Mapping Applicatives in Taiwan Southern Min: A View From Cartography

]i,_
;,

@),,7=__
Mapping Applicatives in Taiwan Southern
Min: A View from Cartography

,__
_,9744514
; (Chun-Jung Yang)
_(j (Prof. Wei-Tien Dylan Tsai)

]--

i

),}_`|,7=__ (Applicative
construction)@), (Cartographic Approach) |___
..)_-)~|7=___ (Multiple applicative
construction) .}_7=__",~-
_||, ka (Applicative marker) , (Applied
argument)-";",|__,,|
,Tsai (2010) ]__~|7=__
~_(____'__--_
~[.__CP ~vP ~'VP ~)7=
~;"{____~_,_'-__|_,
,_-_-____-
_-_|__._|___^ (Semantic conflict);
_|_-__WF-.)_";_
"~_____,@),7=

ii
Abstract
This thesis aims to identify and map out the applicative construction in Taiwan
Southern Min from the cartographic viewpoint, and further to specify the syntactic
structure of multiple applicative constructions. In Taiwan Southern Min, applicatives
are of two types. One is characterized by the applicative marker ka, introducing the
applied argument, while the other is expressed without any marker, where the applied
argument does not have any overt introducer. Following Tsais (2010) analysis of
Mandarin applicatives, I propose that Taiwan Southern Min applicative constructions
can be divided into three types, namely, high applicatives, middle applicatives, and
low applicatives, each corresponding to CP, vP, and VP, respectively. Moreover,
Taiwan Southern Min also exhibits multiple applicative constructions in which two or
even three single applicatives are combined together. Three restrictions need to be
strictly observed. First, the first element must be a ka-marked construal. Second, no
semantic conflict takes place. Third, no competition for one single slot between two
applicatives merged at the same place occurs.
Keywords: Applicative construction, Multiple applicative construction, Applied
argument, Cartographic Approach, Taiwan Southern Min

iii
Acknowledgement
The accomplishment of this thesis must be indebted to many people. First and
foremost, I would like to show my deepest gratitude and appreciation to my dear
advisor, Prof. Wei-Tien Dylan Tsai. His attitudes toward research and life have really
influenced and inspired me a lot. Moreover, I am also really thankful to my committee
members, Prof. Feng-Fu Tsao and Prof. Barry Chung-Yu Yang. Their instructive and
insightful comments really help a great deal, making my thesis more elegant.
Furthermore, I would like to thank the professors in the NTHU Institute of
Linguistics for their instruction, including Prof. Chin-Fa Lien, Prof. Yueh-Chin Chang,
Prof. Hui-Chuan Huang, Prof. Tzong-Hong Jonah Lin, Prof. Hsiu-Chuan Liao, and
Prof. Feng-Fan Hsieh. They have definitely enriched my linguistic knowledge as well
as broadened my horizon.
In addition, I would like to appreciate my dear friends and schoolmates. Their
considerate encouragement and company really make me have faith in myself to keep
on my study. Rain or shine, they always give me a hand without hesitation when I am
frustrated, depressed, in trouble, and in need. Also, I have to thank our office secretary,
Ms. Yu-Chun Fang, for her help in dealing with much administrative stuff.
Finally, I would like to give my sincere gratitude to my family. Without their
constant support and unconditional sacrifice, I would never have completed my study.
Last but not least, I would like to thank someone special and important, who always
stands by my side, accompanies me, encourages me, comforts me, and shares
everything with me.

iv
Table of Contents
Chinese Abstract..i
English Abstract.ii
Acknowledgementiii
Table of Contents..iv

CHAPTER 1.
Introdcution1

CHAPTER 2.
Previous Studies on Applicative Constructions4
2.1 Setting the Stage.....4
2.2 Literature Review on Applicative Constructions...8
2.2.1 Baker (1988)...8
2.2.2 Marantz (1993)...9
2.2.3 Pylkknen (2000, 2002)...10
2.2.4 McGinnis (2001)..14
2.2.5 Mai (2007)....17
2.2.6 Tsai (2010)....19
2.3 Methodology and Some Problems...23

CHAPTER 3.
Topography of Applicatives in Taiwan Southern Min.26
3.1 Introduction..26
3.2 The Syntactic Role of Ka.26
3.3 Categorization of Applicatives in Taiwan Southern Min.29
3.3.1 An Overview29
3.3.2 Applicatives in the Left Periphery31
3.3.2.1 Applicativity Tests31
3.3.2.2 Peripheral Properties of High Applicatives..37
3.3.2.3 Topography of High Applicatives41
3.3.3 Applicatives at the Edge of vP.44
3.3.3.1 Middle Benefactive/Goal Applicatives44
3.3.3.2 Middle Affective Applicatives..52
3.3.3.3 Topography of Middle Applicatives.59
3.3.4 Applicatives in the VP Shell.64

v
3.4 Some Contrasts between Taiwan Southern Min and Mandarin Chinese.68
3.5 Interim Summary..74

CHAPTER 4.
Multiple Applicatives in Taiwan Southern Min...76
4.1 Introduction..76
4.2 Possible Combinations of Multiple Applicatives in Taiwan Southern Min.77
4.2.1 Applicatives Formed by a High Affective and a Middle Benefactive.81
4.2.2 Applicatives Formed by a High Affective and an Unmarked Middle
Affective...84
4.2.3 Applicatives Formed by a High Affective and a Marked Middle
Affective...86
4.2.4 Applicatives Formed by a High Affective and a Low Benefactive..88
4.2.5 Applicatives Formed by a Middle Benefactive and a Low Benefactive..........90
4.2.6 Applicatives Formed by a Marked Middle Affective and a Low
Benefactive...............................................................................................92
4.3 Interim Summary94

CHAPTER 5.
Concluding Remarks96

References.98

1

CHAPTER 1. Introduction
Argument structure has always been a hotly discussed issue in the literature. It
has been mostly claimed that the argument structure of a given verb is said to be
saturated once all the arguments subcategorized by that verb are overtly realized.
Nonetheless, languages do allow some exceptions. It has been cross-linguistically
observed that some extra, or non-core, arguments can be incorporated into the
argument structure of a verb that is already saturated. Such argument augmentation
phenomenon is the core characteristic of applicative constructions.
This thesis intends to give an overall mapping of the applicative construction in
Taiwan Southern Min under the Cartographic Approach (Rizzi 1997, Cinque1999),
and furthermore aims to work on the syntactic structure of the multiple applicative
construction based on the topography of Taiwan Southern Min applicatives.
It is found that the applicative construction in Taiwan Southern Min displays
two basic types of configurations, namely, one with the overt applicative marker ka,
or one without any marker, introducing the applied argument, as exemplified in (1)
and (2), respectively.
1
Moreover, multiple applicative constructions are also attested
in Taiwan Southern Min, which are formed by two or even three single applicatives,
as instantiated in (3), (4), and (5).
(1) Abing kinglian ka gua tsau-khi!
2

Abing unexpectedly KA me run-away
Unexpectedly, Abing ran away on me!
3

1
The noun phrases (NPs) in boldface throughout this chapter represent the applied argument.
2
The alphabets throughout this thesis are adopted fromTaiwan Minnanyu Changyungtsz Tszdian,
issued by the Ministry of Education, R.O.C., 2008.

2

(2) Abing kinglian lim-tiau Ahing sann-kuan tsiu!
Abing unexpectedly drink-over Ahing three-CL wine
Unexpectedly, Abing drank three bottles of wine on Ahing!
(3) Abing kinglian ka gua ka Aing se sann!
Abing unexpectedly KA me KA Aing wash clothes
Unexpectedly, Abing washed clothes for Aing on me!
(4) a. Abing kinglian ka gua thau-theh Aing lak-pah khoo!
Abing unexpectedly KA me stealthily-take Aing six-hundred dollar
Unexpectedly, Abing stole six hundred dollars on Aing on me!
b. Abing kinglian ka gua ka Aing thau-theh lak-pah
Abing unexpectedly KA me KA Aing stealthily-take six-hundred
khoo!
dollar
(5) Abing kinglian ka gua siu ho Ong-ka in-tau
Abing unexpectedly KA me fix well Wang-family they-house
sann-tiunn toh-a!
three-CL table
Unexpectedly, Abing fixed three tables for the Wang family on me!
The layout of this thesis is organized as follows. Chapter two provides some
background knowledge and previous studies on the applicative construction. Chapter

3
The translation of example (1) literally means that I was affected by the event that Abing ran away
unexpectedly. Here, I use on me to signify the affectedness. Throughout the whole thesis, I will make
use of this on NP phrase in the translation to mean that the NP is affected by an event.

3
three introduces the basic categorization of applicatives in Taiwan Southern Min. In
Chapter four multiple applicative constructions and their syntactic structures are
examined. Concluding remarks are given in Chapter five.

4

CHAPTER 2. Previous Studies on Applicative Constructions
2.1 Setting the Stage
The applicative is characterized as a syntactic construction in which an extra, or
non-core, argument is added to a given argument structure that is already saturated.
Such a so-called oblique argument is licensed by a specific morpheme that is affixed
to the verb stem. Therefore, the applicative affix is said to introduce such an applied
argument.
4
The term of the applicative makes its debut in the study of the Bantu
languages. The Bantu languages have been observed to exhibit some kind of special
verbal affixes which can introduce an extra argument to the argument structure of a
verb. See the Chaga examples in (1) and (2), where the NPs in boldface represent the
applied arguments.
(1) N---ly-- m-k k-ly.
5

FOC-1SG-PRES-eat-APPL-FV 1-wife 7-food
He is eating food for his wife. (Bresnan and Moshi 1990)
(2) N---zrc-- mby.
FOC-1SG-PRES-run-APPL-FV 9-friend
He is running for his friend. (Bresnan and Moshi 1990)

4
Machobane (1989) treats the applicative affix as a transitivizer due to the fact that it transitivizes an
unergative predicate and ditransitivizes a transitive predicate, as it adds an extra argument, and thus
increases the valence of a predicate.
5
The number in gloss denotes the noun/nominal class to which the NP belongs, which is typical of the
Bantu languages.

5

In addition to the applicative examples attested in Chaga that contain an overt
applicative marker -, applicatives can also refer to double object constructions that
are shown to lack an overt applicative marker. Marantz (1993) proposes to analyze
English double object constructions as applicative constructions. Consider the English
examples in (3) and (4), where the indirect object him in (4) is not introduced by any
overt form of an applicative marker.
(3) I baked a cake.
(4) I baked him a cake.
As mentioned so far, applicative constructions seemingly can be categorized based on
Markedness. Marked applicatives refer to those constructions in which an overt
applicative marker attached to the verb stem introduces an extra argument, or an
applied argument, to the argument structure, as in Chaga examples. Unmarked
applicatives, on the other hand, are characterized as those constructions in which a
non-core argument is licensed by a non-overt, or covert, applicative marker, as in
English double object constructions.
On the other hand, early in the literature, Baker (1988) and Bresnan and Moshi
(1990) argue that applicative constructions can also be divided into two kinds,
asymmetric applicatives versus symmetric applicatives.
6
The former displays the
asymmetries between the direct object and the applied object in such a fashion that
only the applied object behaves as true objects, while in the latter both the direct

6
This asymmetric/symmetric distinction in the syntax of applicatives can be found either within a
language or across languages. The former can be exemplified by the case of asymmetric locatives and
symmetric benefactives both in Kinyarwanda (McGinnis 2001). The latter can be illustrated by the
distinction between two separate languages, asymmetric Chichewa benefactives versus symmetric
Kinyarwanda benefactives (Baker 1988).

6
object and the applied object exhibit true object properties. The distinguishing
properties of asymmetric and symmetric applicatives are summarized in the following
table.
TABLE 1
Object Agreement Transitivity A-movement
Asymmetric Applicatives
*Direct Object
Applied Object
Transitive
*Intransitive
*Direct Object
Applied Object
Symmetric Applicatives
Direct Object
Applied Object
Transitive
Intransitive
Direct Object
Applied Object

Before proceeding to the literature review, here I will give some theoretical
background in terms of Cartography (Rizzi 1997, Cinque 1999). Traditionally, the
structural representation of a clause is comprised of three kinds of structural layers:
the lexical layer, the inflectional layer, and the complementizer layer. In Rizzi (1997),
he pays attention to the complementizer layer, or the so-called left periphery.
According to his paper, he assumes, in the spirit of Pollocks (1989) analysis of verb
movement, splitting IP into several functional projections, the split-CP hypothesis,
trying to construct a finer structure of the left periphery, or the complementizer layer,
which is built up by several single functional X-bar projections, rather than just one
unique projection. Cinque (1999) also holds the same viewpoint that from the
interaction between functional heads and adverbs, or precisely from the relative order
of these functional elements, the complementizer layer should also dissolve into
several different functional projections, hosting different functional categories, as

7
opposed to the traditional assumption that all syntactic elements are crammed in one
unique single projection.
For example, in Rizzis (1997) proposal, the CP layer, in principle, dissolves
into two major functional projections, the highest ForceP, expressing the fact that a
sentence is a declarative, an interrogative, an exclamative, a relative, etc., and the
lowest FinP, manifesting certain finiteness properties, such as mood distinctions, tense
and subject (person) agreement, etc., with TopP and FocP, both involving the left
periphery, optionally present in between. Therefore, a much more articulated structure
for the complementizer system is provided below:
(5) ForceP

Force TopP*

Top FocP

Foc TopP*

Top FinP

Fin IP
Therefore, Cartography, in brief summary, is concerned with the concept that different
types of syntactic categories merge in different designated syntactic projections of a
more articulated syntactic hierarchy.

8
2.2 Literature Review on Applicative Constructions
2.2.1 Baker (1988)
On identifying the syntax of applicatives, especially those containing overt
applicative affixes, Baker (1988) pioneers in capitalizing on the case theory to
separate the benefactive applicative in languages like Chichewa from the benefactive
applicative in languages like Kinyarwanda. According to Baker (1988), languages can
be divided into two types. In Chichewa-type languages, the applicative marker only
assigns inherent case, not structural case. In contrast, in Kinyarwanda-type languages,
the applicative marker assigns both inherent case and structural case. Consequently,
the prediction would be borne out that in Chichewa-type languages, only the applied
object bears object properties, whereas in Kinyarwanda-type languages, both the
applied object and the direct object manifest object properties.
Furthermore, applicative constructions, as suggested in Bakers (1988) book,
are viewed as a process of incorporation in which the applicative affix situated in the
preposition head is incorporated into the verb by head movement, as demonstrated by
the diagrams in (6a) and (6b).
(6) a. VP

V NP PP
Theme
P NP
P/APPL Beneficiary

9
b. VP

V PP NP
Theme
V P
i
t
i
NP
Beneficiary
Therefore, the beneficiary, namely, the syntactic object of the preposition, introduced
by the applicative affix thus behaves like the object of the verb, since it is now
licensed by the verb together with the incorporated preposition. As for the original
direct object, it turns out an oblique, for it is no longer licensed by the verb, as
indicated by the linear word order. Given this scenario, it then can plausibly account
for why applied objects can undergo passivization process, as typical direct objects
do.
Briefly summarized, Baker (1988) resorts to the case theory to deal with the
applicative construction and the asymmetric/symmetric distinctions found among
applicatives. Applicative constructions, defined by Baker (1988), have to do with the
promotion of the applied argument and the demotion of the direct object, as far as
their case properties, induced by preposition incorporation, are concerned.
2.2.2 Marantz (1993)
Marantz (1993) argues that in addition to the cases where the applicative
construction is clearly characterized by an overt applicative affix as mentioned in
Bakers (1988) book, cases without any applicative affix such as double object
constructions (DOCs) can also be treated as one kind of applicative constructions.
English double object construction is one of the typical examples. The applicative

10
head takes the event described by the whole VP as its complement, and introduces the
beneficiary argument as its specifier. Hence the benefactive is related to the event by
the applicative head. According to Marantzs (1993) analysis, the syntactic structure
of this type of applicative constructions, namely, double object constructions, is
visualized as follows.
(7) VP

NP V
Benefactive
APPL VP

NP V
Theme
V XP
2.2.3 Pylkknen (2000, 2002)
Taking the very first step, Pylkknen (2000, 2002) proposes, in light of the
semantic considerations, a dichotomy of applicative constructions: high applicatives
and low applicatives. Pylkknen (2000, 2002) indicates that despite the fact that
Chaga and English both have the applicative construction, there are still discrepancies.
For instance, only Chaga can allow an extra argument to be added to an unergative
verb, while English cannot. Consider the contrast shown in (8) and (9).

11
(8) a. I baked a cake. [transitive]
b. I baked him a cake.
c. I ran. [unergative]
d. *I ran him.
(9) a. N---ly-- m-k k-ly. [transitive]
He is eating food for his wife.
b. N---zrc-- mby. [unergative]
He is running for his friend. (Pylkknen 2002: 17)
Based upon Marantzs (1993) proposal in coping with the English double object
construction as in (8b) and the Bantu applicative construction as in (9a) that an
applicative head takes an event as its argument and introduces an individual
thematically related to that event, Pylkknen (2000, 2002), in order to account for the
contrast between (8d) and (9b), thus suggests that the applicative construction
cross-linguistically is categorized into two types. One is high applicatives in which
the applicative head relates an individual to an event denoted by the VP. The other is
low applicatives in which the applicative head denotes the transfer of possession
relation between two individuals, that is, the direct object and the applied object. Put
it in other words, a high applicative head takes a DP specifier and a VP complement,
whereas a low applicative head takes a DP specifier and a DP complement. The
syntactic structures advanced by Pylkknen (2000, 2002) for high applicatives and
low applicatives are given below.

12
(10) a. High Applicative (Chaga) b. Low Applicative (English)
VoiceP VoiceP

He I
Voice Voice
wife bake
Appl
ben
him
eat food Appl cake
Moreover, Pylkknen (2000, 2002) also proposes the semantics of high applicatives
and low applicatives, demonstrated in (11) and (12), respectively.
(11) High APPL:
x.e. APPL(e,x)
(12) a. Low-APPL-TO (Recipient applicative):
x.y.f
<e<s,t>>
.e. f(e,x) & theme (e,x) & to-the-possession(x,y)
b. Low-APPL-FROM (Source applicative):
x.y.f
<e<s,t>>
.e. f(e,x) & theme (e,x) & from-the-possession(x,y)
Given this high/low applicative distinction, the Chaga applicative construction
belongs to the high applicative type, whereas the English double object construction,
the low applicative type. The reasoning lies in that in example (8b) I baked him a
cake, the indirect object him would finally own the cake after the event of baking. By
contrast, in the Chaga example (9a), it is, however, impossible for the applied object
wife to own the food after the event of eating; instead, the object wife is in a

13
benefactive relation to the event of eating food, rather than in a possession relation to
the object food. Therefore, although the English double object construction and the
Chaga applicative construction is similar in such a way that they both have an applied
argument, their semantic interpretations are totally different.
Furthermore, Pylkknens (2000, 2002) proposed structures for the high
applicative and the low applicative are also able to capture the transitivity restrictions
mentioned above. For English-type applicatives, they are not allowed to be used with
an unergative verb, thereby belonging to the low applicative, while for Chaga-type
ones, they are free to combine with an unergatvie predicate, hence, qualified as the
high applicative. See the contrast in (13) and (14).
(13) a. I ran.
b. *I ran him.
(14) N---zrc-- mby.
In the former case (13), it is a low applicative, which selects an obligatory DP object
as its complement; accordingly, it cannot co-occur with an unergative verb, since an
unergative verb is characterized as lacking an internal object. On the contrary, as for
the latter case (14), it is a high applicative, which takes a VP as its complement, so it
can merge with an unergative verb, arguably one kind of VPs.
To summarize, the asymmetries between high and low applicatives can boil
down to the semantic differences of these two types of applicatives. Pylkknens

14
(2000, 2002) proposal that high applicatives relate an entity to an event, while low
applicatives, on the other hand, relate an individual to an individual therefore predicts
that only high applicatives can combine with unergatives and only low applicatives
can convey the transfer of possession relation.
2.2.4 McGinnis (2001)
McGinnis (2001) adopts Pylkknens (2000) analysis of applicatives, that is, the
high/low distinction, ApplH and ApplL, as well as Chomskys (2000) Phase Theory.
McGinnis (2001) in her paper endeavors to account for the asymmetries, such as
transitivity restrictions and A-movement, between high applicatives and low
applicatives by means of the semantics of high/low applicative distinction made by
Pylkknens (2000) and the Phase Theory proposed by Chomsky (2000). According to
McGinnis (2001), the semantic distinction between high applicatives and low
applicatives is just the reflex of the phasal distinction. Consequently, the asymmetries
of applicatives, in other words, result from the phasal distinction. Given the
assumption that the sister of VP heads a phase if an argument is generated in its
specifier, McGinnis (2001) advocates that the high applicative head is a phase,
whereas the low applicative head is not in that the former is the sister of VP, but the
latter is not. The following structures demonstrate the high applicative and the low
applicative entertained by McGinnis (2001).

15
(15) a. High Applicative b. Low Applicative
vP vP

DP v DP v

v ApplHP v VP

IO ApplH V ApplLP

ApplH VP IO ApplL

V DO ApplL DO
Based on the structures sketched above, McGinnis (2001) plausibly explains the
asymmetries of the high/low applicative distinction. In a high applicative (15a), only
the direct object (DO) is merged within the domain of the ApplHP phase, thereby
resulting in that it can check the EPP feature generated under this phase. On the other
hand, in a low applicative (15b), both the indirect object (IO) and the direct object
(DO) are embedded within the domain of the vP phase. Consequently, if there is only
one EPP feature added to this phase, it can only be checked by the higher indirect
object (IO), or the applied object. Under this scenario, it then can be predicted that in
a high applicative either the indirect object (IO) or the direct object (DO) can undergo
A-movement; as for a low applicative, only the indirect object (IO) is the optimal
candidate for A-movement.

16
(16) a. High Applicative b. Low Applicative
vP vP

v ApplHP v

DO ApplHP v VP

IO ApplH V ApplLP

ApplH VP IO ApplL
[EPP]
V t
DO
ApplL DO
Technically speaking, in (16a), since ApplHP heads a phase, the high applicative head
with the phasal-EPP feature then can attract the lower direct object (DO) to its
specifier position to check off its EPP feature. Given this picture, the direct object
(DO) becomes the closest element to the T head, thereby being able to further move to
the subject position. However, in (16b), both the indirect object (IO) and the direct
object (DO) are situated within the domain of the vP phase. Under this circumstance,
only the indirect object (IO) can be possibly further raised to the subject position in
that ApplLP here is not a phase, which fails to create multiple specifier positions as an
escape hatch for the lower direct object (DO) to move to. Hence, the higher indirect
object (IO) will block movement of the lower direct object (DO) to the subject
position, owing to the effect of the Relativized Minimality (Rizzi 1990).
To conclude, McGinnis (2001) provides a locality-based analysis that the phasal
distinction underlies the asymmetries between high applicatives and low applicatives.

17

2.2.5 Mai (2007)
Mai (2007), in her thesis, following Tsais (2007) cartographic analysis
7
of
Mandarin Chinese applicatives, discusses the applicative construction in Taiwan
Southern Min in comparison with the applicative construction in Mandarin Chinese.
Mai (2007), following Tsais (2007) categorization of Mandarin applicatives under the
Cartographic Approach (Rizzi 1997, Cinque 1999), points out that Taiwan Southern
Min also has its strategy to introduce an applied argument into an argument structure,
that is, by means of the applicative marker ka, similar to the Mandarin applicative
marker gei. A comparison of these two languages with respect to applicatives leads to
the following conclusions.
First, Mai (2007) assumes that compared with Mandarin Chinese, in Taiwan
Southern Min, only high and middle applicatives are attested. Low applicatives are
never allowed. In Mandarin applicatives, high, middle, and low construals are attested,
as indicated by examples (17a), (17b), and (17c), respectively. However, in Taiwan
Southern Min, only high and middle applicatives are well-formed, as shown by
examples (18a) and (18b), respectively, whereas, low applicatives are ruled out,
evidenced by the deviance of (18c).
(17) a. Zhangsan juran gei wo pao-le!
Zhangsan unexpectedly Gei me run-Prf
Unexpectedly, Zhangsan ran away on me!

7
Tsai (2007) divides Mandarin applicatives into four types: very high applicatives, high applicatives,
middle applicatives, and low applicatives. This analysis is then revised in his later paper. Tsai (2010)
instead proposes a three-way distinction of Mandarin applicatives, which will be reviewed in the
following discussion.

18
b. Akiu he-le Xiaodi san-ping jiu.
Akiu drink-Prf Xiaodi three-bottle wine.
Akiu drank three bottles of wine on Xiaodi.
c. Akiu xiu-le Wang-jia san-shan men.
Akiu fix-Prf Wang-family three-CL door
Akiu fixed three doors for the Wang family.
(18) a. Abing kinglian ka gua tsau-khi a!
Abing unexpectedly KA me run-away Part
b. Abing ka Aing lim-liao hit sann-kuan tsiu.
Abing KA Aing drink-over that three-CL wine
Abing drank three bottles of wine on Aing.
c.* Abing xiu-ho Ong-ka sann-sinn mng.
Abing fix-well Wang-family three-CL door
Abing fixed three doors for the Wang family.
Second, as far as middle applicatives are concerned, unlike Mandarin middle
applicative constructions, which are non-gei-marked construals, as in (19), Taiwan
Southern Min, instead, only exhibits ka-marked middle applicatives, such as (20a).
Non-ka-marked middle applicatives are ungrammatical, as exemplified by (20b).
(19) Akiu he-le Xiaodi san-ping jiu.
Akiu drink-Prf Xiaodi three-bottle wine.

19
(20) a. Abing ka Aing lim-liao hit sann-kuan tsiu.
Abing KA Aing drink-over that three-CL wine
b.* Abing lim-liao Aing hit sann-kuan tsiu.
Abing drink-over Aing that three-CL wine
Based upon the forementioned findings, Mai (2007) makes the generalization that
Taiwan Southern Min lacks the implicit applicative marker. In other words,
non-ka-marked applicative constructions are totally absent, which underlies that in
Taiwan Southern Min, there is no way to find such a counterpart of Mandarin Chinese
middle affective applicatives, such as (17b), and low benefactive applicatives, such as
(17c), both of which are shown to be unmarked. Therefore, only high affective
applicatives and middle benefactive applicatives are observed in Taiwan Southern
Min, both of which are introduced by the overt applicative marker ka. As for low
applicatives, they are ill-formed due to the absence of the implicit applicative marker.
2.2.6 Tsai (2010)
Examining the Mandarin Chinese data, Tsai (2010) argues that the traditional
high/low applicative dichotomy (Pylkknen 2000, 2002, McGinnis 2001, among
others) is not enough to capture the syntax and the semantics of Mandarin applicative
constructions. Therefore, Tsai (2010) proposes a three-way distinction of Mandarin
applicatives under the Cartographic Approach (Rizzi 1997, Cinque 1999). In the

20
literature, applicative constructions are always viewed as a syntactic projection
embedded within the vP phase (Marantz 1993, Pylkknen 2000, 2002, McGinnis 2001,
Harley 2002, Hole 2006). High applicatives are located between vP and VP, while low
applicatives are situated under VP. Nonetheless, Tsai (2010), scrutinizing the
Mandarin Chinese data, discovers that such two-way distinction is unable to account
for the syntactic and semantic properties of Mandarin applicative constructions.
According to Tsai (2010), in Mandarin Chinese, high applicatives may extend further
to the left periphery, that is, the CP phase, since in Mandarin Chinese they are always
associated with a presupposition of unexpectedness and speaker-orientedness.
(21) a. ta juran [gei wo] he-le san-ping jiu!
he unexpectedly AFF me drink-Prf three-bottle wine
Unexpectedly, he drank three bottles of wine on me!
b.* ta [gei wo] he-le san-ping jiu.
he AFF me drink-Prf three-bottle wine
Unexpectedly, he drank three bottles of wine on me! (Tsai 2010)
As indicated in the contrastive pair (21), the evaluative adverb juran unexpectedly is
obligatory, so as to express the presupposition of unexpectedness. Once it is not
present, the sentence would turn out a declarative, as shown by the deviance of (21b).
Accordingly, Tsai (2010) claims that such applicative constructions must be licensed
by some kind of illocutionary force, thereby leading to the conclusion that it must be
associated with the left periphery.
Another argument made by Tsai (2010) that Mandarin high applicatives are
merged at the CP phase is concerned with the speaker-orientedness property. The

21
Affectee, or the applied argument to the same effect, can only be the first-person
singular pronoun wo me. See the example (22).
(22) ta juran [gei wo/*women/*ni/*nimen/*ta/*tamen] he-le
he unexpectedly AFF me/us/you/you(pl.)/him/them drink-Prf
san-ping jiu!
three-bottle wine
Unexpectedly, he drank three bottles of wine on me/us/you/you(pl.)/him/
them! (Tsai 2010)
Moreover, Tsai (2010) also assumes that there exists a gray area in between vP
and VP in which middle applicatives are introduced, which fails to be categorized
as either high applicatives or low applicatives. For one thing, unlike high applicatives,
middle applicatives are never compatible with unergative verbs; furthermore, only the
indirect object (IO), namely, the applied object, but not the direct object (DO) can
undergo A-movement. Therefore, they cannot be analyzed as high applicatives. For
another, unlike low applicatives where the possession relationship between the two
individuals is entailed, and hence uncancelable, the possession relationship between
the indirect object (IO) and the direct object (DO) in a middle applicative construal is
implied, thereby cancelable. Additionally, in a low applicative construal, both the
indirect object (IO) and the direct object (DO) can never undergo passivization, as in
(23a) and (23b), respectively. However, as just mentioned above, in middle
applicatives, the indirect object (IO) is allowed to be raised to the subject position, as
shown in (24). Therefore, middle applicatives should also not be treated as a low
applicative.

22
(23) a.* Zhao-jia bei Akiu xiu-le san-shan men. [*IO passivization]
Zhao-family BEI Akiu fix-Prf three-CL door
Akiu fixed three doors for the Zhao family.
b.* san-shan men bei Akiu xiu-le Zhao-jia. [*DO passivization]
three-CL door BEI Akiu fix-Prf Zhao-family
Akiu fixed three doors for the Zhao family.
(24) Xiaodi bei Akiu he-le san-ping jiu. [IO passivization]
Xiaodi BEI Akiu drink-Prf three-CL wine
Xiaodi underwent the event Akiu drank three bottles of wine on him.
In summary, under Tsais (2010) analysis, Mandarin Chinese applicatives are
divided into three types: high applicatives, middle applicatives, and low applicatives.
High applicatives are located in the CP phase, due to the fact that they are always
associated with speaker-orientedness and a presupposition of unexpectedness. Low
applicatives are embedded under the lower VP shell. In addition to high applicatives
and low applicatives, Mandarin Chinese also exhibits a gray area in between vP and
VP where middle applicatives are situated. The following is the topography of
Mandarin applicatives sketched by Tsai (2010).

23
(25) EvaP

evaluative adverb Eva complementizer layer

gei-Eva ApplP
high

Affectee TP
inflectional layer
T vP

PP v
lexical layer
gei Beneficiary v ApplP
mid

Affectee VP

V ApplP
low

Beneficiary
2.3 Methodology and Some Problems
So far, I have reviewed some linguistic approaches to applicative constructions.
For instance, Baker (1988) makes use of the Case Theory to analyze the applicative
construction marked by an overt applicative affix. However, the issue of case in

24
Chinese dialects has always been a controversial topic, since Chinese dialects are
shown to lack overt case markers. Moreover, for Baker (1988), applicative
constructions are viewed as an incorporation process, which is however not observed
in Taiwan Southern Min, where the marker ka is never able to be incorporated into the
verb. Similarly, as pointed out by Marantz (1993), English double object constructions
are analyzed as applicatives. Nevertheless, this is also not without doubt, due to the
fact that it is hard to find a genuine counterpart of English double object constructions
in Taiwan Southern Min and it is also a controversial issue on whether Chinese
dialects, such as Mandarin and Taiwan Southern Min, do have double object
constructions. Therefore, because of these problems, in this thesis, instead of resorting
to the Case Theory or the Government and Binding Principle, I intend to analyze the
applicative construction in Taiwan Southern Min under the Cartographic Approach
(Rizzi 1997, Cinque 1999). Furthermore, in line with Tsais (2010) approach to
Mandarin applicatives, I will assume that in Taiwan Southern Min applicatives should
be three-way distinct, rather than traditionally dichotomous, which denotes that
Pylkknens (2000, 2002) as well as McGinniss (2001) analyses are not fully suitable
with respect to Taiwan Southern Min applicatives. Moreover, I will also adopt
McGinniss (2001) phase-theoretic account when needed and see whether it is also at
work in Taiwan Southern Min applicatives.
Furthermore, in this thesis, I hold some different arguments in contrast to Mais
(2007) analysis. Based on Mai (2007), Taiwan Southern Min lacks the implicit
applicative marker since the corresponding attested Mandarin middle affective
applicatives and low benefactive applicatives are not grammatical in Taiwan Southern
Min, which yields the conclusion that Taiwan Southern Min does not have a covert
applicative marker. However, it has been recently found that such unmarked
applicative constructions are to some extent acceptable, even grammatical, especially

25
for young generation, which may results from language contact or other factors,
which is not the main point of this thesis, and I therefore will not mention that in this
thesis. So here I will add these unmarked construals into my analysis, and try to give a
finer picture on Taiwan Southern Min applicatives. Moreover, in comparison with
Tsais (2010) proposed topography of Mandarin applicatives that middle benefactives
are merged at the vP periphery as a PP adjunct, I will argue that the middle
benefactive applicative in Taiwan Southern Min behaves differently from that in
Mandarin Chinese, as far as their syntactic representations are concerned. I will
clarify these issues in the following chapters, and will provide as much evidence as
possible to support my arguments.

26
Chapter 3. Topography of Applicatives in Taiwan Southern Min
3.1 Introduction
Over the decades, applicative constructions have been dealt with under many
different linguistic approaches, for instance, the Case Theory or the Government and
Binding Theory (Baker 1988, Marantz 1993), the dichotomy of high/low applicatives
in terms of semantics (Pylkknen 2000, 2002), the Minimalist Phase-theoretic account
(McGinnis 2001), or the Cartographic analysis (Mai 2007, Tsai 2007, 2010). In this
chapter, I will, following Tsai (2010), give a cartographic analysis to thoroughly
examine the applicative construction in Taiwan Southern Min, and hopefully to obtain
a more fine-grained topography of Taiwan Southern Min applicatives.
In what follows, I will first discuss the syntactic status of the marker ka
(Section 3.2). Afterwards, I will introduce three types of applicatives attested in
Taiwan Southern Min (Section 3.3). Moreover, by the end of this chapter, I will make
a comparison between Taiwan Southern Min and Mandarin Chinese with respect to
applicative constructions (Section 3.4), and finally summarize this chapter (Section
3.5).
3.2 The Syntactic Role of Ka
In the early literature, the marker ka has always been treated as a preposition
(Cheng & Taso 1995, Hung 1995, Tsao 2003). Among others, for instance, Tsao (2003)
claims that Taiwan Southern Min may allow the word order SOV only when a

27
preposition ka is inserted before the object O. Here, ka as a preposition functions to
assign case to the fronted object. Furthermore, Tsao (2003) analyzes ka as four kinds
of markers based on the thematic role of the fronted object, namely, Source marker,
Goal marker, Patient marker, and Benefactive marker.
However, the analysis viewing ka as a preposition is problematic in some
respects. First, in the same vein of Yang (2006), the function of ka is case assignment
but not theta assignment. It is then questionable why ka is categorized as four types of
theta markers, Source, Goal, Patient, and Benefactive. Second, as a preposition, ka
along with its NP complement, that is, the fronted object, should be able to undergo
topicalization, as expected in the case of a typical prepositional phrase. Nonetheless,
such process is not permissible. Consider examples (1) and (2), showing that ka
together with its following NP fails to undergo preposing to the topic position.
(1) a. Abing [ti Taipak] be tsit-king tshu.
Abing at Taipei buy one-CL house
Abing bought a house at Taipei.
b. [ti Taipak], Abing be tsit-king tshu.
at Taipei Abing buy one-CL house
At Taipei, Abing bought a house.
(2) a. Abing [ka Aing] se sann.
Abing KA Aing wash clothes
Abing washed clothes for Aing

28

b.* [ka Aing], Abing se sann.
KA Aing Abing wash clothes
Abing washed clothes for Aing.
As indicated by the deviance of (2b), ka presumably cannot count as a preposition,
unlike the typical preposition ti at in (1), which allows preposing, as shown in (1b).
Consequently, given this reason, it seems quite inappropriate to categorize ka as a
preposition.
Arguing against ka as a preposition, I, in this thesis, assume that the marker ka,
in fact, heads a functional projection, ApplP (Applicative Phrase), introducing an
applied argument as its specifier, basically in the spirit of Pylkknen (2000, 2002),
and McGinnis (2001) that applied arguments like obliques may be introduced by
applicative light verbs.
8
The assumption that ka functions as an applicative marker
stems from the fact that in Taiwan Southern Min applicative constructions, ka is an
obligatory element, so as to introduce an extra argument, or an applied argument, into
the argument structure of a verb which is already saturated. This scenario is parallel to
the applicative study of the Bantu languages in which the applicative head is added to
the verb stem in order to host an extra argument. Accordingly, as is indicated below,
ka in Taiwan Southern Min applicatives may be viewed as an applicative marker,
since ka cannot be omitted, otherwise, ungrammatical, as evidenced by examples (3)
and (4).

8
In the literature, some hold the light verb analysis, taking ka as a light verb (Lin 2001, Yang 2006).
However, in this thesis, I do not endeavor to separate applicative heads from light verbs. Whether
applicative heads are one kind of light verbs or they are separate syntactic categories is not my focus in
this thesis.

29
(3) a. Abing kinglian ka gua tsau-khi!
b.* Abing kinglian gua tsau-khi!
Abing unexpectedly me run-away
(4) a. Aing ka Ahing tsu am-tng.
Aing KA Ahing cook dinner
Aing cooked dinner for Ahing.
b.* Aing Ahing tsu am-tng.
Aing Ahing cook dinner
Aing cooked dinner for Ahing.
3.3 Categorization of Applicatives in Taiwan Southern Min
3.3.1 An Overview
In the literature, applicatives are always analyzed as a syntactic construction
which contains an extra argument within the vP phase (Marantz 1993, Pylkknen
2000, 2002, McGinnis 2001, Harley 2002, Hole 2006). Among others, Pylkknen
(2000, 2002) takes the first step to divide applicatives into two types, namely, the high
applicative as in the Chaga example (5) versus the low applicative as in the English
example (6).

30
(5) a. N---ly-- m-k k-ly.
b. N---zrc-- mby.
(6) a. Mary baked Bill a cake.
b. John bought Sam a car.
To distinguish the high applicative from the low applicative, there are three proposed
tests in the literature, that is, the possession test, the transitivity test, and the
passivization test, respectively (Pylkknen 2000, 2002, McGinnis 2001). With respect
to the possession test, according to Pylkknen (2000, 2002), semantically, the high
applicative head relates a beneficiary argument to an event denoted by the verb, while
the low applicative head expresses the possession relationship between the recipient
and the theme. As to the transitivity test, high applicatives are shown to be compatible
with unergative verbs. On the other hand, low applicatives cannot co-occur with
unergatives. In terms of the passivization test, high applicatives allow both the
indirect object (IO) and the direct object (DO) to undergo passivization. By contrast,
low applicatives only allow passivization of the indirect object (IO).
Given these three applicativity tests, I will next apply each of them to the
applicative construal in Taiwan Southern Min to see how applicative constructions in
Taiwan Southern Min are represented syntactically.

31
3.3.2 Applicatives in the Left Periphery
3.3.2.1 Applicativity Tests
Based upon the above mentioned three tests for separation of high applicatives
from low applicatives, I will apply them one by one to the applicative construction in
Taiwan Southern Min. The first test, the possession test, in fact follows Pylkknens
(2000, 2002) semantic approach that low applicatives conveys the possession
relationship between two entities, namely, the recipient and the theme. By contrast,
high applicatives do not express such semantic interpretation; instead, they are
relating an individual, the beneficiary argument, to an event denoted by the main
predicate. The former is exemplified by English double object constructions (DOCs),
as in (7), while the latter is instantiated by the Chaga examples, as in (8).
(7) a. Bill wrote Mary a letter.
b. John baked Sam a cake.
(8) a. N---ly-- m-k k-ly.
b. N---zrc-- mby.
Now consider the following applicative construals in Taiwan Southern Min (9)

32

and (10).
9

(9) i kinglian ka gua lim-tiau sann-kuan tsiu!
he unexpectedly KA me drink-over three-CL wine
(10) i kinglian lim-tiau gua sann-kuan tsiu!
he unexpectedly drink-over me three-CL wine
As shown above, there is a truth-conditional distinction between (9) and (10). Under
the circumstance that a doctor asked a patient not to drink, but the patient did not
follow the instruction, then the doctor would utter (9), but not (10). This distinction
reveals the fact that in (9) there is no possession relationship between the Affectee gua
me and the theme argument sann-kuan tsiu three bottles of wine. From this
scenario, it therefore fails the possession test.
10

In terms of the transitivity test, it has been noted that high applicatives can
combine with unergative verbs, as evidence by the following Chaga examples in (11)
and (12).
(11) N---ly-- m-k. [unergative]
FOC-1SG-PRES-eat-APPL-FV 1-wife
He is eating for/on his wife. (Bresnan and Moshi 1993)

9
In the spirit of Tsai (2010), example (9) is termed as outer affective, while (10), inner affective.
10
As for the construal (10), I will discuss it in details later.

33
(12) N---zrc-- mby. [unergative]
However, low applicatives, on the other hand, are unable to co-occur with an
unergative verb, as indicated by the English examples in (13) and (14).
(13) a. John bought a car. [transitive]
b. John bought Mary a car.
(14) a. He ran. [unergative]
b.* He ran me.
Turning to the Taiwan Southern Min case, it is found that applicatives, such as
(9), are compatible with an unergative predicate, as demonstrated in (15a) and (15b),
thereby passing the transitivity test.
b. Aing kinglian teh ka gua hau!
Aing unexpectedly Pres. KA me cry
Unexpectedly, Aing was crying on me!

34
On the other hand, the passivization test is concerned with the observation that
high applicatives allow both the indirect object (IO) and the direct object (DO) to
undergo passivization, whereas low applicatives only allow the passivization of the
indirect object (IO). Consider the following contrast. (16a) and (16b) are the passive
of low applicatives in English.
(16) a. Mary was baked a cake by Jack. [IO-passive]
b. *A cake was baked Mary by Jack. [*DO-passive]

Clearly shown in (16), in the passive of a low applicative, the indirect object (IO), or
the applied argument, Mary, can be passivized, as in (16a), but the direct object (DO),
namely, the theme argument, a cake, cannot, as in (16b). The same effect also holds in
the Kinyarwanda examples in (17) and (18). In Kinyarwanda benefactive applicatives,
both the beneficiary argument and the theme argument can be raised to the subject
position. In Kinyarwanda locative applicatives, on the other hand, only the locative
argument can undergo passivization, while the theme argument fails to do so
(McGinnis 2001, 2003). Examine the following data.
(17) a. umukobwa
k
a-ra-andik-ir-w-a t
k
brwa nmuhungu.
girl SP-PR-write-APPL-PAS-ASP letter by boy
The girl is having the letter written for her by the boy.
b. brwa
k
i-ra-andik-ir-w-a umukobwa t
k
nmuhungu.
letter SP-PR-write-APPL-PAS-ASP girl by boy
The letter is written for the girl by the boy. (McGinnis 2001, 2003)

35

(18) a. ishuri
k
ry-oohere-j-w--ho t
k
igitabo nmwalmu.
school SP-send-ASP-PAS-ASP-LOC book by teacher
The school was sent the book by the teacher.
b.* igitabo
k
cy-oohere-j-w--ho ishuri t
k
nuumwalmu.
book SP-send-ASP-PAS-ASP-LOC school by teacher
The book was sent to school by the teacher. (McGinnis 2001, 2003)
It is obviously observed above that (17) is a benefactive applicative, allowing either
the beneficiary umukobwa girl in (17a) or the theme brwa letter in (17b) to be
passivized, thus belonging to the high applicative. By contrast, (18) is an locative
applicative, since it only allows the passivization of the locative ishuri school in
(18a), but not that of the theme igitabo book in (18b), hence pertaining to the low
applicative.
Given the observed results, in Taiwan Southern Min applicatives, it is noticed
that the passivization test is, however, inconclusive in that the passivization of the
applied argument and the theme argument seems to be blocked, as proven by the
ungrammaticality of examples (19a) and (19b).
11
Both the applied argument gua I in
(19a) and the theme argument sann-te ke-nng-ko three pieces of cake in (19b) cannot
be passivized.

11
The inconclusive result of the passivization test is also manifest in the Mandarin case (Tsai 2010).
Examine the following examples.
(i) a.* wo bei ta juran gei he-le san-ping jiu!
I BEI he unexpectedly AFF drink-Prf. three-bottle wine
I underwent the event that he drank three bottles of wine on me unexpectedly!
b. * you san-ping jiu bei ta juran gei wo he-le!
have three-bottle wine BEI he unexpectedly AFF me drink-Prf.
There are three bottles of wine that were drank by him on me unexpectedly!

36
(19) a.* gua kinglian hoo i ka tsiah-tiau sann-te ke-nng-ko.
I unexpectedly HOO he KA eat-over three-CL cake
I underwent the event he ate three pieces of cake on me unexpectedly.
b.* u sann-te ke-nng-ko kinglian hoo i ka gua tsiah-tiau.
have three-CL cake unexpectedly HOO he KA me eat-over
There are three pieces of cake that were eaten by him on me unexpectedly.
As indicated in Tsais (2010) analysis of Mandarin applicatives, the reason why the
passivization test is inconclusive here stems from the fact that ordinary passives are
always involved with the arrangement of the core argument structure that is associated
with the vP domain. However, the affective applicative discussed here is extending far
beyond the vP domain, taking its position in the CP phase, and therefore does not
respect the normal syntactic properties of passive construals.
Discussed so far, aside from the inconclusiveness of the passivization test, the
results of both the possession test and the transitivity test arguably reveal that example
(20), repeated from (9), is the member of high applicatives, in accordance with the
observation that for one thing, the applied argument gua me and the theme argument
tsiu wine do not stand in a possession relationship; for another, this type of
applicative constructions allows an unergative to be applicativized.
(20) i kinglian ka gua lim-tiau sann-kuan tsiu!

37
3.3.2.2 Peripheral Properties of High Applicatives
In the previous section (3.3.2.1), I have demonstrated high applicative
constructions in Taiwan Southern Min by virtue of three applicativity tests. In the
following discussion, I intend to examine how Taiwan Southern Min high applicatives
should be syntactically represented, and furthermore to point out that traditionally
proposed high applicatives are, in fact, not high enough. I will show that in Taiwan
Southern Min there are even higher applicatives which are merged to the left
periphery, based on the characteristics they possess, which are typically associated
with the information structure, just as what has been proposed in Tsais (2010)
analysis of Mandarin high applicatives.
The first argument has to do with the fact that high applicatives, such as (21)
and (22), are necessarily licensed through some kind of illocutionary force, as pointed
out by Tsai (2010) in dealing with Mandarin high applicatives.
b.* Abing ka gua tsau-khi!
Abing KA me run-away
(22) a. i kinglian ka gua lim-tiau sann-kuan tsiu!

38
b.* i ka gua lim-tiau sann-kuan tsiu!
he KA me drink-over three-CL wine
It can be discovered that either (21a) and (21b) or (22a) and (22b) indicates that the
evaluative adverb kinglian unexpectedly is obligatorily present. Once it is deleted,
the sentence would then turn out a declarative, hence ungrammatical, as shown by the
deviance of (21b) and (22b).
Moreover, according to Tsais (2010) cartographic solution to Mandarin
applicatives, the licenser of Mandarin high applicatives in question can also be a
reversal adverb que however or an outer wh-adverb zenme how come, as shown by
the following examples in (23) and (24).
(23) wo jiao ta bang wo mai jiu. ta que [gei wo] mai-le yan!
I ask him help me buy wine he however AFF me buy-Prf cigarette
I asked him to help me buy wine. He, however, bought cigarettes on me!
(Tsai 2010: 5, (17a))
(24) wo jiao ta bang wo mai jiu. ta zenme [gei wo] mai-le yan?!
I ask him help me buy wine he how.come AFF me buy-Prf cigarette
I asked him to help me buy wine. How come he bought cigarettes on me?!
(Tsai 2010: 6, (17b))
In Taiwan Southern Min, high applicatives also display the same effect. The
illocutionary force can also be achieved by adding a licenser, such as a reversal

39
adverb suah however, as in (25), or an outer wh-adverb na e how come, as in (26).
(25) gua kio i pang gua be tsiu. i suah [ka gua] be hun!
I ask him help me buy wine he however KA me buy cigarette
I asked him to help me buy wine. He, however, bought cigarettes on me!
(26) gua kio i pang gua be tsiu. i na e [ka gua] be hun?!
I ask him help me buy wine he how.come KA me buy cigarette
I asked him to help me buy wine. How come he bought cigarettes on me?!
Similarly, Taiwan Southern Min high applicative can also be used in the negative or
imperative moods, as in the case of Mandarin high applicatives (cf. Tsai 2010: 6,
(18a,b)). Consider the following examples in (27) and (28).
(27) [ka gua] kui-loh!
KA me knee-down
Knee down for my sake!
(28) Ong-e tsiong-lai m-bat [ka gua] pang hun-tsiau!
Ong-e ever have.not KA me let.go pigeon
Ong-e has never stood me up!
The above discussion is all involved with the information structure, which is always
associated with the left periphery. The second argument for the CP-periphery
applicatives refers to the speaker-orientedness restriction of the applied argument,
marked by the applicative marker ka. As evidenced by the following contrasts through

40
(29a) to (29d), the applied argument of high applicatives is strictly limited to the
first-person singular pronoun gua me, as in (29a).
b.* Abing kinglian ka guan tsau-khi!
Abing unexpectedly KA us run-away
Unexpectedly, Abing ran away on us!
c.* Abing kinglian ka li/lin tsau-khi!
Abing unexpectedly KA you/you(pl.) run-away
Unexpectedly, Abing ran away on you!
d.* Abing kinglian ka i/in tsau-khi!
Abing unexpectedly KA him/them run-away
Unexpectedly, Abing ran away on him/them!
Given all these peripheral properties, it can be plausibly proposed that high
applicative construals in Taiwan Southern Min in question are syntactically encoded
on the complementizer layer, higher than typically assumed high applicatives merged
within the vP domain (Marantz 1993, Pylkknen 2000, 2002, McGinnis 2001, Harley
2002, Hole 2006).

41
3.3.2.3 Topography of High Applicatives
Now that it is reasonably posited that high applicatives in Taiwan Southern Min
are merged on the complementizer level, it is of necessity to map out the topography
of Taiwan Southern Min high applicatives under the Cartographic Approach (Rizzi
1997, Cinque 1999). Before moving on to the mapping, I will first explicate the exact
position of the subject, given the fact that high applicatives are always associated with
the left periphery. According to Ko (2005), in Mandarin Chinese, meigeren everyone
can undergo long-distance topicalization, while henshoaren few people , on the
other hand, cannot, as demonstrated by the contrast between (30a) and (30b). This
contrast mainly shows that the external argument is actually seated in a topic position,
instead of in a subject position.
(30) a. meigeren
k
, wo renwei [t
k
dou hui qu].
everyone I think all will go
Everyone, I think will go.
b.* henshoaren
k
, wo renwei [t
k
hui qu].
few.people I think will go
Few people, I think will go.
Turning to the Taiwan Southern Min case, the picture is quite matched. That is
to say, in Taiwan Southern Min, mui-tsit-e-lang everyone, but not tsin-tsio-lang few
people may occur in the sentence-initial position, as evidenced by the examples in
(31a) and (31b). The result is quite parallel to Kos (2005) analysis, thereby sharing

42
with Mandarin Chinese the same conclusion that the external argument is, in fact,
occupied in a topic position.
(31) a. mui-tsit-e-lang
k
, gua siong kong [t
k
long e khi Taipak].
everyone I think that all will go Taipei
Everyone, I think will go to Taipei.
b.* tsin-tsio-lang
k
, gua siong kong [t
k
e khi Taipak].
few.people I think that will go Taipei
Few people, I think will go to Taipei.
Now, I will apply this as a test to see whether the subject in a high applicative in
Taiwan Southern Min truly emerges in a topic position. The desired result is now
borne out by the contrast shown in (32a) and (32b). It can be clearly found that
mui-tsit-e-lang everyone can appear sentence-initially, whereas tsin-tsio-lang few
people cannot. This in turn predicts that the subject position in high applicatives in
Taiwan Southern Min is presumably a topic position.
(32) a. mui-tsit-e-lang kinglian long ka gua tsau-khi!
everyone unexpectedly all KA me run-away
Unexpectedly, everyone ran away on me!
b.* tsin-tsio-lang kinglian ka gua tsau-khi!
few.people unexpectedly KA me run-away
Unexpectedly, few people ran away on me!

43
With all the forediscussed information in hand, the topography of Taiwan
Southern Min high applicatives can be visualized as follows in (33) (irrelevant details
omitted).
(33) TopP

Subj
i
Top

Top EvaP

Evaluative Adverb Eva

ka
j
+Eva ApplP
High

Affectee Appl
High

t
j
TP

t
i

Here, as seen from the diagram in (33), I analyze ka as the high applicative head,
which takes the applied argument, or Affectee, as its specifier. This high applicative
head ka further raises to the evaluative head to license the peripheral construal of high
applicatives. With respect to the external argument, or the subject, it will move to the
topic position, as previously mentioned.

44

3.3.3 Applicatives at the Edge of vP
3.3.3.1 Middle Benefactive/Goal Applicatives
In section 3.3.2, I have investigated high applicatives in Taiwan Southern Min,
and figured out that Taiwan Southern Min high applicatives stand in a position of the
left periphery. Discussed so far, there is still one issue that needs explanation. In
Taiwan Southern Min, high applicatives indeed have their benefactive and goal
counterparts, both of which are also marked by the marker ka, as exemplified in (34)
and (35).
12

(34) Aing ka gua hang tsit-te ke-nng-ko. [benefactive]
Aing KA me bake one-CL cake
Aing baked a cake for me.
(35) Abing ka gua sia tsit-tiunn phue. [goal]
Abing KA me write one-CL letter
Abing wrote a letter to me.
Although high applicatives resemble their benefactive and goal counterparts, all of
which contain the marker ka, they are, however, different in several respects. First, the
semantic interpretation of the applied argument introduced by the marker ka is
divergent. The high applicative that I have examined in the previous section is always
characterized as expressing the malefactive effect exerted on the applied argument;
thus, the applied argument in Taiwan Southern Min high applicatives is an Affectee.

12
This construal is called outer benefactive in Tsais (2010) sense.

45
On the other hand, as for the benefactive and goal construals, the extra arguments
introduced by ka function as a Beneficiary in (34) and a Goal in (35), respectively.
The second difference between high applicatives and their benefactive and goal
counterparts lies in the person restriction. As mentioned in the previous section (3.3.2),
high applicatives are always speaker-oriented. In other words, the applied argument,
or the Affectee, can only be the first-person singular pronoun gua me, as indicated in
(36). However, benefactive and goal construals do not have this person restriction.
The applied argument can be replaced in any form, as demonstrated by the
well-formedness of (37) and (38).
(36) Abing kinglian ka gua/*guan/*li/*lin/*i/*in/*Ong-e tsau-khi!
Abing unexpectedly KA me/us/you/you(pl.)/him/them/Ong-e run-away
Unexpectedly, Abing ran away on me/us/you/him/them/Ong-e!
(37) Aing ka gua/guan/li/lin/i/in/Ong-e hang tsit-te ke-nng-ko.
Aing KA me/us/you/you(pl.)/him/them/Ong-e bake one-CL cake
Aing baked a cake for me/us/you/him/them/Ong-e.
(38) Ahing ka gua/guan/li/lin/i/in/Ong-e sia tsit-tiuun phue.
Ahing KA me/us/you/you(pl.)/him/them/Ong-e write one-CL letter
Ahing wrote a letter to me/us/you/him/them/Ong-e.
With respect to the second contrast, it is plausibly assumed that Taiwan Southern Min
benefactive/goal applicatives are obviously located lower than high applicatives in
that the former lacks the first-person singular restriction for the applied argument,
unlike the Affectee in the latter. Additionally, the evaluative adverb kinglian

46
unexpectedly can also be omitted, and the sentence remains correct, as shown by the
grammaticality of examples (37) and (38), definitely contrary to the case of high
applicatives. Therefore, benefactive and goal construals of applicatives obviously do
not reach into the domain of the complementizer layer, due to the absence of the
speaker-orientedness property and a presupposition of unexpectedness.
Third, according to Tsai (2010), Mandarin outer affectives, that is, high
applicatives termed in this thesis, are separated from their benefactive and goal
counterparts by way of topicalization. In Mandarin Chinese, it is impossible for the
outer Affectee with gei to undergo topicalization. On the other hand, either the
Beneficiary or the Goal together with gei is free from this restriction. Compare the
contrasts shown in (39), (40), and (41) (Tsai 2010).
(39) a. Akiu juran [gei wo] na-le qian jiu pao.
Akiu unexpectedly AFF me take-Prf money then run
Unexpectedly, Akiu took the money and ran away on me.
b.* [gei wo], Akiu juran na-le qian jiu pao.
AFF me Akiu unexpectedly take-Prf money then run
Unexpectedly, Akiu took the money and ran away on me.
(40) a. Akiu kao-le yi-kuai dangao [gei tamen].
Akiu bake-Prf one-CL cake for them
Akiu baked a cake for them.
b.? [gei tamen], Akiu kao-le yi-kuai dangao.
for them Akiu bake-Prf one-CL cake

47

(41) a. Akiu xie-le yi-feng xin [gei tamen].
Akiu write-Prf one-CL letter to them
Akiu wrote a letter to them.
b. [gei tamen], Akiu xie-le yi-feng xin.
to them Akiu write-Prf one-CL letter
Akiu wrote a letter to them.
Based on the observation in (39)-(41), Tsai (2010) concludes that the marker gei well
functions as an applicative head in outer affectives, as in (39), while the one in
benefactvie and goal construals simply behaves a preposition, as in (40) and (41),
respectively.
Adopting this topicalization restriction as a test, I try to examine the syntactic
status of the benefactive/goal counterparts of Taiwan Southern Min high applicatives.
It is interestingly observed that distinct from Mandarin benefactive/goal construals, in
Taiwan Southern Min, neither the Beneficiary nor the Goal together with the marker
ka is able to be topicalized to the sentence-initial position, as evidenced by the
ungrammaticality of (42b) and (43b).
13

13
As noted by Prof. Feng-Fu Tsao and Prof. Barry Chung-Yu Yang, contrastive topic seems fine here,
as shown by the following example. Also thank Prof. Feng-Fu Tsao for giving me the example.
i) [ka in], Aing hang tsit-te ke-nng-ko, [ka guan], Aing lian phau tsit-pue te to bo.
KA them, Aing bake one-CL cake, KA us, Aing even brew one-CL tea all not
For them, Aing baked a cake, but for us, Aing did nothing even brewed a cup of tea.
It is worthwhile to consider whether example (42b) and (43b) share the same syntactic structures with
example (i), since it, in fact, needs some specific contexts and illocutionary force to utter a contrastive
topic. Here, I do not figure out any possible explanation, and may leave it for further research.

48
(42) a. Aing [ka in] hang tsit-te ke-nng-ko.
Aing KA them bake one-CL cake
Aing baked a cake for them.
b.* [ka in], Aing hang tsit-te ke-nng-ko.
KA them Aing bake one-CL cake
Aing baked a cake for them.
(43) a. Ahing [ka i] sia tsit-tiunn phue.
Ahing KA him write one-CL letter
Ahing wrote a lettler to him.
b.* [ka i], Ahing sia tsit-tiunn phue.
KA him Ahing write one-CL letter
Ahing wrote a letter to him.
From this angle, it is impossible to treat the marker ka in benefactive (42) and goal
(43) construals as a preposition, as it cannot form a constituent with the Beneficiary
argument or the Goal argument. Given this fact, I, in this thesis, analyze the marker ka
in Taiwan Southern Min benefactive and goal applicatives as a true applicative head,
rather than a preposition, as claimed in Tsais (2010) analysis.
Moreover, benefactive and goal applicatives are also impossibly merged at the vP
periphery as a PP adjunct, due to the fact that both the ka-beneficiary and the ka-goal
fails to undergo topicalization, contrary to the analysis made by Tsai (2010) that
Mandarin outer benefactive and goal PPs are placed at the peripheral domain of vP as
a PP adjunct. In what follows, I suppose as a working hypothesis that benefactive and
goal applicatives are merged as middle applicatives headed by the applicative marker

49
ka, which are accommodated at the position in between vP and VP.
To argue for the syntactic status of benefactive and goal applicatives as middle
applicatives, some arguments are provided below. First of all, unlike high applicatives,
they are not necessarily involved with speaker-orientedness, as I have already shown
above in (37) and (38). Moreover, a presupposition of unexpectedness is also not
obligatorily observed, since the evaluative adverb kinglian unexpectedly can be
absent from the benefactive and goal applicatives, such as examples in (37) and (38).
Examples are repeated below as (44) and (45).
(44) Aing ka gua/guan/li/lin/i/in/Ong-e hang tsit-te ke-nng-ko.
Aing KA me/us/you/you(pl.)/him/them/Ong-e bake one-CL cake
Aing baked a cake for me/us/you/him/them/Ong-e.
(45) Ahing ka gua/guan/li/lin/i/in/Ong-e sia tsit-tiuun phue.
Ahing KA me/us/you/you(pl.)/him/them/Ong-e write one-CL letter
Ahing wrote a letter to me/us/you/him/them/Ong-e.
Second, in terms of the transitivity test, they are incompatible with unergatvie
verbs, as proven by the deviance of examples in (46) and (47), hence disqualified as
high applicatives, since they fail the transitivity test. In addition, they also fail the
passivization test, based on the fact that both the applied argument and the theme
argument are unable to be raised to the sentence-initial position, as evidenced by the
ungrammaticality of (48) and (49).

50

(46)* Aing teh [ka Abing] kau.
Aing Pres. KA Abing cry
Aing was crying for Abing.
(47)* Ahing [ka Abing] tsau-khi.
Ahing KA Abing run-away
Ahing ran away for Abing.
(48)* Abing hoo Aing ka se-uan tsit-tui sann.
14

Abing HOO Aing KA wash-over one-CL clothes
Abing was washed a pile of clothes by Aing.
(49)* u tsit-tui sann hoo Aing ka Abing se-uan a.
have one-CL clothes HOO Aing KA Abing wash-over Prf.
There are a pile of clothes that were washed for Abing by Aing.
At this point so far, it seems reasonable to classify benefactive and goal
applicatives in Taiwan Southern Min as low applicatives. The applied argument and
the theme argument in benefactive/goal applicatives appear to display some kind of
possession relationship. However, under scrutiny, it can be found that the possession
relation between the applied argument and the theme argument can be cancelled,
which means that the possession relationship between these two arguments is only
implied, hence cancellable (cf. Cuervo2003). Consider the following examples in (50)

14
Example (48) turns out grammatical if it is interpreted as causative. Moreover, in actual utterance,
the applicative marker ka would be pronounced as kah, a contracted form that is composed of ka along
with the third-person singular pronoun i s/he. The details would be given in section 3.4. To maintain
the consistence, temporarily I may not alter the transcription.

51

and (51).
15

(50) Aing ka Ahing se-uan [Li-ka in-tau e sann].
Aing KA Ahing wash-over Li-family they-house Poss. clothes
Aing washed the Li familys clothes for Ahing.
(51) Abing ka in kia [tsit-tui Aing e tsheh].
Abing KA them send one-CL Aing Poss. book
Abing sent a pile of Aings books to them.
As can be seen above, when an extra possessor distinct from the applied argument is
inserted, the possession relationship between the applied argument and the theme
argument in (50) and (51) is then being cancelled, which indicates that the possession
relationship at issue is not part of the structural semantics of benefactive and goal
applicatives in Taiwan Southern Min. Under this perspective, they should not be the
member of low applicatives of which the possession relationship is unable to be
cancelled.
Summarizing the above discussion, I therefore suppose that benefactive/goal
applicative construals in Taiwan Southern Min should be presumably analyzed as
middle applicatives, mainly based on their idiosyncratic properties.

15
Intuitively observed, the applied argument and the theme argument in (50) and (51) are presumably
impossible to stand in a possession relationship, as the beneficiary/goal and the theme originally are
already separated by a predicate. They are, in the surface order, not adjacent to each other, theoretically
failing to build up a possession relationship.

52

3.3.3.2 Middle Affective Applicatives
In addition to the high affective applicative discussed above (3.3.2), in Taiwan
Southern Min, there is another type of affective applicatives which are not marked by
the applicative marker ka.
16
Such unmarked affective applicatives are often labeled as
pseudo double object construction, for there is no possession relationship held
between the Affectee and the theme argument. The examples are given in (52a), (52b),
and (52c). Furthermore, it is also noticed that these unmarked affective applicatives in
Taiwan Southern Min have their ka-marked counterparts, as in (53a), (53b), and (53c),
respectively, both types of which express the interpretation of affectedness exerted on
the applied argument, or the Affectee. The only difference between them depends on
whether or not the applicative marker ka is overtly realized.
(52) a. Abing lim-tiau Ahing sann-kuan tsiu.
Abing drink-over Ahing three-CL wine
Abing drank three bottles of wine on Ahing.
b. Abing koh thau-theh Aing lak-pah khoo a.
Abing again stealthily-take Aing six-hundred dollar Prf.
Abing stole six hundred dollars on Aing again.
c. Ahing koh tsiah Aing sann-ko-gueh bian-tsinn-png a.
Ahing again eat Aing three.month meal.without.charge Prf.
Ahing has had meals without payment for three months on Aing again.

16
In the early literature, such unmarked applicatives are assumed to be not existent (See Mai (2007)).
However, nowadays these unmarked applicatives are, to some extent, acceptable and even grammatical
among young generation. Therefore, I put them into my analysis.

53
(53) a. Abing [ka Ahing] lim-tiau sann-kuan tsiu.
Abing KA Ahing drink-over three-CL wine
b. Abing koh [ka Aing] thau-theh lak-pah khoo a.
Abing again KA Aing stealthily-take six-hundred dollar Prf.
Abing stole six hundred dollars on Aing again.
c. Ahing koh [ka Aing] tsiah sann-ko-gueh bian-tsinn-png a.
Ahing again KA Aing eat three.month meal.without.charge Prf.
Ahing has had meals without payment for three months on Aing again.
In the following, I will show that both types of affective applicatives at issue do not
belong to either high applicatives or low applicatives in Taiwan Southern Min. Instead,
such affective construals, or inner affectives in Tsais (2010) sense, are better treated
as middle applicatives merged in between vP and VP. The argumentation is given
below.
First, similar to high affective applicatives depicted previously (3.3.2), affective
construals, such as (52) and (53), relate an individual to an event. In other words, in
(52a) and (53a), the applied argument, or the Affectee, Aing, is affected by Abings
wine-drinking event. In (52b) and (53b), Aing, the Affectee, is affected by the event
that Abing stole six hundred dollars. To the same effect, both (52c) and (53c) relate
the Affectee, Aing, to the event that Ahing has had meals without charge for three
months.
Second, in terms of the applicativity tests, this type of affective applicatives, on
the other hand, behaves differently from high affective construals. It is discovered that
the applied argument can undergo passivization, while the theme argument cannot, as

54

shown by the contrasts between (54a) and (54b) as well as between (55a) and (55b).
In (54a) and (55a), passivization of the applied argument, Ahing, is grammatical.
However, sann-kuan tsiu three bottles of wine in (54b) and (55b) is not available for
passivization. Furthermore, affective construals, such as (52) and (53), just illustrated
above are also incompatible with unergative predicates, as evidenced by the following
examples in (56a), (56b), and (56c). An unergative like lim tsiu tsui got drunk cannot
be applicativized, as shown in the affective applicatives in (56b) and (56c). Therefore,
to conclude, they fail both the passivization test and the transitivity test, and hence
should not be categorized as high applicatives.
(54) a. Ahing hoo Abing lim-tiau sann-kuan tsiu.
Ahing HOO Abing drink-over three-CL wine
Ahing underwent the event Abing drank three bottles of wine on him.
b.* u sann-kuan tsiu hoo Abing lim-tiau Ahing.
have three-CL wine HOO Abing drink-over Ahing
Three bottles of wine were drunk on Ahing by Abing.
(55) a. Ahing hoo Abing ka lim-tiau sann-kuan tsiu.
17

Ahing HOO Abing KA drink-over three-CL wine
b.* u sann-kuan tsiu hoo Abing ka Ahing lim-tiau.
have three-CL wine HOO Abing KA Ahing drink-over
Three bottles of wine were drunk on Ahing by Abing.

17
Similar to example (48), the applicative marker ka here would also be uttered as kah in real
conversation. To maintain consistence, I also may not change its transcription.

55
(56) a. Ong-e lim tsiu tsui a.
Ong-e drink wine drunk Prf.
Ong-e got drunk.
b.* Ong-e lim tsiu tsui Li-e a.
Ong-e drink wine drunk Li-e Prf.
Ong-e got drunk on Li-e.
c.* Ong-e ka Li-e lim tsiu tsui a.
Ong-e KA Li-e drink wine drunk Prf.
Ong-e got drunk on Li-e.
Third, the affective applicative, both marked and unmarked, in question does
not exhibit the speaker-oriented restriction, as observed in high affective applicatives.
The observation is illustrated by the examples in (57) and (58), in all of which the
applied argument is not limited only to the first-person singular pronoun gua me. In
addition, the evaluative adverb kinglian unexpectedly is also not obligatorily present
in these two types of affective construals, which are shown to be quite compatible
with the declarative usage, as indicated by the well-formedness of examples in (59a)
and (59b). Consequently, according to these observed facts, it is impossible to
associate them with the left periphery.
(57) a. Abing kinglian thau-theh gua/guan lak-pah khoo!
Abing unexpectedly stealthily-take me/us six-hundred dollar.
Unexpectedly, Abing stole six hundred dollars on me/us!

56
b. Abing kinglian thau-theh li/lin lak-pah khoo!
Abing unexpectedly stealthily-take you/you(pl.) six-hundred dollar.
Unexpectedly, Abing stole six hundred dollars on you!
c. Abing kinglian thau-theh i/in lak-pah khoo!
Abing unexpected stealthily-take him/them six-hundred dollar.
Unexpectedly, Abing stole six hundred dollars on him/them!
(58) a. Abing kinglian ka gua/guan thau-theh lak-pah khoo!
Abing unexpectedly KA me/us stealthily-take six-hundred dollar
Unexpectedly, Abing stole six hundred dollars on me/us!
b. Abing kinglian ka li/lin thau-theh lak-pah khoo!
Abing unexpectedly KA you/you(pl.) stealthily-take six-hundred dollar
Unexpectedly, Abing stole six hundred dollars on you!
c. Abing kinglian ka i/in thau-theh lak-pah khoo!
Abing unexpectedly KA him/them stealthily-take six-hundred
dollar.
Unexpectedly, Abing stole six hundred dollars on him/them!
(59) a. Abing lim-tiau gua sann-kuan tsiu.
Abing drink-over me three-CL wine
Abing drank three bottles of wine on me.
b. Abing ka gua lim-tiau sann-kuan tsiu.
Abing KA me drink-over three-CL wine
Abing drank three bottles of wine on me.

57
Following the facts observed above, it seems that the marked/unmarked
affective applicatives in question are more likely to be identified with low applicatives,
given their lack of pragmatically-related speaker-orientedness and a presupposition of
unexpectedness as well as their failure of the possession test and the transitivity test,
all of which are characteristic of high applicatives. Nonetheless, to treat this type of
affectives as low applicatives is not perfectly appropriate. The major reason results
from the fact that the semantics of the affective applicative in question is able to be
cancelled, quite in line with Cuervos (2003) analysis of Spanish affected datives, as
exemplified in (60), where the possession relationship between the affected dative
argument and the theme argument can be cancelled by adding a possessor to the
theme arguement, as shown in (60b).
(60) a. Emilio le rompio la radio a Carolina.
Emilio CL.DAT broke the radio Carolina.DAT
Emilio broke the radio on Carolina.
b. Emilio le rompio [la radio de la vecina] a Carolina.
Emilio CL.DAT broke the radio of the neighbor Carolina.DAT
Emilio broke the neighbors radio on Carolina.
Turning back to the Taiwan Southern Min case here, it follows the same way
that when an extra possessor is added to the theme argument, the possession
relationship originally held between the applied argument and the theme argument
then is cancelled, as indicated in examples (61) and (62).

58
(61) a. Abing lim-tiau Ahing sann-kuan tsiu.
Abing drink-over Ahing three-CL wine
b. Abing lim-tiau Ahing [sann-kuan Ong-ka e tsiu].
Abing drink-over Ahing three-CL Wang-family Poss. wine
Abing drank three bottles of the Wang familys wine on Ahing.
(62) a. Abing ka Ahing lim-tiau sann-kuan tsiu.
Abing KA Ahing drink-over three-CL wine
b. Abing ka Ahing lim-tiau [sann-kuan Ong-ka e tsiu].
Abing KA Ahing drink-over three-CL Wang-family Poss. wine
Abing drank three bottles of the Wang familys wine on Ahing

As shown by the grammaticality of (61b) and (62b), it brings forth the fact that the
possession relationship between the applied argument and the theme argument is only
implied, and thus can be cancelled, which leads to the conclusion that the possession
relationship discussed above does not, in fact, take part in the structural semantics of
the Taiwan Southern Min affective applicative at issue, and therefore the applied
argument is indeed an Affectee, rather than a Source, as normally analyzed for low
applicatives. Consequently, according to the above discussion, I analyze these two
types of affectives as middle applicatives, which are headed either by a covert
applicative maker AFF for cases of unmarked affectives, or an overt applicative
marker ka for cases of marked affectives, and their syntactic derivations will be
explicated in the following section.

59
3.3.3.3 Topography of Middle Applicatives
In the previous two subsections (3.3.3.1 & 3.3.3.2), I have introduced two types
of middle applicatives attested in Taiwan Southern Min, and therefore in this section, I
aim to implement how these two types of middle applicatives are merged in syntactic
structures under the Cartographic Approach (Rizzi 1997, Cinque 1999). In the
following discussion, I will proceed in two ways. One is to deal with the middle
benefactive/goal applicative in Taiwan Southern Min. The other is to do with the
middle affective applicative in Taiwan Southern Min. It can be clearly observed that
the former is characterized with the overt applicative marker ka, while the latter, on
the other hand, is expressed by two different strategies, either with the covert
applicative marker AFF or with the overt applicative marker ka. Moreover, the
distinction between the overt ka and the covert AFF will result in whether verb
movement is triggered in process, which will be given in details later.
First, with respect to the middle benefactive/goal applicative, it is quite
straightforward that the overt applicative marker ka merges as the middle applicative
head, taking a beneficiary or a goal as its specifier. The applicative head ka then
moves up to the v head to derive the correct surface word. The structure can be
diagramed as follows in (63) (irrelevant details omitted).

60
(63) TopP

Subj
j

TP

t
j
vP

v

v ApplP
Middle
ka
i

Beneficiary/Goal Appl
Middle

Appl
Middle
VP
t
i

Based upon this proposed topography, it seems that McGinniss (2001) phasal account
fails to apply here. It is noticed that the structure sketched in (63) in fact assimilates to
the high applicative in McGinniss (2001) analysis, due to their similar syntactic
positions. According to McGinnis (2001), the middle applicative head termed in my
analysis should head a phase. Therefore, it may predict that both the beneficiary/goal
argument and the theme argument can undergo passivization. However, as indicated
by the deviance of examples in (48) and (49), reproduced here as (64) and (65),
neither of them pass the passivization test, which leads to the conclusion that middle
benefactive/goal applicatives in Taiwan Southern Min is not phasal, as opposed to
McGinniss (2001) proposal.
(64)* Abing hoo Aing ka se-uan tsit-tui sann.

61
(65)* u tsit-tui sann hoo Aing ka Abing se-uan a.
have one-CL clothes HOO Aing KA Abing wash-over Prf.
There are a pile of clothes that were washed for Abing by Aing.
Second, in terms of the middle affective applicative, I first deal with the marked
affective applicative, whose situation is quite similar to the middle benefactive/goal
applicative mentioned above, since both of them share the same trait of having the
overt applicative marker ka to introduce the applied argument. Based on this finding,
it is then reasonable to assume that the syntactic structure of marked middle affective
applicatives is on a par with the one sketched for middle benefactive and goal
applicatives, as shown in (63), only differing in the semantic role of the applied
argument. Consider the topography of marked middle affectives visualized in (66)
(irrelevant details omitted). Here, as can be observed, the applied argument introduced
by the applicative marker ka is an Affectee, in contrast to the Beneficiary or Goal
shown in (63).

62
(66) TopP

Subj
j

TP

t
j
vP

v

v ApplP
Middle
ka
i

Affectee Appl
Middle

Appl
Middle
VP
t
i

On the other hand, as to the unmarked construal, it is worthwhile noting that for one
thing, the applicative marker in this construal is unmarked, or in a covert form. For
another, verb movement is activated in this unmarked middle affective construal, as
hinted by the linear word order, where the verb precedes the Affectee. The following
structure, as in (67), concerns the topography of unmarked middle affectives in
Taiwan Southern Min (irrelevant details omitted).

63
(67) TopP

Subj
k

TP

t
k
vP

v

v ApplP
Middle
[AFF+V
j
]
i

Affectee Appl
Middle

Appl
Middle
VP
t
i

V

V
j

As demonstrated in diagram (67), it is shown that in Taiwan Southern Min umarked
middle affective applicatives, due to the covert status of the applicative head occupied
with the feature AFF, the verb is forced to first move to the applicative head position
to combine with the covert AFF, obtaining the affectedness interpretation. Afterwards,
the verb and the covert AFF together as a unit then raise to the v head position to
derive the surface word order.
Similarly, from the topography of middle affectives in (66) and (67), middle affectives
also do no head a phase, owing to the results of passivization. The reason has been
addressed above. Therefore I will not describe here again.
All in all, as indicated by the topographies portrayed above, it is quite apparent
that both the beneficiary/goal argument in middle benefactive/goal applicatives and
the affectee argument in middle affective applicatives seem to occupy the same place,

64

that is, the specifier position of ApplP
Middle
.
18
As for the syntactic status of the middle
applicative marker, it can be either an overt spell-out ka or a covert form AFF.
19

3.3.4 Applicatives in the VP Shell
Discussed so far, in addition to high applicatives and middle applicatives
identified above, Taiwan Southern Min also exhibits another breed of benefactives. In
the previous section (3.3.3), I have argued that ka-marked benefactive applicatives
belong to the class of middle applicatives. Here, it is observed that there is another
type of benefactive applicatives, which are unmarked, namely, without the appearance
of the overt applicative marker ka. In this section, I suppose that this type of
benefactives is situated lower in the VP shell, similar to English low applicatives, as
exemplified in (68a) and (68b).
20

18
Note that there is one mentioned fact that seems to contradict this generalization. This fact has to do
with the passivization test. As what I have demonstrated, in middle benefactive/goal applicatives,
passivization of the beneficiary/goal is blocked, while in middle affective applicatives, passivization of
the affective is allowed. Consider the following examples, reproduced from (48) and (55a).
i)* Abing hoo Aing ka se-uan tsit-tui sann. [repeated from (48)]
ii) Ahing hoo Abing ka lim-tiau sann-kuan tsiu. [repeated from(55a)]
Ahing HOO Abing KA drink-over three-CL wine
If given the topography of middle applicatives, both the beneficiary/goal and the affectee occupy the
same place, Spec of ApplP
Middle
. It then seems to be problematic for them to have different syntactic
behaviors in terms of passivization. Here, I still maintain my argument for the middle applicative
topography, and attribute the failure of beneficiary/goal passivization to the pragmatic/semantic factors.
Cross-linguistically, beneficiary/goal arguments are hard to be passivized since passivization is always
pragmatically/semantically associated with a malefactive effect on the passivized argument.
19
Thank Prof. Barry Chung-Yu Yang for bringing me the comment that it is questionable why middle
benefactive/goal applicatives do not have the ka-marked counterpart. It is definitely an issue that needs
to be clarified in further research. For now, I still have no plausible solution to this issue.
20
This type of applicatives is dubbed as inner benefactive in Tsais (2010) sense.

65

(68) a. Abing siu ho Ong-ka in-tau sann-tiunn toh-a.
Abing fix well Wang-family they-house three-CL table
Abing fixed three tables for the Wang family.
b. Aing poo ho Li-ka in-tau lak-e thang-a-mng.
Aing mend well Li-family they-house six-CL window
Aing mended six windows for the Li family.

There are some reasons to claim that benefactive applicatives, such as example
(68), should be analyzed as low applicatives. First, given the possession test, the
beneficiary argument Ong-ka in-tau the Wang family and the theme argument
sann-tiunn toh-a three tables in (68a) or the beneficiary argument Li-ka in-tau the
Li family and the theme argument lak-e thang-a-mng six windows in (68b) indeed
exhibits a possession relationship, even though the possession relationship held in (68)
is not the directional type discussed in Pylkknen (2000, 2002). Furthermore, the
possession relationship in discussion is uncancellable, and is therefore entailed, as
indicated by ungrammaticality of examples (69a) and (69b) (cf. Cuervo 2003).
21

Consequently, the possession relationship should belong to the structural semantics of
benefactive construals, such as (68). As for the transitivity test, the benefactive
applicative in question, or inner benefactives in Tsais (2010) sense, appears
incompatible with an unergative predicate, such as hau cry and tsau-khi run away,
as illustrated by the deviance of examples in (70a) and (70b).

21
In Spanish there is also a counterpart of the low applicative, as in (68), where the possession
relationship cannot be cancelled (Cuervo 2003). Examples are given below.
i) a. Emilio le lavo el auto a Carolina.
Emilio Cl.Dat washed the car Carolina.Dat
Lit. Emilio washed Carolina the car.
b.* Emilio le lavo [el auto de la vecina] a Carolina.
Emilio Cl.Dat washed the car of the neighbor Carolina.Dat
Lit. Emilio washed Carolina the car of the neighbor.

66
(69) a. * Abing siu ho Ong-ka [sann-tiunn Ahing e toh-a].
Abing fix well Wang-family three-CL Ahing Poss. table
Abing fixed three Ahings table for the Wang family.
b. * Aing poo ho Li-ka [lak-e Asam e thang-a-mng].
Aing mend well Li-family six-CL Asam Poss. window
Aing mended six Asams windows for the Li family.
(70) a.* Abing teh hau Ong-ka.
Abing Preg. cry Wang-family
Abing was crying for the Wang family.
b.* Ahing tsau-khi Li-ka a.
Ahing run-away Li-family Prf.
Ahing ran away for the Li family.
In terms of the passivization test, neither the beneficiary argument nor the theme
argument in such construals can undergo passivization process, as evidenced by the
deviance of examples in (71) and (72). Both the beneficiary Ong-ka in-tau the Wang
family in (71) and the theme sann-tiunn toh-a three tables in (72) are unable to be
passivized.
(71)* One-ka in-tau hoo Abing siu ho sann-tiunn toh-a.
Wang-family they-house HOO Abing fix well three-CL table

67
(72)* u sann-tiunn toh-a hoo Abing siu ho Ong-ka in-tau.
have three-CL table HOO Abing fix well Wang-family they-house
Based upon the applicativity tests demonstrated above, it is quite reasonable to
classify the Taiwan Southern Min benefactive construal under consideration into low
applicatives. The syntactic representation of low benefactive applicatives in Taiwan
Southern Min is shown in the following diagram (73) (irrelevant details omitted).
(73) TopP

Subj
k

TP

t
k
vP

t
k
v

v VP

V

V ApplP
Low

Beneficiary Appl
Low

Appl
Low
Theme
AFF

As seen from the diagram in (73), in Taiwan Southern Min, the low applicative head
is always occupied with the covert AFF, built upon the fact that low benefactive

68
applicatives in Taiwan Southern Min are always unmarked, that is, with the absence
of the applicative marker ka. Distinct from middle affective applicatives, where verb
movement is applied, the covert AFF in low benefactive applicatives may not trigger
verb movement, since it is here used to mediate the possession relationship between
two internal arguments of low applicatives, the beneficiary and the theme.
This proposed topography can also account for why low applicatives fails the
transitivity test and the passivization test. For one thing, since unergatives only select
an external argument and lack an internal argument, it is thus plausible that low
applicatives are incompatible with unergative predicates, simply because that low
applicatives obligatorily subcategorize two internal arguments. For another, adopting
McGinniss (2001) phasal account, low applicatives do not count as a phase. Under
this perspective, it would predict that only the beneficiary argument but not the theme
argument can undergo passivization, since it is the element closer to the v head with
the EPP feature. However, as indicated by the deviance of examples in (71) and (72),
both arguments are unable to be passivized. Here, I attribute the ungrammaticality of
beneficiary passivization to the pragmatic/semantic issue, since cross-linguistically
beneficiary arguments are hard to undergo passivization, since passivization is always
involved with adversity.
3.4 Some Contrasts between Taiwan Southern Min and Mandarin Chinese
In all the above discussion, I have already displayed the categorization of
applicative constructions in Taiwan Southern Min, figuring out three basic types of
applicatives, namely, high applicatives, middle applicatives, and low applicatives. In
this section, I intend to compare the Taiwan Southern Min applicative with the

69
Mandarin Chinese applicative, and to point out that in spite of the fact that Taiwan
Southern Min shares some similar characteristics with Mandarin Chinese with respect
to applicative constructions, they still show some contrasts that need to be clarified in
this thesis.
First, according to Tsais (2010) analysis, middle applicatives can be further
separated into two sub-types: one is gei-marked middle benefactives, as in (74), while
the other is non-gei-marked middle affectives, as in (75). Here, gei in (74) is analyzed
as a preposition, because of the reason that a benefactive PP is possibly being
topicalized, as evidenced by the well-formedness of (76).
(74) Akiu [gei tamen] kao -le yi-kuai dangao.
Akiu for them bake -Prf. one-CL cake
(75) Akiu he le Xiaodi san-ping jiu.
Akiu drink Prf. Xiaodi three-CL wine
(76) [Gei tamen], Akiu kao-le yi-kuai dangao
For them Akiu bake-Prf. one-CL cake
In Taiwan Southern Min, middle applicatives can also be divided into middle
benefactives with the overt applicative marker ka, as in (77), and middle affectives
without any marker preceding the Affectee, as in (78).

70
(77) Abing ka in hang tsit-tet ke-nng-ko.
Abing KA them bake one-CL cake
Abing baked a cake for them.
(78) Abing tsiah Aing tau-hu.
Abing eat Aing tofu
Abing took advantage of Aing.
However, different from Mandarin Chinese, the marker ka in (77) is unlikely to be
treated as a preposition, since it is impossible to topicalize a ka+NP sequence, as
supported by the deviance of (79). Accordingly, ka in middle benefactives seems to
function more like an applicative head or a light verb, which I have already illustrated
in section 3.3.3.1.
(79) * [Ka in], Abing hang tsit-tet ke-nng-ko.
KA them Abing bake one-CL cake
Abing baked a cake for them.
Second, in Mandarin Chinese middle affectives are expressed without the
applicative marker gei. It is impossible to find a gei-marked counterpart of unmarked
middle affectives that still imposes the affectedness exerted on the Affectee. Consider
the following contrast between (80) and (81). The foremr is an unmarked middle
affective while the latter has the appearance of the marker gei. But interestingly
enough, it can be seen that the semantic interpretation of these two sentences is not
the same. Example (80) truly conveys the affectedness exerted on the Affectee, Xiaodi.

71
On the contrary, example (81) seems to be causative, not affective however.
(80) Akiu juran he -le Xiaodi san-ping jiu!
Akiu unexpectedly drink-Prf. Xiaodi three-CL wine
Unexpectedly, Akiu drank three bottles of wine on Xiaodi!
(81) Akiu juran gei Xiaodi he-le san-ping jiu!
Akiu unexpectedly GEI Xiaodi drink-Prf. three-CL. wine
#Unexpectedly, Akiu drank three bottles of wine on Xiaodi!
Unexpectedly, Akiu let/made Xiaodi drink three bottles of wine!
Nonetheless, this sharp contrast is not observed in Taiwan Southern Min, where the
fact becomes that in Taiwan Southern Min both non-ka-marked and ka-marked middle
affectives are found to be existent and at the same time share the same semantics,
namely, the affectedness on the Affectee. This scenario is obviously different from
Mandarin Chinese, which can be proven by the data shown below. Sentences (82) and
(83) both represent the middle affective in Taiwan Southern Min. The nuance only
depends on whether the applicative marker ka appears covertly, as in (82), or overtly,
as in (83), either of which will not change their meanings, unlike the Mandarin
Chinese case described above.
(82) Abing kinglian tsiah Aing tau-hu.
Abing unexpectedly eat Aing tofu
Unexpectedly, Abing took advantage of Aing.

72
(83) Abing kinglian ka Aing tsiah tau-hu.
Abing unexpectedly KA Aing eat tofu
Unexpectedly, Abing took advantage of Aing.
Third, in Taiwan Southern Min, when the applicative maker ka is followed by
the third person singular pronoun i him/her, they will contract into kah. According
to Cheng and Tsao (1995), the third person singular pronoun i him/her is weakened
to a glottal sound. Consider the following pair (84) and (85). As is indicated in (84),
the co-occurrence of ka and the third singular pronoun i him/her may result in
contraction into kah, as shown in (85).
(84) Abing ka i se sann.
Abing KA her wash clothes
Abing washed clothes for her.
(85) Abing kah se sann.
Abing KAH wash clothes
Abing washed clothes for her.
Nonetheless, in Mandarin Chinese such contraction phenomenon is not observed, as
shown by the contrast between (86) and (87). Here, the reason for lacking the
contraction phenomenon in Mandarin Chinese applicatives relies on the fact that there
exists no glottal stop in the Mandarin Chinese phonological inventory system.
Consequently, there is no way to weaken the third singular pronoun ta him/her into a
glottal stop, and further contract with the applicative marker gei.

73
(86) Akiu gei ta kao-le yi-kuai dangao.
Akiu for him bake-Prf. one-CL cake
Akiu baked a cake for him.
(87) * Akiu gei kao-le yi-kuai dangao.
Akiu for bake-Prf. one-CL cake
Akiu baked a cake for him.
Hence, with respect to the syntactic status of ka in middle benefactives as well
as the semantic interpretation in marked/unmarked middle affectives, Taiwan
Southern Min behaves totally opposite to Mandarin Chinese. In other respects, they
quite pattern together. For instance, the person restriction on the Affectee in high
applicatives holds in the same way between theses two dialects; that is, the affectee
can only be the first-person singular pronoun, as illustrated by the Mandarin Chinese
example in (88) and the Taiwan Southern Min example in (89).
(88) ta juran gei wo/*women/*ni/*nimen/*ta/*tamen pao-le!
he unexpectedly AFF me/us/you(sg.)/you(pl.)/him/them run-Prf.
Unexpectedly, he ran away on me/us/you/you/him/them!
(89) i kinglian ka gua/*guan/*li/*lin/*i/*in tsau-khi!
he unexpectedly KA me/us/you(sg.)/you(pl.)/him/them run-away
Unexpectedly, he ran away on me/us/you/you/him/them!

74
3.5 Interim Summary
In this chapter, I have identified the applicative construction in Taiwan Southern
Min, and concluded, mainly based upon the results of three applicativity tests, that
there are three basic types of applicatives attested in Taiwan Southern Min, that is,
high applicatives, middle applicatives, and low applicatives. Their syntactic
distribution and pragmatic/semantic interpretations can be summarized in the
following table.
TABLE 2
Taiwan Southern
Min Applicatives
Exclamative
force
Speaker-
orientedness
Unergative
Pass.
of
IO
Pass.
of
DO
Possession
High Affective OK OK OK * * *
Benefactive * * * * *
OK
(implied)
Middle
Affective * * * OK *
OK
(implied)
Low Benefactive * * * * *
OK
(entailed)
z The asterisk mark (*) denotes the inapplicable or unavailable status.
High applicatives in Taiwan Southern Min are higher than what has been proposed in
the literature. They are located in the left periphery, or the complementizer layer to the
same effect, in that they are always connected with the information structure. Low
applicatives take their position under the VP shell, expressing the possession
relationship between two individuals. In addition, Taiwan Southern Min exhibits
another type of applicatives, Middle applicatives, situated in between vP and VP. They
cannot count as high applicatives and low applicatives because of their special mixed

75
syntax and semantics. To summarize, following Tsais (2010) topography of Mandarin
applicatives, but with some modification that meets the idiosyncrasies of Taiwan
Southern Min, the hierarchical structure of applicatives in Taiwan Southern Min can
be visualized as follows (irrelevant details omiited).
(90) EvaP


ka-Eva ApplP
high

Affectee TP
inflectional layer
T vP

v
lexical layer
v ApplP
mid

ka
Beneficiary/Goal VP
Affectee
V ApplP
low

Beneficiary

76

Chapter 4. Multiple Applicatives in Taiwan Southern Min
4.1 Introduction
In Chapter three, I have discussed single applicative constructions observed
in Taiwan Southern Min, assuming the existence of high applicatives, middle
applicatives, and low applicatives, which merge in the left periphery, in between vP
and VP, and under the VP shell, respectively. Furthermore, built upon the basic
categorization of the applicative construction in Taiwan Southern Min, it has been
found that Taiwan Southern Min also exhibits multiple applicatives, which can
introduce more than one applied argument.
22
Therefore, in this chapter, I try to map
out the syntactic structure of multiple applicatives attested in Taiwan Southern Min,
mainly according to the topography of single applicatives of Taiwan Southern Min
sketched in Chapter three, reproduced here as (1). In what follows, I will first find out
all possible kinds of multiple applicatives in Taiwan Southern Min, and furthermore
derive the syntactic representation for each of them.

22
Multiple applicatives are also attested across languages. Different languages may use different
strategies to license multiple applicatives. Samkoe (1994) suggests that cross-linguistically, multiple
applicatives can be indicated by one occurrence of one single marker as in Huastec and Shuswap, two
occurrences of two different markers as in the Northern Interior Salish languages and Kinyarwanda, or
two occurrences of the same marker as in Sierra Popoluca and also Huastec. As for Chinese dialects,
Taiwan Southern Min obviously employs one single marker ka to form multiple applicatives, which
can be evidenced by the discussion in this chapter. In addition, Hakka also uses one single marker tung
to license multiple applicatives (Tsai & Chung 2010).

77
(1) EvaP


ka-Eva ApplP
High

Affectee TP
inflectional layer
T vP

v
lexical layer
v ApplP
Middle

ka
Beneficiary/Goal VP
Affectee
V ApplP
Low

Beneficiary
4.2 Possible Combinations of Multiple Applicatives in Taiwan Southern Min
Given the topography of Taiwan Southern Min applicatives visualized in (1), it
may predict that as long as no semantic conflict takes place or no competition for one
place between two elements occurs, multiple applicatives can be possibly created, due
to the fact that different types of applicatives situate in different hierarchical structures.
This scenario truly occurs in Taiwan Southern Min. It is observed that for instance, a
high applicative can freely combine with a middle benefactive/goal applicative, a
middle affective applicative, or even a low benefactive applicative, as demonstrated in
examples (2), (3), and (4), respectively.

78
A-ming unexpectedly KA me KA Aing wash clothes
Abing unexpectedly washed clothes for Aing on me!
(3) a. Abing kinglian ka gua thau-theh Aing lak-pah khoo!
b. Abing kinglian ka gua ka Aing thau-theh lak-pah
khoo!
dollar
Abing unexpectedly KA me fix well Wang-family their-house
sann-tiunn toh-a!
three-CL table
Abing unexpectedly fixed three tables for the Wang family on me!
Example (2) is formed by the combination of a high applicative with a middle
benefactive applicative, where two applicative heads ka are present in that both high
applicatives and middle benefactive applicatives in Taiwan Southern Min are
obligatorily expressed by means of the applicative marker ka to license the applied
argument. A high affective applicative can also combine with a middle affective
applicative or a low benefactive applicative to create a multiple applicative
construction, as illustrated in (3) and (4), where the applicative marker ka in the

79
middle affective, as in (3), can be optionally overtly realized, coverly in (3a) and
overtly in (3b).
Furthermore, in the formation of Taiwan Southern Min multiple applicative
constructions, it is observed that the first element must obligatorily be a ka-marked
applicative, which means that only the high affective applicative, the middle
benefactive applicative, and the marked middle affective applicative are possible
candidates for the first element in multiple applicatives, since all of them are marked
by the applicative marker ka. As indicated by the ungrammaticality of examples in (5)
and (6), the first applied arguments Ong-ka in-tau the Wang family in (5) and Aing
in (6) are introduced by the covert form AFF, rather than the overt applicative marker
ka, hence ungrammatical. Viewed from a different and significant perspective, the
ill-formedness of examples in (5) and (6) may also be accounted for simply built upon
the fact that middle or low applicatives are originally merged lower than high
applicatives, and therefore it is, without doubt, impossible to place a low applicative,
as in (5), or a middle applicative, as in (6), in front of a high applicative, without
considering whether the first element is ka-marked or not. This fact also in turn
provides strong and plausible evidence for the existence of the topography of Taiwan
Southern Min applicatives proposed in this thesis.
(5)* Abing Ong-ka in-tau ka gua siu ho sann-sinn mng.
Abing Wang-family their-house KA me fix well three-CL door
Abing fixed three doors for the Wang family on me.
(6)* Abing Aing ka gua pang hun-tsiau.
Abing Aing KA me let.go pigeon
Abing stood Aing up on me.

80
Aside from the restrictions discussed above, as predicted from the topography
of Taiwan Southern Min applicatives sketched in (1), the two middle applicatives,
namely, the middle benefactive and the middle affective, together fail to form a
multiple applicatives, since they are located at the same place, as evidenced by the
deviance of examples in (7), (8), and (9). In other words, they have to compete for the
only one existent slot, the Spec of ApplP
Middle
, thereby failing to appear at the same
time.
(7)* Abing ka Aing lim-tiau Ahing sann-kuan tsiu.
Abing KA Aing drink-over Ahing three-CL wine
Abing drank three bottles of wine for Aing on Ahing.
(8)* Abing ka Aing ka Ahing thau-theh lak-pah khoo.
Abing KA Aing KA Ahing stealthily-take six-hundred dollar
Abing stole six hundred dollars on Ahing for Aing.
(9)* Abing ka Aing ka Ahing se sann.
Abing KA Aing KA Ahing wash clothes
Abing washed clothes for Ahing on Aing.
The reason for the ungrammaticality of (7), (8), and (9) may not stem from the
restriction that the first element of multiple applicatives should be a ka-marked
applicative in that as obviously observed in (7), (8), and (9), all of them do respect
this restriction. Therefore, here I will ascribe the ungrammaticality of (7), (8), and (9)
to the issue of structural height. It is impossible for two elements seated at the same
place to co-occur.

81

Accordingly, the possible combinations of multiple applicatives attested in
Taiwan Southern Min may only include the one formed by a high applicative and a
middle or a low applicative, the one created by a middle benefactive together with a
low applicative, or the one produced by a marked middle affective plus a low
applicative.
23
In the following discussion, the main purpose is to map out these six
possible multiple applicatives in Taiwan Southern Min, and show how they are
represented syntactically under the Cartographic Approach (Rizzi 1997, Cinque
1999).
4.2.1 Applicatives Formed by a High Affective and a Middle Benefactive
Now first consider the multiple applicative which is composed of a high
affective applicative and a middle benefactive applicative, both of which are
characterized by the obligatory occurrence of the applicative marker ka, so as to
license the extra argument, as evidenced by the following examples in (10) and (11),
where the omission of the applicative marker ka induces ungrammaticality. This fact
thus leads to the conclusion that the applicative marker ka directly merges to the
Appl
High
and Appl
Middle
head positions, respectively.
(10) Abing kinglian *(ka) gua tsau-khi!

23
Here, the multiple applicative under consideration is all involved with combination of two single
applicatives. If based on the topography given in (1), triple applicatives may be possibly formed in
Taiwan Southern Min. However, due to ease of communication, such triple applicatives are seldom
uttered and heard. People may consider such triple applicatives wordy or even uninterpretable, unless
under very concrete and specific context. Therefore, in this thesis, I will not take triple applicatives
into consideration.

82
(11) Abing *(ka) Aing se sann.
Abing KA Aing wash clothes
Abing washed clothes for Aing.
Therefore, based upon the topography of Taiwan Southern Min applicatives, as
sketched in diagram (1), the syntactic structure of the high affective applicative along
with the middle benefactive applicative can be visualized as follows in (12) (irrelevant
details omitted).

83
Abing unexpectedly KA me KA Aing wash clothes
Unexpectedly, Abing washed clothes for Aing on me!
TopP

Abing
i
EvaP

kinglian Eva

ka
j
+Eva ApplP
High

gua Appl
High

Appl
High
TP
t
j

t
i
vP

t
i
v

v ApplP
Middle

ka
k

Aing Appl
Middle

Appl
Middle
VP
t
k

V NP
se sann
As seen from the structure in (12), three movements are applied in process. One is the
subject raising. The subject, Abing, originating in the Spec position of vP, first moves
to the Spec of TP, and then all the way to the Spec of TopP. Another is a head
movement, concerned with the first high affective structure. The Appl
High
ka moves to
the evaluative head to license the peripheral construal of the high applicative. The

84
other is also a head movement, involved with the second middle benefactive structure.
Here, the Appl
Middle
ka moves to the v position to get the correct surface word order.
4.2.2 Applicatives Formed by a High Affective and an Unmarked Middle
Affective
The next case to be demonstrated is the syntactic structure of the high affective
applicative combined with the unmarked middle affective applicative. The middle
affective applicative here is not marked by the applicative marker ka; instead, it is
introduced by an implicit applicative marker AFF. As for the high affective, the
applicative marker ka is necessarily present, as just demonstrated above. The relevant
hierarchy is drawn as follows in (13) (irrelevant details omitted).

85
(13) Abing kinglian ka gua thau-theh Aing lak-pah khoo!
TopP

Abing
i
EvaP

kinglian Eva

ka
j
+Eva ApplP
High

gua Appl
High

Appl
High
TP
t
j

t
i
vP

t
i
v

v ApplP
Middle

[thau-theh
k
+AFF]
Aing Appl
Middle

Appl
Middle
VP
t
k
+[AFF]
V NP
t
k
lak-pah khoo
Based on the structure in (13), it is obviously shown that three movements are
involved here as well. One is the subject raising. Another is a head movement,
Appl
High
to Eva
0
. These two movements are the same as those illustrated in the
structure (12). The subject Abing moves cyclically to the specifier position of TopP.
As for Appl
High
to Eva
0
movement, to license the information force, the high

86
applicative head ka needs to move to the evaluative head. What is significant in this
structure is the third movement, which is a head movement. Here, verb movement is
triggered, as the applicative head Appl
Middle
is the covert form AFF. The verb
thau-thet steal needs to move to the Appl
Middle
head position to combine with the
AFF feature to obtain the affectedness interpretation, and then the verb thau-thet
steal together with the covert AFF as a unit again raises to the v head, deriving the
correct word order.
4.2.3 Applicatives Formed by a High Affective and a Marked Middle Affective
The third case under discussion is similar to (13), only differing in that the
applicative marker is phonetically realized as ka, rather than a covert AFF in (13).
Consequently, it may predict here that the verb movement is inapplicable, since the
triggering factor is no longer existent. The syntactic structure of the high affective
applicative together with the marked middle affective applicative is now shown in the
following tree diagram (14) (irrelevant details omitted).

87
(14) Abing kinglian ka gua ka Aing thau-theh lak-pah
khoo!
dollar
TopP

Abing
i
EvaP

kinglian Eva

ka
j
+Eva ApplP
High

goa Appl
High

Appl
High
TP
t
j

t
i
vP

t
i
v

v ApplP
Middle

ka
k

Aing Appl
Middle

Appl
Middle
VP
t
k

V NP
thau-theh lak-pah
khoo
If compared with the structure in (13), it can be found that the only difference
between (13) and (14) lies in whether the applicative marker ka is overt or covert,

88
which in turn determines whether or not the verb movement is triggered. The desired
result is borne out here that in this structure (14), the verb movement is blocked, due
to the presence of the middle applicative marker ka. If the verb thau-thet steal is
raised to the v head position, it would move across the Appl
Middle
head ka, which
would violate the Relativized Minimality (Rizzi 1990). Accordingly, here, the verb
thau-thet steal has to stay in situ. Only the middle applicative marker ka undergoes
movement to the v head position. The other two movements, Subject raising and
Appl
High
to Eva
0
, are identical to those discussed previously. The subject Abing moves
up to the specifier of TopP and the Appl
High
head ka is incorporated into the Eva
0
position so as to obtain the peripheral properties of the first high affective.
4.2.4 Applicatives Formed by a High Affective and a Low Benefactive
The fourth case of multiple applicatives in Taiwan Southern Min concerns the
combination of the high affective applicative with the low benefactive applicative. As
indicated by the example in (15), the low benefactive applicative is unmarked, which
implies the implicit status of the applicative marker, namely, the covert AFF. The
following is the structure of the high affective applicative plus the low benefactive
applicative (irrelevant details omitted).

89
Abing unexpectedly KA me fix well Wang-family their-house
sann-tiunn toh-a.
three-CL table
Unexpectedly, Abing fixed three tables for the Wang family on me.
TopP

Abing
i
EvaP

kinglian Eva

ka
j
+Eva ApplP
High

goa Appl
High

Appl
High
TP
t
j

t
i
vP

t
i
v

v VP

V ApplP
Low

siu-ho
Ong-ka Appl
Low

in-tau
Appl
Low
NP
[AFF] sann-tiunn
toh-a
Here, the structure diagramed in (15) only displays two movements, one for the

90

subject raising, and the other for the head movement, Appl
High
to Eva
0
.
24
The subject
Abing is raised to the topic position, and the high applicative head ka moves to the
evaluative head Eva
0
to realize the peripheral properties for the first high affective
applicative. With regard to the Appl
Low
head AFF, it does not, I suppose, move to the
main verb position, since it functions to relate two individuals, the applied argument
Ong-ka in-tau the Wang family and the theme argument sann-tiunn toh-a three
tables in the case exemplified here. Consequently, the Appl
Low
head AFF, in essence,
needs to remain in situ to guarantee the possession relationship between these two
individuals.
4.2.5 Applicatives Formed by a Middle Benefactive and a Low Benefactive
The fifth possible kind of multiple applicatives found in Taiwan Southern Min
is involved with the combination of the middle benefactive applicative and the low
benefactive applicative, as exemplified in (16). The former is introduced by the
applicative marker ka, while the latter is expressed by the covert AFF. The syntactic
representation is demonstrated in (16) (irrelevant details omitted).

24
I do not try to work out whether or not the main verb is necessarily moving to the v head position.
Either result would not affect the analysis I have proposed here. Therefore, I leave this issue behind.

91

(16) Abing ka Ahing siu ho Ong-ka in-tau sann-tiunn toh-a.
Abing KA Ahing fix well Wang-family their-house three-CL door
Abing fixed three tables for the Wang family for Ahing.
TopP

Abing
i

TP

t
i
vP

t
i
v

v ApplP
Middle

ka
j

Ahing Appl
Middle

Appl
Middle
VP
t
j

V ApplP
Low

siu-ho
Ong-ka Appl
Low

in-tau
Appl
Low
NP
[AFF] sann-tiunn toh-a
In terms of the structure given in (16), only two movements are involved.
25
One is the
subject raising. The subject Abing moves from the Spec of vP to the Spec of TP, and
far beyond to the Spec of TopP. The other one is a head movement, where the head
Appl
Middle
ka moves to the v head position to produce the correct surface word order.
As for the head Appl
Low
AFF, it remains in situ, due to its function to maintain the

25
I also leave the issue of V-to-v movement behind, which is not relevant and will not affect my
analysis here.

92
possession relationship between two internal arguments, Ong-ka in-tau the Wang
family and sann-tiunn toh-a three tables.
4.2.6 Applicatives Formed by a Marked Middle Affective and a Low
Benefactive
The last possible combination of multiple applicatives correlates with the
marked middle affective applicative embedded with a low benefactive applicative, as
exemplified in (17). Upon a closer look, in fact, this multiple construal resembles the
one shown in (16), as just discussed above. However, with some semantic nuances,
the first applied argument can also be an Affectee, as shown here, in addition to a
Beneficiary in (16). The syntactic structure of this type of multiple applicatives is
diagramed in (17) (irrelevant details omitted).

93
(17) Abing ka Ahing siu ho Ong-ka in-tau sann-tiunn toh-a.
Abing KA Ahing fix well Wang-family their-house three-CL table
Abing fixed three tables for the Wang family on Ahing.
TopP

Abing
i

TP

t
i
vP

t
i
v

v ApplP
Middle

ka
j

Ahing Appl
Middle

Appl
Middle
VP
t
j

V ApplP
Low

siu-ho
Ong-ka Appl
Low

in-tau
Appl
Low
NP
[AFF] sann-tiunn toh-a
Based on the structure in (17), it is superficially identical to the one sketched in (16).
The distinction between these two structures is related to the discourse context and the
function of the middle applicative head ka. In (16), the Appl
Middle
head ka is used to
introduce a beneficiary argument in some specific contexts. On the other hand, in (17)
discussed here, the Appl
Middle
head ka is used to license an Affectee argument in other
specific contexts. As for its syntactic derivation, it follows the same way as in (16),
which I therefore will not depict here again.

94
4.3 Interim Summary
In this chapter, I have examined six possible multiple applicatives attested in
Taiwan Southern Min, and furthermore map out their syntactic structures based on the
topography of Taiwan Southern Min applicatives summarized in Chapter three. Some
main points have been proposed in terms of multiple applicatives. First of all, it has
been shown that the first layer of multiple applicatives is strongly restricted to
ka-marked applicatives. Second, built upon the fixed hierarchy of Taiwan Southern
Min applicatives, it is definitely impossible to combine two middle applicatives
together, since they may compete for the same place. Furthermore, it is also
impossible to create a multiple applicative which is formed by combination of two
applicatives, where the first element is essentially merged lower than the second
element in the fixed hierarchy. These two restrictions are logically predicted by the
topography of Taiwan Southern Min applicatives. Strictly observing these restrictions,
there are six types of multiple applicatives that have been discussed, including the one
formed by a high applicative with a marked/unmarked middle affective or a middle
benefactive applicative, or a low benefactive applicative, the one created by a middle
benefactive applicative with a low benefactive applicative, as well as the one
produced by a marked middle affective applicative with a low benefactive applicative.
The result of combination is summarized in the following table.

95
TABLE 3
High
Affective
Middle
Benefactive
Marked
Middle
Affective
Unmarked
Middle
Affective
Low
Benefactive
High
Affective

Middle
Benefactive
9

Marked
Middle
Affective
9

Unmarked
Middle
Affective
9

Low
Benefactive
9 9 9

z The horizontal line represents the first element of multiple applicative. The vertical line represents
the second element of multiple applicatives. The symbol 9 means the existence of combination.
The gray area indicates the unattested construals.

96
Chapter 5. Concluding Remarks
In this thesis, I have examined the applicative construction in Taiwan Southern
Min under the Cartographic Approach (Rizzi 1997, Cinque 1999), and pointed out
that there are three types of applicative constructions observed in Taiwan Southern
Min, that is, high applicatives, middle applicatives, and low applicatives, each of
which is merged in the left periphery, in between the vP and VP, and under the VP
shell, respectively. High affective applicatives always display a presupposition of
unexpectedness and speaker-orientedness, thereby assuming its left peripheral status,
different from the traditional assumption of high applicatives merged within the
domain of vP (Marantz 1993, Pylkknen 2000, 2002, McGinnis 2001, Harley 2002,
Hole 2006). Low benefactive applicatives are embedded under the VP shell, denoting
the possession relationship between the beneficiary argument and the theme argument.
Middle applicatives can be divided into two major types, middle benefactives and
middle affctives, the latter of which further fall into two subtypes, unmarked ones and
marked ones. Middle applicatives exhibit mixed or hybrid idiosyncrasies of both high
and low applicatives, resulting in their in-between situation.
Moreover, I have also made a comparison between Taiwan Southern Min
applicatives and Mandarin Chinese applicatives. It has been found that behaving like
Mandarin Chinese, Taiwan Southern Min exhibits three types of applicative
constructions, that is, high applicatives, middle applicatives, and low applicatives.
However, applicatives in Taiwan Southern Min still show some contrasts. First, under
Tsais (2010) analysis of Mandarin applicatives, middle gei-benefactives are merged
to the vP periphery as a PP adjunct, as they can be topicalized. On the contrary, middle
ka-benefactives in Taiwan Southern Min are never a PP adjunct in that they fail to
undergo topicalization. Second, in Mandarin Chinese, there is only unmarked middle

97
affectives. Therefore, it is impossible to find a gei-marked counterpart of Mandarin
unmarked middle affectives. However, Taiwan Southern Min presents a different
scenario, where the unmarked middle affective applicative can have a ka-marked
counterpart bearing the same semantic interpretation. Third, in Taiwan Southern Min,
when the applicative marker ka is followed by the third-person singular pronoun i
him/her, they may contract into kah, because of the fact that the third-person
singular pronoun i him/her is weakened to a glottal stop. Nonetheless, Mandarin
Chinese gei together with the third-person singular pronoun ta him/her does not
exhibits contraction phenomenon, due to the lack of glottal sounds in Mandarin
Chinese.
Last, multiple applicatives have also been examined under the topography of
Taiwan Southern Min applicatives. It has been observed that there are six possible
combinations of multiple applicatives attested in Taiwan Southern Min, the first part
of which is always a ka-marked applicative. In addition, competition between two
applicatives merged at the same height would crash the formation of the multiple
applicative. Accordingly, these six kinds of multiple applicatives found in Taiwan
Southern Min are listed as follows.
I. High Affective embedded by Middle Benefactive
II. High Affective embedded by Marked Middle Affective
III. High Affective embedded by Unmarked Middle Affective
IV. High affective embedded by Low Benefactive
V. Middle Benefactive embedded by Low Benefactive
VI. Marked Middle Affective embedded by Low Benefactive

98
References
v, )99o, 7=u_.", _,7=,,,
2,4b,
, 200,, ,7=|u7 ~, )})_,_.||
],_._.,,,))4),b, `.
+|,
, 200o, ,7=|u7 _, _,_`,200o ) "
2),0,
j}, 20)0, ,,____, _
90 |j+_("o0 ]_.,;
_20)0 8 ,
Bresnan, Joan and Lioba Moshi. 1990. Object Asymmetries in Comparative Bantu
Syntax. Linguistic Inquiry 21: 147-186.
Baker, Mark. 1988. Incorporation. Chicago: Chicago University Press.
Baker, Mark.1997. Thematic Roles and Syntactic Structure. In Elements of Grammar,
ed. L. Haegeman, 73-137. Dordrecht: Kluwer.
Chomsky, Noam. 1995. The Minimalist Program. MIT Press, Cambridge,
Massachusetts/London.
Chomsky, Noam. 2000. Minimalist inquiries: The framework. In Roger Martin, David
Michaels, and Juan Uriagereka (eds.), Step by step: Essays on minimalist
syntax in honor of Howard Lasnik. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Chomsky, Noam. 2001. Derivation by phase. In Ken Hale: A life in language, ed.
Michael Kenstowicz, 1-52. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Cheng, Lisa L.-S., C.-T. James Huang, Y.-H. Audrey Li and C.-C. Jane Tang. 1996.
Hoo, Hoo, Hoo: Syntax of the Causative, Dative, and Passive Constructions in
Taiwanese. Ms.

99
Cinque, Guglielmo. 1999. Adverbs and functional heads. Oxford: Oxford University
Press.
Cuervo, M. 2003. Datives at Large. Ph.D. Dissertation, MIT.
Chung, Jui-Yi. 2007. A Comparative Study of Affective Construction: A Case on
Mandarin Chinese and Hakka. M.A. Thesis, National Tsing Hua University.
Chen, Yu-Tzu. 2008. A Non-unified Analysis of Taiwanese ka Construction. M.A.
These, National Chiao Tung University.
Hung, Su-Jen. 1995. A Study of the Taiwanese Preposition KA and its Corresponding
Mandarin Prepositions. M.A. Thesis, National Tsing Hua University.
Harley, Heidi. 2002. Possession and the double object construction. Yearbook of
Linguistic Variation 2: 29-68.
Hole, Daniel. 2006. Extra Argumentality Affectees, Landmarks, and Voice.
Linguistics 44: 383-424.
Jeong, Y. 2006. The Landscape of Applicatives. Ph.D. Dissertation, University of
Maryland, College Park.
Ko, Heejeong. 2005. Syntax of why-in-situ: Merge into [Spec, CP] in the overt syntax.
Natural Language and Linguistic Theory 23(4): 867-916.
Li, Audrey Y.-H. 2001. The ba construction. Ms.
Lin, Tzong-Hong Jonah. 2001. Light Verb Syntax and the Theory of Phrase Structure.
Ph.D. Dissertation, UC Irvine.
Marantz, Alec. 1984. On the nature of grammatical relation. Cambridge, MA: MIT
Press.
Machobane, Malillo. 1989. Some restrictions of transitivizing morphemes in Sesotho.
Ph.D. Dissertation, McGill University, Montral.
Marantz, Alec. 1993. Implications of Asymmetries in Double Object Constructions. In
Theoretical aspects of Bantu grammar, ed. Sam. Mchomobo, 113-150.

100
Stanford: CSLI Publications.
McGinnis, Martha. 2000. Phases and the syntax of applicatives. In Proceedings of
NELS 31, eds. Min-Joo Kim and Uri Strauss, 333-349. GLSA Publications,
University of Massachusetts, Amherst.
McGinnis, Martha. 2001. Variation in the Phase Structure of Applicatives. Linguistic
Variation Yearbook 1: 105-146.
McGinnis, Martha, and Donna B. Gerdts. 2003. A Phase-theoretic Analysis of
Kinyarwanda Multiple Applicatives. In Proceedings of the 2003 Annual
Conference of the Canadian Linguistic Association, ed. Sophie Burelle and
Stanca Somesfalean, 154-165. Dpartment de linguistique et de didactique des
langues, Universit du Qubec Montral.
Mai, Hsin-Yi. 2007. Applicative Construction in Taiwanese Southern Min. M.A.
Thesis, National Tsing Hua University.
Pylkknen, Liina. 2000. What Applicative Heads Apply To. Proceedings of the 24
th

Annual Penn Linguistics Colloquium. U. Penn Working Papers in Linguistics,
Vol. 6.4.
Pylkknen, Liina.2002. Introducing Arguments. Ph.D. Dissertation, MIT, Cambridge,
MA.
Rizzi, Luigi. 1990. Relativized Minimality. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Rizzi, Luigi. 1997. The fine structure of the left periphery. In Elements of Grammar,
ed. L. Haegeman, 281-338. Dordrecht: Kluwer.
Tsai, Wei-Tien Dylan. 1999. The Hows of Why and The Whys of How. In
Francesca Del Gobbo and Hidehito Hoshi (eds.), UCI Working Papers in
Linguistics 5, 155-184.
Tsai, Wei-Tien Dylan. 2005. Causality, Comitativity, Contrastivity, and Selfhood.
Paper presented in the 3
rd
Theoretical East Asian Languages Workshop,

101
Harvard University.
Tsai, Wei-Tien Dylan. 2006. Lectures on the Syntax and Semantics of How and Why.
Nanzan Consortium.
Tsai, W.-T. Dylan, Shengli Feng, and C.-T. James Huang. 2008. On the Origin of
Chinese Affective Constructions. Paper presented in The Past Meets the
Present: A Dialogue between Historical Linguistics and Theoretical
Linguistics, Academia Sinica, Taiwan.
Tsai, Wei-Tien Dylan. 2010a. EPP as a Topic Feature: Evidence from Chinese
Applicatives and Reflexive Adverbials. Paper presented in FOSS-7, Academia
Sinica, Taiwan.
Tsai, Wei-Tien Dylan. 2010b. High Applicatives are not High Enough: A Cartographic
Solution. Ms., National Tsing Hua University, Taiwan.
Yang, Chung-Yu Barry. 2006. Syntactic Structure of Ka-construction in Taiwanese
Southern Min. USTWPL 2: 141-171.

Mapping Applicatives in Taiwan Southern Min: A View From Cartography

Încărcat de

Informații document

Descriere originală:

Titlu original

Drepturi de autor

Formate disponibile

Partajați acest document

Partajați sau inserați document

Opțiuni de partajare

Vi se pare util acest document?

Este necorespunzător acest conținut?

Drepturi de autor:

Formate disponibile

Mapping Applicatives in Taiwan Southern Min: A View From Cartography

Încărcat de

Drepturi de autor:

Formate disponibile

]i,_

S-ar putea să vă placă și