The Diachronic Development of Modal Expressions in Chinese - From Late Archaic to Middle Chinese

The present study is the first to apply a syntactic approach to the grammaticalization of Chinese modals, based on hypotheses on cross-linguistic diachronic developments of modals from lexical to functional categories as upward movement on a functional spine. The temporal framework of the study covers Late Archaic and Middle Chinese. Early Middle Chinese is a crucial turning point for the development of Chinese from a more synthetic to a more analytic language. This change is attributed e.g. to the loss of a former morphology, which also affects the modal system. Against this background, the negative cycle of Chinese, the relevance of polarity contexts, and the development of a new system of deontic, epistemic and future markers are analyzed. In addition to a comprehensive analysis of the syntactic processes involved in the diachronic changes of the Chinese modal system, the study also provides a comparison with the syntax of grammaticalization of the thoroughly discussed Germanic modals. This constitutes a broad basis for further analyses of the changes in the Chinese language during its long written history, but also for cross-linguistic studies on the syntax of grammaticalization and on linguistic universals.

General

Imprint:	de Gruyter Mouton
Country of origin:	Germany
Series:	Studies in Language Change [SLC]
Release date:	August 2024
First published:	2023
Authors:	Barbara Meisterernst
Dimensions:	230 x 155mm (L x W)
Pages:	320
ISBN-13:	978-3-11-073778-3
Categories:	Books
LSN:	3-11-073778-7
Barcode:	9783110737783

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