Hidden Complexity: The Case ofNP₁+lái+Non-locative NP₂ Construction

From the perspective of construction grammar, this paper explores the pragmatic nature of Chinese, with special reference to a non-canonical construction formed by the motion verb lái ‘come’, namelyNP₁+lái+non-locative NP₂.The construction displays a high degree of hidden complexity in the sense that its morphosyntactic structure cannot fully express its intended meaning (Bisang 2009, 2014, 2015) and its interpretation may involve pragmatic reasoning relative to context.Having discussed the three properties of the construction at issue, namely, high productivity, high schematicity and low compositionality (Traugott & Trousdale 2013),the present study examines its hidden complexity in two aspects:multiplicity of signification and ambiguity of structure, which serves as supportive evidence for the pragmatically oriented paratactic nature of Chinese.