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 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.

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.

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.

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.

From the perspective of language contact, the current research adopts corpus method to examine whether Chinese plural marking of Chinese-English bilingual children is influenced by English. The results show that unlike Mandarin speakers from Gan-Qing areas and Mandarin learners, the Chinese plural marking in bilingual children is almost not influenced by English. This is because at the age of 1-4, children have not yet acquired the rule of adding plural affixes to nouns to indicate plurality, but instead have acquire words as whole lexical items. The current study also compares the expression of plurality in Ganqing Mandarin, Jin Chinese, Southwestern Mandarin, Mandarin as a second language, and Chinese in Chinese-English bilingual children, further revealing the micro-level changes that have occurred in Chinese spoken in Ganqing area during its contact with Altaic languages.

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.

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.

This article explores the impact on the Chinese language of three major historical language contacts, using the formation of jialai/jiaqu ‘come home/go home’ as a guiding thread. The foreign languages involved in these contacts shared the same typological profile - all were SOV languages with case-marking systems. Consequently, their overall influence on Chinese grammar progressively deepened in a particular evolutionary direction. Via the Silk Road, ancient Indian languages - first introduced to China via Chinese translations of Buddhist sutras - exerted a profound influence on Chinese. Many syntactic features that later became characteristic of Chinese had already begun to emerge in these Buddhist translations, and were often more prominent than in contemporaneous native Chinese writings. Jialai/Jiaqu appeared only sporadically after the second contact, increased gradually during the third contact, and eventually became integrated into the common Chinese language. The emergence of jialai/jiaqu was subject to interference from postpositional locative words, which were themselves influenced by case marking in the contact languages. Once external influence waned, internal grammatical pressures within Chinese suppressed the further expansion of postpositional constructions; only then did jialai/jiaqu come into being.

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 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.

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.

The causative verb zhuo in early modern Chinese has experienced a process of “to place>to use>to cause”. The change of “to place>to use” is semantically resulted from the metonymy. And semantic metaphor and syntactic reanalysis are involved in the change of “to use>to cause”. The latter change is quite typical in ancient Chinese, which can also be seen from shi in archaic Chinese, qian in medieval Chinese, and shi in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. Evidence of dialects and typology demonstrates the relationship between semantic categories of instrumental and causative as well. The causative verb zhuo appeared in the Tang Dynasty and the Five Dynasties, developed in the Song, Yuan, and Ming dynasties, and declined quickly in the Qing Dynasty.

Heijianglai is a frequently used temporal noun in the Jin dialect, mainly distributed in Shanxi, Shaanxi, and parts of Inner Mongolia. It derives from the “V + jiang + lai” construction in Late Mandarin. Its lexicalization was triggered by supernormal collocation, and further shaped by metaphor, metonymy, and analogy within specific syntactic structures and contexts. The specific lexicalization pathway of heijianglai can be summarized as: hei + jiang + lai (phrase) → hei + jianglai (phrase) → heijianglai (compound word). The degree of lexicalization of heijianglai varies across different sub-regions of the Jin dialect. The occurrence of retroflexion and the suffixation of “-zi” indicate a relatively high degree of lexicalization.

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.

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 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.

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.

The coordinative converb and the juxtaposed conjunction in Tongren Bonan language of Qinghai share the same form, ʥi, which can link VPs, NPs, clauses, and complex sentences. The coordinative converb -ʥi is a common form in Mongolic languages, but the juxtaposed conjunction ʥi did not arise through anti-grammaticalization of the converb. Rather, it developed through the deletion of ɡə from ɡəʥi, where ɡə is a verbalizer marker and ʥi a coordinative converb. ɡəʥi has long been used to construct juxtapositions of nominal derivative verbs, which, influenced by conjunction structures of local Amdo Tibetan, caused confusion over the nature of the juxtaposed constituents and the occurrence of reanalysis. The emergence of coordinate conjunctions has led to a transformation of the entire coordination type of Tongren Bonan, shifting it from a WITH-type language to an AND-type language.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Verbal le in Standard Mandarin is commonly recognized as a perfective marker, typically used to denote bounded events. However, some sentences containing verbal le are more likely to be interpreted as expressing unbounded, durative events. While many scholars argue that such sentences still assert bounded events, with the durative reading resulting from the specific lexical meaning of the verb, this paper proposes that these sentences with verbal le can indeed assert unbounded events. In such interpretations, verbal le marks a stative-imperfective aspect, and the verb indicates a certain state. These factors often interact with the stative constructional meaning of existential sentences with a locative subject, collectively leading to the assertion of event duration. We hypothesize that the functional evolution of verbal le from perfective aspect to stative-imperfective aspect mainly takes place in the construction “verb denoting attachment or maintenance + verbal le + object”. At present, the use of verbal le to indicate the imperfective remains in its early developmental stage, which limits its distribution. In addition, the paper presents two findings. First, the resultative states implied by predicates bearing verbal le fall into four categories, and predicates marked by the imperfective le refer solely to the persistence of the object’s state. Secondly, verbs compatible with the imperfective le generally denote attachment or persistence, and feature both dynamic and static properties. When collocating with the imperfective le, these verbs perform a predominantly static function.

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 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 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.

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.

In the Gaoping dialect of Jin, mékàn functions not only as a verb phrase but also as a discourse marker. It exhibits three semantic types: explanatory, seeking affirmation, and mitigating opposition, all of which highlight the emphatic function of mékàn. Mékàn is a continuation of the discourse marker méikàn from the Ming and Qing dynasties. Initially a verb phrase meaning ‘did not see’, méikàn later could also express the speaker’s subjective judgment or evaluation, typically in rhetorical questions. Since rhetorical questions convey an inherent negative meaning, the negative sense of the negator méi gradually faded. Consequently, méikàn evolved into an emphatic marker that emphasizes the subsequent proposition. Although ellipted from a rhetorical question, it still retains its rhetorical force. The semantic types of mékàn differ completely from those of the discourse marker biékàn due to their different negators, whereas they overlap slightly with those of nǐkàn. Nevertheless, as “X kàn” discourse markers, they all mark emphasis and share a largely similar evolutionary path.

Dharmaksema (385-433 CE) was a renowned Buddhist monk of the Northern Liang Dynasty who translated numerous Buddhist scriptures. This paper examines the transcriptions of dhāraṇīs, proper names and aksara transliterations in his translations to explore the initial system of Hexi Chinese in the 5th century. The main conclusions are as follows: (1) Voiced obstruents were pronounced as unaspirated consonants; (2) Labiodental and bilabial consonants had not yet differentiated; (3) The duān group and zhī group were largely differentiated, with the zhī group pronounced as retroflex consonants; (4) The zhāng group were palatal consonants, and the chán initial was an affricate; (5) Voiced nasal initials were pure nasals without stop components; (6) The correspondances of the xiá initial fell into three categories. Overall, the initial system of Chinese reflected in Dharmaksema’s translations does not exhibit features that can establish a historical link with later Northwestern Chinese dialects, but rather aligns closely with the common language of his time. Moreover, the corresponding forms of the transliterated terms indicate that, while the underlying language of Dharmaksema’s translations contained some Prākrit elements, the degree of Sanskritization was already quite high. This also demonstrates the validity of using Sanskrit as an intermediary for phonological studies of early monks’ translations.

In the Xinbeng cluster of Zhongyuan Mandarin, the archaic rushenɡ characters including a voiced obstruent are currently articulated as yɑnɡpinɡ, whereas the rushenɡ characters with a voiceless consonant or sonorant present diverse results. These encompass arbitrary amalgamation into either yinpinɡ or yɑnɡpinɡ, or even transition to qushenɡ, among other alternatives. This paper examines the contemporary tonal patterns of ancient rushenɡ in Zhongyuan Mandarin and Jianghuai Mandarin, spoken in Henan and Anhui provinces, focusing on the types, geographical distribution, and underlying causes of the merging of ancient tone rushenɡ with voiceless consonants and sonorants. The research contends that the Xinbeng cluster of Zhongyuan Mandarin in Anhui was historically a component of the Hongchao cluster of Jianghuai Mandarin. Subsequent to the elimination of the glottal stop at the conclusion of rushenɡ syllables, the tone transitioned to a high-level tone (55), ultimately converging into a tonal pattern akin to either yɑnɡpinɡ or qushenɡ, both of which exhibit comparable pitch contours.

Gaishi in the Lüliang Cluster of the Jin Dialect functions as a modal adverb and a discourse marker. As a modal adverb, it expresses four meanings: “confirmation”, “questioning”, “fortunately”, and “regrettably”. The latter two meanings often occur in complex sentences, with strong correlative function. Based on a detailed description of the multi-functions of gaishi, this paper reconstructs its evolution. It points out that the word first lexicalizes from a syntactic structure into a confirmation modal adverb in declarative sentences, and into a questioning modal adverb in interrogative sentences; subsequently, the confirmation modal adverb further develops into the discourse marker gaishime and a modal adverbial with correlative function.

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.

This paper investigates the grammatical and semantic-pragmatic features of the sentence-final particle de in the Wuhan dialect. The study reveals two distinctive usages of de in the Wuhan dialect that differ from Standard Mandarin: First, the confirmative de in the Wuhan dialect exhibits a broader functional scope, serving both to affirm the truthfulness of a proposition and to verify the occurrence of past events. Second, de can function as a tense marker, indicating either the immediate future or general future tense. The article also compares de with another sentence- final particle le in the Wuhan dialect, noting that although these particles permit interchangeable usage in certain contexts, they maintain distinct grammatical and pragmatic boundaries. Finally, employing the cartographic approach, the paper delineates the syntactic hierarchical relationships among different types of de in the Wuhan dialect.

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.

The disyllabic tentative marker kanqiao in the Nanjing dialect conveys meanings of both attempt and warning, each exhibiting distinct syntactic distributions. Kanqiao is derived from the contraction of kankanqiao and has undergone grammaticalization to become a tentative marker through syntactic reanalysis. Kanqiao mostly conveys the meaning of pseudo attempt (warning), showing functional differentiation from the monosyllabic tentative markers kan/qiao, which typically indicate genuine attempts. This phenomenon is prevalent in Chinese dialects, and its fundamental motivation lies in the different perspectives of human cognition and understanding of the attempted action.

The Mengjin dialect exhibits both non-retroflex and retroflex types of er-diminutives. This paper focuses on the developmental sequence of retroflex er-diminutives, the emergence of the flap in retroflex er-diminutives, the stratification of rhotacized finals, and the replacement of non- retroflex er-diminutive finals with retroflex ones. We argue that the appearance of the flap results from the spreading of the retroflex feature either to apical initials or to the medial [i-/y-]. When the flap follows an apical initial, it indicates that the retroflex feature has extended leftward to the initial. When it appears after the medial [i-/y-], it suggests the retroflexion is limited to the medial. The flap thus reflects the articulatory response of apical initials or medials to retroflexion, forming a dynamic composite segment with the associated phoneme. The non-retroflex er-diminutives represent the indigenous, underlying rhotacized layer in the Mengjin dialect, while retroflex er- diminutives have emerged through contact with neighbouring dialects and belong to the loan layer. The replacement of non-retroflex er-diminutives with retroflex ones reflects a process of layered phonological change.