ABSTRACT: Researchers have long reached the consensus that in a Chinese-style topic construction the comment says something about the topic, but they are still divided as to how the semantic function of aboutness should be represented in syntax. The most up-to-date analyses of the construction, postulating a topic projection within the CP layer, does not supply a syntactic structure that can underpin the aboutness meaning or provide an adequate account of the essential semantic and syntactic properties of the construction. This study proposes a double-Infl configuration for Chinese-style topic constructions, i.e., an Infl projects an InlfP, selecting a light verb phrase VABOUTP as its complement and a TopicP as its specifier; VABOUT connects the comment ForceP to the TopicP, thus underpinning the aboutness meaning. This proposal can account for both the essential semantic and syntactic properties of Chinese-style topic constructions and the variation between topic-prominent and subject-prominent languages. The grammatical component of subject-prominent languages has a strong Infl, which has an u AGREE feature and hence requires the obligatory presence of a DP in the specifier position of its projection; in contrast, that of topic-prominent languages has a weak Infl, which lacks the feature and hence allows an optional DP or TopicP in the position. 摘要: 摘要 汉语式话题结构中的述题表达"关于"话题的信息，这是学界共识; 但研究者对于该结构中"关于"义的句法实现仍存较大争议。近来的 句法分析一般认为，在句法结构的 CP 层存在一个话题投射。但这类分 析所假设的句法结构既不能支撑汉语式话题结构中的"关于"义，也 不能充分解释该结构的其它典型特点。本研究提出，汉语式话题结构 是 一 个 双 重 屈 折 投 射 结 构 ， 即 屈 折 中 心 语 选 择 一 个 轻 动 词 短 语 (VABOUTP)作补语，选择一个话题短语(TopicP)作指示语，投射一个 屈折短语(InlfP)；轻动词 VABOUT 联结述题和话题，从而支撑"关于" 义；述题是一个语力短语(ForceP)，包含一个屈折短语。这一假设既 能解释汉语式话题结构的主要语义和句法特点，又能解释话题突显语 言和主语突显语言之间的类型差异。主语突显语言具有强式屈折中心 语，其呼应特征(uAGREE)对指示语位置的限定词短语具有强制性 要求；相比之下，话题突显仅有弱式屈折中心语，其不具有呼应特征， 对指示语位置的限定词短语或话题短语没有强制性要求。
Xu et al. (Thu,) studied this question.