A Contrastive Study On The Syntactic Features Of English Not And Chinese Bu

This paper is intended for a contrastive study on the syntax of two main negators in English and Chinese, namely not and bu. We bring under careful examination their distribution, scope of negation and possible syntactic interpretation, which may also give play to their semantics and pragmatics, the two indispensable components of any linguistic studies. In doing so, we hope to achieve a better understanding of the phenomenon of negation in both languages, and the nature of UG as well. We find that not and bu share some similarities: both negators could stand alone, play a role in forming words or phrases, and co-occur with other grammatical categories; both of them are expected to be as close as possible to the elements under negation, NT being an example of this rule; they both qualify as head of NegP. Their main differences are observed in their capability of co-occurring with other categories, where not exhibits more unity, in their interpretation, as simple bu sentences bear multiple modal readings, and in their possible positions, with not between IP and VP, while bu more likely between ForceP and FinP. In their similarities, we understand the shared value of negation in English and Chinese, while their differences open up a new window for understanding the balance these two languages demand between meaning and form.