Analyzing Chinese “de” Under Contextual Phase Theory

Chinese “de” plays the role of connecting the modifier and modified element in nominal structures. Different viewpoints about “de” have been argued from the perspective syntax in the literature. However, none of them presents a satisfactory explanation up to now. To solve this problem, we propose, “de” is a functional category with the feature [Nom]. Under contextual phase theory, with the existence of “de”, there is the corresponding projection “DeP”; and without “de”, there is only the projection of NP or ClassifierP and no DeP. This proposal can be illustrated with ellipsis phenomenon and left branch extraction phenomenon in Chinese. In DeP structures, the whole DeP or the complement of DeP can be elided. This is in accordance with ellipsis theory, under which only phase or the complement of phase can be elided. In DeP structures, only the Spec of DeP can be extracted and moved. This is in accordance with left branch extraction requirement, under which only the Spec of phase can be extracted and moved following the rule of successive movement, PIC and anti-locality. The different “de” structures are analyzed one by one from the perspective of ellipsis phenomenon or left branch extraction. Our viewpoint of DeP can explain more “de” structures in Mandarin Chinese.