Grammaticalization paths and the mechanism of semantic change in Cantonese sentence-final particles: The case of grammaticalization from the nominalizer and from interjections

2017 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 15K02498
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Linguistics
• Research Institution: Hokkaido University
• Principal Investigator: Iida Maki 北海道大学, メディア・コミュニケーション研究院, 准教授 (50401427)
• Project Period (FY): 2015-04-01 – 2018-03-31
• Keywords: 広東語 / 文法化 / 意味変化 / 文末助詞/終助詞 / 名詞化 / 間投詞 / 語用論

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Drawing on cross-linguistic-findings, this study investigated the grammaticalization paths and semantic changes in Cantonese sentence-final particles derived from the nominalizer and from interjections. Cantonese has three particles related to the nominalizer "ge3" (corresponding to "no" in Japanese), namely ge3, ge2 and gE2. First, we discussed ge2 and proposed a new theory on its grammaticalization path. We also showed that ge2 had further undergone a semantic change from the event-oriented 'counter-expectation' use to the interpersonally-oriented 'backlash' use. Then, we discussed gE2, which derives from the sentence-final particle ge3, and identified a semantic change from the original interpersonally-oriented 'objection' use to the textually-oriented 'reservation' use. Concerning sentence-final particles possibly developed from interjections, le1 and le5 were suggested for future investigation.

Free Research Field

言語学　中国語学