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Macau Periodical Index (澳門期刊論文索引)

Author
Feng, Shengli
Title
Monosyllabicity and disyllabicity in chinese prosodic morphology
Journal Name
澳門語言學刊
Pub. Info
2009年6月, 總第33期, 第1期, pp. 1-19
Keyword
Monosyllabic myth;monosyllabicity;disyllabicity;morphosyllable;foot-binarity;prosodic morphology
Abstract
Abstract : There has been a controversy in the field of linguistics over the syllabic property of mandarin chinese: whether it is a monosyllabic or a polysyllabic language. In this paper I propose that there are ywo rules responsible for the 'monosyllabic myth' in Chinese morphology. I argue that the Morphosyllabicity Rule (MR) operates on the morphemic level, while the Foot Formation Rule (FFR) applies at the syntactic level. Under the two-rule system presented here, it is easy to see why there are two seemingly opposite processes in Chinese morphology: monosyllabic forms are forced to become disyllabic, while disyllabic morphemes develop towards monosyllabicity. Paragraph Headings: 1. Introdiction 2. Two rules in Chinese morphology 2.1. Morphosyllabic axiom 2.1.1. Morphemization of polysyllabic words 2.1.2. Anti-disyllabicity 2.2. Foot formation rule 3. Levels for operation of MR and FFR 4. Interaction between MR and FFR 5. Redundancies in the Chinese lexicon 6. Summary Tables: 1. Two-rule system of Chinese morphology