Reddit reviews An Anatomy of Chinese: Rhythm, Metaphor, Politics
We found 2 Reddit comments about An Anatomy of Chinese: Rhythm, Metaphor, Politics. Here are the top ones, ranked by their Reddit score.
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This is a terrific question.
No, there is no name for this phenomenon in Chinese; at least, none that is stronger than 韵律, 'prosody.' But in Chinese, prosody leaks into grammar: 五言 and 七言 rhythms are so strongly embedded as to affect even ticket-sellers' calls -- "农科站－没票买票!" (That's pure 七言!)
More to your question, you'll find that extendable verbs -- e.g. 坐 and 乘坐 -- are never longer, but often shorter, than their objects. That is, you can't 乘坐车, but you can 坐公交车, and you can also 坐车.
The short answer is that rhythm is a part of Chinese grammar.
If you want to learn a lot about this subject, the book is An Anatomy of Chinese: Rhythm, Metaphor, Politics by Perry Link. Hope this points you on a road that can answer your question thoroughly!
There aren't many, besides 上 and 下. Moreover, they switch around, just like English -- 往前走 compares 前 - front - to the future, but a 前辈 is an elder, which puts 前 in the past, much like 'forefather' in English.
All one can say for sure is that a lot of metaphors compete for prominence in both English and Chinese, and that the 'up' and 'down' metaphors you're looking for in Chinese are actually quite weak and subtle. Here is the authoritative book on the subject.