Abstract
This dissertation investigates the discourse-pragmatic properties of ditransitive constructions in English, Mandarin Chinese (MC) and Taiwanese Southern Min (TSM) based on argument realization patterns of the ditransitive objects in discourse contexts. The specific focuses are on the conditioning factors of two linguistic phenomena: word ordering variation and argument omission. Three main corpus-based observations are developed. The first observation concerns the cross-linguistic differences in the grammatical packaging of the direct objects (DOs) and the indirect objects (IOs) of ditransitive verbs. Specifically, the favored positions of overt objects were found to be largely conditioned by the informational-statuses they carry. In English, the Double Object Construction (DOC) introduces Discourse-New DOs, while the Prepositional Dative Construction (PDC) introduces Discourse-Old DOs. In MC and TSM, on the other hand, Discourse-New DOs occur in both the DOC and the PDC, while Discourse-Old DOs occur in preverbal positions, including Topicalization, Object Fronting, and Disposal Construction. While the observed sequential orderings of the ditransitive objects concur with the general discourse principle known as the Given-Before-New Principle (Gundel 1988), the discourse-oriented languages MC and TSM show more discourse-sensitivity than English does. Moreover, the Old vs. New sequencing in English is more likely to be restricted within VP, while that in MC and TSM tend to go across VP boundary, forming a well-structured Topic Chain. The second observation concerns phonologically unsaturated fragments. Contra to the traditional prescriptive view that English, which is a non-pro-drop language, does not allow zero pronominals in the argument positions of finite clauses, under closer observation, the data reveals that even in English, ditransitive arguments carrying Hearer-Old, Discourse-Old or Inferrable information can surface as zero anaphora, given that recoverability of unexpressed elements can be carried out by addressees provided with sufficient background or discourse information. This indicates the significant role that information structure plays in the surface argument realization of nominal objects. Finally, typological characteristics have been observed in two perspectives. The first one is synthetic vs. analytic distinction; the second is Subject-prominence vs. Topic-prominence. It was found that the contrast between TSM and MC (analytic languages) as oppose to E (synthetic language) is characterized by the profile of manner, purpose, and directionals in TSM and MC. Moreover, in MC, and particularly TSM, overt DOs tend to be pre-introduced by a verb or preposition, and be semantically associated with a number of verbs in a serial verb construction, maintaining a Topic Chain. This reflects the important typological characteristics of MC and TSM: Topic-prominent. In sum, the empirical description of the surface realization patterns of ditransitive objects in face-to-face conversation presented in this dissertation shows that ditransitive verbs and constructions serve as an ideal conduit for the study of information structure. While in the conceptual structure, three participants are involved in transfer events, in actual language use, speakers can choose to highlight or background the participants with varying informational-statuses by implicitly or explicitly expressing them as well as by ordering them in a certain way. More importantly, the significant role that information structure plays in argument realization is difficult to be observed in the absence of discourse context, as the interrelationships among nominal objects go beyond sentence level. Only by examining a domain larger than single sentences can a linguist discover the rich discourse constraints licensing the distribution of null arguments. The dissertation shows how information structure, among other factors, affects both the linear sequencing and the (c)overtness of ditransitive objects.