First Advisor

Stephen Wadley

Date of Award

Spring 2022

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in Applied Linguistics and University Honors

Department

Applied Linguistics

Language

English

Subjects

Chinese language -- Word order, Linguistic universals, Historical linguistics.

DOI

10.15760/honors.1244

Abstract

In this paper, the issue of Chinese word order is weighed, and findings in the field are presented. First, looking into the historical background and offering a brief introduction to Greenberg's linguistic universals, I will break apart various arguments concerning the word order in Chinese. I will examine many sources, albeit the focus will rest heavily on Sandra Li and Charles Thomson's SOV argument and Timothy Gívon and Chaofen Sun's SVO argument. The two sides of this argument are considered regarding X-bar theory, constituent test, morphological limitations, and syntax.

Rights

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Persistent Identifier

https://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/37698

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