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.

The present study focuses on the syntax of the sentence-final particle gaa3 in Cantonese from a cartographic perspective. Gaa3 can be observed in three distinct constructions (exclamative, declarative and interrogative) with respect to five different contexts (plain statement, simple information-seeking question, exclamation, warning, and quick-answer-demanding question). By examining the grammatical properties and interpretations of each gaa3, this paper offers a unified syntactic analysis for the different occurrences of gaa3. We argue that Tang’s (2020) framework can well account for the different occurrences of gaa3, which involve different underlying movements. This adds weight to the neo-perfomative approach which aims at syntacticizing properties of speech acts with a fine-grained hierarchy at the left periphery.

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.

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.

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.

This paper investigates applicative constructions in Northwestern Chinese dialects and compares them with those found in Mandarin Chinese. As in Mandarin, the applicative marker in Northwestern Chinese dialects typically derives from the verb gěi ‘give’, which is suffixed to the verb and serves to increase verbal valency. When occurring with trivalent verbs of giving, however, the applicative marker is optional and does not give rise to a valency-increasing effect. Applicative constructions in different Northwestern Chinese dialects display both shared and dialect-specific properties. The semantic roles of applicative objects are mainly beneficiaries and recipients. Influenced by contact with minority languages, the word-order patterns of applicative constructions across dialects show both convergence and divergence, forming a continuum in their distribution. Overall, applicative constructions marked by the suffix gěi ‘give’ constitute a salient grammatical feature of Northwestern Chinese dialect grammar.

This paper describes the sentence-final particle keh in declarative and interrogative sentences in Jinhua Wu dialect. In declaratives, keh exclusively occurs in verbal predicate clauses but is barred from nominal predicate clauses, typically conveying confirmatory assertion. In interrogatives, keh optionally appears under pragmatic conditions to reinforce interrogative force, signalling high response expectations of the speaker. The study further compares functions of sentence-final de- type particles across seven Wu dialects, revealing their robust functional development in all cases, with Jinhua dialect being particularly prominent. Specifically, keh exhibits syntactic obligatoriness in assertions of confirmation, and its functionality has historically expanded to yes-no questions, alternative questions, and tag questions, serving to strenthen interrogative force and heighten interactive expectations.

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.

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.

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.

On the basis of an extensive investigation of historical literature in Cantonese, it is proposed that the adverbs referring to cai in the Guangzhou dialect has undergone two diachronic substitutions of the dominant word since the early Qing dynasty. Zheng was the primary expression form, which was replaced by zhi by the early 19th century, and then by xian in the mid-20th century. The disyllabic word xianzhi has seen an increase in usage frequency since its emergence, but it has always been in a secondary position. The replacement and diffusion of the adverbs like cai in Cantonese have created a geographical distribution pattern of such adverbs in modern Yue dialects. This study has enlightening significance in examining the kinship, evolution speed, evolution mechanism, and literature nature of Chinese dialects.

The particle [kɤ] (including its phonetic variants) is widely used as structural particles in southeastern Chinese dialects, showing a remarkable areal feature. [kɔ³³] in Yangchun Cantonese in western Guangdong can be used as classifier, demonstrative, structural particle, and sentence-final particle synchronically. In the construction “subject+copula+VP+[kɔ³³]+NP”, [kɔ³³] can be interpreted either as a structural particle or a sentence-final particle with the omission of the head NP. It has been conventionalized as a dedicated sentence-final particle eventually. Comparison with the other Chinese dialects and several non-Chinese languages in southeastern China indicates that allowing the omission of the head NP in the construction “subject+copula+VP+[kɤ]+NP” is the necessary but not sufficient condition for the formation of the sentence-final usage of [kɤ] as structural particles.

The de-type compound marker gezai in early Wu dialect literature has tense-aspect functions. Compared to zai, gezai cannot report hot news in on-site context. In narrative discourse, VP+gezai can only show non-main event line and cannot advance the event chain forward, whereas VP+zai has no such restriction. This distinction indicates different tense-aspect meanings encoded by gezai and zai. Gezai denotes the relative-past tense and expresses the completion of an event before the reference time, while zai denotes the meaning of “change of event” besides relative-past tense.

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.

This study employs sociolinguistic methods to examine the use of erhua words in the spoken language of 205 Beijing residents. It is found that erhua words are still active in the daily conversations of contemporary Beijing residents, although with significant individual differences in usage. Age and education are important social factors influencing the use of erhua words. Females, teenagers, and students use fewer erhua words, and their expressions are relatively standardized. Over the past 40 years, the use of erhua words has experience a noticible decline, with some vulgar erhua words nearly disappearing. Additionally, interpersonal differences in usage have also significantly decreased. However, the standardization of language use and the positive attitude of Beijing residents towards erhua words still ensure its continued use.

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.

Echo reduplication is widely used in the Altaiс language family. Based on data from 40 Altaiс languages, this paper provides the first comprehensive analysis of its forms and functions. The forms are categorized into three types: C-type (consonant replacement), V-type (vowel alternation), and CV-type (initial syllable modification), among which C-type is the most common and exhibits different patterns depending on whether the base form begins with m-. Its primary function is to express similarity or plurality, which has extended to convey negative evaluative meanings, and it can be used across different word classes. Drawing on internal and external linguistic evidence, this paper hypothesizes that echo reduplication initially emerged in the Turkic branch and was subsequently borrowed into the Mongolic and Tungusic branches through language contact.

In the Poyang Gan dialect, the sentence final particle [kɯ] has two pronunciations: an unstressed [kɯ⁰] and a stressed [kɯ¹⁴]. The unstressed [kɯ⁰] corresponds to the Mandarin sentence-final particle de though there are differences in specific usage. Based on its function, [kɯ⁰] can be divided into [kɯ⁰]_Confirmation and [kɯ⁰]_Focus. The stressed [kɯ¹⁴] is mainly used in the “V+ zhi (+O)+[kɯ¹⁴]” structure, emphasizing that the verbal event has been completed. In this context, it serves a partial perfect aspect function. Through a detailed discussion of the two forms of [kɯ], this paper argues that the functional evolution of the two forms of [kɯ] follows the progression: [kɯ⁰]_Focus > [kɯ⁰]_Confirmation > [kɯ¹⁴].

The article examines the corresponding particle of de in Penang Hokkien, a Southern Min variety used in Malaysia, which is [e¹³]. We first distinguish three usages of the sentence-final particle [e¹³] in Penang Hokkien: as a modifier marker, used in clefts, and in sentence-final position. We then examine the syntactic level of the sentence-final [e¹³] in Penang Hokkien while also discussing the system of sentence-final particles in Mandarin. We find that the sentence-final [e¹³] is within the CP layer, specifically in AssertionP. This projection is higher than OnlyP, but lower than Degree SFPs, including focus particles. Despite being in the same projection, Mandarin’s sentence-final de and Penang Hokkien’s sentence-final [e¹³] differ both grammatically and semantically. The article also demonstrates the periphery structure of Penang Hokkien through the order and co- occurrence of sentence-final particles.

This paper investigates sluicing-like constructions (SCs) in Mandarin, Mongolian, and Uyghur, contributing to ongoing debates concerning the nature of anaphoric elements in SCs. Through a comparative analysis, we challenge existing diagnostics for distinguishing between surface and deep anaphora, which draws on the availability of “sloppy” identity readings (contra Wang & Wu 2006) or on the c-command condition on such readings (contra Wei 2009). We expand the current discussion by considering the availability mix “sloppy” readings as a diagnostic test and its correlation with (anti-)case-matching effects and facts about extraction from SCs. Our findings suggest that SCs in Mandarin and Uyghur involve deep anaphora, while SCs in Mongolian exhibit characteristics of surface anaphora. This research offers new insights into the typology of anaphora in SCs.

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.

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.

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.

The issue of how lexical words become coordinating conjunctions through grammaticalization has always interested scholars in linguistic typology, and, in recent years, many have examined the universal patterns of conjunction grammaticalization using cross-linguistic comparisons. This study is based on fieldwork from 2010 to 2025 and covers 1,533 coordinating conjunctions drawn from 426 languages and 367 Chinese dialects along the Silk Road, aiming to analyze their grammatical features and grammaticalization pathways. Two main findings are reported. (1) The grammaticalization pathways of coordinating conjunctions in Silk Road languages can be divided into “co-agent type” - which tends to link animate nouns - and “co-patient type” - which tends to combine inanimate nouns. (2) Many conjunctions in these languages are homophonous with numerals, leading to two subtypes: one where “and” corresponds to the numeral “one” (such as Georgian -dan ertad, Uyghur bilan), and the other where “and” aligns with the numeral “two” (such as Dongxiang guala in Gansu and Qinghai, and lia, liangge in some Mandarin dialects of the area). This research demonstrates the diversity of conjunctions in Silk Road languages, supplying important data and fresh insight for typological studies.

Shaohan Su, a native of Kunming, revised the National Phonetic Alphabet system in his work Yuanlai Ruci by removing duplicate letters, clarifying the pronunciation of confusing letters, supplementing missing letters, and reconstructing the notation system. He reanalyzed the phonetic system using a rime table format with the newly formulated National Phonetic Alphabet to mark initials and finals. Comparison with the modern Kunming dialect shows that the book records the Kunming dialect of the 1920s. The revisions proposed in Yuanlai Ruci are grounded in the Kunming dialect, showcasing how scholars in regional dialect areas, inspired by the National Language Movement in the early Republic of China, actively explored using phonetic symbols to document living speech. The work ingeniously integrates phonetic notation with the traditional method of combining initials and finals in rime tables, a system with origins in the late Ming and early Qing Dynasties. This book illuminates the intergenerational connections among rime table theories, phonetic and orthographic reform ideas of the late Qing Dynasty, and the National Phonetic Alphabet Movement. It also serves as a precious historical document for studying Kunming dialect phonology one hundred years ago.

This paper analyzes the restriction on the distributivity of Chinese adverbial ge. We propose that ge needs to satisfy the condition of differentiation, which requires that both its sorting key and distributed share contain multiple distinct members, and further delineate the syntactic, lexical, and contextual factors which facilitate differentiation. The paper also addresses ge’s meaning of “difference”, arguing that this meaning of “difference” targets the level of pragmatics and conveys the speaker’s expectation which derives from the condition of differentiation. The notion of differentiation proposed in this paper can give the licensing conditions and semantic properties of ge discussed in the literature a more systemic explanation and uncover more factors which affect the acceptability of ge-sentences.

In the Gansu-Qinghai Sinitic varieties spoken in Northwest China, zhe denoting imperfectives is used as a typical non-finite marker, and thus typically fails to occur alone at the sentence-final position following the core predicate. However, a few exceptions exist in several Gansu-Qinghai Sinitic varieties where zhe occurs independently at the sentence-final position. Such deviant finite use is in obvious contradiction to its typical non-finite feature. From the dynamic perspective of finitization, the deviant finite use of zhe in the Gansu-Qinghai Sinitic varieties could be provided a more unified account. That is, the non-finite feature is the typical feature of zhe, whereas the finite use is a local and secondary phenomenon. And it is highly possible that the finite use has evolved from its non-finite feature through the dynamic and gradual process of formal finitization. The finitization of zhe is driven by the auxiliarization and particlization of the erstwhile core predicate following zhe, which essentially takes place within the framework of finiteness distinction in the Gansu-Qinghai Sinitic varieties. Rather than negating or deconstructing the finiteness system, the finitization of zhe could, on the contrary, further verify the existence of finiteness distinction in the Gansu-Qinghai Sinitic varieties.

In the Xinjiang Jimusar Chinese dialect, the probability adverb haohao is placed before negative adverbs and the negative forms of the potential verb-complement construcitions, weakening the degree of negation. Similarly, the adverb shen in the Jimusar Chinese dialect can be employed as both a probability adverb and a degree adverb. Its function as a probability adverb can be attributed to the subsequent evolution of its usage as a degree adverb. It is hypothesized that the probability adverb haohao may have emerged through the following path: the degree adverb hao was placed berore the negative structure, then overlapped and underwent an evolutionary process parallel to that of shen. The evolution of henhen in the Donggan language provides evidence for the evolution of haohao.

Buddhist texts constitute the principal body of extant Old Uyghur literature, traditionally recognized as being composed in a standardized written language. Based on the diachronic change of the Turkic language family, scholars generally agree that this written language remained essentially unchanged over the following centuries. However, a comparative analysis of the Old Uyghur translations against their source texts reveals significant historical evolution within the morphosyntactic system. Focusing on several Chinese Buddhist texts translated into Old Uyghur, this paper investigates the historical development of adverbial clauses. The parallel comparison demonstrates that, while translators employed native Uyghur syntactic devices to correspond to the source structures, there was a gradual increase in the use of conjunctions within adverbial clauses. Furthermore, specific leading particles, which correspond fixedly to the original texts, frequently appear at the beginning of main clauses, and various relative nominal constructions were analogically extended. Consequently, the language of these Buddhist translations exhibits increasingly prominent analytic syntactic features. This diachronic development of adverbial clauses further proves the impact of Buddhist scripture translation—a phenomenon of unnatural language contact—on linguistic evolution.

The resultative construction in the Haikou Min dialect predominantly adopts the “Verb-Object-Complement (VOC)” pattern, which significantly differs from Mandarin and most of the other Chinese dialects. This paper conducts a systematic investigation on the syntactic and semantic features, the applied range, and the nature of this construction. It is found that the VOC construction in the Haikou Min imposes relatively few restrictions on the object and allows flexible expression of modality, and that the construction is under the process of evolution, from a serial verb construction to a resultative construction, on a continuum of grammaticalization. Through cross-linguistic comparison and geographical distribution analysis, this paper reveals that the VOC construction in the Haikou Min bears a high degree of similarity to that of the neighbouring Kam-Tai languages such as Lingao. Moreover, it is widely distributed across multiple languages/dialects on the Hainan Island, having become an areal grammatical feature. The study demonstrates that the VOC construction in the Haikou Min dialect mainly derives from intense language contact with the Lingao language. The prevalence of the VOC construction in the Hainan region is a result of feature diffusion induced by language contact, rather than a simple retention of the split resultative construction in Archaic Chinese.

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.

This paper discusses the meaning of the conjunction huòzhě ‘or’. Firstly, it analyzes the interpretation of the semantic truth value of huòzhě-sentences, and points out that the semantic truth value of some huòzhě-sentences shows a different way from that of the logical meaning of disjunction. Secondly, huòzhě-sentences are categorized from the perspective of the semantic relation of connecting items, indicating that there are different semantic possibilities of the items connected by the conjunction huòzhě. Finally, based on the conceptual dichotomy of “role-value”, the core meaning of huòzhě is summarized as: choosing among multiple alternative “value” to satisfy the requirement of “role”.

Based on spoken dialogue, this study discusses the stance-taking function of the “Lao A le” structure from an interactional perspective. The findings show that the adjectives used this structure are qualitative and comparative in nature, primarily consisting of monosyllabic and disyllabic words. “Lao A le” reflects the speaker’s distinct epistemic stance, including incremental expression, evaluative expression, and counter-expectation expression. It also conveys a clear affective stance, typically expressing positive emotions. Furthermore, it demonstrates the speaker’s attitudinal stance, that is, inviting the hearer to align with their stance, thereby achieving stance alignment. The analysis of epistemic, affective, and especially attitudinal stance in this article offers a new perspective on the study of stance-taking in Chinese discourse.