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Article published In:
Lexical semantics towards the big-data era
Edited by Meichun Liu and Chunyu Kit
[Chinese Language and Discourse 14:1] 2023
► pp. 18–49

The Multifunctionality of Mandarin Diào 掉

A cross-linguistic perspective

| Zhejiang International Studies University
| City University of Hong Kong

This paper explores the various functions of diào in Mandarin Chinese as it changes from a verb to a phase marker. As a phase marker, diào provides a natural endpoint to a co-occurring event and indicates completion, which is a distinct function from the perfect marker le. In this shift, the meaning of diào also expands, including ‘falling down’, ‘throwing down’, ‘disappearing’, ‘removal’, ‘completion’ and ‘change of state’. The multifunctionality of diào is the result of grammaticalization along with semantic change and extension. Cognitive mechanisms such as metonymic and metaphoric extensions, pragmatic inferencing, analogy on Verb-Complement structures, and semantic generalization all contribute to the grammaticalization of diào, with further influence from contact with southern Chinese dialects. This paper further argues that the grammaticalization and semantic extension of diào is in accordance with the development of aspectual markers cross-linguistically, reflecting the commonality in human cognition.

Keywords: The Mandarin diào , multifunctionality, semantic evolution, grammaticalization, completive
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Multifunctionality of Diào in Mandarin Chinese
    • 2.1Fall/Drop
    • 2.2Lost/Disappear
    • 2.3Detached/Removed
    • 2.4Completion
    • 2.5Change of State
  • 3.The Nature of Diào in the V Diào Structure
    • 3.1Grammatical Functions
    • 3.2Verb Selection
      • 3.2.1Situation types
      • 3.2.2Semantics
    • 3.3Negative Form
    • 3.4Sentence Completion
  • 4.The Grammaticalization of Diào
    • 4.1The Grammaticalization Process
      • 4.1.1Stage 1
      • 4.1.2Stage 2
      • 4.1.3Stage 3
      • 4.1.4Stage 4
    • 4.2Discourse-Cognitive Mechanisms for Grammaticalization
      • 4.2.1Metonymic and metaphoric extensions
      • 4.2.2Pragmatic inferencing
      • 4.2.3Analogy on VC: Semantic and morphological correlation
      • 4.2.4Semantic generalization of diào over event types
    • 4.3Dialect Contact: The Influence of Southern Chinese Varieties
  • 5.From Motion to Completion: Cross-Linguistic Evidence
    • 5.1 Phie35 and Ka45 in Southern Chinese Dialects
    • 5.2Lexical Semantic Similarities in Other Languages
      • 5.2.1Functional ranges of Korean pelita and Japanese shimau
      • 5.2.2Semantic preference and collocational restriction
      • 5.2.3Generalization and subjectification: Further development of pelita and shimau
  • 6.Conclusion
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • Abbreviations
  • References
Published online: 9 June 2022
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/cld.21016.jin
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