On the semantic functions of three different types of classifier reduplication in mandarin Chinese

Abstract

This paper discusses and analyzes the syntactic and semantic differences between ① gege -VP ② yigege -VP and ③ yigeyige -VP from a cognitive linguistic point of view. The conclusion is as follows: The key function of ① is to highlight the universality shared by all members of a set; by scanning over the members of a set, it provides a description or an evaluation of a certain state shared by all members. In ③, by contrast, the reduplicated classifier serves as an adverb and describes the manner of an action. Its key function is to reflect the consecutiveness of the individual actions carried out by each member of a set. ② has both of these characteristics. It highlights universality when occurring with a stative predicate and reflects discreteness when occurring with a dynamic one. The three structures share a family resemblance.