Choose an application

• Reference Manager
• EndNote
• RefWorks (Direct export to RefWorks)

Grammaticalization and lexicalization have been two major issues in the study of diachronic change in the past few decades. Drawing evidence from Western languages, researchers have uncovered a number of characteristics of the process of grammaticalization and lexicalization, as well as the relationship between the two. However, the question remains whether or not those characteristics are applicable to genetically unrelated and typologically different languages, such as Chinese. The contributors of this volume attempt to answer just this question. Based on Chinese historical data from the past three thousand years, five articles in the volume investigate the development of a certain grammatical category: the definite article (M. Fang), modal verbs of volition (A. Peyraube and M. Li), the classifier class (J.Z. Xing), the repeater class (C. Zhang), and the process of lexicalization (X. Dong), while the remaining four articles are case studies of unique grammatical words which have all undergone a complicated process of grammaticalization and some involved lexicalization: the sentence particle ye (Q. Chen), the versatile directional verb lái (C. Liu), the degree adverb hen (M. Liu and C. Chang), and the giving verb gei (F. Tsao). All these studies have identified tendencies of diachronic change in Chinese and some of them have also revealed certain typological characteristics that Chinese has compared to other languages.

Chinese language --- Chinois (Langue) --- Grammar. --- Lexicology --- Semantics --- Syntax --- Grammaire --- Lexicologie --- Sémantique --- Syntaxe --- S15/0610 --- China: Language--Grammar: baihua --- Sémantique --- Grammar --- Lexicology. --- Chinese. --- Historical Linguistics. --- Typology.

Choose an application

• Reference Manager
• EndNote
• RefWorks (Direct export to RefWorks)

Grammar --- Chinese languages

Choose an application

• Reference Manager
• EndNote
• RefWorks (Direct export to RefWorks)

This volume covers a wide range of theoretical and methodological issues pertaining to Chinese functional linguistic studies. The nine articles included in this collection offers genuine explanations for grammatical elements either important in Chinese grammar or unique cross-linguistically.

Functionalism (Linguistics) --- Chinese language

Choose an application

• Reference Manager
• EndNote
• RefWorks (Direct export to RefWorks)

Based on comparative analyses of diachronic data, the articles in this volume address both theoretical and methodological issues in the study of grammaticalization and lexicalization in both Eastern and Western languages. The central question raised and discussed in this volume is how, if any, typological properties of the two genetically unrelated language families interact with the processes of grammaticalization and lexicalization.

Grammar, Comparative and general --- Lexical grammar. --- Typology (Linguistics) --- Grammaticalization. --- Chinese language --- E-books