The Tone-Syntax Interface in Chinese: Some Recent Controversies*

The main question I explore in this paper is whether there is a general theory of the phonology-syntax interface that applies to all Chinese dialects. I first review three types of tone sandhi in Chinese, those in Mandarin, Xiamen, and Shanghai. Then I review the interaction between syntax and the domain of tone sandhi in these dialects. Next I discuss the analysis of the tone-syntax interface. In particular, I compare several current approaches to foot formation in Chinese and argue for the view that foot formation depends on stress assignment. The stress-based analysis applies to all the Chinese dialects in question, as well as better-known stress languages such as English.