Chinese changed typologically from a verb-framed language to a satellite-framed language. However, motion verbs are problematic in this dichotomy because some of them keep their verbal features in serial verb constructions when the Figure is an agent. As in other human languages, the syntax and semantics of space expressions in Chinese present numerous cases of asymmetry. In addition, the motion verb ‘to come’ in classical Chinese was perceived in a different way from other languages. Interpreting time as a vertical movement as in contemporary Chinese also seems to be uncommon. These issues are treated from a cognitive point of view in this paper.
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Xu, D. (2008). Asymmetry in the Expression of Space in Chinese —The Chinese Language Meets Typology. In: Xu, D. (eds) Space in Languages of China. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-8321-1_8
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