On Syntactic Analyticity and Parametric Theory

Abstract

This paper puts together a range of distinguishing properties of Chinese and considers them in the context of parametric theory, capitalizing on the clustering of these properties that jointly characterize Modern Mandarin as a language of high analyticity, Old Chinese as a language of moderate synthesis, and the modern Chinese dialects in their varying degrees of development towards mild synthesis. It argues that while some properties have been identified in isolation as independent typological properties, given the analyses proposed, they can be seen to fall out as special cases of a larger generalization, as manifestations of the same property of analyticity or synthesis. It is also shown that each distinguishing property may be seen as a result of setting a micro-parameter defined in terms of the nature of a triggering or non-triggering head, as in current research in generative grammar. The typological properties shed light on the nature of parametric variation and change, arguing for the need to see them through the lens of both micro- and macro-parametric theory.