The Acquisition of Resultative Verb Compounds in Mandarin Chinese

Resultative verb compounds (RVCs) in Mandarin appear in a V1-V2 sequence and have three major subtypes—result-state, directional and completive RVCs with different degrees of compositionality depending on the extent to which the compound's meaning can be derived from the meanings of the component verbs. The derivation of the RVC has been analyzed as a lexical or syntactic process. Previous acquisition studies show that the RVC's compositionality and event structure are not fully acquired before the age of three. Findings conflict on whether the acquisition process revealed by early RVCs is usage-based or rule-based. We examined longitudinal data from two Mandarin-speaking children and administered a novel verb experiment on 32 children. The lexicalist approach to RVC formation is a better account for our data than the syntactic approach. Our data lend support to rule-based learning of RVCs. Children master the event structure of RVCs and its interaction with aspect gradually. The headedness of the RVC in relation to event structure depends on its type: V2 is more salient than V1 for the result-state RVC, while V1 is more salient than V2 for the directional RVC.

摘要:

汉语普通话中的动补复合动词以V1-V2（动词1-动词2）的形式出现， 包括结果状态、趋向和结束动补复合动词这三个主要类别。关于这些 复合词的词义是否能够直接从V1 和V2 的意义推衍出来，三类动补 复合动词存在程度上的差别，即在组合性上存在差别。关于动补复合 动词的形成，有分析认为它们是句法生成的，也有分析认为它们是词 汇规则生成的。以往的习得研究显示，普通话儿童3 岁前未完全掌握 动补复合动词的组合性和事件结构。早期的动补复合动词是基于规则 习得的还是基于使用习得的尚无定论。我们跟踪调查了两名普通话幼 儿，并对32 名儿童进行了假词实验。我们的发现支持动补复合动词是 词汇规则生成的而不是句法生成的，并支持基于规则的习得这一理论 假设。儿童是逐步掌握动补复合动词的事件结构以及事件结构与体貌 的互动的。动补复合动词事件结构的核心由它们的类别决定：结果状 态动补复合动词的V2 比V1 更显著；而趋向动补复合动词的V1 比 V2 更显著。