Multicategorial multiple right dislocation in Chinese:\\ A cross-framework study

Abstract

This paper studies multicategorial multiple right dislocation (MMRD) in Dongying Mandarin Chinese. This pattern of right dislocation differs from the more familiar patterns in European languages in that it is not restricted by syntactic category or constituency and typically involves a very incomplete main clause. I review previous approaches to right dislocation in three theoretical frameworks—Minimalism, Lexical-Functional Grammar, and Dynamic Syntax—and conclude that MMRD is a challenge for all of them. Then, building on useful ideas from previous studies, I develop a new minimalist analysis using multiworkspace derivation, which explains the flexible word order and disorganized interpretive effect of MMRD. I also give the workspace-level information integration in my analysis a formal protocol borrowing tools from process calculi, especially the session calculus.