TITLE:
The Chinese ba as a Verb: A Constructional-Cognitive Approach
AUTHORS:
Ronald Fong
KEYWORDS:
ba, Gradience, Subordination, Radial Category, Mental Space
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Modern Linguistics,
Vol.5 No.1,
February
11,
2015
ABSTRACT: Although there have
been various studies on the Chinese ba-construction,
this article presents some unconventional views. Most studies do not treat ba as a verb. This article argues that ba is a verb, although it has some
non-typical verbal properties. Firstly, the argument establishes that it is a
verb based upon the “gradient” analysis, which has not been applied to ba before. Secondly, having been treated
as a verb, ba shows special
properties of its own such as marking subordination. Apart from this
non-traditional view, ba is shown to
be highly transitive, which is also a verbal feature. Different from previous
analyses, this article argues that ba is
a radial category showing various associated meanings. Finally, ba is shown to produce blending with
other verb complements, such as the resultative construction, through its ability
to create mental spaces.