In the opera texts written in the Southern Min dialect during the Ming and Qing dynas-ties,there exists a multifunctional form"ni".Based on its phonological and grammatical characteris-tics,this paper identifies its etymology as"ran".In addition to inheriting the functions of the mor-pheme of quality/manner,adjectival suffix,and comparative particle from Classical Chinese,the word"ni(ran)"has undergone innovative developments in the Southern Min dialect:When placed at the end of a sentence to refer to the preceding context,it evolves into a sentence-final particle;when it is positioned between a verb and its object,it becomes a perfective aspect marker.Moreover,the re-sultative clause"shi/zuo zai ni"has evolved into a hypothetical interrogative particle through two sta-ges of contraction.
There is a sentence "(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic) (minqing bu er)" in chapter 11 of Ziyi of the Book of Rites. The corresponding characters of Ziyi in Guodian bamboo slips and Shangbo bamboo slips are respectively written as "(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic) (binqing bu shi)" and "(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(minqing bu yi)". The old interpretations are both"(sic)(sic)(sic) & (minqing bu te)". Through comprehensively and meticulously sorting out characters and words adaptation relationship related to "(sic)(shi)" and "(sic)(chi)" in excavated documents, this article points out that their meaning can be adapted with semantic symbols such as (in), (sic)((sic))(mi),(sic)(yi)" and "(sic)(yu),(sic)(jin),(sic)(bei)" etc., and its sound can be adapted with phonetic symbols such as "(sic)(shi),(sic)(yi),(sic)(li),(sic)(lai)" etc,, resulting in adapted original characters such as"(shi),(shi),(shi),(sic) (shi)" etc.. Based on this, the character "t(shi)" in Guodian bamboo slips should be a variant of the character "(sic)(shi)", and the character "(sic)(er)" of the Bpok of Rites should be a mistake of "(shi)" and also a variant of the character "(sic)(shi)","(sic) (shi)" means "to conceal" or "to disguise". The previous interpretation of "(sic) (qing)" as referring to mind", "psychology", etc, is wrong. Rather, it should be interpreted as implying the meaning of sincerity", "honesty", etc,, the opposite of the meaning of "(sic)(shi)". The sentence "(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic) ninqing bu shi)" means "the people are honest and not disguised". Ancient rulers have always been oncerned about how to ensure the people refrain from concealing or withholding the truth, which is often found in ancient books. Based on the new understanding resulted from the study of characters and words adaptation relationship related to "(sic) (shi)" and "(sic) (chi)", this article reinterprets some related characters and words in unearthed and passed down literature.
This paper first categorizes the discourse contexts of "shishishang"((sic)(sic)(sic)) into two major types: contrastive and non contrastive, of which the contrastive category includes complete contrast and partial contrast and the non contrastive category encompasses various semantic relationship types such as causality, question-answering, exemplification, and coordination. The paper then demonstrates from a synchronic grammaticalization perspective that "shishishang" has undergone a shift in usage from nominal to adverbial and from a phrasal structure to a discourse marker. During its se mantic evolution from expressing contrast to non contrast, metaphorical cognitive mechanism plays a crucial role. Finally, the article delves into the meta discourse property and function of "shishis hang". Its meta-discourse property manifests as subjectivity, topicality, and directionality, while its meta-discourse function is characterized by interactivity.
The possessive can be interpreted as agent inside a DP but a noun in noun incorporation is limited to the theme reading. While each fact has been analyzed in the literature, their contrast, yet to receive due attention, In fact, no coherent account can be given to the contrast within the cur rent theoretical framework whether one regards hend movement as the exclusive means for wordifor Imation or takes words to be formed independently of syntax. The proposed solution consists of two components: a) Integrate the strengths of the syntactic and lexicalist models by appreciating the fact that direct merger of word-internal components is inevitable in every version of syntactic word-forma tion. b) Realize that the 0 criterion is the only licensing principle when syntax merges two heads to produce a new head, It is further shown that the means for saturation must include theta-composition.
Old Sino Korean generally refers to the Korean readings of Chinese characters prior to the unification of the Korean Peninsula in the 7th century. Drawing on the proper nouns documented in Samkuk Saki and Samkuk Yusa, as well as the records from Idu and Hyangka, this paper investigates the phonetic realizations of the zhang((sic)) initial group and the yi ((sic)) initial in Old Sino-Kore an. By comparing these realizations with Old Chinese phonology at different stages, we propose that the readings of Chinese characters in Old Sino-Korean can be stratified into early and late layers. The early layer is characterized by the/k/reading of the zhang initial and the/*1-/reading of the y in itial, which align closely with the ziesheng ((sic)(sic)) system. In contrast, the later layer is marked by the /*t-/ reading of both the zhang and yi initials, reflecting a phonological system similar to that evidenced in the Yinqueshan Han slips. Previous studies have shown that Sino Korean preserves pho netic features from Old Chinese. Middle Chinese, Old Mandarin and Modern Mandarin. This paper further demonstrates the existence of different layers in Old Sino Korean, highlighting the complexity and continuity of language contact between Old Korean and Old Chinese, Future research should sys tematically examine the phonological system of Old Sino-Korean to further elucidates its internal stratification.
The use of common nouns as adverbials is marked and subject to numerous constraints. The "Noun + Verb" adverbial modifier construction predominantly follows a 2 + 2 syllabic pattern as its prosodic norm. The 1 + 1 pattern is unproductive, the 2 + 1 pattern is rare, and the 1 + 2 pattern is disfavored. The use of abstract nouns as adverbials is a modern development emerging since the May Fourth Movement. This Europeanized structure, influenced by translation, is primarily employed in formal written registers. The syllabic pat terning of the "Noun + Verb" adverbial modifier construction is shaped by register constraints. The 2 + 2 pat tern serves as a prosodic means of expressing formal register in Chinese, aligning with the formal nature of this construction, Disyllabic abstract nouns are atypical nouns and represent a marked category; only marked nouns can exhibit marked syntactic functions, whereas monosyllabic nouns are restricted in their ability to function directly as adverbials. The 1 + 2 pattern in the "Noun + Verb" adverbial modifier construction is virtually non existent. The 1 + 1 pattern, as a bonded disyllabic unit, results from foot based word formation.
Chinese plurality category can be classified into pivotal group (associative group), characteristic group, enumeration group, and emotional groups. Based on frequency statistics from real corpus, this article finds that "xie""men" and "huo" in Chengdu dialect are not plural markers but pragmatic markers expressing stance taking. The word "men" in Chengdu dialect marks pitotal group, used to classify people with similar stances based on a certain pivot, indicating the alliance re lationship. Not until recently has "men" obtained the function of characteristic group and enumeration group influenced by the common language. Both "xie" and "huo" mark emotional group, used to flas sify groups that have a strong emotional impact on the speaker. The high-frequency usage of them is to modify personal nouns as discourse topics, highlighting the closeness feature, Both "xie" and "puo" have a tendency towards singularity, indicating that their pragmatic attributes can extend beyond the constraints of plurality.
The subject predicate and attributive head structures composed of the noun man", Mhich contains the semantic features [+ rude, tough, gradually lexicalized into disyllabic adjectives tarting from the Northern Song Dynasty;"man" grammaticalized into an adjective with a degree sdale in the Yuan Dynasty. When the adjective"man" functions as an adverbial to modify qualita-ive adjectives, modal/psychological verbs, and verbs representing repeatable actions, it grammatical-zes into a degree adverb or a frequency adverb in dialects respectively, or is accompanied by sound changes that fill the gaps in the coordination of sound, rhyme and tone. In the late Ming and early Qing Dynasties, the degree adverb"man" appeared in the central dialects and spread to the com-non language and surrounding dialects; the frequency adverb"man" has been found in the Hanzhong and Huanggang dialects so far, and its grammaticalization is believed to have started in the late Ming and early Qing Dynasties.
The newly discovered passages from the Tsinghua bamboo slips suggest that the traditional interpretation of "ruyi" ((sic)(sic)) in the Shangshu as "naihe" ((sic)(sic)) is difficult to sustain. The expression "ruyi" appears to be a fixed collocation composed of the verb "ru" ((sic)) and the proximal demonstrative pronoun "yi" ((sic)). Semantically, it is comparable to "rushi" ((sic)(sic)) or "rushi" ((sic)(sic)), and is roughly equivalent to "ruci" ((sic)(sic)) in modern Chinese, Syntactically, "ruyi" primarily functions as a predicate. Depending on the context, it may convey either an affirmative or an interrogative meaning.
The Free Choice structure in Khalkha Mongolian consists of a wh-word combined with the particles 1 and bol. A formal semantic analysis reveals that bol serves as a conditional marker and introduces a possibility modal, while 1 functions as an exclusive focus marker, sequentially restricting alternative options in the antecedent of the conditional clause. Additionally, the imperfective aspect which is consistent with FCI u-niversally quantifies over possible situations, thereby generating a free choice interpretation. The interaction of these morphemes forms a structure capable of expressing universal free choice meaning. Cross-linguistic comparison indicates that indirect universal quantification over individuals is an effective strategy for deriving free choice meanings, as evidenced by the parallels with the concessive copula construction in Tibetan.
Mirativity consists of two interrelated aspects; emotion events and emotion states, E- motion events refer to newly encountered information that captures the subject's attention and trig- gers an emotional response. Emotion states, in turn, can be analyzed along two dimensions; emotion- al valence (positive or negative evaluation) and emotional arousal (the intensity of physiological or psychological activation). In Chinese, both "yiwai" and "jingya" are used to express mirative mean- ing. The nominal form of "yiwai" denotes an emotion event, whereas its adjectival form can denote ei- ther an emotion event or an emotion state. By contrast, "jingya" denotes only an emotion state, typi cally involving a higher degree of emotional arousal than "yiwai". This study further examines the re- lationship between counterexpectational emotion events and intense emotion states through two seem- ingly paradoxical constructions: "yiwai but not jing" and "jing but not yiwai." The former arises when an event deviates from expectation but does not surpass the cognitive threshold necessary to elic it a strong emotional response. The latter occurs when an event violates socially generalized expecta- tions while remaining consistent with the individual's personal expectations. These constructions re- veal the dynamic interaction between counterexpectational events and the subject's cognitive schemata,
The three-dimensional classifier forms in southeastern Guangxi Yue dialect are particu-larly rich: the Yulin variant has an inventory of 3 forms: k & empty;& sup3;& sup2;/k gamma & sup3;& sup2;, (sic)k(h)& empty;(54)/kh gamma(54) and (sic) nap(4); the Xingye variant has 4 forms: (sic)keu(21),k & empty;(22),k(h)& empty;(224) and (sic)nap & sup2;; Beiliu also has 3 forms: (sic)keu(21), k(h)oe(54) and (sic)nap'; while the Rongxian variant has four forms: keu(31), ko oe(21)/k(h)o oe(55) and (sic) nap & sup2;. The classifier semantic system of Yulin variant Cantonese is the result of grammatical replication due to contact with the Tai-Kadai languages. The k(h) classifier is directly borrowed from the Yulin (sic) k(h)& oslash;(54)/kh gamma(54) and then spreads to other dialects. The k classifier, on the other hand, originates from the early(sic)k & empty;(52) in the Yulin variant, giving rise to the low-tone form that encodes larger quantities through internal inflection. In the process of the lexical diffusion of k classifier and (sic)/k(h) classifier, the three-dimensional classifier systems in various regions have chosen roughly the same rearrange-ment method due to the constraints of the cognitive system on the available pathways. However, differences still exist due to the variations in subsequent omissions and adjustments.
This study investigates the (a) symmetry between the two roots (X and Y) in 400 di syllabic coordinative verbs in Mandarin Chinese (henceforth XY), selected according to four criteria, To examine their internal structure, we develop an annotation scheme that codes the semantic roles and lexical semantic features of the objects licensed by X, Y, and XY. By systematically comparing the annotated object properties, we identify, for each XY, a dominant root (H) that patterns more closely with XY in terms of the semantic roles and lexical semantic features of their objects. This finding indicates that the two roots within these coordinative verbs do not contribute equally to argument selection, revealing an inherent internal asymmetry. Statistical analysis further uncovers a generalization governing H identification. When the objects of X and Y differ in the number of semantic roles, the root whose objects involve fewer semantic roles is more likely to be identified as H. When X and Y license the same set of semantic roles, H identification correlates with lexical semanticisimilarity between the two roots; the greater the semantic dissimilarity between X and Y, the more likely the root with fewer annotated lexical semantic features is to function as H. We account for this gener-alization from the perspective of semantic composition, drawing on the diachronic origin of XY forms in coordinative phrases. The analysis also addresses exceptional cases that do not conform to the gen eral pattern.
This article examines the processing responses in two EEG experiments, each assessing the use of separable words in two forms: combined and separated. The results indicate that, durirlg isolated processing, separable words do not elicit significantly different EEG responses compared tq compound words or verb object phrases, However, during discrete processing, sentences containing pseudo-separable words induced a larger N400 component, while the P600 component did not show significant differences across the three sentence types, The article suggests that the lexical knowledge of separable words includes both combined and separated forms. When processing sentences with separable words, readers can directly process them using structural knowledge of the dis crete form. Although sentences with pseudo-separable words have low predictability, lexical knowledge of separable words can still be accessed to process the structure. The experimental results suggist that the generation and processing of the discrete form may not involve complex syntactic derivation; instead, it may directly employ a metonymic application of various extended patterns within the cohesive verb object structure. This simplifies the syntactic processing.
Both the morphemes "finish" "die" indicating the meaning of end and the morpheme "many" indicating the meaning of large quantity in Kam-Tai languages have developed the meaning of high degree. The evolution of "finish>extreme degree meaning" has undergone a transition from [quantity] to [degree], while "die> extreme degree meaning" has shifted from [state] to [degree]. Both processes are the result of the functioning of the terminal metaphor mechanism. The relatively high degree meaning of "many" derives from its sense of large quantity, representing an instance of the incremental metaphor, Cross-linguistic evidence and cognitive procesesing patterns indicate that morphemes with terminal meanings are more likely than those with the meaning of large quantity-40 HAvelon a hush degree semantic function. This finding aligus with the principles of cognitive iconicity.
This paper presents a systematic description of predicative possession in the Xibo lan-guage, elaborating how the concept of "PR has PE" is encoded. The basic construction is "PR-1 PE pi", in which the possessor (PR) appears as an oblique marked by the locativet, the possessee (PE) functions as the core argument (the subject), and/pi/ is an intransitive existential verb. Typological-ly, this corresponds to a locational possession construction, with the literal meaning "at the PR, the PE exists." Building on this description, the paper explores the relationship among predicative posses-sion, existential constructions, and locative constructions in Xibo, with particular attention to the syntactic isomorphism between predicative possession and existential predication. This isomorphism is argued to arise from the notion that "existence underlies possession", a diachronic pathway supported by human cognitive foundations and cross-linguistic evidence.
In the Western Zhou bronze inscriptions, some phrases like "chan mou ming""chanming", etc., are found, specifically "chan wokao womu ming" as on the bronze ritual vessel Wunian Diaosheng Gui, "chan ming" as on the bronze ritual vessel Liunian Diaosheng Gui and "chancheng gongming" as on the bronze plate Baji Pan. There has been no consensus over the meaning of the character "chan" among relevant scholars. Now it seems that there is no need to reinterpret the char acter "chan", which should be read as "chan", encompassing both the meanings of walking on and following. "Chan mou ming" means to follow and fulfill someone's command, which is equivalent to phrases like "cheng mou ming", "cheng mou ming" or "zhi mou ming". Other phrases related to the character "chan" in Western Zhou bronze inscriptions can also be reasonably explained, such as "chan you fumu" as on the bronze plate Shuduofu Pan, meaning to follow the virtues of one's parents, and "chan shang jue wenmu" as on the bronze tripod Shuai Ding, meaning to follow and promote the vir tues of one's moral mother. The use of "chan" as "chan" is also evidenced in the Tsinghua Bamboo Slips, such as in Tang Chuyu Tangqiu, Wuji, Dafu Shili and Weitian Yongshen. This shows that the usage of "chan" has been consistent during the period from the Western Zhou to the Warring States.
Excavated and classical texts have systematically revealed that the characters "kai" and "qi", representative verbs meaning "to open" in the Old Chinese, can refer to inspect". This article specifically demonstrates that the character "qi" in classical texts and bronze inscriptions of the West Zhou period simultaneously conveys the meaning of "to inspect", and infers that other characters containing the "xi" phonetic component in Warring States bamboo slips are also used to record the same word. Furthermore, it reveals that characters "jian()jian()" and "jian((sic))" with "jian" as phonetic component on bamboo slips during Warring States, Qin and Han dynasties originally denoting "to inspect also concurrently expresses the meaning of "to open arguing that these can corroborate with the character "kai" in classical texts which also concurrently expresses the meaning of "to inspect". It discusses the relationship between the meanings of "to open" and "to inspect" and its Autanism and explores other cognate words with the meaning of "to inspect" which also denotes "to open" based on this mechanism.
Compared to the voluminous literature of sound change and variation across speakers and generations,much less is understood about change and variation within individuals across the li-fespan.Based on the acoustic experimental data of 2010 and 2020 from 4 participants,this study re-ports an exploratory analysis of the acoustic characteristics of tonal variation of Chongqing Mandarin from real time perspective.The longitudinal results suggest that individual differences are systemati-cally associated with the developmental trajectories of individual adults.
This study reexamines the semantic relationship of possessive phrases and the generation mechanism of skill-evaluative quasi attributive construction "NP1 de NP2 V de C" from the perspective of the interactions between the constructions and the possessive phrases and related sentence constructions. It reveals that quasi-attributive constructions are base generated, with their possessive phrases expressing non-specific possession of creations. This creatorship possession plays a crucial role in the constructionalization of quasi-attributive construction, enabling a metonymic shift in evaluation from a person's creation to their creative skill. As this possession relation becomes marginalized and diluted, the construction expands its range of acceptable types and undergoes further entrenchment. Once constructionalized, the quasi attributive construction fore-grounds its holistic constructional meaning, which obscures the original possession semantics to the point of being unrecognizable. This can even lead to possessive phrases that lack any creatorship interpretation, On the other hand, the construction can also bring peripheral or non-salient instances of creatorship possession in-td prominence, and allow possessive phrases that lack creatorship possession to be reinterpreted as expressing this relation. Diachronic evidence corroborates these findings, demonstrating that the formation and development of quasi attributive constructions are enhanced through mutual reinforcement with verb-copying construction and Subject-Predicate predicate construction, while simultaneously competing with the construction "NP1, V de hao NP2".
