Review of New Perspectives on Chinese Syntax (Trends in Linguistics. Studies and Monographs 271). By Waltraud Paul. Berlin: De Gruyter Mouton, 2015. Pp. xvi, 357. ISBN 978-3-11-033877-3. $154 (hardcover).

Reviewed by Jingxia Lin 林静夏

Abstract 摘要
New Perspectives on Chinese Syntax by Waltraud Paul (2015) is a theory-oriented discussion of Chinese syntax after Huang, Li, and Li (2009). Even though the book does not provide a full coverage of Chinese syntax as expected of descriptive or reference grammars, it explores in depth the most controversial issues with a new analysis in the generative approach. While each chapter tackles different topics in Chinese syntax, the chapters form a coherent whole to accomplish the major goal of the book, which is to deconstruct typological generalizations, particularly the concept “cross-categorial harmony”, as part of grammar. Cross-categorial harmony in this book refers to “the observation that in many languages the order between a head and its complement is the same across different categories.” (p.2) The book is organized into eight chapters. I will review each chapter and then comment on the book as a whole.

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