Abstract
This study aims to analyze Chinese according to the lexical typology of motion event encoding, applying
Talmy’s theoretical framework of lexicalization patterns. According to this theory, Path is the crucial
semantic component in motion event encoding, which allows languages to be classified into two types:
V(erb)-framed languages, if Path is encoded in the verb (i.e. using a Path verb, e.g. Sp. El perro entró a la
cueva (corriendo)), and S(atellite)-framed languages, if Path is encoded in a satellite that is external to the
verb, and the Manner is encoded in the verb (e.g. Eng. The dog ran into the cave).
Motion event encoding in Chinese is still a matter of debate from different perspectives. Some
scholars classify Chinese as S-framed, others as as V-framed, whereas others as E(quipollently)-framed
language, as it involves complex construction with the non-hierarchical co-occurrence of both a
Manner verb and a Path verb (however, E-framed patterns can be seen as V-framed, since Path is in fact
encoded in the verb). More recently, six motion event encoding patterns in Chinese have been identified,
as well as the role played by the registers, being V-framed patterns more often used in Chinese spoken
language.
To further investigate the typological behavior of Chinese with respect to motion event encoding, in
the present study a group of native speakers was asked to describe orally eight brief videos, taken from a
cartoon, referring to different kinds of motion events. The data show that Chinese mainly belongs to the
V-framed type (77.5%), although there are some contexts showing the S-framed constructional pattern
(5%); in the remaining contexts (17.5%), speakers did not express any Path component, using only
Manner verbs, thus making those cases hard to classify. In addition to the six patterns previously
identified, it is noteworthy that the data show the presence of some contexts (25%) that correspond to
three new encoding patterns.
Overall, the results of the present study confirm that Chinese is mainly coherent with the Vframed type, even if the S-framed pattern is also attested, and show that more complex new constructional
patterns actually emerge. These results highlight the importance of adopting a flexible typological
perspective and the need for further studies to analyze the complexity of motion event encoding in
Chinese.
