal of Language and Linguistics},
  volume = {9},
  number = {3},
  pages = {62-73},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ijll.20210903.11},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijll.20210903.11},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijll.20210903.11},
  abstract = {English middle construction (MC) is one of the most heatedly discussed language phenomenon, however, disagreements and inconsistencies still exist among scholars as for the research scope of the Chinese MC. Based on the prototype elements of English MC, this paper compares the features of those constructions in different scholars’ paper and pin down which one is the prototype of Chinese MC and offer an order of their closeness to the prototype. Findings and explanations are demonstrated as follows: firstly, under the framework of prototype theory, it is argued that MC has its own prototype. The author assumes” the bread slices smoothly” as the English prototype for the high frequency of being cited at discussing the related topics of MC in literature. The prototypical properties of prototype elements are presented below: (1) implicit agent; (2) active in form; (3) simple present tense; (4) patient subject; (5) primary responsibility of subject; (6) adverb and experiencer sub-role of agent; (7) the aspect of the middle verb is either activity or accomplishment verb; (8) general modality reading; (9) causative and affected subject. Secondly, a closer look at Chinese MC is conducted, which reveals that different scholars have different ideas on what kind of construction is Chinese MC. Taking the prototype elements of prototypical English middle construction as criterion, the author compares the constructions in those scholars’ paper with them and finds out that they share different number of features. Construction in Yu &Si’s paper and parts of construction in Cao’s paper are regarded as typical Chinese MC because they share all the prototype elements of prototypical English MC. Their closeness to the prototype depends on the number of similarities they have in common. The author ranks these constructions from the most typical member to the worst member in the following order: Yu &Si, He, Chen, Ding, Cao, and GU. They structure around the prototype and exhibit graded centrality to the prototype. Thirdly, this paper also explains why the same construction can be classified into different grammatical categories, to be more specific, why the construction in Ding’s paper is regarded as notional-passives and construction in Chen’s paper is classified into the grammatical category of tough construction. According to prototype theory, category has fuzzy boundaries and a category may merge with neighboring category, therefore, MC merges with notional-passives and tough construction for they have overlapping areas.},
 year = {2021}
}

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TY  - JOUR
T1  - A Study on the Middle Construction in Mandarin Chinese--A Prototype Middle Construction Perspective
AU  - Huan Bai
Y1  - 2021/05/08
PY  - 2021
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijll.20210903.11
DO  - 10.11648/j.ijll.20210903.11
T2  - International Journal of Language and Linguistics
JF  - International Journal of Language and Linguistics
JO  - International Journal of Language and Linguistics
SP  - 62
EP  - 73
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2330-0221
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijll.20210903.11
AB  - English middle construction (MC) is one of the most heatedly discussed language phenomenon, however, disagreements and inconsistencies still exist among scholars as for the research scope of the Chinese MC. Based on the prototype elements of English MC, this paper compares the features of those constructions in different scholars’ paper and pin down which one is the prototype of Chinese MC and offer an order of their closeness to the prototype. Findings and explanations are demonstrated as follows: firstly, under the framework of prototype theory, it is argued that MC has its own prototype. The author assumes” the bread slices smoothly” as the English prototype for the high frequency of being cited at discussing the related topics of MC in literature. The prototypical properties of prototype elements are presented below: (1) implicit agent; (2) active in form; (3) simple present tense; (4) patient subject; (5) primary responsibility of subject; (6) adverb and experiencer sub-role of agent; (7) the aspect of the middle verb is either activity or accomplishment verb; (8) general modality reading; (9) causative and affected subject. Secondly, a closer look at Chinese MC is conducted, which reveals that different scholars have different ideas on what kind of construction is Chinese MC. Taking the prototype elements of prototypical English middle construction as criterion, the author compares the constructions in those scholars’ paper with them and finds out that they share different number of features. Construction in Yu &Si’s paper and parts of construction in Cao’s paper are regarded as typical Chinese MC because they share all the prototype elements of prototypical English MC. Their closeness to the prototype depends on the number of similarities they have in common. The author ranks these constructions from the most typical member to the worst member in the following order: Yu &Si, He, Chen, Ding, Cao, and GU. They structure around the prototype and exhibit graded centrality to the prototype. Thirdly, this paper also explains why the same construction can be classified into different grammatical categories, to be more specific, why the construction in Ding’s paper is regarded as notional-passives and construction in Chen’s paper is classified into the grammatical category of tough construction. According to prototype theory, category has fuzzy boundaries and a category may merge with neighboring category, therefore, MC merges with notional-passives and tough construction for they have overlapping areas.
VL  - 9
IS  - 3
ER  -

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