Existential sentences in Chinese and Italian. Comparative analysis and considerations for Italian L1 learners of Chinese.

Existential sentences are constructions that express the existence or presence of an entity. Due to their complexity, they represent an intricate part of Chinese grammar and some of their features, such as verb or aspect particle selection, could be difficult to master. This thesis aims to investigate existential constructions in Chinese and Italian, trying to find similarities and differences that could reveal useful for the acquisition of these structures in L2 Chinese. After an initial analysis on the function and structure of existential sentences cross-linguistically, the focus shifts to the two languages at hand. The Chinese existential construction is explored, paying particular attention to the type of verbs admitted and to the exceptions of the so-called “Definiteness Effect”. The verbs investigated in this thesis are three: the existential verb 有 yǒu ‘have’ that can appear in the LOC + V + NP structure but admits the LOC in post-NP position as well. Verbs of spatial configuration, that always require the LOC in sentence-initial position, and verbs of (dis)appearance that can appear in sentences without the LOC. The same analysis is then conducted on the Italian existential construction, focusing on two structures. The existential verb esserci that follows the (Expletive) (proform) (copula) pivot (coda) pattern, and the locative inversion PP + V + S featuring different classes of verbs (unaccusative, unergative and transitive). Lastly, based on the comparison of the existential construction in the two languages, pedagogical implications for L1 Italian L2 Chinese learners are discussed, taking into account the most relevant theories in second language acquisition and the analysis of common mistakes.