In our investigation,anchored essentially in a constituency-based approach,we have identified the grammatical subject in basic sentences in Chinese.Its distinctive features,setting it apart from both the predicate and the grammatical object,have been determined.These features encompass:1)representing a proper subset of referents within the set of objects referred to by the predicate;2)high agentivity;3)high topicality;4)wide-scope interpretation of its quantifier,contrasting with the wide or narrow scope interpretation of the quantifier of the grammatical object;and(5/6)susceptibility to relativization,and nominalization,notably in the form of the di construction.These features also serve as diagnostic tools for ascertaining the subjecthood of expressions with contentious subject status in Chinese linguistics.The notion of the Chinese grammatical subject under discussion in this article is inherently prototypical.We present our findings,address lingering questions,and offer suggestions for further exploration.
grammatical subject of Chinesetopicfeatures of subjectprototypical subjectgrammatical theories
NETL
NSTL
万方数据
