@article{ART003290857},
author={Kim YoungIn and Li Mingyue},
title={The Information-Structural Interface of ‘Lai/Qu + Locative NP’ Constructions and the Aspectual Particle ‘Le’ in Modern Mandarin Chinese},
journal={Journal of Chinese Language and Literature},
issn={1225-083X},
year={2025},
number={100},
pages={369-395},
doi={10.15792/clsyn..100.202512.369}
TY - JOUR
AU - Kim YoungIn
AU - Li Mingyue
TI - The Information-Structural Interface of ‘Lai/Qu + Locative NP’ Constructions and the Aspectual Particle ‘Le’ in Modern Mandarin Chinese
JO - Journal of Chinese Language and Literature
PY - 2025
VL - null
IS - 100
PB - Chinese Literary Society Of Yeong Nam
SP - 369
EP - 395
SN - 1225-083X
AB - This study examines the asymmetric distribution of lai(来) and qu(去) in the constructions ‘S+lai/qu+le+LocNP’ and ‘S+lai/qu+LocNP+le’, focusing on how their information-structural functions diverge. The findings show that ‘S+qu+LocNP+le’ can serve as a sentence-focus, predicate- focus, or argument-focus structure, whereas ‘S+lai+LocNP+le’ is restricted to sentence-focus and predicate-focus uses. Moreover, ‘S+qu+le+LocNP’ readily forms an argument-focus structure, while ‘S+lai+le+LocNP’ does not.
These differences stem from the interaction between the two types of le and the speaker-anchored deictic orientation of the verbs. Verb- adjacent le₁ in ‘S+lai/qu+le+LocNP’ marks event-internal completion and tends to induce argument focus, while sentence-final le₂ in ‘S+lai/ qu+LocNP+le’ signals the emergence of a new discourse state. The semantics of lai and qu further reinforce the asymmetry: qu introduces the destination as discourse-new, aligning syntactic and pragmatic focus, whereas lai presupposes the destination as given, constraining argument- focus realization.
KW - 정보구조(information structure);서술어 초점(predicate focus);논항 초점(argument focus);문장 초점(sentence focus);화자 기준점(speaker anchor);来(lai);去(qu);了(le)
DO - 10.15792/clsyn..100.202512.369
ER -
Kim YoungIn and Li Mingyue. (2025). The Information-Structural Interface of ‘Lai/Qu + Locative NP’ Constructions and the Aspectual Particle ‘Le’ in Modern Mandarin Chinese. Journal of Chinese Language and Literature, 100, 369-395.
Kim YoungIn and Li Mingyue. 2025, "The Information-Structural Interface of ‘Lai/Qu + Locative NP’ Constructions and the Aspectual Particle ‘Le’ in Modern Mandarin Chinese", Journal of Chinese Language and Literature, no.100, pp.369-395. Available from: doi:10.15792/clsyn..100.202512.369
Kim YoungIn, Li Mingyue "The Information-Structural Interface of ‘Lai/Qu + Locative NP’ Constructions and the Aspectual Particle ‘Le’ in Modern Mandarin Chinese" Journal of Chinese Language and Literature 100 pp.369-395 (2025) : 369.
Kim YoungIn, Li Mingyue. The Information-Structural Interface of ‘Lai/Qu + Locative NP’ Constructions and the Aspectual Particle ‘Le’ in Modern Mandarin Chinese. 2025; 100 : 369-395. Available from: doi:10.15792/clsyn..100.202512.369
Kim YoungIn and Li Mingyue. "The Information-Structural Interface of ‘Lai/Qu + Locative NP’ Constructions and the Aspectual Particle ‘Le’ in Modern Mandarin Chinese" Journal of Chinese Language and Literature no.100(2025) : 369-395.doi: 10.15792/clsyn..100.202512.369
Kim YoungIn; Li Mingyue. The Information-Structural Interface of ‘Lai/Qu + Locative NP’ Constructions and the Aspectual Particle ‘Le’ in Modern Mandarin Chinese. Journal of Chinese Language and Literature, 100, 369-395. doi: 10.15792/clsyn..100.202512.369
Kim YoungIn; Li Mingyue. The Information-Structural Interface of ‘Lai/Qu + Locative NP’ Constructions and the Aspectual Particle ‘Le’ in Modern Mandarin Chinese. Journal of Chinese Language and Literature. 2025; 100 369-395. doi: 10.15792/clsyn..100.202512.369
Kim YoungIn, Li Mingyue. The Information-Structural Interface of ‘Lai/Qu + Locative NP’ Constructions and the Aspectual Particle ‘Le’ in Modern Mandarin Chinese. 2025; 100 : 369-395. Available from: doi:10.15792/clsyn..100.202512.369
Kim YoungIn and Li Mingyue. "The Information-Structural Interface of ‘Lai/Qu + Locative NP’ Constructions and the Aspectual Particle ‘Le’ in Modern Mandarin Chinese" Journal of Chinese Language and Literature no.100(2025) : 369-395.doi: 10.15792/clsyn..100.202512.369
