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Diachronic change of object markers in Mandarin Chinese

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 November 2008

Janet Zhiqun Xing
Janet Zhiqun Xing
Affiliation:
University of Vermont
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Abstract

This article is a quantitative diachronic study of the object markers ba˘ and jiāng in Chinese. Traditionally, it has been claimed (Chao, 1968; Li & Thompson, 1981; Lü, 1955; Wang, 1943–44; among others) that ba˘ and Ji¯ng have undergone the same process of grammaticalization and have acquired the same function over time, so that they have become interchangeable. The present article challenges this view and provides evidence showing that, in the texts where both are used, each has its own distinctive functions. In the early stage of their grammaticalization, the major difference between them is the direction of motion relative to the agent: ba˘ tends to express motion toward the agent, whereas Jiāng tends to express motion away from the agent. Later, when both ba˘ and Jiāng become object markers, ba˘ is more likely to be used in informal texts, whereas Jiāng is more likely to be used in formal texts. I argue that it is this difference that led to the disappearance of Jiāng in written texts of modern times.

Type
Research Article
Information
Language Variation and Change , Volume 6 , Issue 2 , July 1994 , pp. 201 - 222
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1994

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