Causative constructions in Taiwanese
台湾语言中的使役结构
Robert L. Cheng 郑良伟

Abstract 摘要

Defining the causative construction as a construction that conveys the meaning 'an event causes another event', this paper describes various syntactic constructions that answer the semantic definition. Two major types of causative constructions, intentional and unintentional, are distinguished. The semantic content of all intentional causative constructions is analyzed as Agent ((Event1) hō· Event2) or 'Agent ((Event1) causes Event2)', while that of the unintentional ones is analyzed as Event1 (hō· Event2), or 'Event1 (causes Event2)'. Though relics of once-productive constructions are abundant in the language, one-verb causative constructions are found to be no longer productive.