Wei-wen Roger Liao
List of John Benjamins publications in which Wei-wen Roger Liao is involved.
Articles
2026 Modals in imperatives: A view from Chinese Linguistic Variation: Online-First Articles | Article
Two competing views regarding the syntax-semantics of imperatives can be distinguished. A minimal view assumes that imperatives are properties in semantics, and their syntax is rather bare, while the modal approach maintains that imperatives are propositions that contain a (covert) performative… read more
2022 Negative modals and prohibitives in Taiwanese Southern Min New Explorations in Chinese Theoretical Syntax: Studies in honor of Yen-Hui Audrey Li, Simpson, Andrew (ed.), pp. 193–216 | Chapter
The paper discusses two types of negative modal particles found in prohibitives in Taiwanese Southern Min (TSM) – m-modals and b-modals. What distinguishes the two types of modals, we argue, is whether they are used in a descriptive or a directive/performative way. The m-modals are always used… read more
2018 Bare numeral phrases in Mandarin and the Minimalist Mapping Hypothesis International Journal of Chinese Linguistics 5:1, pp. 33–58 | Article
We pursue an agreement-based analysis of the bare numeral phrases in Chinese. Bare numeral phrases in Chinese often occur with the you marker in the preverbal position. With the marker, a bare numeral phrase obtains an individual-denoting reading, which has an existential meaning. In contrast,… read more