Delexicalizing di
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Foong Ha Yap
Abstract
This paper traces the semantic extension of the Chinese locative/spatial noun di (‘bottom’) into a nominalizer, which further develops into a relativizer and genitive marker, and also into an adverbial subordinator and an attitudinal or stance marker. As subordinator and stance marker, di is generally phonetically reduced to de. Indeed, de has now largely replaced di in contemporary Chinese. Similar developments involving the reanalysis of head-final (i.e. clause-final) nominalizers as sentence-final mood particles are also observed in the case of Chinese nominalizer zhe, and are attested in other Chinese dialects as well (e.g. Cantonese ge3 and Chaozhou kai). Many other verb-final languages also show similar syncretism involving head-final nominalizers being recruited for sentence-final mood marking functions.
Abstract
This paper traces the semantic extension of the Chinese locative/spatial noun di (‘bottom’) into a nominalizer, which further develops into a relativizer and genitive marker, and also into an adverbial subordinator and an attitudinal or stance marker. As subordinator and stance marker, di is generally phonetically reduced to de. Indeed, de has now largely replaced di in contemporary Chinese. Similar developments involving the reanalysis of head-final (i.e. clause-final) nominalizers as sentence-final mood particles are also observed in the case of Chinese nominalizer zhe, and are attested in other Chinese dialects as well (e.g. Cantonese ge3 and Chaozhou kai). Many other verb-final languages also show similar syncretism involving head-final nominalizers being recruited for sentence-final mood marking functions.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Acknowledgements vii
- Introduction 1
- On problem areas in grammaticalization 17
- Grammaticalization within and outside of a domain 43
- Delexicalizing di 63
- Should conditionals be emergent … 93
- From manner expression to attitudinal discourse marker 137
- Grammaticalization and lexicalization effects in participial morphology 191
- Frequency as a cause of semantic change 225
- The role of frequency and prosody in the grammaticalization of Korean -canh- 245
- Emergence of the indefinite article 275
- To dare to or not to 289
- Author index 327
- Index of languages and language families 331
- Subject index 333
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Acknowledgements vii
- Introduction 1
- On problem areas in grammaticalization 17
- Grammaticalization within and outside of a domain 43
- Delexicalizing di 63
- Should conditionals be emergent … 93
- From manner expression to attitudinal discourse marker 137
- Grammaticalization and lexicalization effects in participial morphology 191
- Frequency as a cause of semantic change 225
- The role of frequency and prosody in the grammaticalization of Korean -canh- 245
- Emergence of the indefinite article 275
- To dare to or not to 289
- Author index 327
- Index of languages and language families 331
- Subject index 333
