Le subordonnant causal en mandarin standard

Abstract

As the prototypical morpheme to illustrate causal relation in Standard Mandarin, 因为yīnwèi can be used as a preposition, subordinator, and intertextual coordinator. This article focuses on the subordinate conjunction 因为yīnwèi meaning “because” and its variants such as 由于yóuyú and another subordinator 既然jìrán. These three subordinators can introduce predicative units such as nominal, verbal, and adjectival predicates. Moreover, compared to the principal clause, the position of the subordinate clause introduced by 因为yīnwèi “because” is more syntactically free than its variants, which is linked to semantic contexts such as respect for the temporal iconicity of causality, salience of the cause and the veracity of the cause as well as the consequence.