Mandarin Analytic Causative Constructions with Shǐ and Ràng: A Usage-Based Collostructional Analysis

Liu, Na; Li, Fuyin

doi:10.1007/978-3-031-28953-8_39

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“…In Mandarin, SHI is the prototypical member of analytic causatives. Other peripheral ones include 令-lìng-order, 让-ràng-make, let, and 叫-jiào-ask (Lyu, 1942(Lyu, /2002Pulleyblank, 1995;Xu, 2003Xu, , 2006Cao, 2011;Shi, 2021;Liu & Li, 2023). The canonical syntactic pattern of Mandarin analytic causative construction is [NP1 + SHI/LING/RANG/JIAO+NP2 + VP].…”

Section: The Synchrony and Diachrony Of Shi In Chinesementioning

confidence: 99%

Event integration as a driving force of language change: evidence from Chinese 使-shǐ-make

Liu

2023

Lang. cogn.

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Talmy’s (1991; 2000a; 2000b) influential work on motion events provides a strong two-way typology that can examine and account for the typology of a language, but this framework is basically synchronic. It may not be equally valid to explain language change. In this paper, we apply the event integration theory and its latest development, The Macro-event Hypothesis (Li, 2020, 2023), to account for the development of the causative verb 使-shǐ-make (SHI for short) in Chinese. This study reveals that, firstly, the multi-functional behavior of SHI represents a typical case of grammaticalization, with a full verb acquiring the role of conjunction and expressing abstract meanings. Secondly, the semantic division of the causative and non-causative uses of SHI in Contemporary Chinese is the most clear-cut. Thirdly, causative SHI shows a greater level of semantic bleaching, and the construction profiles a single causal activity and has a higher degree of event integration when compared to its lexical verbal use. The constructional grammaticalization of SHI confirms that event integration is key to its development. This study verifies The Macro-event Hypothesis of a continuum of grammaticalization in language and uncovers the process of semantic gradation that takes place in Chinese.

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Section: The Synchrony and Diachrony Of Shi In Chinesementioning

confidence: 99%