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Article published In:
Review of Cognitive Linguistics
Vol. 19:2 (2021) ► pp.363–402

Potentials for grammaticalization

Sensitivity to position and event type

| Beihang University
| Beihang University

This paper discusses the grammaticalization of motion verbs in Mandarin. A class of motion verbs in Mandarin that regularly appears at either V1 or V2 position in the V1+V2 construction is only grammaticalized at the V2 position, where the verb becomes a directional complement. We provide a cognitive semantic account and propose a new hypothesis that we call the syntactic position and event type sensitivity hypothesis in grammaticalization. We analyze corpus data across five historical stages for 11 simplex directional complements. The analysis draws on Talmy’s macro-event theory and Lehmann’s grammaticalization parameters. It is concluded that motion verbs at the V1 position are most likely to have agentive subjects, which foregrounds the idea of motion in V1, while V2 focuses on the Agent’s purpose. Motion verbs at V2 are relatively more likely to have non-agentive subjects, which foregrounds the Path element in V2 and complements the action of V1, rather than the purpose of the Agent. What triggers the grammaticalization of the V2 is the foregrounding of the Path element in V2, which complements the action of V1, and its non-agentive subject.

Keywords: path, directional complement, macro-event, grammaticalization, Mandarin
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Macro-events and directional complements in Mandarin
  • 3.Methodology
  • 4.Proportion of V1 and V2 in the V1+V2 construction
    • 4.1C1 at V1 and V2 position
    • 4.2C2 at V1 and V2 position
    • 4.3C3 at V1 and V2 position
    • 4.4C4 at V1 and V2 position
    • 4.5C5 at V1 and V2 position
    • 4.6C6 at V1 and V2 position
    • 4.7C7 at V1 and V2 position
    • 4.8C8 at V1 and V2 position
    • 4.9C9 at V1 and V2 position
    • 4.10C10 at V1 and V2 position
    • 4.11C11 at V1 and V2 position
    • 4.12A summary of C1-C11
  • 5.Event types expressed by C at the V1 and V2 position
    • 5.1Formulation of hypothesis: A case study of C1 at V1 and V2 position
    • 5.2Event types expressed by V1 and V2 in stage III
    • 5.3Event types expressed by V1 and V2 in Stage IV
    • 5.4Event types expressed by V1 and V2 in stage V
    • 5.5Parameters of grammaticalization
    • 5.6Summary
  • 6.Conclusions
  • Acknowledgments
  • Note
  • List of abbreviations
  • References
Published online: 11 October 2021
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/rcl.00088.li
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