Title

On Postverbal Modal Constructions: Evidence from tet Sentences in Hakka

Author

Chung, Jui-Yi Zoey  

Genre

Article  

Pages

711~746  

Download

PDF

Language

Chinese  

Key words

postverbal modal, spectrum of modality, cartography, comparative syntax, Hakka  

Abstract

        This paper argues for a cartographic analysis (Cinque 1999, Rizzi 1997) of the unexpected postverbal position of the modal element tet in Sixian Hakka, an SVO language in which modal auxiliaries normally precede the main verb. I propose that the modal element tet patterns with regular modals in being syntactically higher than the VP, and crucially, that it behaves as an inflectional affix requiring a [+V] host. The surface form is derived to satisfy the morphological requirement of tet via either Move (V-raising) or Merge (with the light verb zo ‘do’). The present analysis can explain the spectrum of modality (Tsai 2010) of tet, as well as the asymmetries in its scopal interaction with certain adverbials. Finally, in order to show cross-dialectal variation in postverbal modal construals, I compare Sixian Hakka tet with Hailu Hakka tet and Cantonese dak (Cheng and Sybesma 2004). This analysis provides a better understanding of the syntax-semantics correspondence in these modal constructions.