One move but two movements: an alternative account of the middle construction
The A-movement analysis of the middle construction leaves the oblique middles untouched and fails to explain the unique syntactic and semantic properties of middle clauses. Under the assumption that the tense-defective Mod (Modal) INFL heads the middle structure, we advocate a combination of A-movem...
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2025-03-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Language Sciences |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/flang.2025.1480009/full |
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| author | Hui Dai Heyu Wang |
| author_facet | Hui Dai Heyu Wang |
| author_sort | Hui Dai |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The A-movement analysis of the middle construction leaves the oblique middles untouched and fails to explain the unique syntactic and semantic properties of middle clauses. Under the assumption that the tense-defective Mod (Modal) INFL heads the middle structure, we advocate a combination of A-movement and A'-movement analysis of the middle construction. Specifically, we propose that the seemingly patient/adjunct subject of a middle clause is the external argument of cause licensed by the causative verb. Also, the relevant NP-movement from spec-vP to spec-ModP (specifier of the Modal Phrase) is one move but two movements in that C might DONATE both [TOP] feature and phi-features to the tense-defective Mod. This analysis provides a package account for the syntax and semantics of middle clauses and theoretically proves the existence of a universal syntactic entity of the middle construction. Our study incorporates various Chinese middle sentences into the universal grammar framework and verifies that the middle construction is a cross-language universal syntactic entity, adding evidence to its psychological reality. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-dba93b913b44463dacb0720528e7f4d1 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2813-4605 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-03-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Language Sciences |
| spelling | doaj-art-dba93b913b44463dacb0720528e7f4d12025-08-20T02:47:24ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Language Sciences2813-46052025-03-01410.3389/flang.2025.14800091480009One move but two movements: an alternative account of the middle constructionHui DaiHeyu WangThe A-movement analysis of the middle construction leaves the oblique middles untouched and fails to explain the unique syntactic and semantic properties of middle clauses. Under the assumption that the tense-defective Mod (Modal) INFL heads the middle structure, we advocate a combination of A-movement and A'-movement analysis of the middle construction. Specifically, we propose that the seemingly patient/adjunct subject of a middle clause is the external argument of cause licensed by the causative verb. Also, the relevant NP-movement from spec-vP to spec-ModP (specifier of the Modal Phrase) is one move but two movements in that C might DONATE both [TOP] feature and phi-features to the tense-defective Mod. This analysis provides a package account for the syntax and semantics of middle clauses and theoretically proves the existence of a universal syntactic entity of the middle construction. Our study incorporates various Chinese middle sentences into the universal grammar framework and verifies that the middle construction is a cross-language universal syntactic entity, adding evidence to its psychological reality.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/flang.2025.1480009/fullmovementthe middle constructionMod INFLfeature DONATEuniversal syntactic entity |
| spellingShingle | Hui Dai Heyu Wang One move but two movements: an alternative account of the middle construction Frontiers in Language Sciences movement the middle construction Mod INFL feature DONATE universal syntactic entity |
| title | One move but two movements: an alternative account of the middle construction |
| title_full | One move but two movements: an alternative account of the middle construction |
| title_fullStr | One move but two movements: an alternative account of the middle construction |
| title_full_unstemmed | One move but two movements: an alternative account of the middle construction |
| title_short | One move but two movements: an alternative account of the middle construction |
| title_sort | one move but two movements an alternative account of the middle construction |
| topic | movement the middle construction Mod INFL feature DONATE universal syntactic entity |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/flang.2025.1480009/full |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT huidai onemovebuttwomovementsanalternativeaccountofthemiddleconstruction AT heyuwang onemovebuttwomovementsanalternativeaccountofthemiddleconstruction |