Conference Paper Published

Abstract

Dative alternation, a phenomenon prevalent across many languages (e.g., ‘I gave the children toys’ and ‘I give toys to the children’), exhibits a more complex
structure in Chinese compared to English. This study adopts a comparable corpus-driven statistical approach to analyze dative construction variations across different Mandarin varieties using large corpus. The findings reveal significant regional differences in word order, particularly between preverbal and postverbal structures. These contrasts are consistent with our previous observations on light verb alternation. From a pedagogical perspective, these regional variations highlight the need for teaching materials tailored to different Mandarin varieties, helping learners better understand syntactic diversity and improving their proficiency.