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Degree Modification in Mandarin: A Case Study of Creative Degree Modifier 各種 [Gezhong]

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Book cover Chinese Lexical Semantics (CLSW 2015)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((LNAI,volume 9332))

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Abstract

This paper aims to investigate degree modification in Mandarin through the case of creative degree modifier各種 [gezhong] (all kinds of; very). We provide a theoretical analysis following the Generative Lexicon Theory and show that各種 [gezhong] not only selects gradable adjectival predicates but also restricts the possible combinations as well as interpretation by means of qualia structure. The restrictions of the modification in turn reflect the pragmatic function of 各種 [gezhong], and mark the distinction between traditional degree modifiers and the creative one.

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Correspondence to Minhsin Chen .

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© 2015 Springer International Publishing Switzerland

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Chen, M., Hsieh, S. (2015). Degree Modification in Mandarin: A Case Study of Creative Degree Modifier 各種 [Gezhong]. In: Lu, Q., Gao, H. (eds) Chinese Lexical Semantics. CLSW 2015. Lecture Notes in Computer Science(), vol 9332. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-27194-1_26

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-27194-1_26

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-27193-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-27194-1

  • eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)

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