Gei3ta1 in Taiwan Mandarin - A Particular Construction

The present paper investigates a particular structure in Taiwan Mandarin, “(NP) + (intensifier) + geita “give him/it”+ adjective” in terms of construction grammar. The structure is mostly observed in utterances of younger generation. Though it is not regarded as a grammatical or standard structure, it is still a register of language. The structure lays emphasis on speaker’s attitude toward an undesired, unpleasant event. In most cases, the attitude tends to be negative. The events or propositions must have existed or been completed. The adjectives compatible with this structure belong to category of higher degree. The grammatical usage illustrates semantic bleaching of geita. And the changes from giving to a grammatical particle denoting subjective belief is a kind of subjectification. Moreover, ta could refer to events or situation expressed by a more complicated grammatical structure, or denotes nothing as a dummy word. Though many previous studies paid attention to the newly developed structure resulted from language contact, the adequate account was not provided. It is hoped through this investigation, we will get a better understanding of this particular structure.