Pivotal Constructions in Chinese
Diachronic, synchronic, and constructional perspectives
Author
Rui Peng | National University of Singapore
This book presents a detailed analysis of the Chinese pivotal constructions (PVCs) and their diachronic developments from a constructionalist perspective, with the focus on the growth of the constructional hierarchies of these constructions and the changes with respect to both the form and meaning properties over time. The most important enabling factor behind the diachronic developments of the PVCs has been the sanction of the new instances conflicting with the constructions’ specifications. Throughout history the PVCs have grown along the two dimensions, i.e., inclusiveness and multileveledness, leading to a steady increase in the sizes of their constructional hierarchies. The two-dimensional expansion of the PVCs’ constructional hierarchies has been accompanied by the gradual relaxation of the conditions constraining the earliest instances, on multiple schematicity levels. This book will be valuable to scholars working on diachronic construction grammar and language change as well as to those interested in the history of Chinese language.
[Studies in Chinese Language and Discourse, 8] 2017. xix, 243 pp.
Publishing status: Available
© John Benjamins
Table of Contents
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Tables | pp. xiii–xvi
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Figures
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Chart
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Abbreviations | pp. xvii–xviii
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Acknowledgments | p. xix
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Chapter 1. Introduction | pp. 1–12
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Chapter 2. The constructional approaches to language change | pp. 13–30
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Chapter 3. Chinese pivotal constructions: Form and meaning properties | pp. 31–64
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Chapter 4. The taxonomy and constructional hierarchy of Chinese pivotal constructions | pp. 65–106
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Chapter 5. The diachronic developments of Chinese pivotal constructions | pp. 107–154
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Chapter 6. The accumulative expansion of the constructional hierarchy | pp. 155–180
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Chapter 7. The relaxation of the original restrictive conditions | pp. 181–216
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Chapter 8. Conclusion | pp. 217–220
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References | pp. 221–228
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Sources of historical Data
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Appendix I.. Sources of historical Data
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Appendix II.. Sources of Data (Modern Mandarin)
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Index of names
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Index of subjects
Cited by
Cited by 2 other publications
Kuo, Yueh Hsin
2022. Bidirectionality between modal and conditional constructions in Mandarin Chinese.
Diachronica 39:1 ► pp. 88 ff. 
Lai, Yik-Po
2020. Multiple functions of the Cantonese ‘wait’ verb dang2 and their historical development.
Studies in Language 44:4 ► pp. 917 ff.
This list is based on CrossRef data as of 07 october 2022. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers. Any errors therein should be reported to them.
Subjects & Metadata
BIC Subject: CFK – Grammar, syntax
BISAC Subject: LAN009060 – LANGUAGE ARTS & DISCIPLINES / Linguistics / Syntax