Based on a tri-domain perspective (content, epistemic, and speech-act), this paper examines the differentiation of “V qilai” in modern Chinese and the generative mechanism of its connective function. Corpus analysis reveals that “V qilai” exhibits a progressive differentiation across the three domains. In the content domain, it functions as a verb-complement structure, connecting actions syntactically through temporal sequences. In the epistemic domain, it serves as the initial component of the “V qilai AP” construction, establishing a perspectivized evaluative framework for supra-sentential inferential connection. In the speech-act domain, it acts as a discourse marker, organizing text through stance negotiation. The study shows that the three domains of “V qilai” form a continuum across three parametric systems: syntactic hierarchy (syntactic → supra-syntactic → textual), subjectivity (objective → subjective → intersubjective), and functional orientation (propositional → inferential → discursive). The connective function of “V qilai” results from the interaction of cognitive domain shifts, subjectivization, and syntactic regulation.

In a numeral-classifier phrase, the approximative duo has three possible syntactic positions: post-classifier, between the numeral and classifier, and within the numeral constituent. This paper terms this the floating phenomenon of approximative duo. Starting from this phenomenon and base on the cardinal-multiplier analysis and the phrase structure hypothesis for numerals, we proposes a novel analysis of the Chinese numeral-classifier structure: the Chinese “numeral” should be decomposed into a series of Cardinal Phrases (CardP), headed by a cardinal word (e.g., shi ‘ten’, bai ‘hundred’) and taking a multiplier word (e.g., yi ‘one’, er ‘two’) as its specifier. Within this analysis, the approximative duo is argued to be a special type of multiplier word, and classifiers are analyzed as special types of cardinal words. The essential nature of duo’s floating phenomenon is thus that duo functions as the multiplier for different cardinal words.

It is widely assumed that yi ‘one’-CL-NP phrases in Mandarin are consistently interpreted as indefinite, whereas numeral phrases with numbers greater than one can receive definite interpretations. This paper challenges that assumption, arguing instead that Mandarin numeral phrases do not intrinsically encode distinct semantic properties. The observed contrast in definiteness between yi-CL-NP and num(>1)-CL-NP phrases, as well as the apparent restrictions on the anaphoric use of yi-CL-NP, are best explained in terms of their competition with bare nouns. Adopting the principle Minimize DP! (Patel-Grosz & Grosz 2017), this paper proposes that when a yi-CL-NP phrase and a bare noun denote the same entity, and no independent factor licenses the former, the syntactically and semantically simpler bare noun is obligatorily preferred in definite contexts.

The adverb guozhen carries an independent syntactic function. It deals with the relationship between the preceding information and the current sentence, whose core meaning is “the aforementioned information has been verified”. The semantic structure of guozhen includes three parts: the information to be verified, the act of verification, and the result of verification, which reflect respectively the speaker’s epistemic stance of uncertainty, intention to seek verification, and acceptance of the verified result. The information state therefore changes from unverified to verified. The difference between guozhen and guoran lies mainly in the speaker’s attitude and the semantic functions they perform. With guozhen, speakers tend to take a skeptical stance, intending to verify the preceding information. With guoran, speakers often assume a believing stance, and the subsequent propositions typically support the preceding information. In some discourses, the speaker’s attitude may be omitted and their stance is unknown, making guozhen and guoran interchangeable. However, the semantic structures they activate remain different.

Guided by Semantics Grammar and based on corpus and logic, this study limits the syntactic environment of the preposition lun to the anti-expectation discourse of “quadratic contrast”, extracts its grammatical meaning as “expectation based on order”, and summarizes its construction feature as “interaction and juxtapositon”. Firstly, reviewing previous research, it is proposed that the preposition usage of lun needs to be described more delicately. Secondly, the syntactic-semantic structuring of lun is reconstructed at the level of discourse and it is pointed out that the lun construction must be placed in an anti-expectation discourse to become an utterance, be it in a typical turning discourse or an atypical out-turning-and-in-causal discourse. Thirdly, the syntactic collocation and semantic selection of lun are described and verified from the level of sentence, where it is pointed out that the requirement of anti-expectation discourse could be attributed to the construction’s one-sidedness, which is reflected in the “orderliness” of the fact-clause and the “preference” of the opinion-clause. Fourthly, the grammatical meaning of lun is generalized as “expectation based on order”, i.e. by positioning things within a certain frame of reference, a preferred expectation is generated, which in turn creates the need for quadratic contrast in communication. Therefore, all lun constructions arise from the question-answer interaction. Finally, this study reflects on the semantics research of prepositions.

The jiaomo-type words, functioning as verbs, adverbs, and conjunctions, occur in various forms. The most common form is the verb “jiao (pro) mo”, which derives from dissuasive-interrogative constructions of the pattern “jiao pro mo VP”, originally meaning “to allow to proceed unhindered”. Historically, these forms were carried into central regions by migrants from Jiangxi who settled in present-day Hunan and Hubei. Through grammaticalization, the verbal construction underwent syntactic reanalysis in certain contexts, evolving into a concessive conjunction equivalent to jinguan ‘despite’. These migrants outnumbered the local population in areas such as Huangzhou and De’an, leading to a contiguous distribution of jiaomo-type words in northeastern Hubei, while other regions exhibit a more scattered distribution. With further grammatical development in the Changyi dialect of Xiang, jiaomo-type verbs have been reanalyzed via inferential contexts into adverbs meaning “why not”. Geographically, jiaomo-type words are primarily distributed in the Huangxiao dialect and can be regarded as its dialect characteristic words.

Interrogatives can be categorized into polar questions and constituent questions based on the dichotomy of question types. The former seeks confirmation of the proposition put forth, while the latter seeks information specifically targeted by the interrogative constituent. In the Hanzhong dialect of Shaanxi, “…ba” interrogatives can also be divided into two types: the confirmation-seeking polar question with ba and the information-seeking constituent question “VP ba”. By analyzing the nature of ba and the usage, syntactic, and semantic characteristics of “VP ba”, we argue that “VP ba” essentially belongs to the category of A-not-A questions. Since the fact that the Hanzhong dialect is spoken in the transitional zone between Zhongyuan Mandarin and Southwest Mandarin, “VP ba” is inevitably influenced by multiple internal and external factors of the language system. There are four stages in the evolution from A-not-A questions to polar questions. “VP ba” is at the third stage of the evolution chain.

The plural markers in the Guanzhong dialect primarily fall into four categories: the de type, the xie type, the men type, and the huo type. These plural markers exhibit certain differences in terms of geographical distribution, scope of application, and semantic expression. Among them, the plural marker men has the widest geographical distribution, while the plural marker xie has the narrowest. The plural markers men, de, huo, huoli, and xiege can only be attached to human-referring nominal elements to denote plurality, whereas the plural marker xie is not subject to this restriction and can also be attached to non-human-referring nominal elements to indicate plurality. The plural markers huo, huoli, and xiege can only express ordinary plural, while the plural markers men and de can express both ordinary plural and associative plural. The plural marker xie, on the other hand, can express ordinary plural, associative plural, and similative plural. The divergent origins of these plural markers are the primary reason for these observed differences.

This paper provides a systematic analysis of the syntactic structure of the “NP₁ + V + you ‘have’ + NP₂” construction in the Jiyuan dialect, examining the grammatical functions of you ‘have’ and exploring its grammaticalization process and conditions. The research findings are as follows: (1) You ‘have’ serves multiple functions, including possession, existence, completion-persistence, and focus marking, forming a continuum that ranges from “spatial existence” to “temporal completion”. (2) It has undergone an evolution characterized by a progression from “possession > existence > completion-persistence > focus marking”. (3) In comparison to Mandarin, high transitive verbs such as duo ‘chop’, chi ‘eat’, and you ‘swim’ can freely enter this construction in the Jiyuan dialect. Additionally, the role of “NP₁” has expanded from locative expressions to include agent subjects. (4) The grammaticalization of you ‘have’ is influenced by several factors: the reduction of verb reduplication prompts a reanalysis of the structure (V^D + you ‘have’ →V⁰ + you ‘have’), semantic appropriateness facilitates its transition from spatial contexts to temporal ones, and frequent usage accelerates its grammaticalization process. The multifunctionality of you ‘have’ in the Jiyuan dialect illustrates its evolutionary trajectory from being spatially driven to temporally driven.

Xiang serves as an incipient proximative marker in the Xuzhou dialect. Compared with fully grammaticalized proximative markers, it exhibits a wider range of syntactic and semantic properties characteristic of the early stages of grammaticalization. Drawing on the synchronic syntactic differences of xiang across its diverse semantic functions, a more comprehensive grammaticalization pathway from desiderative verbs to proximative markers can be constructed, enabling a deeper exploration of the evolutionary mechanism underlying this grammaticalization. Previous studies on proximative markers have rarely addressed the following syntactic features of xiang: (1) When the subject is a human and xiang is followed by a dynamic non-volitional situation, a distinction arises between subject-oriented and speaker-oriented readings, with the former encoding the subject’s perception; (2) When the subject is a human and xiang is followed by a dynamic volitional situation, xiang can convey the proximative reading only in highly constrained contexts, and in most cases retains its core desiderative meaning. According to feature (1), it is clear that the grammaticalization of desiderative verbs commences with the functional expansion of xiang to subsequent verbs. Taken together, features (1) and (2) demonstrate that the polysemous stage - where desiderative and proximative readings co-occur - emerges after the proximative has developed, rather than immediately following the desiderative verb stage.

Hang and me in the Wenshui (Hulan) dialect in Shanxi Province have many commonalities in syntax, semantics, and pragmatics. However, there are also obvious differences in expression function. Hang and me belong to the typical subjective evaluative morphology and are related to the subjective quantity, which is the relevant motivation behind the commonality of the two. Hang belongs to the subjective decrement and me belongs to the subjective increment, which lead to the difference in usage between the two.

This paper examines the semantic functions and diachronic evolution of the directional verbs luo and xia in Hakka dialects from the late 19th century to the 1950s. Initially, luo and xia exhibited semantic opposition related to their differing emphases on the reference frames of motion. Over time, however, their semantics gradually converged. Through diachronic and cross-dialectal comparisons, this study argues that this change resulted from semantic replication triggered by contact with Mandarin, which drove a renewed “secondary classification” within the directional verb system of Hakka dialects. This process ultimately led to a re-division between form and semantics.

The diachronic evolution of “V→S” of Chinese motion events has received great attention. However, there is still a controversy regarding whether “V→S” has been completed or not in Chinese history. This study advocates that Chinese motion event has finished the change of “V→S”, displaying a cyclical pattern of “V→E→S→(V)” (V being in parentheses indicates that Modern Chinese has not become a typical V-language). Adopting both qualitative and quantitative research methodology, this study follows the grammaticalization cline of the PATH verbs in Chinese and constructs a model of “The Cyclical Change of Chinese Motion Events”. To test the feasibility of the model, we conduct a quantitative study of the diachronic change of the PATH verb lai. This paper reveals that the transition of “V→S” had already been completed during the Song and Yuan dynasties, and since then Chinese tended to change from S-language to V-language. V-framed representations are tending to be predominant in Modern Chinese. The cyclical change in the lexicalization pattern of Chinese motion events is the result of the interaction between “clarity” and “economy”, and also the outcome of the influence of multiple factors, such as disyllabification, grammaticalization, and lexicalization. This study is a preliminary attempt to observe the evolution pattern of Chinese language from the perspective of “linguistic cycle”, which will stimulate deeper understandings of the Chinese typology and its diachronic changes.

We discuss a method of identifying verbal classifiers in archaic and early medieval Chinese based on the analysis of two groups of words: zā, zhuàng, bèi and fā, hé, xíng. We point out that the task of identifying verbal classifiers is to decide whether X in the sequence “Verb (+Obj) + Numeral + X” is a verbal classifier. We provide the syntactic structure of the sequence when X is a noun, a nominal classifier, a verb, or a verbal classifier respectively as the basis for deciding the grammatic identity of X. In contrast to previous work that views the two groups of words as verbal classifiers, we argue that the first group should be identified as nouns and the second group should be identified as verbs to better account for their distributions. Based on the analyses of the two groups of words, we suggest that one should rely on syntactic analysis instead of semantic interpretation of the sequence above to decide whether X is a verbal classifier.

The modern Chinese sentence-final particle na has two origins: first, it derives from a phonetic change of a when the preceding word has an “-n” coda, denoted as na₁; second, it originates from the syllabic fusion of the sentence-final particles ne and a, denoted as na₂. Drawing on a series of Ho-Kian Fu dialect documents compiled by late Qing missionaries, and supplemented by Beijing dialect documents and contemporary Hebei dialect data, this study demonstrates from multiple perspectives the existence of the consecutive use of the sentence-final particles ne and a, thereby substantiating the plausibility of the syllabic fusion theory for na₂. After ne a fused into na₂, the mood expressed by na₂ has also developed from superimposed mood to composite mood. Specifically, in non-interrogative sentences, na₂ conveys a strong reminding mood; in interrogative sentences, it conveys a mitigated pragmatic force of reminder and inquiry (in information-seeking questions), or the speaker’s critical or reproachful stance (in rhetorical questions). Owing to its multifunctionality and high frequency, na₂ likely exerted an assimilative effect on na₁, which is homonymous and occupies the same syntactic position. This ultimately led to the merger of this portion of na₁ with na₂, together constituting the sentence-final particle na in modern Chinese.

This paper uses Teochew loanwords from Thailand, Vietnam, and Malaysia (recorded in Teochew dialect documents) as research material. By comparing syllable structure differences among overseas Teochew, Thai, Vietnamese, and Malay, it analyzes the selection mechanism adopted by consonants and vowels in different syllable positions during language contact, and summarizes the transformation rules and transliteration strategies of loanwords. The study finds that: (1) In Southeast Asian Teochew, loanwords are incorporated through syllable matching based on relative phonological similarity. (2) The phonological inventory and inventorial syllables of Teochew play a key role in the transliteration of loanwords. (3) Over the past century, the direction of phonetic evolution in Teochew has remained consistent both at home and abroad, reflecting frequent communication among Teochew communities worldwide.

Through the analysis of dialect materials from the Tang and Song dynasties, the Ming and Qing dynasties, and the modern era in Northwest China, it is found that in the northwest dialects during the Tang Dynasty and the Song Dynasties, the de, mai, mo-II rhymes (three Middle Chinese rhyme categories) had already been merged, with the main vowel being [e]. In a few cases, [e] was raised to [i], which led to the merger with the zhi, xi, xi rhymes (three Middle Chinese rhyme categories). During the Western Xia period, after these vowels reached the highest degree of raising, they began to undergo breaking, following the pattern of e > i > iə > ie. Such phonetic changes continued and developed in the Lanyin Mandarin of the Ming and Qing dynasties and in the modern Jin dialect. From the perspective of the identity and difference of phonetic changes, this characteristic of the Northwest Chinese dialects is of a cognate nature, not a result of contact-induced convergence. Under the influence of the Central Plains Mandarin, this phonetic change in the northwest dialects gradually retreated. Nowadays, it is only limited to the Jin dialect and the Lanyin Mandarin, mostly involving labial initial characters, and shows a declining trend. Rounded syllables do not participate in this phonetic change, and the phonetic changes of yangsheng rhymes and rusheng rhymes are not synchronized.