Based on the observation concerning the different degrees of acceptability for root phenomena in Chinese complement clauses due to the asymmetry between the first/second person and the third person of the main clause subject,this study argues that a"discourse layer,"which immediately dominates CP at its left periphery plays an important role in accounting for root phenomena in general.The discourse layer contains the speaker and the addressee,displaying their interactive relationships.In the main clause,the speaker conducts speech acts according to the communicative intention,triggering various root phenomena.In contrast,in the complement clause,the virtual speaker shares the same perspective as the main clause subject and conducts speech acts accordingly,triggering various embedded root phenomena.Owing to the special properties of the discourse layer,root phenomena can be applied to help identify paratactic relations,such as nonrestrictive clauses in Chinese.
万方数据
维普
