In:A Linguistic Comparison of Chinese and English: Structural, functional, and typological perspectives
Chao Li
[Studies in Language Companion Series 239] 2026
► pp. v–viii
Published online: 13 January 2026
https://doi.org/10.1075/slcs.239.toc
https://doi.org/10.1075/slcs.239.toc
Table of contents
Preface and acknowledgementsIX
List of figuresXI
List of tablesXIII
AbbreviationsXV
Chapter 1.Introduction1
Chapter 2.Typological features of Chinese and English6
2.1Tonal or not?6
2.2Isolating language or not?10
2.3Monosyllabic language or not?19
2.4Subject prominence and topic prominence23
2.5Dominant word order30
2.6Summary34
Chapter 3.Phonemic inventory, tone, and intonation37
3.1Phonemic inventories of Chinese and English37
3.2Tone, intonation, and their functions50
3.2.1Tone50
3.2.2Intonation and tone53
3.2.3Functions of intonation56
3.3Summary and conclusions60
Chapter 4.Syllable structure and stress63
4.1Syllable structure63
4.2Stress78
4.3Summary and conclusion84
Chapter 5.Writing system87
5.1Chinese and English in the typology of writing systems87
5.2Development and influence of Chinese and English writing systems95
5.3A further comparison of Chinese and English writing systems109
5.3.1Degree of difficulty in learning109
5.3.2Efficiency for use118
5.3.3Degree of transcending time and space122
5.3.4Role in disambiguation126
5.4Summary and conclusions133
Chapter 6.Notion of “word” and word classes139
6.1Notion of “word”139
6.2Word classes148
6.2.1Noun, verb, adjective, and adverb in Chinese and English149
6.2.2Other word classes in Chinese and English160
6.2.3Comparison and discussion167
6.3Summary and conclusions171
Chapter 7.Numeral classifiers and measure words173
7.1Notions of “numeral classifier” and “measure word”173
7.2Distinction between numeral classifiers and measure words and its typological significance176
7.3Cognitive, semantic, and cultural basis of Mandarin numeral classifiers184
7.4Summary and conclusions191
Chapter 8.Word structure and word formation192
8.1Core concepts in the analysis of words192
8.2Word formation201
8.2.1Derivation202
8.2.2Compounding204
8.2.3Amalgamation212
8.2.4Conversion215
8.2.5Shortening219
8.2.5.1Clipping219
8.2.5.2Blending220
8.2.5.3Abbreviation221
8.2.6Back-formation223
8.2.7Reduplication223
8.2.8Borrowing228
8.3Further discussion and conclusion232
Chapter 9.Tense and viewpoint aspect236
9.1Introduction236
9.2Tense237
9.2.1Simple present tense237
9.2.2Simple past tense238
9.2.3Simple future tense240
9.3Viewpoint aspect242
9.3.1Perfective242
9.3.2Durative250
9.3.2.1Progressive aspect250
9.3.2.2Enduring aspect252
9.3.3Experiential257
9.3.4Habitual259
9.3.5Perfect260
9.4Summary and conclusions264
Chapter 10.Subject, topic, subject prominence, and topic prominence268
10.1Notion of subject268
10.2Notion of topic and its relationship with subject273
10.3Subject prominence and topic prominence280
10.3.1Li & Thompson’s (1976) typology280
10.3.2Liu’s (2004) criterion for topic prominence283
10.3.3Towards alternative criteria285
10.4Summary and conclusions292
Chapter 11.Zero anaphora295
11.1Introduction295
11.2Environments of NP ellipsis in English and/or Mandarin296
11.2.1Control verb construction296
11.2.2Relative clauses297
11.2.3Imperatives and directives299
11.2.4Continued topic construction299
11.2.5General reference302
11.2.6Subject of a finite object clause304
11.2.7Lexical licenser305
11.2.8Summary and comparison306
11.3Constraints on zero anaphora310
11.4Zero anaphora and language typology314
11.4.1Null subject and language typology314
11.4.2Topic prominence and zero anaphora316
11.5Summary and conclusion317
Chapter 12.Information structure320
12.1Topic and focus: Two key concepts in information structure320
12.2Topic and focus in English327
12.3Topic and focus in Mandarin333
12.4Comparison and conclusions344
Chapter 13.Phrase structure and word order348
13.1Key notions of phrase structure: Head, argument, and adjunct348
13.2English phrase structure350
13.2.1Order of the head and its non-subject-semargument in English350
13.2.2Order of the head and the adjunct in English350
13.3Chinese phrase structure354
13.3.1Order of the head and its non-subject-semargument in Chinese354
13.3.2Order of the head and its adjunct in Chinese357
13.4Summary and comparison361
Chapter 14.Conclusions365
References370
Index
