On syntactic intervention in Chinese denominal verbs

Abstract

The derivation of Chinese denominal verbs has undergone a diachronic shift from freedom in Archaic Chinese to restriction in Post-Archaic Chinese. While denominal verbs in Archaic Chinese can be conveniently accommodated in a pragmatic account, those in Post-Archaic Chinese only yield to a syntactic account. The diachronic shift has arguably resulted from syntactic intervention: only those denominal verbs in Archaic Chinese that can possibly be derived in syntax have survived into Post-Archaic Chinese. In support of this hypothesis is the fact that the prefix *s- and qù shēng bié yì (“falling tone for sense distinction”), responsible for verbalization of nouns in Archaic Chinese, have ceased to operate and given way to zero categories in Post-Archaic Chinese, and the denominal verbs in Post-Archaic Chinese exhibit transparent semantic structures. These findings support the general view about the lexicon-syntax interface that word formation should not be reduced to either the lexicon or syntax alone.