A note on the non-existence of infixes in Mandarin Chinese

Abstract

This note examines the so-called infixes in Mandarin Chinese and argues that they can be analyzed as non-infixes. To be specific, the -de/bu 得/不 in potential V-de/bu-R constructions is analyzed as an affix, which merges with VR after syntax via Morphological Merger. The -bu in V-bu-R is taken as an allomorph of a potential affix -bude 不得. The drop of -de in V-bude-R is motivated prosodically. The -li 里 in A-li-AB (i.e. hu-li-hutu 糊里糊涂 ‘sort of silly’) is analyzed as a prefix to a root adjective AB, with A being further copied from AB and attached to immediately before -li to satisfy the prosodic requirements of a sizige ‘four character pattern’. The -bu 不 in A-bu-BB (i.e. suan-bu-liuliu 酸不溜溜 ‘sort of sour’) and A-bu-BC (i.e. suan-bu-liuqiu 酸不溜秋 ‘sort of sour’) is analyzed as a segment of pejorative suffixes bu-BB and bu-BC, which are added to the monosyllabic adjective A. In this line, the -bu in V-bu-R and the -bu in A-bu-BB and A-bu-BC are distinct, even though they are homophonous and represented orthographically with the same Chinese character 不.