The correlation between the Chinese purpose construction “VP + qu (去, ‘go’)” and SOV languages
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Yonglong Yang
Abstract
The purpose construction “VP + qu (去, ‘go’)” in Chinese is correlated with SOV languages based on the following evidence: (1) “VP + qu” was originally found in translated Chinese Buddhist Sutras in the Six Dynasties period (220-589 A. D.) with ensuing occurrences in Zen classics and literature that were influenced by Altaic languages. (2) As found in historical corpora, “VP + qu” coexists with “D (destination) + qu”, while “qu + VP” coexists with “qu + D”. (3) SOV languages such as the Jurchen language, the Mongolian language in Menggu Mishi 蒙古秘史 (The Secret History of the Mongols), and some Chinese-based mixed languages have “D + GO” and “VP + GO”, while SVO languages such as those of the Miao-Yao and Zhuang- Dong groups have “GO + D” and “GO + VP”. (4) The “qu + VP + qu” construction arose through the fusion of the purpose constructions “VP + qu” and “qu +VP”.
Abstract
The purpose construction “VP + qu (去, ‘go’)” in Chinese is correlated with SOV languages based on the following evidence: (1) “VP + qu” was originally found in translated Chinese Buddhist Sutras in the Six Dynasties period (220-589 A. D.) with ensuing occurrences in Zen classics and literature that were influenced by Altaic languages. (2) As found in historical corpora, “VP + qu” coexists with “D (destination) + qu”, while “qu + VP” coexists with “qu + D”. (3) SOV languages such as the Jurchen language, the Mongolian language in Menggu Mishi 蒙古秘史 (The Secret History of the Mongols), and some Chinese-based mixed languages have “D + GO” and “VP + GO”, while SVO languages such as those of the Miao-Yao and Zhuang- Dong groups have “GO + D” and “GO + VP”. (4) The “qu + VP + qu” construction arose through the fusion of the purpose constructions “VP + qu” and “qu +VP”.
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter I
- Foreword V
- Contents VII
- List of Abbreviations IX
- Theory and fact – A study of the translated Buddhist scriptures of the Medieval Period from the perspective of language contact 1
- On the origin of the Chinese reflexive ziji from the perspective of the Medieval Chinese Buddhist scriptures 15
- The origin and development of negative exclusive particles in the Chinese language 41
- The postpositions suo 所 and bian 边 in translated Chinese Buddhist scriptures of the Medieval Period 75
- Variant reduplication and four-character state adjectives in Yuan Zaju 96
- The correlation between the Chinese purpose construction “VP + qu (去, ‘go’)” and SOV languages 125
- On the Han’er Yanyu of the Yuan Dynasty 149
- A study of the special syntactic features in Yuan baihua 168
- On the special syntactic features in the vernacular imperial edicts of the early Ming Dynasty (1368–1424) 191
- The influence of language contact on word order of some minority languages in Southern China 205
- Second language acquisition and contactinduced language change in the history of the Chinese language 237
- Postscript 254
- Index 255
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter I
- Foreword V
- Contents VII
- List of Abbreviations IX
- Theory and fact – A study of the translated Buddhist scriptures of the Medieval Period from the perspective of language contact 1
- On the origin of the Chinese reflexive ziji from the perspective of the Medieval Chinese Buddhist scriptures 15
- The origin and development of negative exclusive particles in the Chinese language 41
- The postpositions suo 所 and bian 边 in translated Chinese Buddhist scriptures of the Medieval Period 75
- Variant reduplication and four-character state adjectives in Yuan Zaju 96
- The correlation between the Chinese purpose construction “VP + qu (去, ‘go’)” and SOV languages 125
- On the Han’er Yanyu of the Yuan Dynasty 149
- A study of the special syntactic features in Yuan baihua 168
- On the special syntactic features in the vernacular imperial edicts of the early Ming Dynasty (1368–1424) 191
- The influence of language contact on word order of some minority languages in Southern China 205
- Second language acquisition and contactinduced language change in the history of the Chinese language 237
- Postscript 254
- Index 255
