The Typology of Motion Events: An Empirical Study of Chinese Dialects 9783110341768, 9783110335774

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Carine Yuk-man Yiu The Typology of Motion Events: An Empirical Study of Chinese Dialects

Empirical Approaches to Language Typology

Editors Georg Bossong Bernard Comrie Kristine Hildebrandt Yaron Matras

Volume 53

Carine Yuk-man Yiu

The Typology of Motion Events An Empirical Study of Chinese Dialects

ISBN 978-3-11-033577-4 e-ISBN 978-3-11-034176-8 ISSN 0933-761X Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data A CIP catalog record for this book has been applied for at the Library of Congress. Bibliografische Information der Deutschen Nationalbibliothek The Deutsche Nationalbibliothek lists this publication in the Deutschen Nationalbibliografie; detailed bibliographic data are available in the internet http://dnb.dnb.de. © 2014 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston Typesetting: Frank Benno Junghanns, Berlin Printing: Hubert & Co. GmbH & Co. KG, Göttingen ♾ Printed on acid-free paper Printed in Germany www.degruyter.com

Acknowledgements Acknowledgements

The writing of this volume originated from my dissertation and it has been greatly enriched by findings from the following research projects: ­“Directional verbs in early Cantonese colloquial texts: A study of metaphorical extension and word order change” (644608), “The lexicalization patterns of motion events in Chinese dialects: A study of directional verbs and basic word orders” (DAG_ S08/09.HSS08), and “Reconstructing the history of Chinese dialectal grammar from early colloquial texts” (SBI12HS01). To the generous support, I am truly grateful. The writing would not be possible without the two non-teaching semesters granted to me by the Division of Humanities, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. I am also thankful for the subsidy from the Division for the publication of the volume. During my leave and throughout the writing period, I thank my seniors, Professors Sun Jingtao, Zhang Min and Zhu ­Xiaonong, for taking on my duties and for reaching out to me whenever help and advice are needed. The writing finally comes to a close and I would like to take this opportunity to express my thankfulness to those who have helped me in one way or the other along this lonely journey. I would like to express my gratitude to Professor Georg Bossong, who read the manuscript within such a short period of time, and provided me with detailed and insightful comments which help polish the ideas and the writing of the manuscript substantially. I also have to thank him for his guidance during the revision stage, without which I would not have known how and where to start. His constant encouragement and guidance are a lamp and a light to a junior. For his kindness and thoughtfulness, I am truly thankful. To the De Gruyter team including Angelika, Birgit, Julie and Marcia, I want to say: “Thank you so much”. I must say that it has been such a pleasant experience for me to work with such professional and wonderful people who always provided me with timely assistance, without which I would not have been able to meet the deadline. Without the help from the following people, this volume would not have come into existence. Their help includes serving as my informant, collecting and transcribing the language data, checking the various parts of the ­manuscript, and providing IT support and advice on printing and typesetting. These wonderful people are: Frank, Hong Ying, Jiao Lei, Joe, Logan, Man Fong, Mao Sheng, Rita, Ruiqing, Shin, Tim, Weirong, Xuemei and Zhang Ying. I would like to particularly thank Hong Ying, Man Fong and Mao Sheng for going out of their way

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 Acknowledgements

in helping me in different ways throughout the years. I would also like to express my gratitude to the following people who read the different versions of the manuscript: Professors Zhang Cheng, Samuel Cheung and Wu Fuxiang for providing me with useful comments and suggestions, and Judy and Scott for making the manuscript more readable. Part of the volume was presented at the Workshop on Innovations in Cantonese Linguistics, the 20th annual meeting of the International Association of Chinese Linguistics, the linguistic seminar of the Department of Linguistics and Modern Languages at The Chinese University of Hong Kong, and the Brownbag Luncheon Seminar of my Division. To the audience, I am thankful for their comments. The writing started in 2010 with an aim to solve some linguistic puzzle related to the expression of path in Chinese dialects. In the end of the writing, the volume may raise more questions than it has answered. During the writing process, I have had my ups and downs. There were days when I had a hard nut to crack but there were times when I was able to tie up some loose ends. I must say how very blessed I am that I have many guiding angels who are always by my side, watching out for me, providing me with advice and help, sharing with me the joy and sorrow, and keeping me company. I must thank Lisa for her unfailing support when she is fighting her own battle. Her treats, messages and phone calls always cheer me up in a gloomy day. I am so fortunate to become acquainted with her, a righteous person who would stand up for anything she believes in, and a real good friend who is always by my side listening to me with patience and praying for me. I would always remember the time when we burst into laughter and tears. Professor Ting Pang Hsin, a man of great vision and a renowned scholar, is the one we all go to when we encounter any sticky problem, and I am indebted to him. Professor Ting is always ready to teach us anything. In him, we see what scholarship is all about. His dedication to the field and his kindness to and care for the juniors always remind us to work hard and to be grateful. Over the years, our discussion venue and topic have changed from the table in the conference room to the table in the restaurants, and from linguistics to anything. Professor Ting will always be the one we look up to and the one whose achievement we could never match. Our visits to The Hong Kong Wetland park and National Palace Museum in Taipei are all very pleasant memories. To my family, I thank them for everything. Without them, life would become colourless. I have to particularly thank Oscar for keeping me company throughout all these years, putting up with me and painting the dream together with me. To my Lord, I have never been so close to Him and I thank Him for coming to me whenever I call out to Him. In times of difficulty, I would always say the following verse: My Lord is faithful and He will not let us be tempted beyond what

Acknowledgements 

 vii

we can bear. Even when we are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that we can endure it (1 Corinthians 10:13). I also have to thank my Lord for sending me all the guiding angels. I am also grateful to all those who remember me in their prayers and guide me through the spiritual quest, especially Mr and Mrs Lai, Right Reverend Andrew Chan, Reverends Peter Koon and Lysta Leung. The acknowledgements would not be complete without special mention of my professor and mentor – Professor Samuel Cheung. Professor Cheung is always generous with his time whenever I go to him. An important figure in the field of Cantonese linguistics, he is never arrogant but humble, and is always ready to share with us his insight and “funny” stories. In him, I see a great scholar, a caring and supportive teacher and a decent person. If Professor Cheung is the one who nurtures our mind, Mrs. Cheung is the one who nourishes our body. Professor Cheung would always give me books and papers to read when Mrs. Cheung would bring me treats. I would go to Prof. Cheung with linguistic puzzles but to Mrs. Cheung with real-life problems. I would always remember the time when we strolled down the streets in Hong Kong, the Bay Area and Paris, our “fieldtrips” to Tung Ping Chau and Tai O, and many a place we are to visit in the years to come, and I would always look forward to our next visit, running around in his place and playing with his “toys”. I came to study linguistics with Professor Cheung in 1999 and I have got much more than I would have ever expected. The student­ship is long gone but the apprenticeship is life-long. To my professor and mentor – Professor Samuel Cheung, I dedicate my first book. In the end of this journey, I have come to realize that I was not alone. I have seen not only one set of footprints in the sand but many because I was carried by you, those I have mentioned above and those I have left out but to whom I wish to say “Thank you”. In you, I have found a world of faith, hope and love. Thank you so much. The writing started with an aim to solve some linguistic puzzle and it ends with a quest to search for an answer to the question of the meaning of life, a new journey which I am to embark upon with even more courage and persistence.

Contents

Contents

Acknowledgements — v List of maps, figures and tables — xii List of abbreviations — x x 1 1.0 1.1  1.2  1.3  1.4  1.5 

Introduction — 1 Introduction — 1 Chinese dialects — 2 Theoretical background — 4 Overview of the book — 20 Data of the present study — 23 Technical notes — 28

2

Directional verbs in modern Cantonese. A typological perspective — 33 Introduction — 33 Previous works — 33 Characteristics of directional verbs — 45 Expression of motion — 46 Ability to take a locative object — 48 Potential to form compound directional complements — 52 Directional verbs — 56 Self-agentive motion events — 56 Non-agentive motion events — 59 Agentive motion events — 61 Simple directional complements — 66 Self-agentive motion events — 66 Non-agentive motion events — 69 Agentive motion events — 71 Compound directional complements — 76 Self-agentive motion events — 76 Non-agentive motion events — 79 Agentive motion events — 81 State change verbs — 87 Discussion — 94 From verb framing to satellite framing — 94 From satellite framing to compounding — 116 Summary — 1 34

2.0  2.1  2.2  2.2.1  2.2.2  2.2.3  2.3  2.3.1  2.3.2  2.3.3  2.4  2.4.1  2.4.2  2.4.3  2.5  2.5.1  2.5.2  2.5.3  2.6  2.7  2.7.1  2.7.2  2.8 

x  3

 Contents

Directional verbs in modern Chinese dialects. A synchronic perspective — 1 36 3.0  Introduction — 1 36 3.1  Previous works — 1 36 3.2  Lexical variations in directional verbs — 164 3.2.1  Forms expressing ‘to ascend’ — 166 3.2.2  Forms expressing ‘to descend’ — 166 3.2.3  Forms expressing ‘to enter’  — 167 3.2.4  Forms expressing ‘to return’ — 167 3.3  Directional verbs — 168 3.3.1  Self-agentive motion events — 168 3.3.2  Non-agentive motion events — 174 3.3.3  Agentive motion events — 177 3.4  Simple directional complements — 178 3.4.1  Self-agentive motion events — 178 3.4.2  Non-agentive motion events — 186 3.4.3  Agentive motion events — 192 3.5  Compound directional complements — 203 3.5.1  Self-agentive motion events — 203 3.5.2  Non-agentive motion events — 208 3.5.3  Agentive motion events — 213 3.6  Discussion — 220 3.6.1  Modern Chinese dialects and Talmy’s typology of motion events — 221 3.6.1.1  Self-agentive motion events — 221 3.6.1.2  Non-agentive motion events — 223 3.6.1.3  Agentive motion events — 224 3.6.2  Classification of modern Chinese dialects — 229 3.6.2.1  Classification of Mǐn — 237 3.6.2.1.1  Directional verbs in three Mǐn dialects — 238 3.6.2.1.1.1  Self-agentive motion events — 240 3.6.2.1.1.2  Agentive motion events — 242 3.6.2.1.2  Simple directional complements in three Mǐn dialects — 242 3.6.2.1.2.1  Self-agentive motion events — 242 3.6.2.1.2.2  Agentive motion events — 243 3.6.2.1.3  Compound directional complements in three Mǐn dialects — 245 3.6.2.1.3.1  Self-agentive motion events — 245 3.6.2.1.3.2  Agentive motion events — 246 3.6.2.2  Classification of Mandarin — 253 3.6.2.3  Classification of Hakka — 258 3.7  Summary — 263

Contents 

4

4.6.1.1 4.6.1.2 4.6.1.3 4.6.2 4.6.3 4.7

Directional verbs in early Chinese dialects. A diachronic perspective — 265 Introduction — 265 Previous works — 265 Lexical variations in directional verbs — 272 Forms expressing ‘to descend’ — 274 Forms expressing ‘to enter’ — 275 Forms expressing ‘to return’ — 276 Directional verbs — 278 Self-agentive motion events — 279 Non-agentive motion events — 285 Agentive motion events — 289 Simple directional complements — 296 Self-agentive motion events — 297 Non-agentive motion events — 303 Agentive motion events — 309 Compound directional complements — 318 Self-agentive motion events — 318 Non-agentive motion events — 323 Agentive motion events — 325 Discussion — 336 Early Chinese dialects and Talmy’s typology of motion events — 336 Self-agentive motion events — 337 Non-agentive motion events — 338 Agentive motion events — 339 From verb framing to satellite framing — 341 From satellite framing to compounding — 355 Summary — 365

5

Conclusion — 367

4.0  4.1  4.2  4.2.1  4.2.2  4.2.3  4.3  4.3.1 4.3.2 4.3.3 4.4 4.4.1 4.4.2 4.4.3 4.5 4.5.1 4.5.2 4.5.3 4.6 4.6.1

References — 373 Appendix 1. Major chronological divisions of Chinese history — 387 Appendix 2. Samples of early dialectal materials — 388 Language index — 399 Subject index — 401

 xi

List of maps, figures and tables

List of maps, figures and tables

Maps 1 2 3

Geographical distribution of the seven major regional varieties in China — 3 Geographical distribution of the five regional varieties studied by the Chinese Pear Stories — 24 Geographical distribution of the five regional varieties investigated during the interview — 26

Figures 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Three components of a movement — 56 Two structures exhibited by simple directional complements in the three types of motion events — 73 Two word order patterns exhibited by simple directional complements in agentive motion events — 76 Two structures exhibited by compound directional complements in the three types of motion events — 84 Hawkins’ Heaviness Hierarchy — 149 The cycle of word order changes undergone by Chinese — 162 Continuum of strong VO dialects and weak VO dialects — 264

Tables 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Number of speakers of the seven major regional varieties in China and their distribution by provinces — 4 Results of Chen and Guo’s (2009) study — 15 The five regional varieties studied by the Chinese Pear Stories — 25 The five regional varieties investigated during the interview — 25 Sources of diachronic data — 27 Initials in Mandarin — 29 Finals in Mandarin — 29 Initials in Cantonese — 29 Finals in Cantonese — 29 Representation of tones according to Hànyǔ Pīnyīn, the five-point scale and IPA — 30

List of maps, figures and tables 

11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33

 xiii

Representation of tones according to Jyut6ping3 , the five-point scale and IPA — 30 The pronunciation of the regional varieties adopted in the transliteration — 31 Cheung’s (2007 [1972]) three types of simple directional complements — 40 Double directional complements in Cantonese — 40 Triple directional complements in Cantonese — 41 Directional verbs and di1 啲 — 57 The semantic roles borne by the subject and the object of a directional verb in the three types of motion events — 65 Expression of path and change of state in Mandarin, Cantonese and Japanese — 110 Fusion of the verb and the complement in the events of motion and change of state in Cantonese and Mandarin — 135 Frequencies of basic word orders in languages of the world based on Dryer (2011) — 151 Correlation pairs based on Dryer (1992) — 152 Directional verbs in the five modern Chinese dialects — 165 Word orders of the directional verb and the locative object in self-agentive sentences in modern Mandarin — 170 Word orders of the directional verb and the locative object in self-agentive sentences in modern Wú — 171 Word orders of the directional verb and the locative object in self-agentive sentences in modern Hakka — 172 Word orders of the directional verb and the locative object in self-agentive sentences in modern Mǐn — 173 Word orders of the directional verb and the locative object in self-agentive sentences in modern Cantonese — 174 Word orders of the directional verb and the locative object in self-agentive sentences in the five modern dialects — 174 Word orders of the directional verb and the locative object in non-agentive sentences in the five modern dialects — 177 Word orders of the simple directional complement and the locative object in self-agentive sentences in modern Mandarin — 179 Word orders of the simple directional complement and the locative object in self-agentive sentences in modern Wú — 182 Word orders of the simple directional complement and the locative object in self-agentive sentences in modern Hakka — 183 Word orders of the simple directional complement and the locative

xiv 

34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47

48 49 50 51 52

 List of maps, figures and tables object in self-agentive sentences in modern Mǐn — 184 Word orders of the simple directional complement and the locative object in self-agentive sentences in modern Cantonese — 185 Word orders of the simple directional complement and the locative object in self-agentive sentences in the five modern dialects — 185 Word orders of the simple directional complement and the locative object in non-agentive sentences in modern Mandarin — 187 Word orders of the simple directional complement and the locative object in non-agentive sentences in modern Wú — 188 Word orders of the simple directional complement and the locative object in non-agentive sentences in modern Hakka — 190 Word orders of the simple directional complement and the locative object in non-agentive sentences in modern Mǐn — 190 Word orders of the simple directional complement and the locative object in non-agentive sentences in modern Cantonese — 191 Word orders of the simple directional complement and the locative object in non-agentive sentences in the five modern dialects — 192 Word orders of the simple directional complement, the theme object and the locative object in agentive sentences in modern Mandarin — 194 Word orders of the simple directional complement, the theme object and the locative object in agentive sentences in modern Wú — 196 Word orders of the simple directional complement, the theme object and the locative object in agentive sentences in modern Hakka — 198 Word orders of the simple directional complement, the theme object and the locative object in agentive sentences in modern Mǐn — 200 Word orders of the simple directional complement, the theme object and the locative object in agentive sentences in modern Cantonese — 201 Word orders of the simple directional complement, the theme object and the locative object in agentive sentences in the five modern dialects — 202 Word orders of the compound directional complement and the locative object in self-agentive sentences in modern Mandarin — 204 Word orders of the compound directional complement and the locative object in self-agentive sentences in modern Wú — 205 Word orders of the compound directional complement and the locative object in self-agentive sentences in modern Hakka — 206 Word orders of the compound directional complement and the locative object in self-agentive sentences in modern Mǐn — 207 Word orders of the compound directional complement and the locative object in self-agentive sentences in modern Cantonese — 207

List of maps, figures and tables 

53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64

65

66

67

68

69

 xv

Word orders of the compound directional complement and the locative object in self-agentive sentences in the five modern dialects — 208 Word orders of the compound directional complement and the locative object in non-agentive sentences in modern Mandarin — 209 Word orders of the compound directional complement and the locative object in non-agentive sentences in modern Wú — 210 Word orders of the compound directional complement, the theme object and the locative object in non-agentive sentences in modern Hakka — 210 Word orders of the compound directional complement and the locative object in non-agentive sentences in modern Mǐn — 211 Word orders of the compound directional complement and the locative object in non-agentive sentences in modern Cantonese — 212 Word orders of the compound directional complement and the locative object in non-agentive sentences in the five modern dialects — 212 Word orders of the compound directional complement, the theme object and the locative object in agentive sentences in modern Mandarin — 214 Word orders of the compound directional complement, the theme object and the locative object in agentive sentences in modern Wú  — 215 Word orders of the compound directional complement, the theme object and the locative object in agentive sentences in modern Hakka — 216 Word orders of the compound directional complement, the theme object and the locative object in agentive sentences in modern Mǐn — 217 Word orders of the compound directional complement, the theme object and the locative object in agentive sentences in modern Cantonese — 217 Word orders of the compound directional complement, the theme object and the locative object in agentive sentences in the five modern dialects — 217 Word orders of the directional verb, the theme object and the locative object in self-agentive, non-agentive and agentive sentences in the five modern dialects — 219 Word orders of the simple/compound directional complement and the locative object in self-agentive and non-agentive sentences in the five modern dialects — 219 Word orders of the simple directional complement, the theme object and the locative object in agentive sentences in the five modern dialects — 220 Word orders of the compound directional complement, the theme object and the locative object in agentive sentences in the five modern dialects — 220

xvi  70 71 72 73 74 75 76

77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90

 List of maps, figures and tables Statistical results for the five modern dialects: self-agentive motion events — 222 Statistical results for the five modern dialects: non-agentive motion events — 223 Statistical results for the five modern dialects: agentive motion events — 224 Norman’s northern, central and southern groups of Chinese dialects — 230 Transitivity of directional verbs and directional complements for the five modern dialects in Chinese Pear Stories — 236 Five non-deictic directional verbs in Fúqīng, Huì’ān and Cháo’ān — 238 Word orders of the directional verb, the directional complement, the theme object and the locative object in Wú, Fúqīng, Huì’ān, Cháo’ān and Cantonese — 248 Chronological order of the emergence of the southern dialects — 260 Correlations between path encoding and motion events expressed in the five modern Chinese dialects — 263 Directional verbs in the five early Chinese dialects — 273 Word orders of the directional verb and the locative object in self-agentive sentences in early Mandarin — 281 Word orders of the directional verb and the locative object in self-agentive sentences in early Wú — 282 Word orders of the directional verb and the locative object in self-agentive sentences in early Hakka — 283 Word orders of the directional verb and the locative object in self-agentive sentences in early Mǐn — 284 Word orders of the directional verb and the locative object in self-agentive sentences in early Cantonese — 285 Word orders of the directional verb and the locative object in self-agentive sentences in the five early dialects — 285 Word orders of the directional verb and the locative object in non-agentive sentences in the five early dialects — 288 Word orders of the simple directional complement and the locative object in self-agentive sentences in early Mandarin — 298 Word orders of the simple directional complement and the locative object in self-agentive sentences in early Wú — 299 Word orders of the simple directional complement and the locative object in self-agentive sentences in early Hakka — 300 Word orders of the simple directional complement and the locative object in self-agentive sentences in early Mǐn — 301

List of maps, figures and tables 

91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110

 xvii

Word orders of the simple directional complement and the locative object in self-agentive sentences in early Cantonese — 302 Word orders of the simple directional complement and the locative object in self-agentive sentences in the five early dialects — 302 Word orders of the simple directional complement and the locative object in non-agentive sentences in early Mandarin  — 304 Word orders of the simple directional complement and the locative object in non-agentive sentences in early Wú — 305 Word orders of the simple directional complement and the locative object in non-agentive sentences in early Hakka — 306 Word orders of the simple directional complement and the locative object in non-agentive sentences in early Mǐn — 307 Word orders of the simple directional complement and the locative object in non-agentive sentences in early Cantonese — 308 Word orders of the simple directional complement and the locative object in non-agentive sentences in the five early dialects — 309 Word orders of the simple directional complement, the theme object and the locative object in agentive sentences in early Mandarin — 311 Word orders of the simple directional complement, the theme object and the locative object in agentive sentences in early Wú — 312 Word orders of the simple directional complement, the theme object and the locative object in agentive sentences in early Hakka  — 314 Word orders of the simple directional complement, the theme object and the locative object in agentive sentences in early Mǐn — 315 Word orders of the simple directional complement, the theme object and the locative object in agentive sentences in early Cantonese — 317 Word orders of the simple directional complement, the theme object and the locative object in agentive sentences in the five early dialects — 317 Word orders of the compound directional complement and the locative object in self-agentive sentences in early Mandarin — 319 Word orders of the compound directional complement and the locative object in self-agentive sentences in early Wú — 319 Word orders of the compound directional complement and the locative object in self-agentive sentences in early Hakka — 320 Word orders of the compound directional complement and the locative object in self-agentive sentences in early Mǐn — 321 Word orders of the compound directional complement and the locative object in self-agentive sentences in early Cantonese — 322 Word orders of the compound directional complement and the locative object in self-agentive sentences in the five early dialects — 322

xviii  111

 List of maps, figures and tables

Word orders of the compound directional complement and the locative object in non-agentive sentences in the five early dialects — 324 112 Word orders of the compound directional complement, the theme object and the locative object in agentive sentences in early Mandarin — 326 113 Word orders of the compound directional complement, the theme object and the locative object in agentive sentences in early Wú — 327 114 Word orders of the compound directional complement, the theme object and the locative object in agentive sentences in early Hakka — 328 115 Word orders of the compound directional complement, the theme object and the locative object in agentive sentences in early Mǐn — 328 116 Word orders of the compound directional complement, the theme object and the locative object in agentive sentences in early Cantonese — 329 117 Word orders of the compound directional complement, the theme object and the locative object in agentive sentences in the five early dialects — 330 118 Word orders of the directional verb, the theme object and the locative object in self-agentive, non-agentive and agentive sentences in the five early dialects — 330 119 Word orders of the simple/compound directional complement and the locative object in self-agentive and non-agentive sentences in the five early dialects — 331 120 Word orders of the simple directional complement, the theme object and the locative object in agentive sentences in the five early dialects — 331 121 Word orders of the compound directional complement, the theme object and the locative object in agentive sentences in the five early dialects — 332 122 Statistical results for the five early dialects: self-agentive motion events — 337 123 Statistical results for the five early dialects: non-agentive motion events — 339 124 Statistical results for the five early dialects: agentive motion events — 340 125 Versions of The Gospel of Mark for comparison — 343 126a Comparison of the early and modern Cantonese versions of The Gospel of Mark with the criterion of inclusiveness — 343 126b Comparison of the early and modern Cantonese versions of The Gospel of Mark without the criterion of inclusiveness  — 346 127a Comparison of the early and modern Hakka versions of The Gospel of Mark with the criterion of inclusiveness — 345

List of maps, figures and tables 

 xix

127b Comparison of the early and modern Hakka versions of The Gospel of Mark without the criterion of inclusiveness  — 347 128a Comparison of the early and modern Mandarin versions of The Gospel of Mark with the criterion of inclusiveness — 347 128b Comparison of the early and modern Mandarin versions of The Gospel of Mark without the criterion of inclusiveness — 348 129 Fusion of the verb and the directional complement in the three types of motion events in modern Mandarin and Cantonese — 356 130 Number of tokens of presence and absence of the theme object between the co-event verb and the directional complement — 364 131 Percentage of use of the serial verb construction to encode path in the five early dialects — 370 132 Percentage of use of the serial verb construction to encode path in the five modern dialects — 370

List of abbreviations 1

1st person

MP

Modifying particle

2

2nd person

N

Noun

3

3rd person

N’

N-bar

ACC

Accusative

NOM

Nominative

ADJ

Adjective

NF

Non-final

ADJP

Adjective phrase

NP

Noun phrase

ADPP

Adpositional phrase

NUM

Numeral

AOR

Aorist

O

Object

ASP

Aspect marker

PFV

Perfective

C

Complement

PM

Passive marker

Deictic directional complement

PP

Prepositional phrase

CND

CD

Non-deictic directional complement

PRED

Predicate

CAUS

Causative

PRT

Particle

CL

Classifier

PST

Past tense

CM

Comparative marker

Q

Question particle

DC

Directional complement

REL

Relative clause

DEM

Demonstrative determiner

S

Subject

DM

Disposal marker

SEN

Sentence

DS

Different subject marker

SFP

Sentence final particle

ERG

Ergative

SG

Singular

FUT

Future

SS

Same subject marker

GEN

Genitive

TOP

Topic

IMP

Imperative

V

Verb

IMPV

Imperfective

V D

Deictic directional verb

VP

Verb phrase

IMPRF Imperfect INF

Infinitive

LOC

Locative object

VND

Non-deictic directional verb

Chapter 1. Introduction

Introduction 1.0 Introduction Ever since Talmy (1985, 2000a, 2000b) proposed a typological dichotomy between verb-framed languages and satellite-framed languages, the field has witnessed a surge of studies on the encoding of motion events in languages. The typological status of Chinese has also generated much discussion. Scholars argue that Classical Chinese underwent a typological shift from a verb-framed language to a satellite-framed language (cf. Li 1993, Xu 2006, Mǎ 2008, Peyraube 2009). Peyraube (2009) has further suggested that the change was completed at around the tenth century. However, the claim does not find support in contemporary language which exhibits characteristics of both types of languages rather than only those associated with satellite-framed languages (cf. Kē 2003, Shěn 2003, Tai 2003). Furthermore, given that Chinese is spoken across the vast geographical area, variations are expected to be found in its closely-knit members, an issue which has never been systematically addressed by scholars. The general aim of the book is to take up the challenge to closely study how five of the major members of the Chinese language, including Mandarin, Wú 吳, Hakka, Mǐn 閩 and Cantonese, fit into Talmy’s binary classification of languages. Differing from previous studies which are qualitative in nature, findings of the present work are grounded on a pool of synchronic and diachronic data which consists of more than one million words, and the findings are: (i) The typological change from a verb-framed language to a satellite-framed language has not been completed. The five members examined form a continuum with some exhibiting more characteristics of a verb-framed language than others, and all of them continue to move toward the direction to becoming satellite-framed languages. (ii) The statistical findings from both the synchronic and diachronic data suggest that there is a strong correlation between event types, namely, self-agentive, non-agentive and agentive motion events, and the way in which motion events are expressed in the members. Moreover, the rate in which the typological change has proceeded in each type of motion events and in each of the five members is different. (iii) The statistical findings from the diachronic data show that the same five members spoken in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries display more characteristics of verb-framed languages than their modern counterparts. (iv) The typological change that the members have undergone in the last two

2 

 Chapter 1. Introduction

centuries is correlated with the change of Chinese from a monosyllabic to a disyllabic language. Founded on a substantial set of data, the present study is the first one that tries to provide an in-depth analysis to a closed set of motion verbs in the five major members of the Chinese language, from a typological, synchronic and diachronic perspective. The empirical and detailed analysis renders the book an important reference in the areas of typology and Chinese linguistics.

1.1 Chinese dialects “Chinese” is often used as a generic term to represent the language of China, and it may specifically refer to Mandarin (or Guānhuà 官話 and Pǔtōnghuà 普通 話), the standard language based on the Běijīng 北京 variety. On the other hand, there are different varieties spoken in the vast geographical area of China. These regional varieties are classified into seven major groups in Yuán (2001), including Mandarin, Wú 吳, Gàn 贛, Xiāng 湘, Mǐn 閩 Hakka (or Kèjiā 客家) and Cantonese (or Yuè 粵). These seven major varieties are often divided into the northern group and the southern group by the physical dividing line – the Yangtze River (or Chángjiāng 長江). While the northern group includes only Mandarin, the southern group is made up of the remaining six regional varieties. The geographical distribution of the seven regional varieties is shown in Map 11 and the number of speakers of each group is provided in Table 1.2 The degree of mutual intelligibility may vary substantially within a regional variety and across regional varieties. For example, speakers of the varieties of Cantonese spoken in Hong Kong and Guǎngzhōu 廣州 can communicate with each other without any difficulty. In contrast, speakers of the Hong Kong variety and the Táishān 台山 variety of Cantonese can hardly understand each other. On the other hand, New Xiāng3 and Mandarin are mutually intelligible while New Xiāng and Mǐn are not. By the mutual intelligibility criterion, some regional varieties should be termed as “Chinese languages” rather than “regional varieties of the Chinese language”. However, linguists in China continue to call these

1 The map is downloaded from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Map_of_sinitic_languages-en.svg (21 February 2013). 2 The number of speakers of the seven major regional varieties in China is taken from Language Atlas of China (1987). 3 Yuán (2001) classifies Xiāng into New Xiāng and Old Xiāng based primarily on the retention of Middle Chinese voiced initials in the latter but not in the former. Middle Chinese refers to the Chinese language spoken from the seventh to the thirteenth centuries.

Chinese dialects 

Map 1. Geographical distribution of the seven major regional varieties in China

 3

4 

 Chapter 1. Introduction

regional varieties “Chinese dialects”. There are two major reasons for doing that. First, these regional varieties are spoken by people with a shared history and culture within the boundaries of one sovereign nation – China. Second, the writing system with a history of over three thousand years is a strong force unifying speakers of different regional varieties. For the reasons stated above, the present study follows the convention in Chinese linguistics in referring to these regional varieties as “Chinese dialects”. Table 1. Number of speakers of the seven major regional varieties in China and their distribution by provinces4 Regional varieties

Number of speakers

Distribution by Chinese provinces

Mandarin

707,793,0004

Liáoníng 遼寧, Jílín 吉林, Héběi 河北, Hénán 河南, Hēilóngjiāng 黑龍江, Shāndōng 山 東, Shānxī 山西, Shǎnxī 陝西, Gānsù 甘 肅, Níngxià 寧夏, Ānhuī 安徽, Jiāngsū 江蘇, Húběi 湖北, Sìchuān 四川, Guǎngxī 廣西, Guìzhōu 貴州, Qīnghǎi 青海, Yúnnán 雲南, Táiwān 台灣

Wú

69,750,000

Shànghǎi 上海, Jiāngsū 江蘇, Zhèjiāng 浙江

Gàn

31,270,000

Jiāngxī 江西

Xiāng

30,850,000

Húnán 湖南

Mǐn

55,070,000

Fújiàn 福建, Guǎngdōng 廣東, Hǎinán 海南, Táiwān 台灣

Hakka

35,000,000

Fújiàn 福建, Táiwān 台灣, Guǎngdōng 廣東, Guǎngxī 廣西, Hǎinán 海南, Sìchuān 四川

Cantonese

40,210,000

Hong Kong, Guǎngdōng 廣東

1.2 Theoretical background Talmy (2000b) notes that in the underlying conceptual organization of language, there are five types of event complexes or in his term macro-events, which are fundamental and pervasive and which are represented as single clauses and regularly conceptualized as unitary events.5 The five types of event complexes 4 The number includes both speakers of Mandarin (662,230,000) and Jìn 晉(45,700,000). 5 According to Talmy (2000b: 215), a unitary event can be conceptualized as having a particular type of internal structure and degree of complexity and can be represented by a single

Theoretical background 

 5

include: (i) an event of motion or location in space; (ii) an event of change or constancy among states; (iii) an event of contouring in time (aspect); (iv) an event of correlation among actions; and (v) an event of fulfillment or confirmation in the domain of realization. Each event complex is, in turn, made up of a number of basic meaning components, for which it is observed that there are systematic relations in language between the meaning components and the surface expressions. When a particular meaning is found to be in regular association with a particular surface form, such an association is referred to as lexicalization as illustrated in the English verbs kill and die. While the meaning of cause is incorporated or lexicalized in the former in which kill can be paraphrased as ‘make die’, it is lacking in the latter. Talmy observes that an event complex is characteristically expressed in a verb or in a satellite6 to the verb. Furthermore, language tends to express the five types of event complexes consistently by the same morphosyntactic element. For example, English satellites are used to encode path (such as into in The bottle floated into the cave) and aspect (such as up in The log burned up in two hours). A macro-event consists of a main event and a subordinate event which are called a framing event and a co-event. It may also include an agent-initiated causal chain of events that in turn causes either or both the framing event and the co-event. While a framing event provides the macro-event with the conceptual framework within which the activities are conceived of as taking place, a co-event has the following support relations to the framing event: precursion, enablement, cause, manner, concomitance, purpose and constitutiveness.7 Among these relations, the “cause” and the “manner” relations are of particular interest to the present study. According to Talmy (2000b: 44–46), in the cause relation, “the Co-event can precede the main Motion event in the case of onset causation, or it can cooccur with the main Motion event in the case of extended causation” (e.g. Our tent blew down into the gully from a gust of wind and The water boiled down to syntactic clause. On the other hand, some complex events can be partitioned into a main event and a subordinate event and can be syntactically represented by a main clause and a subordinate clause linked by a subordinating conjunction. 6 Talmy (2000b: 222) notes that “the satellite to the verb…is the grammatical category of any constituent other than a nominal or prepositional-phrase complement that is in a sister relation to the verb root. The satellite, which can be either a bound affix or a free word, is thus intended to encompass all of the following grammatical forms: English verb particles, German separable and inseparable verb prefixes, Latin or Russian verb prefixes, Chinese verb complements, Lahu nonhead “versatile verbs”, Caddo incorporated nouns, and Atsugewi polysynthetic affixes around the verb root”. 7 For a further discussion and examples for the relations other than the cause and manner relations, see Talmy (2000b: 42–47).

6 

 Chapter 1. Introduction

the midline of the pot). In the manner relation, “the Co-event co-occurs with the Motion event and is conceptualized as an additional activity that the Figure of the Motion event exhibits — an activity that directly pertains to the Motion event but that is distinct from it” (e.g. The top spun past the lamp). A framing event includes four components: (i) the figural entity, an entity whose attention or concern is being addressed; (ii) the ground entity, a reference entity with respect to which the condition of the figural entity is being described; (iii) the activating process, a process by which the figural entity either makes a transition or stays fixed with respect to the ground entity; and (iv) the association function which sets the figural entity into a particular relationship with the ground entity. The association function or the association function together with the ground entity can be considered the schematic core of the framing event, which is called the core schema. A core schema determines the distinctiveness of a framing event and helps distinguish one framing event from other framing events. Talmy (2000b: 221) further notes that “the world’s languages generally seem to divide into a two-category typology on the basis of the characteristic pattern in which the conceptual structure of the macro-event is mapped onto syntactic structure. To characterize it initially in broad strokes, the typology consists of whether the core schema is expressed by the main verb or by the satellite”. The two categories of languages are verb-framed languages and satelliteframed languages. The former maps the core schema into the verb (e.g. Romance, Semitic, Japanese, Tamil, Polynesian, Bantu, some branches of Mayan, Nez Perce and Caddo) whereas the latter expresses the core schema in the satellite (e.g. most Indo-European minus Romance, Finno-Ugric, Chinese, Ojibwa and Warlpiri). In the case of an event of motion, the core schema of a motion event involves either the path or the path together with the ground.8 Talmy (2000b: 25) treats “a situation containing motion and the continuation of a stationary location” as a motion event. He further suggests that a basic motion event is made up of four major components: (i) Figure, the entity which moves or is located; (ii) Ground, the entity which acts as a spatial reference point for the motion/location of the figure; (iii) Path, the course that is followed or site 8 In English, the core schema of a motion event generally involves only the path, as illustrated by the particle in in The ball rolled in. In Atsugewi, the core schema of a motion event generally involves the path and the ground, as shown by the satellite –cis, which means moving into a fire. The notion of path in Talmy includes three sub-components: vector (relationship between the figure and the ground as expressed by concepts like arrival, traversal, departure, etc.), conformation (geometric complex of the ground) and deictic (movements toward or away from the speaker). Conformation, in general, is not expressed by directional verbs in Chinese. While the term “deictic” used in this study is the same as Talmy’s category of “deictic”, the term “nondeictic” is used as an equivalent to “vector”.

Theoretical background 

 7

occupied by the figure; and (iv) Motion, which refers to the presence per se of motion or locatedness in the event. In addition to the above four major components, a motion event can be associated with an external co-event which often bears the relation of manner or cause to it. The motion event and the co-event together form a macro-event. For example, (Talmy 2000b: 26) (1) Manner Cause Motion a. The pencil rolled off the table. b. The pencil blew off the table. Location c. The pencil lay on the table. d. The pencil stuck on the table (after I glued it). In the above examples, the pencil represents the figure and the table the ground. Off and on denote the paths (a path and a site respectively). While the verbs roll and blow encode motion, the verbs lie and stick imply stationary locations. In addition, manner is conveyed in roll and lie whereas cause is implied in blow and stick. Three conflation patterns are observed among the major components of a motion event and the co-events across languages. The first pattern involves conflating motion and manner/cause in the verb. Languages or language families which exhibit this conflation pattern include Chinese, Indo-European excluding Romance, Finno-Ugric, Ojibwa and Warlpiri. Motion + Manner (Talmy 2000b: 30, 51) (2) a. non-agentive motion event The rock rolled down the hill. b. agentive motion event9 I rolled the keg into the storeroom. c. self-agentive motion event I ran down the stairs. In the above examples, the verbs roll and run encode motion and manner. Examples (2a)–(2c) denote a non-agentive motion event, an agentive motion event and a self-agentive motion event. The three types of motion events differ in whether the figure undergoes the movement voluntarily or is caused to undergo the move9 Agentive and self-agentive motion events are also referred to as caused motion events and spontaneous motion events (cf. Choi and Bowerman 1991, Matsumoto 2003, Lamarre 2009).

8 

 Chapter 1. Introduction

ment. In example (2a), the figure the rock could not voluntarily roll itself down the hill. Instead, its rolling had to be caused by some external force which is not specified in the sentence such as a human being or a tornado. In example (2b), the agent10 I intentionally caused the rolling of the figure the keg into the storeroom. In example (2c), the figure I voluntarily carried out the action of running down the stairs. The following examples show the conflation of motion and cause in the verb. Motion + Cause (Talmy 2000b: 28, 30) (3) a. non-agentive motion event The bone pulled loose from its socket. b. agentive motion event I pushed the keg into the storeroom. In the second conflation pattern, the verb expresses both motion and path. Languages which exemplify this pattern include Romance, Semitic, Polynesian, Nez Perce, Caddo, Japanese and Korean. Motion + Path Spanish (Talmy 2000b: 49, 51) (4)

a. non-agentive motion event La botella entró a la cueva (flotando). the bottle move-in.pst to the cave (floating) ‘The bottle floated into the cave.’



b. agentive motion event Metí el barril a la bodega rodándolo. I-move-in.pst the keg to the storeroom rolling-it ‘I rolled the keg into the storeroom.’

In the above Spanish examples, the verbs entrar ‘to move in’ in (4a) and metre ‘to move in’ in (4b) conflate motion and path. Manner, on the other hand, is expressed by the adverbial or gerundive forms of the verbs flotar ‘to float’ and rodar ‘to roll’. The third pattern exhibits the conflation of motion and figure in the verb and is observed in languages such as Atsugewi and Navaho. 10 Agent is the instigator of the action denoted by the predicate and his/her action brings about a certain effect on another entity. In this study, “theme” and “locative” will also be used interchangeably to refer to Talmy’s “figure” and “ground”.

Theoretical background 

 9

Motion + Figure Atsugewi (Talmy 2000b: 59) (5)

a. non-agentive motion event ̓ -ic t̓ -a ’-w-ca-staq̓ 3sg.s-caus-runny icky material-into liquid-factual ‘Literal: Runny icky material moved into liquid from the wind blowing on it.’ — ‘Instantiated: The guts blew into the creek.’



b. agentive motion event ̓ -cis-a s-’-w-cu-staq̓ 1sg.s-caus-runny icky material-into fire-factual ‘Literal: I caused it that runny icky material move into fire by acting on it with a linear object moving axially.’ ‘Instantiated: I prodded the guts into the fire with a stick.’

The Atsugewi verb root st a̓ q ̓ conflates the figure (runny icky material) and motion and it can be used in non-agentive and agentive motion events. As noted by Talmy, there is no one-to-one correspondence between a semantic element and a surface element. While the above examples illustrate the lexicalization of a number of semantic categories, namely, motion, manner, cause, path and figure, in the verb,11 the following examples of event integration show how a semantic category, including path, change of state and transition to a new state, is expressed by different surface elements. Spanish, a verb-framed language, expresses the core schema in the main verb. Spanish (Talmy 2000b: 224, 243) (6)

a. La botella saliό de la cueva (flotando). the bottle move-out.pst from the cave floating ‘The bottle exited from the cave, floating.’



b.

Apagué la vela soplándola. 1sg.s extinguish.pst the candle blowing ‘I extinguished the candle by blowing on it.’

11 Talmy (2000b: 60) notes that the semantic component “ground” is rarely, if ever, conflated with motion verbs. The English verbs emplane and deplane are possible examples for the conflation of ground and motion in the verb when they are taken to mean ‘to move with respect to an airplane’. However, examples such as these are too few in English to form a system.

10 

 Chapter 1. Introduction

The main verbs salir ‘to exit’ in (6a) and apagar ‘to extinguish’ in (6b) express the core schemas of path and change of state while the gerundive forms of the verbs flotar ‘to float’ and soplar ‘to blow’ express the co-events of manner and cause. A satellite-framed language, on the other hand, represents the core schema in the satellite, as illustrated in the following English examples: (7)

a. The bottle floated out. b. I blew out the candle.

While the main verbs float and blow express the co-events of manner and cause, the particle out denotes the core schemas of path and transition to a new state in (7a) and (7b) respectively. Being a pioneering work in the typology of motion events, Talmy’s proposal has been adopted by scholars to study a diverse set of languages (cf. Aske 1989 on English and Spanish, Choi and Bowerman 1991 on English and Korean, Li 1993 on Classical Chinese, Slobin and Hoiting 1994 on sign languages, Noonan 2003 on Chantyal, Brown 2004 on Tzeltal, Ibarretxe-Antuñano 2004 on Basque, Kopecka 2006 on French, Nakazawa 2006 on Japanese, Ragnarsdóttir and Strömqvist 2004 on Swedish and Icelandic, Wilkins 2004 on Arrernte, Zlatev and Yangklang 2004 on Thai, Filipović 2007 on English and Serbo-Croatian). Results from some of the studies show that languages do not use only the main verb or the satellite to encode path. Some scholars thus extend Talmy’s typology to include a third type of languages, namely, equipollently-framed languages. In this type of languages, path and manner are both expressed by equivalent grammatical forms such as the verbs in the serial verb construction, as illustrated by the Thai example in (8) (cf. Slobin and Hoiting 1994, Zlatev and Yangklang 2004). Thai (Zlatev and Yangklang 2004: 160) (8)

Chán dəən khâam thanǒn khâw paj naj sǔan. I walk cross road enter go in park ‘I walked across the road and into the park.’

Example (8) consists of four verbs. The verb dəən ‘to walk’ expresses manner. While the verbs khâam ‘to cross’ and khâw ‘to enter’ denote a non-deictic path, paj ‘to go’ specifies a deictic path. Serial verb languages such as Thai, therefore, do not fall neatly into one of the two categories of verb-framed and satelliteframed languages. Moreover, studies also discover that a single language can make use of more than one way to encode path, as illustrated by the following Bulgarian examples.

Theoretical background 

 11

Bulgarian (Croft et al. 2010: 15, 17, 18) (9) a. Iz-tǔrkaljax varela v mazeto. pfv-roll.impv barrel:the in basement:the ‘I rolled the barrel into the basement.’ b. Presjakox ulitsata na begom. across.pfv:cut:aor.1sg street:the on running ‘I crossed the street running.’ c.

Te sledvaha zvezdata i izljazoha they followed:impv.imprf star:the and went.out:pfv.aor ot Vitleem. out.of Bethlehem ‘They followed the star out of Bethlehem.’

Path is expressed in the satellite in (9a), in the verb in (9b) and in the coordinate clauses in (9c). As a result, languages like Bulgarian belong to both verb-framed languages and satellite-framed languages. Talmy (2000b) classifies Mandarin Chinese as a satellite-framed language as path is expressed in a satellite. For example, Mandarin (Talmy 2000b: 109) (10)

瓶子漂過石 頭旁邊。 Píngzi piāo guò shítou pángbiān.12 bottle float pass rock side ‘The bottle floated past the rock.’

In example (10), manner is expressed in the main verb piāo 漂 ‘to float’ while path is incorporated in the satellite chū 出 ‘to exit’. The following path satellites are listed in Talmy (2000b: 109) for Mandarin.13 Mandarin qù 去 lái 來 shàng 上

‘thither’ ‘hither’ ‘up’

guò 過 qǐ 起 diào 掉

‘across/past’ ‘up off’ ‘off (He ran off)’

12 See 1.5 for details on the romanization systems used in the book. 13 The list is probably taken from Chao (1968: 458–466) as some of the items such as lǒng 攏 ‘together’ and diào 掉 ‘off’ are generally not included in the list of directional complements by other scholars.

12  xià jìn chū dào dǎo

 Chapter 1. Introduction

下 進 出 到 倒

‘down’ ‘in’ ‘out’ ‘all the way (to)’ ‘atopple (i.e. pivotally over)’

zǒu 走 huí 回 lǒng 攏 kāi 開 sàn 散

‘away’ ‘back’ ‘together’ ‘apart/free’ ‘ascatter’

In Mandarin, a complement refers to a functional category which is on a par with subject, predicate, object, modifier and adverbial. The lexical word which can function as a complement is a verb or an adjective. It appears after the main verb, providing information regarding the direction, result or state of an entity. When a directional verb follows a main verb, denoting the direction in which the movement as denoted by the main verb is carried out, it is traditionally referred to as a directional complement Qūxiàng bǔyǔ 趨向補語 (equivalent to Talmy’s path satellite14).15 Tai (2003) suggests, on the contrary, that directional complements should not be considered as satellites as they can serve as a main verb in the sentence. For example, Mandarin (Tai 2003: 309) (11)

a. John 飛過英吉利海峽。 John fēi guò Yīngjílì Hǎixiá. John fly pass English Channel ‘John flew across the English Channel.’

In example (11a), path is expressed in the directional complement guò 過 ‘to pass’ while manner is expressed by the co-event verb fēi 飛 ‘to fly’. Tai further points out that in the above example guò 過 ‘to pass’ can be used alone without the manner verb fēi 飛 ‘to fly’ (cf. (11b)) whereas the omission of guò 過 ‘to pass’ gives rise to ungrammaticality (cf. (11c)). Based on the grammaticality contrast shown in (11b) and (11c), Tai concludes that Chinese is primarily a verb-framed language as it encodes path in a verb.

14 Talmy (2000b: 103–109) states that satellites do not require a ground NP whereas prepositions do. As pointed out in Lamarre (2009), Chinese prepositional phrases are neatly distributed before or after the verb according to the relationship they bear to the motion. If the prepositional phrase indicates the source or direction, it appears before the verb. If it denotes the goal, it occurs after the verb. In contrast, path satellites appear only after the verb. In view of the above, directional complements are considered as satellites rather than prepositions. 15 See 2.6 for the use of another type of complement, i.e. the resultative complement.

Theoretical background 

 13

Mandarin (Tai 2003: 310) (11)

b. John 過了英吉利海峽。 John guò le Yīngjílì Hǎixiá. John pass asp English Channel ‘John crossed the English Channel.’



c. *John 飛了英吉利海峽。16 John fēi le Yīngjílì Hǎixiá. John fly asp English Channel ‘John flew across the English Channel.’

Kē (2003) shows in detail that Mandarin exhibits a split system of conflation. In agentive motion events, path is expressed in the satellite or the directional complement. Mandarin (Kē 2003: 6) (12) a. Agentive motion event 我把它扔進了廢紙簍。 Wǒ bǎ tā rēng jìn le fèizhílǒu. I dm it throw enter asp wastepaper basket ‘I threw it into the wastepaper basket.’ Example (12a) represents an agentive motion event. The figure tā 它 ‘it’ is caused by the external force wǒ 我 ‘I’ to move into the ground fèizhílǒu 廢紙簍 ‘a wastepaper basket’. The verb rēng 扔 ‘to throw’ denotes the cause of the movement while the path is expressed in the satellite or the directional complement jìn 進 ‘to enter’. In sentences that denote self-agentive motion events, path is represented in the satellite or in the main verb. According to Kē, the use of either way to express path is equally frequent. Mandarin (Kē 2003: 7) (12) b. Self-agentive motion event 你回來。 Nǐ huí lai. you return come ‘You come back.’ 16 See 1.5 for details on the use of various symbols to specify the different degrees of grammaticality or acceptability judgement.

14 

 Chapter 1. Introduction

(12) c. Self-agentive motion event 他走回來了。 Tā zǒu huí lai le. he walk return come sfp ‘He walked back.’ Both examples (12b) and (12c) represent self-agentive motion events, motion events in which the figure moves voluntarily. In example (12b), the figure nǐ 你 ‘you’ moves voluntarily back to the location at which s/he started off at an earlier time and the location at which the speaker is. The path and the deictic orientation point are expressed by the directional verb huí 回 ‘to return’ and the directional complement lái 來 ‘to come’ whereas information regarding manner is not provided. In example (12c), the main verb zǒu 走 ‘to walk’ describes the manner of the movement while the complement huí lái 回來 ‘to return and to come’ specifies the path and the deictic orientation point. In the case of non-agentive motion events, motion events in which the subject may or may not be caused by some entity to move in a certain direction, Mandarin tends to express path in a directional complement according to Kē. Mandarin (13)

Non-agentive motion event 河水流出來了。 Hé shuǐ liú chū lai le. river water flow exit come sfp ‘The river water flowed out.’

In example (13), manner is denoted by liú 流 ‘to flow’ while the path and the deictic orientation point are expressed by the complement chū lái 出來 ‘to exit and to come’. Chen and Guo (2009) examine the motion event descriptions in Chinese novels and compare them with those produced in English, a satellite-framed language, and Spanish and Turkish, verb-framed languages. The results show that Chinese writers pattern their narrative descriptions of motion events in a way that suggests that Chinese is an equipollently-framed language. As reported in Özçalişkan and Slobin (2003), a major difference between satellite-framed and verb-framed languages lies in the number of manner and path verbs they use in terms of both types and tokens. While the number of manner verb types indicates the richness of the lexicon in expressing manner, the number of tokens of manner verbs shows their frequencies of occurrence. Using the same sampling

Theoretical background 

 15

procedure as Özçalişkan and Slobin (2003), the results of Chen and Guo’s study are summarized in Table 2 below. Table 2. Results of Chen and Guo’s (2009) study (Adopted from Chen and Guo 2009: 1759)

Manner verb types Percentage of manner verbs Percentage of path verbs

English

Chinese

Turkish

64 53% 27%

41 45.3% 53.1%

26 34% 59%

Table 2 shows that Chinese consistently positions itself between English, a satellite-framed language, and Turkish, a verb-framed language, in terms of the number of manner verb types and the percentages of manner and path verbs. Moreover, Chen and Guo observe that Chinese writers more often express both manner and path (62.31%) than manner (14.81%) or path (22.12%). Much effort has been put into investigating the typological status of Mandarin. However, important questions such as how other Chinese dialects express path and whether they behave in the same way as Mandarin are not addressed by scholars. Scholars show that Classical Chinese underwent a typological change from a verb-framed language to a satellite-framed language (cf. Li 1993, Xu 2006, Mǎ 2008, Peyraube 2009). Peyraube (2009) has further suggested that the typological change was completed at around the tenth century. Such a change did not happen overnight, but gradually. If we take the spatial area as a projection of time, variations observed in dialects can be seen as the developmental stages through which Chinese has evolved. It is thus expected that some Chinese dialects might preserve more characteristics of verb-framed languages than others. Kē (2003) notes that one major difference between Mandarin and verbframed languages such as Japanese and French is that an agentive motion event is expressed by a combination of Co-event verb + Path satellite in the former, but by a single path verb in the latter. Japanese (Kē 2003: 8) (14)

…ドライブウエーに車を入れた。 …doraibuwei ni kuruma o ireta. garage at car acc enter.pst ‘…drove the car into a garage.’

16 

 Chapter 1. Introduction

French (Kē 2003: 8) Je vais sortir la voiture du garage. I will exit the car from garage ‘I will drive the car out from the garage.’

(15)

The Japanese path verb ireru 入る ‘to enter’ in (14) and the French path verb sortir ‘to exit’ in (15) express the meaning of causing X, i.e. the car, to move in a certain direction, i.e. into the garage and out from the garage. However, path verbs such as jìn 進 ‘to enter’ in Mandarin lack such an agentive use. For example, Mandarin (16) a. *他進了車子在車庫里。 Tā jìn le chēzi zài chēkù li. he enter asp car at garage Localizer17 ‘He drove the car into a garage.’

b. 他把車子開進了車庫里。 Tā bǎ chēzi kāi jìn le chēkù li. he dm car drive enter asp garage Localizer ‘He drove the car into a garage.’

Example (16a) shows that jìn 進 ‘to enter’ alone cannot express an agentive motion event. Instead, a complex predicate which consists of the co-event verb kāi 開 ‘to drive’ and the path satellite jìn 進 ‘to enter’ is used (cf. (16b)). The agentive use of directional verbs is, however, exemplified in Cantonese. Cantonese (17)

佢入咗啲錢喺信封。 Keoi 5 jap6 zo2 di1 cin 2 hai 2 seon 3fung1. s/he enter asp cl money at envelope ‘S/he put the money into the envelope.’

The directional verb jap6 入 ‘to enter’ in (17) indicates that the agent subject keoi 5 佢 ‘s/he’ causes the theme object di1 cin4 啲錢 ‘the money’ to move into the inside of the envelope. Another difference between Mandarin and Cantonese is that the co-event verb and the path satellite in the former are more tightly integrated than the latter. 17 The term “Localizer” is traditionally used as an equivalent of “Postposition”.

Theoretical background 

 17

Mandarin (18) a. 他踢進了三個球。 Tā tī jìn le sān gè qiú. he kick enter asp three cl ball ‘He kicked in three balls.’

b. 他走進了教室。 Tā zǒu jìn le jiàoshì. he walk enter asp classroom ‘He walked into the classroom.’

Cantonese (19) a. 佢射入咗三個波。 Keoi 5 se6 jap6 zo2 saam1 go3 bo1. s/he shoot enter asp three cl ball ‘S/he shot in three balls.’

b. 佢行咗入辦公室。 Keoi 5 haang4 zo2 jap6 baan6gung1sat1. s/he walk asp enter office ‘S/he walked into the office.’

The aspect marker le 了in Mandarin appears after the co-event verb and the path satellite when expressing an agentive motion event or a self-agentive motion event (cf. (18a)–(18b)). In contrast, the aspect marker zo2 咗 in Cantonese occurs after the complex predicate se6 jap6 射入 ‘to shoot in’ when an agentive motion event is expressed in (19a) but after the co-event verb haang4 行 ‘to walk’ and before the path satellite jap6 入 ‘to enter’ when a self-agentive motion event is referred to in (19b). The two differences illustrated in (16)–(19) suggest that although they are descendants from the same ancestral language – Classical Chinese, Chinese dialects do not encode motion events in a uniform way. A careful investigation into the different ways used by Chinese dialects to express motion events not only helps shed light on the typology of motion events. It also enhances our understanding of the process of univerbation, a linguistic phenomenon that is widely observed in languages, during which the verb and the path satellite are fused together. A few words are in order regarding the standpoints of Cantonese and Mandarin in Talmy’s framework. The tripartite classification, i.e. verb-framed, satellite-framed and equipollently-framed languages, at first blush seems to better

18 

 Chapter 1. Introduction

capture the way in which path is encoded in the two dialects, namely, by the use of the serial verb construction, as illustrated by the following example from Cantonese. Cantonese (20)

佢孭住背囊去。 Keoi 5 me1 zyu6 bui 3nong4 heoi 3. s/he carry asp backpack go ‘S/he goes carrying the backpack.’

In example (20), path is conveyed by heoi 3 去 ‘to go’ while the additional activity concurrently carried out by the figure is expressed by the verb me1 孭 ‘to carry’. However, it is often difficult to determine whether the verbs in the serial verb construction have the same status. Matthews (2006) discusses properties generally associated with the serial verb construction in Cantonese. According to him, a serial verb construction consists of two or more verbs, forming a single clause and representing a single predicate with each of the verbs being able to function independently as a verb in its own right. Example (21) below illustrates the serial verb construction in Cantonese. Cantonese (21) a. 佢擰咗本書嚟。 Keoi 5 ning1 zo2 bun 2 syu1 lai4. s/he take asp cl book come ‘S/he brought some books.’

b. 佢用左手寫緊字。 Keoi 5 jung6 zo2 sau 2 se2 gan 2 zi6. s/he use left hand write asp character ‘S/he is writing characters with his/her left hand.’



c. 我請過佢食晚飯。 Ngo5 ceng2 gwo3 keoi 5 sik6 maan 5faan6. I invite asp him/her eat dinner ‘I’ve invited him/her to a dinner.’



d. 我請佢食過晚飯。 Ngo5 ceng2 keoi 5 sik6 gwo3 maan 5faan6. I invite him/her eat asp dinner ‘I’ve treated him/her to a dinner.’

Theoretical background 

 19

Each of the examples in (21) consists of two verbs, i.e. ning1 擰 ‘to take’ and lai4 嚟 ‘to come’ in (21a), jung6 用 ‘to use’ and se2 寫 ‘to write’ in (21b), and ceng2 請 ‘to invite’ and sik6 食 ‘to eat’ in (21c) and (21d). Moreover, each of the verbs can function independently as a main verb. Therefore, the above examples should be considered as serial verb constructions according to the description of Matthews (2006). However, a close examination suggests that the status of the two verbs might not be equal in all serial verb constructions. First, there is an asymmetry in the number of verbs that could fill the two slots for verbs in (21a) and (21b). Specifically, the second verb in (21a) is often confined to the deictic directional verbs lai4 嚟 ‘to come’ and heoi 3 去 ‘to go’ whereas the slot for the first verb is basically unrestricted. An opposite situation is observed in (21b), in which the first verb is restricted to a small class of the so-called coverbs18 while the second verb is not limited. The above restriction, however, is not observed in (21c) and (21d). Second, aspect markers such as zo2 咗, gan 2 緊 and gwo3 過, in general, are attached to the main verb of a sentence. While the perfective aspect marker zo2 咗 can be attached to the first verb but not the second verb in (21a), an opposite situation is observed in (21b) with the progressive aspect marker gan 2 緊 being able to be attached to the second verb but not the first verb. Examples (21c) and (21d) show that the experiential aspect marker gwo3 過 can be attached to either of the two verbs.19 The above examples show that an aspect marker can be attached to one of the two verbs in (21a) and (21b), and to both verbs in (21c) and (21d), a situation that is not expected if the verbs in a serial verb construction have equal status. If the restrictions, i.e. restrictions on the verbs that can appear in the slots for verbs and on the verb to which an aspect marker can be attached, are taken as evidence for headedness in serial verb constructions, one of the verbs would become the grammatical head and the other the subordinate. As such, serial verb constructions would be considered as verb-framed or satellite-framed constructions depending on whether the core schema is denoted by the grammatical head or the subordinate. The introduction of the third category of equipollently-framed languages, therefore, might not seem to be as readily applicable to Chinese as it appears.20 18 According to Matthews and Yip (1994), coverbs refer to a subclass of verbs which is typically used together with another verb and which often corresponds to the category of prepositions in English. Examples of coverbs in Cantonese include hai 2 喺 ‘to be at/at’, jung6 用 ‘to use/with’, bong1 幫 ‘to help/for’, etc. 19 It should be pointed out that there is a difference in meaning between (21c) and (21d). When gwo3 過 is attached to the first verb, the event denoted by the second verb is not necessarily realized. To put it simply, I invited him/her but s/he might have or might not have accepted the invitation. When gwo3 過 is attached to the second verb, its scope covers the whole sentence, i.e. I invited him/her and s/he accepted the invitation. 20 Beavers, Levin and Tham (2010) also note that it is difficult to determine whether the multiple verbs in serial verb constructions in Thai have equal status.

20 

 Chapter 1. Introduction

It is also shown above that neither Cantonese nor Mandarin consistently encodes path by the same surface expression. Moreover, scholars illustrate that factors such as telicity, types of motion events, genre, etc., also play a role in determining when a particular surface form is used by a language to express path (cf. Slobin 1997, Kē 2003, Croft et al. 2010). Therefore, it is impractical to classify a language as a particular language type of the bipartite or the tripartite schemes. Instead, the present study assumes that the categories of verb-framed, satellite-framed and equipollently-framed languages are not absolute but relative with languages displaying the characteristics of the three types to various degrees.21

1.3 Overview of the book The book consists of five chapters. Chapter 1 is an introduction. It outlines Talmy’s (1985, 2000a, 2000b) typology of motion events, a theoretical framework based on which the present study conducts systematic comparisons across languages and Chinese dialects. This chapter also reviews the works that have been done to investigate the typological status of Mandarin. Moreover, a discussion on the background regarding the notions of “Chinese languages” and “Chinese dialects” as well as the sources of data of the present study is provided. Notes on various technical issues are also included such as the romanization systems adopted for the transliteration of examples and the rationale for using traditional Chinese characters rather than the simplified characters in the book. The main concern in Chapters 2, 3 and 4 is to explore whether the five Chinese dialects examined, including Mandarin, Wú, Hakka, Mǐn and Cantonese, encode the core schema of motion events, namely, path, in the main verb or in the satellite in self-agentive, non-agentive and agentive motion events based on Talmy’s dichotomy of verb-framed and satellite-framed languages. In particular, an emphasis is placed on a closed set of path verbs in Chinese dialects which is traditionally referred to as directional verbs. Moreover, the way in

21 Talmy (2009) argues that the difficulty in determining the main verb or satellite status of the form which denotes path could be resolved by an expanded set of criteria including morphology, syntax, phonology and semantics. He concludes that cases of true equipollent framing are rare. Nevertheless, he notes that examples such as zǒu jìn le gōngyuán 走進了公園 walkenter-ASP-park ‘walked into the park’ in Mandarin are candidates for equipollent framing as the second verb can appear elsewhere by itself as a main verb with the same meaning rather than a metaphorical meaning. In other words, Talmy also admits that there is a third type of languages in addition to verb-framed and satellite-framed languages.

Overview of the book 

 21

which path is expressed in the five Chinese dialects is studied from the typological, synchronic and diachronic perspectives respectively. Chapter 2 is an in-depth study on the expression of path in Cantonese, a Chinese dialect which has preserved a number of characteristic features of Classical Chinese. The feature that is of particular interest to the present study is the use of path verbs and state change verbs in Cantonese to denote agentive events. This grammatical characteristic is also exemplified in Classical Chinese as well as in verb-framed languages such as Japanese. The use, however, does not seem to exist in Mandarin and has rarely, if ever, been reported in other Chinese dialects. A comparison is conducted among Cantonese, Mandarin and Japanese in terms of the use of path verbs and state change verbs to denote agentive events. The discussion shows that during the typological shift undergone by the Chinese language from a verb-framed language to a satellite-framed language, some dialects such as Cantonese have preserved more characteristics of a verb-framed language than the others. In other words, the typological change has not been completed. Moreover, the contrast between Cantonese and Mandarin can been seen as the different stages the two dialects have undergone during the typological shift. The chapter also discusses the expression of path in selfagentive and non-agentive motion events in Cantonese, setting the framework for the cross-dialectal discussion conducted in Chapters 3 and 4. Chapter 3 compares the encoding of path in five of the major Chinese dialects, including Mandarin, Wú, Hakka, Mǐn and Cantonese. Although all of them are descendants of Classical Chinese, the five dialects do not express path in a uniform way. However, no systematic effort has been made to examine these variations within the same theoretical framework, a task that is taken up in this chapter. Any convincing conclusion regarding the typological status of a dialect can only be reached based on sizable data. Differing from previous studies which have made use of a small set of examples constructed according to the introspective intuition of a native speaker, usually the author, or second-hand data (cf. Kē 2003, Shěn 2003, Tai 2003), the present study bases itself primarily on the pool of colloquial data collected in “Chinese Pear Stories: Narratives across Seven Chinese Dialects”, and examines whether six of the path verbs or directional verbs, including shàng 上 ‘to ascend’, xià 下 ‘to descend’, jìn 進 ‘to enter’, chū 出 ‘to exit’, lái 來 ‘to come’ and qù 去 ‘to go’ in Mandarin and their equivalents in the other four dialects, are used more often as a main verb or as a complement (equivalent to Talmy’s verb and satellite). The more frequently the directional verbs of a dialect are used as a main verb, the closer to verb-framed languages the dialect is, and vice versa. Results from the frequency count confirm the observation in Chapter 2 that Chinese dialects have participated in the typological change at a different rate, with some dialects displaying more characteris-

22 

 Chapter 1. Introduction

tics of verb-framed or satellite-framed languages than the others. Another issue which is addressed in Chapter 3 is the classification of Chinese dialects. Various word orders associated with directional verbs and directional complements are observed within a Chinese dialect and across the five Chinese dialects when expressing the three types of motion events. Diversities are expected. Groupings, nevertheless, emerge among the Chinese dialects. The present study suggests that the word orders associated with directional verbs and directional complements in a dialect provide yet another alternative to classify Chinese dialects. Findings in this chapter show that the five dialects examined fall into the following three groups: (i) Mandarin and Wú; (ii) Hakka; and (iii) Mǐn and Cantonese. Chapter 4 examines the use of directional verbs and directional complements in the five Chinese dialects from a diachronic perspective. It is generally assumed that the modern dialects split from their ancestral language at different times. The study of the history of the modern Chinese dialects, therefore, cannot rely on the same set of textual materials used in the study of the history of the standard language. The present study is the first that makes use of materials compiled in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries to study the history of the five Chinese dialects. A frequency count of the verb use and the complement use of the same six directional verbs examined in Chapter 3 is conducted in the historical materials of the five dialects and the results are compared with those from the Chinese Pear Stories. The comparison of the results of the five modern dialects and their early counterparts shows that the modern dialects exhibit more characteristics of satellite-framed languages than their early counterparts. It is further illustrated that the typological change exemplified in the dialects is triggered by another pervasive on-going change – disyllabicization, which first started in the standard language from which it has spread to the other dialects through the promotion of the standard language. With the availability of a substantial set of historical materials compiled in the last two hundred years for Cantonese, an attempt is made to reconstruct the univerbation process, a process during which the verb and the satellite are fused together and which is widely observed in languages. Findings show that the univerbation process is likely to have first started in transitive verbs which denote actions. Moreover, it is observed that the theme object is often removed from the position after the co-event verb and before the directional complement, a prerequisite which paves the way to the juxtaposition of the co-event verb and the directional complement and then the fusion of the two. Chapter 5 is a conclusion, summarizing the major findings of the study and laying down issues unresolved or arising from the present work for future investigation.

Data of the present study 

 23

1.4 Data of the present study The present study focuses on five of the seven major Chinese dialects, namely, Mandarin, Wú, Hakka, Mǐn and Cantonese. The selection of the dialects is based on the availability of both synchronic and diachronic data. Synchronic data are primarily drawn from the following sources: (i) “Chinese Pear Stories: Narratives across Seven Chinese Dialects” (ii) fieldwork conducted during 2009–2011 (iii) examples from published papers and books. Wallace Chafe, a linguist specializing in Native American languages, created the Pear Stories film in the mid-1970s. He examined the language properties observed in the stories which were elicited from the speakers of different languages after showing them the film. The film is about six minutes long, and in color, but it has no words. The story starts with a man picking pears. A boy comes along on a bike and steals the fruit. Afterward, the boy runs into a group of children and has some adventures with them. In 1976, Mary Erbaugh showed the Pear Stories film to Mandarin speakers in Táiwān, collected stories from them, and studied the use of classifiers in the stories. She expanded her investigation to six other Chinese dialects in 1996, including Cantonese, Hakka, Wú, Mǐn, Xiāng and Gàn.22 Native speakers then transcribed the stories collected for the seven Chinese dialects into Chinese characters. Phonetic transcriptions are also available for three of the dialects, i.e. Mandarin, Cantonese and Hakka.23 The average number of characters collected for each dialect is about 22,000. Most of the data for the cross-dialectal survey of Mandarin, Wú, Hakka, Mǐn and Cantonese in Chapter 3 are drawn from the corresponding Pear Stories. Moreover, the Pear Stories of the five dialects also serve as the basis for the frequency count of the main verb use and the complement use of the six directional verbs in each dialect. The five specific regional varieties studied by the Chinese Pear Stories are listed in Table 3 and their geographical distribution is shown in Map 2:

22 Additional information about the Chinese Pear Stories such as the elicited stories, the recordings, the Pear Stories film, etc., is available at the following website: http://www.pearstories.org/. 23 The romanization systems used for the transliteration of the stories of these three dialects are the Pīnyīn system (Mandarin), the Yale system (Cantonese), and the scheme developed in Lau (1997) (Hakka).

24 

 Chapter 1. Introduction

Map 2. Geographical distribution of the five regional varieties studied by the Chinese Pear Stories

Data of the present study 

 25

Table 3. The five regional varieties studied by the Chinese Pear Stories24 Dialect

Regional variety represented

Mandarin Wú Hakka Mǐn Cantonese

Táiwān Shànghǎi Bǎoān 寶安 (Hong Kong)24 Xiàmén 廈門 Hong Kong

The cross-dialectal survey in Chapter 3 is supplemented with interview data collected during 2009–2011.25 The specific regional varieties investigated during the interview are listed in Table 4 and their geographical distribution is shown in Map 3: Table 4. The five regional varieties investigated during the interview Dialect

Regional variety represented

Mandarin Wú Hakka Mǐn Cantonese

Běijīng Shànghǎi Méixiàn 梅縣 Cháo’ān 潮安, Huì’ān 惠安, Fúqīng 福清 Hong Kong

For each dialect, except for Huì’ān and Fúqīng, at least two or more informants were invited for an interview. The ages of the speakers ranged from the twenties to the sixties. During the interview, the informants were asked to provide the equivalent in the variety s/he speaks when presented orally or visually with a sentence in Mandarin.26 The sentences chosen are primarily concerned with the word orders associated with directional verbs and directional complements. The interviews were recorded and transcribed into Chinese characters and phonetic transcriptions by a native speaker of the dialect. Diachronic data in Chapter 4 are drawn from a set of dialectal materials compiled in the nineteenth and the early twentieth centuries. These materials were 24 The Pear Stories told by the Bǎo’ān speakers were recorded in villages in the Sai Kung Peninsula, Hong Kong. 25 I collected most of the data except for the Méixiàn data, which were collected by a research student. 26 When an informant could not read Chinese characters, the interviewer uttered a sentence in Mandarin and then asked the informant to provide the equivalent in the variety s/he speaks. If an informant could read Chinese characters, s/he was presented with a questionnaire on which there was a list of sentences written in standard written Chinese. When there was doubt about the possible influence of Mandarin on the data, we asked the informants if there would be any other alternative for the expression or we excluded the data.

26 

 Chapter 1. Introduction

Map 3. Geographical distribution of the five regional varieties investigated during the interview

Data of the present study 

 27

compiled for pedagogical, evangelical and cultural purposes, including textbooks, dictionaries, Bible translations, religious stories and drama scripts. Since most of the pedagogical materials were compiled for teaching foreigners the local dialect, transliteration, English translation, or both, in addition to Chinese characters are provided in the texts. On the other hand, since the targeted readers or audience of the evangelical and cultural materials were the local people, it is often the case that only Chinese characters were used in the materials.27 For dialects which have a tradition of using the colloquial language in vernacular literature such as Wú and Mǐn, the historical materials of these dialects can date back to four or five hundred years ago. In Chapter 4, the early dialectal texts used for the frequency count of the usage, i.e. the main verb use and the complement use, of the six directional verbs are listed in Table 5. For each text, the year of publication, the title and the approximate number of Chinese characters involved in the frequency count are summarized below: Table 5. Sources of diachronic data 28293031 Dialect

Year of publication

Title

Approximate number of characters

Mandarin

1914 [1996]

The Murder Case of Chūn’āshì 28 《春阿氏謀夫案》

66,000

Wú

1894 [1982]

Sing-song Girls of Shànghǎi 29 《海上花列傳》

65,000

Hakka

187930

First Book of Reading《啟蒙淺學》

Mǐn

1884 [1978])

Romance of the Litchi Mirror 31《荔鏡記》 75,000

Cantonese

1863

A Summary of the Life of Jesus in Canton Colloquial《耶穌言行撮要俗話》

58,000

67,000

27 Among these early dialectal materials, a Cantonese text compiled by Stedman and Lee and published in the US in 1888 deserves additional attention because of its unusual dual purpose – teaching foreigners Cantonese and teaching local people English. While transliteration is provided for the Cantonese examples, the pronunciation of the English examples is rendered by means of Chinese characters. See samples of early dialectal materials in Appendix 2. 28 The Murder Case of Chūn’āshì reflects the Běijīng variety of Mandarin spoken at the time. 29 Sing-song Girls of Shànghǎi is a nineteenth century novel written in the dialect of Sūzhōu 蘇州. 30 The year of publication is according to Zhuāng (2010). 31 Romance of the Litchi Mirror reflects characteristics of the Quánzhōu 泉州 and Cháozhōu 潮州 dialects. Wú Shǒulǐ 吳守禮 (1978) annotated four editions of Romance of the Litchi ­Mirror, which were published during Míng Jiājìng 明嘉靖 (1566), Míng Wànlì 明萬歷 (1581), Qīng ­Shùnzhì 清順治 (1651) and Qīng Guāngxù 清光緒 (1884). The edition used for the frequency count is the (1884) edition.

28 

 Chapter 1. Introduction

Except for The Murder Case of Chūn’āshì, which was compiled in the early twentieth century, the other four texts were published in the nineteenth century. The purpose of publication of these early materials is different. The Murder Case of Chūn’āshì and Sing-song Girls of Shànghǎi are novels, while Romance of the Litchi Mirror is a drama script. First Book of Reading and A Summary of the Life of Jesus in Canton Colloquial are a textbook for teaching native Hakka speakers Chinese characters and a religious narrative for preaching the gospel to the local Cantonese speakers respectively. Since these materials were compiled for the use of the local people, only Chinese characters were provided in them. The selection of the texts for the frequency count is based on the following criteria. The first and foremost criterion is the availability of the texts. Second, the texts to a large extent reflect the dialects spoken at the time. Last, to facilitate the statistical comparison of the main verb use and the complement use of the six directional verbs in the five early dialects, the texts should contain an approximate number of characters. Due to the above criteria, only the first seven chapters in The Murder Case of Chūn’āshì, the conversation parts in Sing-song Girls of Shànghǎi and the whole text of First Book of Reading, Romance of the Litchi Mirror and A Summary of the Life of Jesus in Canton Colloquial are used. The average number of characters in each early text is about 66,000.32

1.5 Technical notes Hànyǔ Pīnyīn 漢語拼音 is used for the transliteration of proper names in Chinese and examples in Mandarin, while Jyut6ping3 粵拼, developed by the Linguistic Society of Hong Kong, is used to transcribe examples in Cantonese. Since no comparable romanization system is available in Wú, Hakka and Mǐn, IPA is adopted for the transliteration of examples in these three dialects. Examples from historical materials also follow the above arrangement. The correspondences in initials and finals between Hànyǔ Pīnyīn and IPA, and those between Jyut6ping3 and IPA are provided in Tables 6–9 below:33

32 For the complete list of the sources of the historical examples, see References. 33 When a symbol in Hànyǔ Pīnyīn and Jyut6ping 3 is different from that in IPA, the IPA symbol is placed inside square brackets.

Technical notes 

 29

Table 6. Initials in Mandarin (cf. Yuán 2001) (Total: 21) b [p] d [t]

p [ph] t [th]

g [k]

k [kh]

m n

f s sh [ʂ] x [ɕ] h [x]

z [ts] zh [tʂ] j [tɕ]

c [tsh] ch [tʂh] q [tɕh]

l r [ʐ]

Table 7. Finals in Mandarin (Yuán 2001) (Total: 35) i u ü [y] an ian uan üan [yan]

a ia ua en [ǝn] in uen [uǝn] ün [yn]

o

e [ɣ]

ie

uo

ang [aŋ] eng [ǝŋ] iang [iaŋ] ing [iŋ] uang [uaŋ] ueng [uǝŋ]

üe [ye]

ai

ei

uai

uei

ao [au] ou iao [iau] iou

ong [uŋ] iong [yŋ]

Table 8. Initials in Cantonese (cf. Zee 1999) (Total: 19) b [p] d [t]

p [ph] t [th]

m n

f s

g [k] gw [kw]

k [kh] kw [kwh]

ng [ŋ]

h

z [ts]

c [tsh]

l j w

Table 9. Finals in Cantonese (cf. Zee 1999) (Total: 53) i y e [ɛ] oe [œ] aa [a] u o [ɔ] m [m̩]

iu ei [ei] eoi [ɵy] aai [ai] ai [ɐi] ui oi [ɔi] ng [ŋ̩]

aau [au] au [ɐu] ou

im

aam [am] am [ɐm]

in yun [yn] eon [ɵn] aan [an] an [ɐn] un on [ɔn]

ing [ɪŋ] eng [ɛŋ] oeng [œŋ] aang [aŋ] ang [ɐŋ] ung [ʊŋ] ong [ɔŋ]

ip

aap [ap] ap [ɐp]

it yut [yt] eot [ɵt] aat [at] at [ɐt] ut ot [ɔt]

ik [ɪk] ek [ɛk] oek [œk] aak [ak] ak [ɐk] uk [ʊk] ok [ɔk]

For the representation of tones, in Mandarin diacritic marks are placed above the vowel letter. In Cantonese, numerals 1–6 are placed in the upper right-hand corner after a syllable. In Wú, Hakka and Mǐn, numbers according to the five-point scale, with 1 representing the lowest pitch and 5 the highest are placed in the

30 

 Chapter 1. Introduction

upper right-hand corner after a syllable.34 When a syllable is pronounced with a neutral tone (qīngshēng 輕聲), as illustrated by lái 來 ‘to come’ and qù 去 ‘to go’ in Mandarin, it often signals that the syllable has undergone semantic bleaching or phonological erosion. In this book, the neutral tone is not marked with any symbol (e.g. lai 來 ‘to come’ and qu 去 ‘to go’ in Mandarin). This book also adopts the use of a single digit to indicate that the length of a syllable is short in the transliteration of examples that adopts IPA (e.g. loʔ5落 ‘to descend’ in Mǐn and ŋip5 入 ‘to enter’ in Hakka). The representation of tones according to Hànyǔ Pīnyīn/Jyut6ping3, the five-point scale and IPA is summarized in Tables 10 and 11: Table 10. Representation of tones according to Hànyǔ Pīnyīn, the five-point scale and IPA Hànyǔ Pīnyīn mā 媽 ‘mother’ má 麻 ‘hemp’ mǎ 馬 ‘a horse’ mà 罵 ‘to scold’

Five-point scale

IPA

55 35 214 51

˥

  

Table 11. Representation of tones according to Jyut6ping3, the five-point scale and IPA Jyut6ping3 si 詩 ‘a poem’ si2 史 ‘history’ si3 試 ‘to try’ si4 時 ‘time’ si5 市 ‘a city’ si6 事 ‘a matter’ 1

Five-point scale

IPA

55 35 33 11 13 22

˥  ˧ ˩  ˨

In the examples, the transliteration represents the pronunciation used in natural speech. In other words, the tone used in the examples reflects the application of a sandhi rule or a changed tone (in the case of Cantonese). However, citation or dictionary forms are used in the running texts to signal the operation of a certain syntactic, semantic, morphological or phonological process, and they are italicized.

34 In Jyut6ping 3, a numeral in normal font size rather than superscript is used to represent tones. In this book, for the sake of convenience, the numeral that represents tones is placed in the upper right-hand corner after a syllable. On the other hand, in order to avoid ambiguity and confusion, numerals instead of tone letters are used in representing tones in IPA.

Technical notes 

 31

In cases when transliteration is not available, especially for examples taken from Chinese publications, transliteration according to the modern pronunciation of the respective dialects is given. Moreover, to avoid the confusion of the use of different romanization systems in the early dialectal materials, the same arrangement made for the examples of the modern dialects is adopted. While the transliteration of examples in early Mandarin and Cantonese follows Hànyǔ Pīnyīn and Jyut6ping3, examples in early Wú, Hakka and Mǐn are transcribed according to IPA. The pronunication of the respective modern dialects in Table 12 will be adopted for the transliteration of examples of the five early dialects, and that of the five modern dialects when transliteration is not available in the materials. Table 12. The pronunciation of the regional varieties adopted in the transliteration Dialect

Regional variety represented

Mandarin Wú Hakka Mǐn Cantonese

Běijīng Shànghǎi Méixiàn Cháo’ān Hong Kong

The transliteration of the Chinese names of scholars will follow the preference of the scholars, e.g. the romanization of “趙元任” is “Chao Yuen Ren” rather than “Zhào Yuánrèn”. For the same reason stated above, the romanization of “連金 發” is “Lien Chinfa” rather than “Lián Jīnfā”. In the References, the Chinese names of the authors are ordered alphabetically according to their Hànyǔ Pīnyīn spelling with cross-references to other spellings, e.g. the Chinese name of Christine Lamarre is 柯理思 Kē Lǐsī; while papers by her written in English are listed under “Lamarre”, papers by her written in Chinese are found under “Kē”. Place names and titles of Chinese materials are accompanied by their respective Chinese characters in their first occurrence in each chapter. Some names of the Chinese dialects used in the text are the pīnyīn equivalents of the names in Mandarin except for Mandarin, Hakka and Cantonese. In the References, for titles of Chinese materials, including books, journal and early dialectal materials, the corresponding English titles are placed inside square brackets and are italicized. If no equivalent English titles are available, English translations will be provided by the author and are placed inside square brackets without italicization. However, for ease of reference, these English translations will be italicized in the chapters when they are being referred to.

32 

 Chapter 1. Introduction

Traditional Chinese characters (Fántǐzì 繁體字) are used in the book in order to avoid ambiguities which arise from using simplified Chinese characters (Jiǎntǐzì 簡體字), e.g. the simplified Chinese character 只 means ‘only’ or functions as a classifier. These two meanings are represented respectively by the two traditional characters 只 and 隻. In terms of the written representation of colloquial words in a dialect, an empty square ‘£’ is used when there is no character available to represent the colloquial words. On the other hand, when both are available, the conventional form instead of the cognate character is used to represent a colloquial word. The conventional form is often used to represent the pronunciation of the word and may not be related to the origin of the meaning, e.g. lai4 嚟 and faan 1 翻 are used in Cantonese to represent the meanings of ‘to come’ and ‘to return’ even though the characters loi4 來 and faan 2 返, which indicate the origin of these two meanings are available. As for the Chinese characters used in the early dialectal materials, it is assumed that they represent the conventional forms used at the time. Therefore, they are adopted in the book. In cases when the font of a character in the early dialectal materials is not available, the character is divided into a number of component parts which are put inside curly brackets, e.g. {亻厓} ‘I’ in Hakka. The following symbols are used before a sentence or an expression to represent the different degrees of grammaticality judgment: “*” is used when an expression is considered ungrammatical; “??” indicates that an expression is barely acceptable; and “?” specifies that an expression is considered unnatural or is probably not the native form in the language or dialect concerned. Parentheses are used to indicate that the element(s) inside the parentheses is/are optional and *( ) specifies that omission of the element(s) inside the parentheses will give rise to ungrammaticality. Elements being emphasized in the examples appear in bold-faced and “?” is used in an example when the pronunciation or the meaning of a syllable is unknown. Internal cross-references indicate the chapter and/or (sub)-sections in the chapter, e.g. “see Chapter 2.2.2” refers to the second sub-section of section 2 of Chapter 2.

Chapter 2. Directional verbs in modern Cantonese

Directional verbs in modern Cantonese A typological perspective

2.0 Introduction Ever since Talmy (1985, 2000b) classified Mandarin as a satellite-framed language, the typological status of Mandarin has been much debated. Four basic views have emerged from the discussion, according to which Mandarin is: (i) a verb-framed language (cf. Tai 2003), (ii) a satellite-framed language (cf. Talmy 1985, 2000b, Shěn 2003), (iii) a language with a split system of encoding (cf. Kē 2003), and (iv) an equipollently-framed language (cf. Chen and Guo 2009). Much effort has been put into investigating the typological status of Mandarin. However, important questions such as how other Chinese dialects express path, whether they behave in the same way as Mandarin, etc., have not been addressed by scholars. This chapter provides a detailed description of the use of directional verbs and directional complements (equivalent to Talmy’s “path verbs” and “path satellites”) in another Chinese dialect – Cantonese. Section 2.1 reviews existing works on directional verbs and directional complements in Cantonese. Section 2.2 discusses three characteristics exhibited by the group of directional verbs studied. Sections 2.3–2.5 explore the use of directional verbs, simple directional complements and compound directional complements in self-agentive, nonagentive and agentive motion events in Cantonese. Section 2.6 focuses on the use of state change verbs, a group of verbs which shares a number of similarities with directional verbs. Two issues are addressed in section 2.7, i.e. how Cantonese fits into Talmy’s two-way classification and how the differences between Cantonese and Mandarin are accounted for. Section 2.8 is a summary.

2.1 Previous works Little research has been conducted to investigate the syntactic and semantic properties of directional verbs in modern Cantonese. Instead, most of the related studies focus on directional complements, cases in which a directional verb functions as a complement of another verb specifying the direction of the movement.

34 

 Chapter 2. Directional verbs in modern Cantonese

Yue-Hashimoto (1988) points out that if a complement denotes a result, it can appear in two forms of the negative potential construction, as illustrated in (1b) and (1c): (1)

a. V-dak 1 得-C 聽得見 teng1 dak 1 gin 3 hear mp see ‘can hear’



b. m4 唔-V-dak 1 得-C 唔聽得見 m4 teng1 dak 1 gin 3 not hear mp see ‘cannot hear’



c. V-m4 唔-C 聽唔見 teng1 m4 gin 3 hear not see ‘cannot hear’

The potential construction in Cantonese denotes the possibility for the event specified by the main verb to take place. It is formed by inserting the morpheme dak 1 得 ‘can’ between the main verb and the complement (cf. (1a)). The corresponding negative form is derived by adding m4 唔 ‘not’ in front of the affirmative form (cf. (1b)), or by replacing dak 1 得 ‘can’ in the affirmative form with the morpheme m4 唔 ‘not’ (cf. (1c)). Yue-Hashimoto further points out that if a directional complement is involved, only the m4 唔-V-dak 1 得-C form is possible (cf. (2)). For example, (2)

a. 佢唔入得去。 Keoi 5 m4 jap6 dak 1 heoi 3. s/he not enter mp go ‘S/he cannot enter.’



b. 佢唔擝得出嚟。 Keoi 5 m4 mang1 dak 1 ceot1 lai4. s/he not pull mp exit come ‘S/he cannot pull out X.’

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 35

c. *佢入唔去。 Keoi 5 jap6 m4 heoi 3. s/he enter not go ‘S/he cannot enter.’

d. *佢擝唔出嚟。 Keoi 5 mang1 m4 ceot1 lai4. s/he pull not exit come ‘S/he cannot pull out X.’

Since there are restrictions imposed on V-m4 唔-C but not on m4 唔-V-dak 1 得-C regarding the type of complements that can appear in them, Yue-Hashimoto suggests that such a contrast might reflect the different origins of the two forms. In particular, m4 唔-V-dak 1 得-C might be a native form of Cantonese, whereas V-m4 唔-C, which exhibits the same pattern as that in Mandarin, might represent a stratum from Mandarin, whose use is yet to be integrated into Cantonese. However, the use of directional complements in V-m4 唔-C is noted to have existed in Cantonese since the nineteenth century. Chiu (2008) observes that both m4 唔-V-dak 1 得-C and V-m4 唔-C are found as early as in Morrison (1828) and the former was the dominant form until the 1930s when the use of the latter gradually increased and replaced the former. Chiu further points out that the complement position in V-m4 唔-C is often occupied by a directional complement in the early Cantonese historical texts. (Morrison 1828) (3)

a. 趕唔到 gon 2 m4 dou 2 rush not arrive ‘unable to overtake’



b. 趕唔上 gon 2 m4 soeng5 rush not ascend ‘unable to overtake’

The following two examples are provided in Cheung (2007 [1972]: 126), in which both are said to be acceptable.

36 

 Chapter 2. Directional verbs in modern Cantonese

(4)

a. 行唔入去 haang4 m4 jap6 heoi 3 walk not enter go ‘cannot walk in’



b. 唔行得入去 m4 haang4 dak 1 jap6 heoi 3 not walk mp enter go ‘cannot walk in’

In contrast to Yue-Hashimoto, who would accept (4b) but reject (3) and (4a), the facts from both nineteenth century and modern Cantonese show that directional complements can occur in the complement position of V-m4 唔-C. Iida (2001) divides directional complements into two types based on their syntactic and semantic characteristics. One type is the so-called heoi 3 去 type which includes lai4 嚟 ‘to come’ and heoi 3 去 ‘to go’. The other type is referred to as the soeng5 上 type which includes soeng5 上 ‘to ascend’, lok6 落 ‘to descend’, jap6 入 ‘to enter’, ceot1 出 ‘to exit’, gwo3 過 ‘to pass’, faan 1 翻 ‘to return’ and maai4 埋 ‘to approach’. Syntactically, according to Iida, members of the seong5 上 type can occur in the complement position of the V-m4 唔-C form (cf. (5a)) but members of the heoi 3 去 type cannot (cf. (5b)). (5)

a. 行唔入 haang4 m4 jap6 walk not enter ‘cannot walk in’



b. *行唔嚟 haang4 m4 lai4 walk not come ‘cannot walk here’

Moreover, it is possible for the classifier di1 啲 to be combined with members of the soeng5 上 type to express comparison (cf. (6a)) but not with members of the heoi 3 去 type (cf. (6b)). (6)

a. 入啲 jap6 di1 enter cl ‘to move toward the inside a little bit’

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 37

b. *嚟啲 lai4 di1 come cl ‘to move toward here a little bit’

Semantically, Iida notes that members of the soeng5 上 type denote some kind of a result while those of the heoi 3 去 type do not convey a result but a deictic meaning. Another point made by her is that in a V-heoi 3 去 type combination, the action and the movement denoted by the verb and the heoi 3 去 type complement take place simultaneously whereas those denoted by the verb and the soeng5 上 type complement do not. To put it simply, Iida’s idea is that there is only one action expressed by a V-heoi 3 去 type combination but two by a V-soeng5 上 type combination. Iida’s observation that di1 啲 cannot be combined with members of the heoi 3 去 type in expressing comparison is correct. However, she fails to notice that some members of the soeng5 上 type cannot be used with di1 啲. For example, the use of *faan 1 di1 翻啲 ‘to move back a little bit’ is ruled out.35 Therefore, the use with di1 啲 does not differentiate the two types of directional verbs. Iida is also right in pointing out that only members of the soeng5 上 type, but not those of the heoi 3 去 type are allowed to occur in the complement position of V-m4 唔-C, a contrast which she attributes to their semantic difference, i.e. indicating a result vs. expressing a deictic meaning respectively. However, it is also possible to argue that lai4 嚟 ‘to come’ and heoi 3 去 ‘to go’ express a resultative meaning.36 In particular, both the heoi 3 去 type and the soeng5 上 type denote the relocation of an entity as a result of a movement. While the former indicates that the figure moves toward or away from where the speaker is, the latter specifies that the figure moves toward a certain location denoted by the locative object. Therefore, Iida’s semantic account does not seem to successfully explain the contrast of the two types of directional verbs in appearing in V-m4 唔-C. Furthermore, her suggestion that the action and the movement expressed by a V-heoi 3 去 type combination take place simultaneously but those specified by a V-soeng5 上 type combination do not is not entirely clear. When an entity moves, it moves away from its existing location and moves toward a certain location

35 In addition to members of the heoi 3 去 type, i.e. lai4 嚟 ‘to come’ and heoi 3 去 ‘to go’, faan 1 翻 ‘to return’, dou 3 到 ‘to arrive’ and hei 2 起 ‘to rise’ also cannot be combined with di1 啲 to express comparison. 36 Cheung (2007 [1972]: 116) also notes that the directional meaning conveyed by directional complements can be considered as an expression of result. However, he does not mention that the meaning of result is only expressed by non-deictic directional complements but not by deictic directional complements.

38 

 Chapter 2. Directional verbs in modern Cantonese

at the same time. Therefore, the two types of directional complements should deserve the same analysis. All in all, the semantic distinctions proposed by Iida for the two types of directional complements require further elaboration. He (2000) discusses the various word orders exhibited in a sequence that involves a main verb (V), an aspect marker (ASP), one or more than one directional complement (DC) and an object (O). For example, (7)

a. V-ASP-DC 上咗去 soeng5 zo2 heoi 3 ascend asp go ‘ascended there’



b. V-ASP-DC-DC 行咗出去 haang4 zo2 ceot1 heoi 3 walk asp exit go ‘walked out there’



c. V-DC-O 舉起標語 geoi 2 hei 2 biu1jyu 5 lift rise sign ‘to lift up the sign’



d. V-ASP-DC-O 行咗上樓 haang4 zo2 soeng5 lau 2 walk asp ascend floor ‘walked upstairs’

He then proposes a syntactic structure from which the various orders are derived. In the proposed structure, the main verb and the first directional complement form a constituent, a combination which is a sister to the second directional complement. For example, (8)

a. 跳落去 tiu 3 lok6 heoi 3 jump descend go ‘to jump down there’



b. [V [V tiu 3 lok6] heoi 3]

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 39

The question that immediately arises is why lok6 落 ‘to descend’ and the main verb tiu 3 跳 ‘to jump’ form a unit, instead of lok6 落 ‘to descend’ and heoi 3 去 ‘to go’ as it is impossible to say *tiu 3 lok6 跳落 ‘to jump down’. Lok6 heoi 3 落去 ‘to descend and to go’ in tiu 3 lok6 heoi 3 跳落去 ‘to jump down there’ is referred to as a compound directional complement in Cheung (2007 [1972]). If an aspect marker is to appear, it will be placed between the main verb tiu 3 跳 ‘to jump’ and the compound directional complement lok6 heoi 3 落去 ‘to descend and to go’ (cf. (8c)): (8)

c. 跳咗落去 tiu 3 zo2 lok6 heoi 3 jump asp descend go ‘jumped down there’

The position in which zo2 咗 appears in (8c) further suggests that lok6 落 ‘to descend’ does not form a unit with the main verb tiu 3 跳 ‘to jump’ but with heoi 3 去 ‘to go’. The presence of an object complicates the picture even more. While zo2 咗 appears after the verb tiu 3 跳 ‘to jump’ in (8c), it occurs after the verb geoi 2 舉 ‘to lift’ and the directional complement hei 2 起 ‘to rise’ in (8d) below: (8)

d. 舉起咗標語 geoi 2 hei 2 zo2 biu1jyu 5 lift rise asp sign ‘lifted up the sign’

The different positions in which zo2 咗 appears seem to suggest that the relationship between the verb and the directional complement differs depending on the type of motion events that is involved, i.e. the self-agentive and agentive motion events in (8a)–(8c) and (8d) respectively. Therefore, the different word orders ex­­hib­­ ited might not be derived from a single underlying structure as proposed by He.37 Cheung (2007 [1972]) is one of the few comprehensive studies on directional complements in Cantonese, in which twelve directional complements are divided into three types of simple directional complements Jiǎndān de fāngxiàng bǔyǔ 簡 單的方向補語.38 The three types of simple directional complements are as follows:39 37 See 2.4.1–2.4.3 for discussions on the different positions in which zo2 咗 appears in selfagentive, non-agentive and agentive motion events. 38 Yuán (1995) is another detailed study on directional verbs and directional complements in Cantonese. However, the discussion focuses primarily on self-agentive motion events, details of which are to be discussed in 2.3–2.5. Therefore, a further elaboration of the article is not provided. 39 Scholars have different opinions with regard to the number of core directional verbs. Lǐ et al. (1995) include dai 1 低 ‘low’ in addition to the ones in Table 13 while Yuán (1995) excludes dou 3 到 ‘to arrive’.

40 

 Chapter 2. Directional verbs in modern Cantonese

Table 13. Cheung’s (2007 [1972]) three types of simple directional complements Type 1

Type 2

Type 3

lai 嚟 ‘to come’ heoi3 去 ‘to go’

soeng 上 ‘to ascend’ lok6 落 ‘to descend’ ceot1 出 ‘to exit’ jap6 入 ‘to enter’ hoi1 開 ‘to depart’ maai4 埋 ‘to approach’ gwo3 過 ‘to pass’ hei2 起 ‘to rise’ dou3 到 ‘to arrive’

faan1 翻 ‘to return’

4

5

Two or three simple directional complements can be further combined to form a compound directional complement Fùhé de fāngxiàng bǔyǔ 複合的方向補語. In a compound directional complement that is made up of two simple directional complements (hereafter referred to as double directional complements), a Type 2 complement or a Type 3 complement is followed by a Type 1 complement. The nineteen possible combinations of double directional complements are listed in Table 14 below: Table 14. Double directional complements in Cantonese4041 Type 1

Type 2

Type 3

soeng 上 lok 落 ceot 出 jap 入 hoi 開 maai 埋 gwo 過 hei 起 dou 到 5

lai4 嚟 heoi3 去

+ +

6

1

6

1

+ +

+ +

+ +

+ +

4

+ +

3

+ +

2

+41 –

3

+ +

faan1 翻 + +

Two notes should be made about the combinations in Table 14. Cheung (2007 [1972]: 119–122) does not mention gwo3 lai4 過嚟 ‘to pass and to come’ and gwo3 heoi 3 過去 ‘to pass and to go’. But since they are possible combinations, they are 40 ‘+’ indicates that the combination is possible whereas ‘–’ means the combination is not possible. 41 Because of the following reasons, hei 2 lai4 起嚟 ‘to rise and to come’ will be excluded from the discussion on compound directional complements in 2.5. The first reason concerns its low frequency of use as pointed out in Cheung (2007 [1972]). The second reason is related to the difference in the relative position between hei 2 lai4 起嚟 ‘to rise and to come’ and a theme object on the one hand, and double directional complements and a theme object on the other hand. See Yiu (2008) for a discussion on the comparison between hei 2 lai4 起嚟 ‘to rise and to come’ and double directional complements.

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 41

included in our discussion. On the other hand, Cheung includes dou 3 lai4 到嚟 ‘to arrive and to come’ and dou 3 heoi 3 到去 ‘to arrive and to go’ as possible combinations of double directional complements. However, it is observed that dou 3 到 ‘to arrive’ behaves differently from the others. In particular, simple directional complements which can appear in double directional complements can also occur in triple directional complements except for dou 3 到 ‘to arrive’ and hei 2 起 ‘to rise’, of which the latter is seldom used even as a double directional complement as noted in Cheung.42 Therefore, it is not clear why dou 3 lai4 到嚟 ‘to arrive and to come’ and dou 3 heoi 3 到去 ‘to arrive and to go’ behave differently from other double directional complements. Nevertheless, they will be included in the discussion on double directional complements in 2.5. For compound directional complements that contain three simple directional complements (hereafter referred to as triple directional complements), a Type 3 complement is followed by a Type 2 and a Type 1 complement.43 The fourteen possible combinations of triple directional complements are shown in Table 15 below: Table 15. Triple directional complements in Cantonese faan1 soeng5 lai4 翻上嚟 ‘to return-ascend-come’ faan1 lok6 lai4 翻落嚟 ‘to return-descend-come’

faan1 soeng5 heoi3 翻上去 ‘to return-ascend-go’ faan1 lok6 heoi3 翻落去 ‘to return-descend-go’

faan1 ceot1 lai4 翻出嚟 ‘to return-exit-come’

faan1 ceot1 heoi3 翻出去 ‘to return-exit-go’

faan jap lai 翻入嚟 ‘to return-enter-come’

faan1 jap6 heoi3 翻入去 ‘to return-enter-go’

faan hoi lai 翻開嚟 ‘to return-depart-come’

faan1 hoi1 heoi3 翻開去 ‘to return-depart-go’

1 1

6

4

1

4

faan maai lai 翻埋嚟 ‘to return-approach-come’ faan1 maai4 heoi3 翻埋去 ‘to return-approach-go’ 1

4

4

faan1 gwo3 lai4 翻過嚟 ‘to return-pass-come’

faan1 gwo3 heoi3 翻過去 ‘to return-pass-go’

It may be argued that the combinations of faan 1 hei 2 lai4 翻起嚟 ‘to return, to rise and to come’ and faan 1 hei 2 heoi 3 翻起去 ‘to return, to rise and to go’ should also be considered triple directional complements as they can occur after a verb like other triple directional complements can (cf. (9)).

42 As noted in Cheung (2007 [1972]: 121), in Cantonese the use of hei 2 heoi 3 起去 ‘to rise and to go’ as a double directional complement does not seem to exist, a use which nevertheless is found in other Chinese dialects such as Mǐnnán 閩南, and Dàfānghuà 大方話, a variety of Mandarin spoken in Gùizhōu 貴州 as reported in Lǐ (1998). Also, see 3.4.1, 3.5.1 and 3.6.2.1.31 for relevant examples in Mǐn. 43 Dou 3 到 ‘to arrive’ cannot appear in triple directional complements and is excluded here.

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 Chapter 2. Directional verbs in modern Cantonese

(9)

a. 擰翻起嚟 ning1 faan 1 hei 2 lai4 bring return rise come ‘to bring back up here’



b. 擰翻起去 ning1 faan 1 hei 2 heoi 3 bring return rise go ‘to bring back up there’



c. 擰翻過去 ning1 faan 1 gwo3 heoi 3 bring return pass go ‘to bring back over there’

However, faan 1 hei 2 lai4 翻起嚟 ‘to return, to rise and to come’ and faan 1 hei 2 heoi 3 翻起去 ‘to return, to rise and to go’ do not allow a theme object to appear after the verb and before them (cf. (10a)–(10b)) whereas all of the triple directional complements in Table 14 do (cf. (10c)). (10) a. *擰本書翻起嚟 ning1 bun 2 syu1 faan 1 hei 2 lai4 bring cl book return rise come ‘to bring the book back up here’

b. *擰本書翻起去 ning1 bun 2 syu1 faan 1 hei 2 heoi 3 bring cl book return rise go ‘to bring the book back up there’



c. 擰本書翻過去 ning1 bun 2 syu1 faan 1 gwo3 heoi 3 bring cl book return pass go ‘to bring the book back over there’

Moreover, faan 1 hei 2 lai4 翻起嚟 ‘to return, to rise and to come’ and faan 1 hei 2 heoi 3 翻起去 ‘to return, to rise and to go’ cannot enter the potential construction (cf. (11a)–(11b)) but the other triple directional complements can (cf. (11c)). (11) a. *擰得/唔翻起嚟 ning1 dak 1/m4 faan 1 hei 2 lai4 bring mp/not return rise come ‘can/cannot bring back up here’

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b. *擰得/唔翻起去 ning1 dak 1/m4 faan 1 hei 2 heoi 3 bring mp/not return rise go ‘can/cannot bring back up there’



c. 擰得/唔翻過去 ning1 dak 1/m4 faan 1 gwo3 heoi 3 bring mp/not return pass go ‘can/cannot bring back over there’

 43

Because of the differences shown in (10) and (11), faan 1 hei 2 lai4 翻起嚟 ‘to return, to rise and to come’ and faan 1 hei 2 heoi 3 翻起去 ‘to return, to rise and to go’ are not considered triple directional complements, and will be excluded in the discussion on triple directional complements in 2.5. As noted above, Cheung’s (2007 [1972]) discussion is one of the few comprehensive studies on directional complements found in the literature. It has drawn our attention to a number of interesting phenomena associated with directional complements such as the position of the aspect marker and the position of the directional complement in relation to a common noun object and a locative object, the order of simple directional complements in a compound directional complement, etc. However, no discussion is provided to explain the above observations. Yiu (2005) is to this day the most comprehensive study on the syntactic and semantic characteristics of directional verbs and directional complements in Cantonese. She addresses a number of issues raised but unexplained by Cheung as mentioned above. For example, she divides the twelve directional verbs in Cheung (2007 [1972]) into three types, according to the component they project for a movement, namely, source, path and goal.44 She further suggests that the order in which the simple directional complements appear reflects the temporal sequence in which a movement takes place following the Principle of Temporal Sequence proposed in Tai (1985). In addition, Yiu probably is the first one who has brought attention to the following causative or agentive use of directional verbs in Cantonese, a use which indicates that the theme object is caused to move in a certain direction denoted by the directional verb. (12)

落底個窗簾 lok6 dai1 go3 coeng1lim 2 descend low cl curtain ‘to lower the curtain’

44 See section 2.5.3 for a discussion on the order of simple directional complements in triple directional complements.

44 

 Chapter 2. Directional verbs in modern Cantonese

However, since the focus of her study is primarily on Cantonese, some of the proposals made therein need to find further support from the other Chinese dialects and languages. Although studies on directional verbs in Cantonese are few, there is a sizable body of work that investigates the various uses of a specific directional complement and the grammaticalization process undergone by the directional complement. Among these studies, Zhān’s (1958) paper on the postverbal elements can 1 親, zyu6 住, faan 1 翻, maai4 埋45 and tim1 添 is a pioneering work. In this paper, Zhān suggests that the verb faan 1 返 ‘to return’ was grammaticalized, giving rise to a number of meanings including the resumption of an action, the restoring of an object to its original state or location, again, etc. Furthermore, to differentiate between the basic meaning of the verb faan 1 返 ‘to return’ and its grammaticalized functions, Zhān notes that the character 翻 is used to represent the latter.46 Péng (1999) conducts another study on faan 1 翻. She suggests that the directional verb faan 1 翻 ‘to return’ has been grammaticalized to a directional complement, and then to an aspectual particle Dòngtài zhùcí 動態助詞, which indicates the resumption of an action or a state, a meaning which has further been extended to expressing the resumption of a mental state. Other studies on a specific directional complement include the following: Cheng (1998) discusses the directional use and the aspectual use of lok6 落 ‘to descend’; Dèng (2000) illustrates the various uses of the Cantonese equivalents of the Mandarin inchoative aspect marker qǐlaí 起來, including hei 2 san 1 起身, hei 2 起, hei 2 soeng5 lai4 起上嚟, lok6 落 ‘to descend’, maai4 埋 ‘to approach’, sat6 實 ‘tight’ and zyu6 住 ‘tight’; Péng (2002) compares the two uses of hoi1 開, i.e. the so-called continual aspect and the regular aspect, and proposes the following grammaticalization path for hoi1 開 ‘to depart’: verb > directional complement > resultative complement > continual aspect > regular aspect. From the above discussion, it can be observed that previous works often focus on the syntactic and semantic characteristics associated with directional complements. Not much attention has been given to the core usage and meaning of directional verbs, i.e. their use as a main verb and their expression of the directional meaning, a task that is undertaken in this chapter.

45 Zhān (1958) notes that maai4 埋 is a grammatical word which functions as an adverbial of a verb, expressing the meaning of extension of scope. Luke (2005) suggests that maai4 埋, which expresses meanings such as direction, completion, etc., might have originated from Bǎiyuè 百 越. He further shows how these various meanings are related to one another. 46 It should be pointed out that the pronunication of 返 is a high-rising tone, but in colloquial speech it is pronounced with a high-level tone.

Characteristics of directional verbs 

 45

2.2 Characteristics of directional verbs As noted in 2.1, Cheung divides the following twelve directional verbs into three types: soeng5 上 ‘to ascend’, lok6 落 ‘to descend’, ceot1 出 ‘to exit’, jap6 入 ‘to enter’, hoi1 開 ‘to depart’, maai4 埋 ‘to approach’, gwo3 過 ‘to pass’, hei 2 起 ‘to rise’, dou 3 到 ‘to arrive’, faan 1 翻 ‘to return’, lai4 嚟 ‘to come’ and heoi 3 去 ‘to go’.47 However, the criteria adopted for the classification are not discussed. This section focuses on the same group of directional verbs and classifies them based on whether the location of the speaker is involved in defining the direction. While the direction of lai4 嚟 ‘to come’ and heoi 3 去 ‘to go’ is defined in relation to the location of the speaker or the perspective in which the speaker situates himself/herself,48 the orientation point of the other directional verbs does not involve the location of the speaker. The former are referred to as deictic directional verbs whereas the latter are non-deictic directional verbs (cf. Lamarre 2008, 2009, Liu 2008). For example, (13) a. 佢嚟/去辦公室。 Keoi 5 lai4/heoi 3 baan6gung1sat1. s/he come/go office ‘S/he comes/goes to the office.’

b. 佢上三樓。 Keoi 5 soeng5 saam1 lau 2. s/he ascend third floor ‘S/he ascends to the third floor.’

The directional verbs lai4 嚟 ‘to come’ and heoi 3 去 ‘to go’ in (13a) indicate that the movement is toward and away from the location at which the speaker is, i.e. baan6gung1sat1 辦公室 ‘the office’, while the directional verb soeng5 上 ‘to ascend’ in (13b) specifies an upward movement toward the location denoted by the locative object saam1 lau4 三樓 ‘the third floor’ and does not involve the location of the speaker. There are three characteristics that distinguish the above directional verbs from verbs such as hai 2 喺 ‘to be at’, hoeng3 向 ‘to face’, sing1 升 ‘to rise’, dit 3 跌 ‘to fall’, haang4 行 ‘to walk’ and tiu 3 跳 ‘to jump’, which denote state, direction and movement. The three characteristics are: (i) the expression of motion; (ii) the ability to take a locative object; and (iii) the potential to form compound directional complements. 47 This group of directional verbs belongs to the group of verbs of inherently directed motion in Levin and Rappaport Hovav (1992). 48 If the subject is ngo5 我 ‘I’, the deictic reference would become the location of the addressee.

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 Chapter 2. Directional verbs in modern Cantonese

2.2.1 Expression of motion The characteristic of expressing motion differentiates the twelve directional verbs in this study from verbs which indicate location or state such as hai 2 喺 ‘to be at’ and hoeng3 向 ‘to face’. Movement verbs can always be used with an aspect marker, such as the perfective aspect marker zo2 咗, which denotes the completion of an event, the experiential aspect marker gwo3 過, which emphasizes the notion of having undergone a certain experience in the past, and the progressive aspect marker gan 2 緊, which specifies the continuation of an event.49 (14) a. 佢上咗/過/緊三樓。 Keoi 5 soeng5 zo2/gwo3/gan 2 saam1 lau 2. s/he ascend asp asp asp third floor ‘S/he ascended/has ascended/is ascending to the third floor.’

b. *本書喺咗/過/緊書架。 Bun 2 syu1 hai 2 zo2/gwo3/gan 2 syu1gaa 2. cl book be asp asp asp bookshelf ‘The book was/has been/is on the bookshelf.’



c. *個窗向咗/過/緊後院。 Go3 coeng1 hoeng3 zo2/gwo3/gan 2 hau6jyun 2. cl window face asp asp asp backyard ‘The window faced/has faced/is facing the backyard.’

In example (14a), the directional verb soeng5 上 ‘to ascend’ specifies an upward movement and can be used with zo2 咗, gwo3 過 and gan 2 緊, while in examples (14b) and (14c), neither hai 2 喺 ‘to be at’ nor hoeng3 向 ‘to face’ implies any movement. Instead, hai 2 喺 ‘to be at’ indicates the location of the book, i.e. on the bookshelf, while hoeng3 向 ‘to face’ denotes the state of the window, i.e. it is facing the backyard. As a result, only the directional verb soeng5 上 ‘to ascend’ in (14a) can be used with zo2 咗, gwo3 過 and gan 2 緊 whereas hai 2 喺 ‘to be at’ and hoeng3 向 ‘to face’ in (14b) and (14c) cannot. Example (15) shows that the other eleven directional verbs can also be used with zo2 咗, gwo3 過 and gan 2 緊, illustrating that they denote movements.

49 See Gāo (1980), Matthews & Yip (1994) and Cheung (2007 [1972]) for further discussions on aspect markers in Cantonese.

Characteristics of directional verbs 

 47

(15) a. 佢落咗/過/緊三樓。 Keoi 5 lok6 zo2/gwo3/gan 2 saam1 lau 2. s/he descend asp asp asp third floor ‘S/he descended/has descended/is descending to the third floor.’

b. 佢出咗/過/緊花園。 Keoi 5 ceot1 zo2/gwo3/gan 2 faa1jyun 2. s/he exit asp asp asp backyard ‘S/he exited/has exited/is exiting to the backyard.’



c. 佢入咗/過/緊廚房。 Keoi 5 jap6 zo2/gwo3/gan 2 cyu4fong2. s/he enter asp asp asp kitchen ‘S/he entered/has entered/is entering the kitchen.’



d. 架船開咗/過/緊。 Gaa 3 syun4 hoi1 zo2/gwo3/gan 2. cl ship depart asp asp asp ‘The ship departed/has departed/is departing.’



e. 架火車埋咗/過/緊站。 Gaa 3 fo2ce1 maai4 zo2/gwo3/gan 2 zaam6. cl train approach asp asp asp station ‘The train approached/has approached/is approaching the station.’



f. 佢過咗/過/緊隔離屋。 Keoi 5 gwo3 zo2/gwo3/gan 2 gaak 3lei4 uk 1. s/he pass asp asp asp next house ‘S/he passed/has passed/is passing to the next house.’



g. 佢起咗/過/緊身。 Keoi 5 hei 2 zo2/gwo3/gan 2 san 1. s/he rise asp asp asp body ‘S/he got/has got/is getting up.’



h. 佢到咗辦公室。50 Keoi 5 dou 3 zo2 baan6gung1sat1. s/he arrive asp office ‘S/he arrived at the office.’

50 Dou 3 到 ‘to arrive’ is an achievement verb which denotes a punctual movement and it cannot be combined with the aspect markers gwo3 過 and gan 2 緊.

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 Chapter 2. Directional verbs in modern Cantonese



i. 佢翻咗/過/緊辦公室。 Keoi 5 faan 1 zo2/gwo3/gan 2 baan6gung1sat1. s/he return asp asp asp office ‘S/he returned/has returned/is returning to the office.’



j. 佢嚟咗/過/緊我屋企。 Keoi 5 lai4 zo2/gwo3/gan 2 ngo5 uk 1kei 5. s/he come asp asp asp my house ‘S/he came/has come/is coming to my house.’



k. 佢去咗/過/緊我屋企。 Keoi 5 heoi 3 zo2/gwo3/gan 2 ngo5 uk 1kei 5. s/he go asp asp asp my house ‘S/he went/has gone/is going to my house.’

2.2.2 Ability to take a locative object The second characteristic that differentiates the directional verbs studied from verbs such as dit 3 跌 ‘to fall’, saang1 生 ‘to grow’, etc., which also denote direction, is that the former, in general, can take a locative object whereas the latter cannot.

(16) a. 佢上三樓。 (=(13b)) Keoi 5 soeng5 saam1 lau 2. s/he ascend third floor ‘S/he ascends to the third floor.’

b. 佢跌*(落)水。 Keoi 5 dit 3 (lok6) seoi 2. s/he fall descend water ‘S/he falls into the water.’



c. 啲樹枝生*(上)屋頂。 Di1 syu6zi1 saang1 (soeng5) uk 1 deng2. cl branch grow ascend house top ‘The branches grow up to the rooftop of the house.’

Although the verbs soeng5 上 ‘to ascend’, dit 3 跌 ‘to fall’ and saang1 生 ‘to grow’ all denote direction, i.e. an upward movement in the cases of soeng5 上 ‘to ascend’ and saang1 生 ‘to grow’ and a downward movement in the case of dit 3 跌 ‘to fall’, only soeng5 上 ‘to ascend’ can be immediately followed by the locative object

Characteristics of directional verbs 

 49

saam1 lau4 三樓 ‘the third floor’ in (16a), whereas dit 3 跌 ‘to fall’ and saang1 生 ‘to grow’ cannot be followed by the locative objects seoi 2 水 ‘water’ and uk 1 deng2 屋 頂 ‘the rooftop’ in (16b) and (16c). Instead, a directional complement, i.e. lok6 落 ‘to descend’ and soeng5 上 ‘to ascend’, is used to introduce the locative object. In examples (15) and (16a) above, except for hoi1 開 ‘to depart’ (cf. (15d)) and hei 2 起 ‘to rise’ (cf. (15g)), the rest can take a locative noun as their object. Yiu (2005) notes that without a given context it is unnatural to omit the locative object of a non-deictic directional verb (cf. (17a)). Such omission, nevertheless, is fine with deictic directional verbs (cf. (17b)).51 (17) a. ?佢上咗。 Keoi 5 soeng5 zo2. s/he ascend asp ‘S/he ascended.’

b. 佢嚟咗。 Keoi 5 lai4 zo2. s/he come asp ‘S/he came.’

On the other hand, some verbs such as sing1 升 ‘to rise’ which denote motion and direction, can take a locative object. But they cannot introduce a locative object for another verb in the way that those studied can. For example, (18) a. 架火箭就快升空。 Gaa 3 fo2zin 3 zau6 faai 3 sing1 hung1. cl rocket then quick rise sky ‘The rocket will soon be launched.’

b. *佢跳升車。 Keoi 5 tiu 3 sing1 ce1. s/he jump rise car ‘S/he jumps into a car.’



c. 佢跳上/落車。 Keoi 5 tiu 3 soeng5/lok6 ce1. s/he jump ascend/descend car ‘S/he jumps into/out from the car.’

51 A similar observation is made in Lamarre (2009) for Mandarin. She further notes that there is a tendency for a non-deictic directional verb in Mandarin to be followed by a deictic directional complement or a locative object.

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 Chapter 2. Directional verbs in modern Cantonese

Example (18a) shows that the verb sing1 升 ‘to rise’ indicates an upward movement and can take hung1 空 ‘the sky’ as its locative object.52 However, it cannot serve as a link between the action verb tiu 3 跳 ‘to jump’ and the locative object ce1 車 ‘a car’ in (18b). Instead, a directional complement such as soeng5 上 ‘to ascend’ or lok6 落 ‘to descend’ is required to link up the verb with the locative object (cf. (18c)). The characteristic of taking a locative object also differentiates most of the directional verbs of this study from movement verbs such as haang4 行 ‘to walk’, tiu 3 跳 ‘to jump’, and paa4 爬 ‘to climb’. (19) a. 佢行*(入)房。 Keoi 5 haang4 (jap6) fong2. s/he walk enter room ‘S/he walks into the room.’

b. 佢跳*(過)張檯。 Keoi 5 tiu 3 (gwo3) zoeng1 toi 2. s/he jump pass cl table ‘S/he jumps over the table.’



c. 佢爬*(上)閣樓。 Keoi 5 paa4 (soeng5) gok 3lau 2. s/he climb ascend attic ‘S/he climbs up to the attic.’

In example (19), the verbs haang4 行 ‘to walk’, tiu 3 跳 ‘to jump’ and paa4 爬 ‘to climb’ are referred to as verbs of manner of motion in Levin and Rappaport Hovav (1992), and they denote the manner in which the movements are carried out. For example, haang4 行 ‘to walk’, tiu 3 跳 ‘to jump’ and paa4 爬 ‘to climb’ all involve the use of feet. While haang4 行 ‘to walk’ and paa4 爬 ‘to climb’ specify that the feet are constantly in contact with some kind of surface, tiu 3 跳 ‘to jump’ implies that the feet are in contact with the surface at the starting point and at the endpoint of the movement but are lifted up in the air, having no contact with the surface along the path. These movement verbs differ from directional verbs in that no direction is encoded in them and they cannot themselves take a locative object. As a result, they have to rely on the use of a following directional 52 Hung1 空 ‘the sky’ is a bound morpheme in Cantonese and it is always combined with tin 1 天 ‘the sky’ to become a free form. However, in (18a) sing1 升 ‘to rise’ can only be followed by hung1 空 ‘the sky’ and the expression *sing1 tin 1hung1 升天空 ‘to rise to the sky’ is unacceptable. Sing1 hung1 升空 ‘to rise to the sky’, therefore, might be a fixed expression rather than an example of a verb-object phrase. In other words, sing1 升 ‘to rise’ does not seem to be able to take a locative object.

Characteristics of directional verbs 

 51

complement, i.e. jap6 入 ‘to enter’, gwo3 過 ‘to pass’ and soeng5 上 ‘to ascend’, to specify the direction of the movement and to serve as a link between them and the locative object. On the other hand, it might be argued that haang4 行 ‘to walk, tiu 3 跳 ‘to jump’ and paa4 爬 ‘to climb’ can be immediately followed by a locative object without the use of a directional complement. For example, (20) a. 行山 haang4 saan 1 walk hill ‘hiking’

b. 跳水 tiu 3 seoi 2 jump water ‘diving’



c. 爬山 paa4 saan 1 climb hill ‘hill-climbing’

However, examples (20a)–(20c) refer only to the types of activities rather than a specific instance of the activities. In other words, haang4 saan 1 行山 ‘hiking’, tiu 3 seoi 2 跳水 ‘diving’ and paa4 saan 1 爬山 ‘hill-climbing’ are compounds rather than verb-object phrases. If the direction is specified, the use of a directional complement is required (cf. (20d)–(20f)). (20) d. 行上/落山 haang4 soeng5/lok6 saan 1 walk ascend/descend hill ‘to walk up/down the hill’

e. 跳落水 tiu 3 lok6 seoi 2 jump descend water ‘to jump down into the water’



f. 爬上山 paa4 soeng5 saan 1 climb ascend hill ‘to climb up the hill’

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 Chapter 2. Directional verbs in modern Cantonese

2.2.3 Potential to form compound directional complements The third characteristic that distinguishes the directional verbs studied from verbs that denote location, state, direction or movement is that a non-deictic directional verb can be followed by a deictic directional complement (cf. (21a)). Furthermore, a non-deictic directional complement and a deictic directional complement can be combined to form a compound directional complement (cf. (21b)). In contrast, verbs which denote location, state, direction or movement cannot be followed by a deictic directional complement (cf. (22a)–(26a)). Neither can they be combined with a deictic directional complement to form a compound directional complement (cf. (22b)–(26b)).53 For example, (21) a. 佢就快上嚟/去(三樓)。 Keoi 5 zau6 faai 3 soeng5 lai4/heoi 3 (saam1 lau 2). s/he then quick ascend come/go third floor ‘S/he will soon ascend here/there (the third floor).’

b. 佢就快行上嚟/去(三樓)。 Keoi 5 zau6 faai 3 haang4 soeng5 lai4/heoi 3 (saam1 lau 2). s/he then quick walk ascend come/go third floor ‘S/he will soon walk up here/there (the third floor).’

(22) a. *本書喺嚟/去書架。 Bun 2 syu1 hai 2 lai4/heoi 3 syu1gaa 2. cl book be come/go bookshelf ‘The book is on the bookshelf here/there.’

b. *本書放喺嚟書架。 Bun 2 syu1 fong3 hai 2 lai4 syu1gaa 2. cl book put be come bookshelf ‘The book is placed here on the bookshelf.’

(23) a. *個窗向嚟/去後院。 Go3 coeng1 hoeng3 lai4/heoi 3 hau6jyun 2. cl window face come/go backyard ‘The window faces the backyard here/there.’ 53 Although some verbs which denote manner and movement such as paa4 爬 ‘to climb’ might be combined with lai4 嚟 ‘to come’ and heoi 3 去 ‘to go’, as in paa4 lai4/heoi 3 爬嚟/去 crawl-come/ go ‘to crawl here/to crawl there’, the resulting combination cannot function as a compound complement of a main verb, as shown in *haang4 paa4 lai4/heoi 3 行爬嚟/去 walk-crawl-come/go. See Table 14 for the possible combinations of double directional complements in Cantonese.

Characteristics of directional verbs 



 53

b. *個窗吹向嚟後院。 Go3 coeng1 ceoi1 hoeng3 lai4 hau6jyun 2. cl window blow face come backyard ‘The window faces the backyard as a result of X’s blowing on it.’

(24) a. *佢跌嚟/去水。 Keoi 5 dit 3 lai4/heoi 3 seoi 2. s/he fall come/go water ‘S/he falls into the water here/there.’

b. *佢跳跌去水。 Keoi 5 tiu 3 dit 3 heoi 3 seoi 2. s/he jump fall go water ‘S/he jumps into the water there.’

(25) a. *啲樹枝生嚟/去屋頂。 Di1 syu6zi1 saang1 lai4/heoi 3 uk 1 deng2. cl branch grow come/go house top ‘The branches grow toward the rooftop here/there.’

b. *啲樹枝發生去屋頂。 Di1 syu6zi1 faat 3 saang1 heoi 3 uk 1 deng2. cl branch grow grow go house top ‘The branches grow toward the rooftop there.’

(26) a. *架火箭就快升嚟/去天空。 Gaa 3 fo2zin 3 zau6 faai 3 sing1 lai4/heoi 3 tin 1hung1. cl rocket then quick rise come/go sky ‘The rocket will soon be launched toward the sky here/there.’

b. *架火箭就快射升去天空。 Gaa 3 fo2zin 3 zau6 faai 3 se6 sing1 heoi 3 tin 1hung1. cl rocket then quick shoot rise go sky ‘The rocket will soon be launched toward the sky there.’

Similar to soeng5 上 ‘to ascend’ in example (21), examples (27)–(33) show that all of the non-deictic directional verbs, except for hei 2 起 ‘to rise’ and dou 3 到 ‘to arrive’, can be followed by either of the two deictic directional complements (cf. (27a)–(33a)). The resulting combination can further function as a compound directional complement (cf. (27b)–(33b)).

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 Chapter 2. Directional verbs in modern Cantonese

(27) a. 佢落咗嚟/去(三樓)。 Keoi 5 lok6 zo2 lai4/heoi 3 (saam1 lau 2). s/he descend asp come/go third floor ‘S/he descended here/there (the third floor).’

b. 佢行咗落嚟/去(三樓)。 Keoi 5 haang4 zo2 lok6 lai4/heoi 3 (saam1 lau 2). s/he walk asp descend come/go third floor ‘S/he walked down here/there (the third floor).’

(28) a. 佢出咗嚟/去(花園)。 Keoi 5 ceot1 zo2 lai4/heoi 3 (faa1jyun 2). s/he exit asp come/go backyard ‘S/he exited here/there (the backyard).’

b. 佢行咗出嚟/去(花園)。 Keoi 5 haang4 zo2 ceot1 lai4/heoi 3 (faa1jyun 2). s/he walk asp exit come/go backyard ‘S/he walked out here/there (the backyard).’

(29) a. 佢入咗嚟/去(廚房)。 Keoi 5 jap6 zo2 lai4/heoi 3 (cyu4fong2). s/he enter asp come/go kitchen ‘S/he entered here/there (the kitchen).’

b. 佢行咗入嚟/去(廚房)。 Keoi 5 haang4 zo2 jap6 lai4/heoi 3 (cyu4fong2). s/he walk asp enter come/go kitchen ‘S/he walked into here/there (the kitchen).’

(30) a. 架船開咗嚟/去(碼頭)。54 Gaa 3 syun4 hoi1 zo2 lai4/heoi 3 (maa 5tau4). cl ship depart asp come/go pier ‘The ship departed and sailed to here/there (the pier).’ 54 When hoi 1 開 ‘to depart’ is not followed by a directional complement, it cannot have a locative object (cf. (15d)). When it is followed by lai4 嚟 ‘to come’ or heoi 3 去 ‘to go’ in (30) or other di­­ ­ rectional complements such as faan 1 翻 ‘to return’ gaa3 syun4 hoi 1 faan 1 maa 5tau4 架船開翻碼頭 CL-ship-depart-return-pier ‘The ship returns to the pier’, hoi1 開 ‘to depart’ can have a locative object. Moreover, if followed by a deictic directional complement, hoi1 開 ‘to depart’ can also be used to express path in self-agentive motion events, e.g. nei 5 faai 3 di1 hoi 1 lai4 nei1dou6 你快啲開 嚟呢度 you-quick-CL-depart-come-here ‘You quickly come here’. This use of hoi 1 開 ‘to depart’ does not seem to exist in other dialects.

Characteristics of directional verbs 



 55

b. 架船泊咗開嚟/去(碼頭)。 Gaa 3 syun4 paak 3 zo2 hoi1 lai4/heoi 3 (maa 5tau4). cl ship anchor asp depart come/go pier ‘The ship moved away to anchor here/there (the pier).’

(31) a. 架火車埋咗嚟/去(車站)。 Gaa 3 fo2ce1 maai4 zo2 lai4/heoi 3 (ce1 zaam6). cl train approach asp come/go car station ‘The train approached here/there (the train station).’

b. 架火車駛咗埋嚟/去(車站)。 Gaa 3 fo2ce1 sai 2 zo2 maai4 lai4/heoi 3 (ce1 zaam6). cl train drive asp approach come/go car station ‘The train moved close to here/there (the station).’

(32) a. 佢過咗嚟/去(隔離屋)。55 Keoi 5 gwo3 zo2 lai4/heoi 3 (gaak 3lei4 uk 1). s/he pass asp come/go next house ‘S/he passed over here/there (the next house).’

b. 佢行咗過嚟/去(隔離屋)。 Keoi 5 haang4 zo2 gwo3 lai4/heoi 3 (gaak 3lei4 uk 1). s/he walk asp pass come/go next house ‘S/he walked over here/there (the next house).’

(33) a. 佢翻咗嚟/去(辦公室)。 Keoi 5 faan 1 zo2 lai4/heoi 3 (baan6gung1sat1). s/he return asp come/go office ‘S/he returned here/there (the office).’

b. 佢行咗翻嚟/去(辦公室)。 Keoi 5 haang4 zo2 faan 1 lai4/heoi 3 (baan6gung1sat1). s/he walk asp return come/go office ‘S/he walked back here/there (the office).’

55 Gwo3 過 has two meanings which are ‘to pass’ and ‘to pass over’. The former is conveyed when the locative object denotes the path of the movement (e.g. gaa 3 ce1 gwo3 zo2 kiu4 架車過咗 橋 CL-car-pass-ASP-bridge ‘The car passed the bridge’). The latter is expressed when the locative object denotes the goal of the movement (e.g. keoi 5 gwo3 zo2 gaak 3lei4 fong2 佢過咗隔離房 s/ he-pass-ASP-next-room ‘S/he passed to the next room’).

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 Chapter 2. Directional verbs in modern Cantonese

It should be noted that when lai4 嚟 ‘to come’ and heoi 3 去 ‘to go’ are combined with the non-deictic directional verbs in (21), (27)–(33), the locative objects can be omitted without giving rise to ungrammaticality. The presence of the locative object serves to pinpoint the location of the speaker, without which the deictic directional complement indicates only that the movement is toward the speaker (in the case of lai4 嚟 ‘to come’) or away from the speaker (in the case of heoi 3 去 ‘to go’).

2.3 Directional verbs This section examines the use of Cantonese directional verbs in three types of motion events, namely, self-agentive, non-agentive and agentive motion events, which differ in whether the figure or theme undergoes the movement voluntarily or is caused to undergo the movement.

2.3.1 Self-agentive motion events In sentences that denote self-agentive motion events, the directional verb denotes the direction of the movement undergone voluntarily by the subject or theme. A movement is made up of three components, namely, the source, the path and the goal, as illustrated in Figure 1. Source              Path              Goal Figure 1. Three components of a movement

The source is the location in which a movement starts. The path is the course of the movement and the goal is the location at which the movement ends. The meaning of a directional verb includes an inherently specified source (such as hei 2 起 ‘to rise’), goal (such as dou 3 到 ‘to arrive’, faan 1 翻 ‘to return’, lai4 嚟 ‘to come’ and heoi 3 去 ‘to go’) or path (such as soeng5 上 ‘to ascend’, lok6 落 ‘to descend’, ceot1 出 ‘to exit’, jap6 入 ‘to enter’, hoi1 開 ‘to depart’, maai4 埋 ‘to approach’, gwo3 過 ‘to pass’).56 In Cantonese, one of the ways to express comparison is by using the classifier di1 啲 after adjectives such as gou1 di1 高啲 ‘higher’. 56 Lamarre (2008) notes that in Mandarin qǐ 起 ‘to rise’ is source-oriented while shàng 上 ‘to ascend’ is goal-oriented.

Directional verbs 

 57

Table 16 below shows that the directional verbs in the left-hand column, i.e. those whose meaning includes an inherently specified path, can be used with di1 啲, but those in the right-hand column, i.e. those whose meaning involves an inherently specified source and goal, cannot.57 Table 16. Directional verbs and di1 啲 Directional verbs compatible with di 1 啲

Directional verbs incompatible with di 1 啲

soeng5 上 ‘to ascend’ lok6 落 ‘to descend’ ceot1 出 ‘to exit’ jap6 入 ‘to enter’ hoi1 開 ‘to depart’ maai4 埋 ‘to approach’ gwo3 過 ‘to pass’

hei2 起 ‘to rise’ dou3 到 ‘to arrive’ faan1 翻 ‘to return’ lai4 嚟 ‘to come’ heoi3 去 ‘to go’

A comparison can be made only when two or more than two entities are involved, and a path involves a number of points or locations traversed by the theme. As a result, the height (e.g. soeng5 di1 上啲 ‘higher’), the closeness (e.g. maai4 di1 埋 啲 ‘closer’), etc., of those points can be compared. In contrast, the directional verbs in the right-hand column involve only one single point, i.e. the source or the goal, therefore, a comparison between the points is impossible. Moreover, the difference in the inherently specified component of a movement projected by directional verbs is also exemplified in their locative object. Except for hoi1 開 ‘to depart’ and maai4 埋 ‘to approach’, the rest of the verbs in the left-hand column can have a locative object which denotes the path of a movement (cf. (34a)–(34e)) while those in the right-hand column, except for hei 2 起 ‘to rise’, can only have a goal object (cf. (34f)–(34i)). (34) a. 佢上緊樓梯。 Keoi 5 soeng5 gan 2 lau4tai1. s/he ascend asp staircase ‘S/he is ascending the staircase.’

b. 佢落緊樓梯。 Keoi 5 lok6 gan 2 lau4tai1. s/he descend asp staircase ‘S/he is descending the staircase.’

57 A similar observation is made in Iida (2001). See 2.1 for further details.

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c. 佢出咗閘。 Keoi 5 ceot1 zo2 zaap6. s/he exit asp gate ‘S/he exited through the gate.’



d. 佢入咗閘。 Keoi 5 jap6 zo2 zaap6. s/he enter asp gate ‘S/he entered through the gate.’



e. 佢過咗海。 Keoi 5 gwo3 zo2 hoi 2. s/he pass asp sea ‘S/he crossed the sea.’



f. 佢到咗辦公室。 Keoi 5 dou 3 zo2 baan6gung1sat1. s/he arrive asp office ‘S/he arrived at the office.’



g. 佢翻咗辦公室。 Keoi 5 faan 1 zo2 baan6gung1sat1. s/he return asp office ‘S/he returned to the office.’



h. 佢嚟咗我屋企。 Keoi 5 lai4 zo2 ngo5 uk 1kei 5. s/he come asp my house ‘S/he came to my house.’



i. 佢去咗我屋企。 Keoi 5 heoi 3 zo2 ngo5 uk 1kei 5. s/he go asp my house ‘S/he went to my house.’

The locative object of soeng5 上 ‘to ascend’, lok6 落 ‘to descend’ and ceot1 出 ‘to exit’ can also refer to the source of a movement (cf. (35a)–(35c)).58

58 When hoi1 開 ‘to depart’ appears in the compound form lei4hoi1 離開 ‘to leave’, it can be followed by a locative object which denotes the source of the movement lei4hoi1 baan6gung1sat1 離 開辦公室 leave-office ‘to leave the office’. See footnote 54 for an additional discussion of hoi1 開 ‘to depart’. Also, it seems that only directional verbs which specify an inherent path in their

Directional verbs 

 59

(35) a. 佢上咗水。 Keoi 5 soeng5 zo2 seoi 2. s/he ascend asp water ‘S/he ascended from the water (to the shore).’

b. 佢落咗車。 Keoi 5 lok6 zo2 ce1. s/he descend asp car ‘S/he moved out from the car.’



c. 佢出咗課室。 Keoi 5 ceot1 zo2 fo3sat1. s/he exit asp classroom ‘S/he exited from the classroom.’

A similar idea about the different components of a movement that are inherently specified in the meaning of a directional verb is echoed in the following remark made in Langacker (1987: 246) about the verb arrive in English. He notes that “[ARRIVE], for example, presupposes an extended path of motion on the part of its trajectory, but only the final portions of this trajectory – those where the trajector enters the vicinity of its destination and then reaches it – are specifically designated by this verb”.

2.3.2 Non-agentive motion events A non-agentive motion event differs from a self-agentive motion event in that the theme subject of the former may or may not voluntarily undergo the movement,59 whereas the theme subject of the latter, which often is a human being, can undergo the movement at will.60

meanings can highlight the two ends of the movement, i.e. having a source or a goal object, while those that specify only the goal cannot. 59 See 3.3.2 for a further discussion on a theme subject which undergoes the movement voluntarily or involuntarily in a non-agentive motion event. 60 A non-agentive motion event often involves an inanimate subject which is caused by some external force to move in a certain direction. However, an animate entity can also occur as the subject of a non-agentive motion event, e.g. go3 bi4 bi1 ceot1 zo2 jyun 2 個BB出咗院 cl-babyexit-asp-hospital ‘The baby was discharged from the hospital’. The subject go3 bi4 bi1 個BB ‘the baby’ had to be discharged from the hospital with the approval from the doctor or his/her parents. In other words, s/he could not leave the hospital at his/her own will.

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(36) a. 啲貨上咗貨架。 Di1 fo3 soeng5 zo2 fo3 gaa 2. cl goods ascend asp goods shelf ‘The goods were moved up onto the shelf.’

b. 啲貨落咗樓下。 Di1 fo3 lok6 zo2 lau4 haa6. cl goods descend asp floor Localizer ‘The goods were moved downstairs.’



c. 架船出咗海中心。 Gaa 3 syun4 ceot1 zo2 hoi 2 zung1sam1. cl ship exit asp sea centre ‘The ship was moved out to the deep water.’



d. 啲貨入咗貨倉。 Di1 fo3 jap6 zo2 fo3ceong1. cl goods enter asp warehouse ‘The goods were moved into the warehouse.’



e. 架船埋咗碼頭。 Gaa 3 syun4 maai4 zo2 maa 5tau4. cl ship approach asp pier ‘The ship approached the pier.’



f. 架巴士過咗隧道。 Gaa 3 baa1si 2 gwo3 zo2 seoi6dou6. cl bus pass asp tunnel ‘The bus passed the tunnel.’



g. 封信到咗郵局。 Fung1 seon 3 dou 3 zo2 jau4guk 2. cl letter arrive asp post office ‘The letter arrived at the post office.’



h. 本書翻咗圖書館。 Bun 2 syu1 faan 1 zo2 tou4syu1gun 2. cl book return asp library ‘The book was returned to the library.’



i. 架車嚟咗門口。 Gaa 3 ce1 lai4 zo2 mun4hau 2. cl car come asp doorway ‘The car was here at the doorway.’

Directional verbs 



 61

j. 個波去咗門口。 Go3 bo1 heoi 3 zo2 mun4hau 2. cl ball go asp doorway ‘The ball was there at the doorway.’

Among the twelve directional verbs examined, except for hei 2 起 ‘to rise’ and hoi1 開 ‘to depart’, the other directional verbs can be used in the above non-agentive motion sentences, indicating the direction of the movement undergone by the theme subject. The entities which caused the movements of the subjects are not represented in the sentences and the locative objects following the directional verbs serve as the orientation points of the movements.

2.3.3 Agentive motion events In sentences that denote agentive motion events, the directional verb refers to the action which is carried out intentionally by the agent subject and which causes the theme object to move in a certain direction, as illustrated in (37) below:61 (37) a. 佢上咗三箱貨喺個架(度)。 Keoi 5 soeng5 zo2 saam1 soeng1 fo3 hai 2 go3 gaa 2 (dou6). s/he ascend asp three cl goods at cl shelf Localizer ‘S/he moved three boxes of goods up onto the shelf.’

b. 佢落咗糖喺杯咖啡(度)。 Keoi 5 lok6 zo2 tong4 hai 2 bui1 gaa 3fe1 (dou6). s/he descend asp sugar at cl coffee Localizer ‘S/he put sugar into the cup of coffee.’

61 Directional verbs other than those in (37) such as maai4 埋 ‘to approach’, gwo3 過 ‘to pass’, dou 3 到 ‘to arrive’, faan 1 翻 ‘to return’ and lai4 嚟 ‘to come’, in general, do not take a theme object. Therefore, they are excluded from the discussion here. Also, in some cases, when a directional verb is followed by a theme object, a metaphorical meaning rather than a directional meaning is conveyed. For example, hei 2 起 ‘to rise’ in hei 2 san 1 起身 rise-body ‘to get up’ expresses the meaning of causing the body to be in an upright position. However, the agentive use of hei 2 起 ‘to rise’ very often expresses a metaphorical meaning rather than a directional meaning. For example, in hei 2 gaan 1 uk 1 起間屋 rise-cl-house ‘to build a house’, hei 2 起 expresses the metaphorical meaning of ‘to build’ rather than the directional meaning of ‘to rise’. Therefore, the agentive use of hei 2 起 ‘to rise’ is not discussed. Metaphorical meanings of directional verbs are excluded from the discussion here.

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c. 佢出咗三張牌喺檯(度)。 Keoi 5 ceot1 zo2 saam1 zoeng1 paai 2 hai 2 toi 2 (dou6). s/he exit asp three cl card at table Localizer ‘S/he put three cards onto the table.’



d. 佢入咗啲錢喺個信封(度)。 Keoi 5 jap6 zo2 di1 cin 2 hai 2 go3 seon 3fung1 (dou6). s/he enter asp cl money at cl envelope Localizer ‘S/he put the money into the envelope.’



e. 佢開咗架船去碼頭(度)。 Keoi 5 hoi1 zo2 gaa 3 syun4 heoi 3 maa 5tau4 (dou6). s/he depart asp cl ship go pier Localizer ‘S/he sailed the ship to the pier.’



f. 我去咗啲漬出嚟。 Ngo5 heoi 3 zo2 di1 zik 1 ceot1 lai4. I go asp cl stain exit come ‘I removed the stain.’

The orientation point is spelt out as the object of the preposition hai 2 喺 ‘at’ in (37a)–(37d), is introduced by the directional complement heoi 3 去 ‘to go’ in (37e), and is denoted by the compound directional complement ceot1 lai4 出嚟 ‘to exit and to come’ in (37f).62 That the directional verbs in (37) function as main verbs can be seen by their use with the perfective aspect marker zo2 咗. Furthermore, the directional verbs can also have a complement, as in (38a)–(38c) and (38e), or a particle,63 as in (38d) and (38f). For example, (38) a. 佢上漏咗三箱貨喺個貨架(度)。 Keoi 5 soeng5 lau6 zo2 saam1 soeng1 fo3 hai 2 go3 s/he ascend leave out asp three cl goods at cl fo3 gaa 2 (dou6). goods shelf Localizer ‘S/he moved three boxes of goods fewer up onto the shelf.’

62 It may be argued that hoi 1 開 ‘to depart’ and heoi 3 去 ‘to go’ in (37e) and (37f) express the metaphorical meanings of ‘to set sail’ and ‘to remove’. However, since a locative phrase in the form of a prepositional phrase or a compound directional complement can be used in the sentences to denote the destination, I will assume that they specify physical movements. 63 According to Matthews and Yip (1994), verbal particles are grammatical words whose functions resemble those of phrasal verbs in English.

Directional verbs 

 63



b. 佢落錯咗包鹽喺杯咖啡(度)。 Keoi 5 lok6 co3 zo2 baau1 jim4 hai 2 bui1 gaa 3fe1 (dou6). s/he descend wrong asp cl salt at cl coffee Localizer ‘S/he wrongly put the packet of salt in the cup of coffee.’



c. 佢出多咗三張牌喺檯(度)。 Keoi 5 ceot1 do1 zo2 saam1 zoeng1 paai 2 hai 2 toi 2 (dou6). s/he exit more asp three cl card at table Localizer ‘S/he put three more cards onto the table.’



d. 佢入翻十蚊喺個信封(度)。 Keoi 5 jap6 faan 1 sap6 man 1 hai 2 go3 seon 3fung1 (dou6). s/he enter prt ten dollar at cl envelope Localizer ‘S/he put ten dollars back into the envelope.’



e. 佢開遲咗架船去碼頭(度)。 Keoi 5 hoi1 ci4 zo2 gaa 3 syun4 heoi 3 maa 5tau4 (dou6). s/he depart late asp cl ship go pier Localizer ‘S/he moved the ship to the pier late.’



f. 我去哂啲漬出嚟。 Ngo5 heoi 3 saai 3 di1 zik 1 ceot1 lai4. I go prt cl stain exit come ‘I removed the stain completely.’

The basic word order in Cantonese is SVO. When the resultant state of the object is to be highlighted, the disposal construction is used. In the Cantonese disposal construction, the patient object is moved to the preverbal position and is marked by the disposal marker zoeng1 將. The preposed object has to be specific while the verb cannot be bare. One major difference between Cantonese and Mandarin in the use of the disposal construction is that the verb has to be transitive in the former but can be transitive or intransitive in the latter. For example, when a transitive verb such as daa 2 打 ‘to hit’ in Cantonese and dǎ 打 ‘to hit’ in Mandarin is involved in the disposal construction, both examples in Cantonese and Mandarin are acceptable (cf. (39)–(40)). Cantonese (39)

佢將隻蚊打死咗。 Keoi 5 zoeng1 zek 3 man 1 daa 2 sei 2 zo2. s/he dm cl mosquito hit die asp ‘S/he killed the mosquito by hitting it.’

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Mandarin (40)

他把蚊子打死了。 Tā bǎ wénzi dá sǐ le. he dm mosquito hit die sfp ‘He killed the mosquito by hitting it.’

In contrast, Mandarin allows an intransitive verb to be used as the main verb in the disposal construction (cf. (41)) but Cantonese does not (cf. (42)).64 Mandarin (41) 他把個賊跑掉了。 Tā bǎ gè zéi pǎo diào le. he dm cl thief run lose sfp ‘He let the thief run away.’ Cantonese (42)

*佢將個賊跑甩咗。 Keoi 5 zoeng1 go3 caak 2 paau 2 lat1 zo2. s/he dm cl thief run loose asp ‘S/he let the thief run away.’

The use of the Cantonese directional verbs in the disposal constructions in (43) suggests that the directional verbs are like transitive verbs when they are used causatively. For example, (43) a. 佢將三箱貨上漏咗喺個架(度)。 Keoi 5 zoeng1 saam1 soeng1 fo3 soeng5 lau6 zo2 hai 2 s/he dm three cl goods ascend leave out asp at go3 fo3 gaa 2 (dou6). cl goods shelf Localizer ‘S/he moved three boxes of goods fewer up onto the shelf.’

64 The Cantonese disposal marker zoeng1 將 and the Mandarin disposal marker bǎ 把 can be interpreted as cases of “differential object marking”, a linguistic phenomenon which has been observed in more than 300 languages. In languages which have differential object marking, animacy or definiteness is involved in subcategorizing direct objects (cf. Bossong 1991). In the cases of Cantonese and Mandarin, the definiteness of the direct object seems to be more relevant than animacy in determining the use of the disposal construction.

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 65



b. 佢將包鹽落錯咗喺杯咖啡(度)。 Keoi 5 zoeng1 baau1 jim4 lok6 co3 zo2 hai 2 bui1 gaa 3fe1 s/he dm cl salt descend wrong asp at cl coffee (dou6). Localizer ‘S/he wrongly put the packet of salt into the cup of coffee.’



c. 佢將三張牌出錯咗喺檯(度)。 Keoi 5 zoeng1 saam1 zoeng1 paai 2 ceot1 co3 zo2 hai 2 toi 2 s/he dm three cl card exit wrong asp at table (dou6). Localizer ‘S/he wrongly put three cards onto the table.’



d. 佢將十蚊入翻喺個信封(度)。 Keoi 5 zoeng1 sap6 man 1 jap6 faan 1 hai 2 go3 seon 3fung1 (dou6). s/he dm ten dollar enter return at cl envelope Localizer ‘S/he put ten dollars back into the envelope.’



e. 佢將架船開遲咗去碼頭(度)。 Keoi 5 zoeng1 gaa 3 syun4 hoi1 ci4 zo2 heoi 3 maa 5tau4 (dou6). s/he dm cl ship depart late asp go pier Localizer ‘S/he sailed the ship to the pier late.’



f. 我將啲漬去哂出嚟。 Ngo5 zoeng1 di1 zik 1 heoi 3 saai 3 ceot1 lai4. I dm cl stain go prt exit come ‘I removed the stain completely.’

The semantic roles borne by the subject and the object of a directional verb in the three types of events, i.e. self-agentive, non-agentive and agentive motion events, are summarized in Table 17 below: Table 17. The semantic roles borne by the subject and the object of a directional verb in the three types of motion events Arguments of directional verb Types of motion events

Subject

Object

Self-agentive/non-agentive Agentive

Theme Agent

Locative Theme

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Section 2.3 has shown that directional verbs can be used to encode path in selfagentive, non-agentive and agentive motion events, a characteristic which is exemplified in verb-framed languages. Section 2.4 illustrates that Cantonese also exhibits the characteristic of satellite-framed languages in expressing path in a satellite or a directional complement.

2.4 Simple directional complements In addition to functioning as a main verb, directional verbs can also appear after another verb as a complement in self-agentive, non-agentive and agentive motion events.

2.4.1 Self-agentive motion events In sentences that denote self-agentive motion events, the main verb specifies the manner in which the movement is carried out. The simple directional complement denotes the direction of the movement and provides the movement with an orientation point either by introducing a locative object for the main verb (in the cases of non-deictic directional complements)65 or by defining the direction of the movement in relation to the speaker’s location (in the cases of deictic directional complements). The main verb in general can be immediately followed by a locative object only with the use of the directional complement. While the theme subject is the entity that voluntarily undergoes a change of location, the locative object often represents the goal of the movement. (44) a. 佢跑咗*(上)三樓。 Keoi 5 paau 2 zo2 (soeng5) saam1 lau 2. s/he run asp ascend third floor ‘S/he ran up to the third floor.’

65 It is mentioned in 2.2.2 that hei 2 起 ‘to rise’ and hoi1 開 ‘to depart’ cannot take a locative object. Such a property is also exhibited when they function as a simple directional complement. Therefore, they are excluded from the discussions on self-agentive and non-agentive motion events in 2.4.1 and 2.4.2. See footnotes 54 and 58 for further discussions on the occurrence of a locative object after hoi1 開 ‘to depart’. Also, see 2.3.1 for a discussion on the different types of locative objects, i.e. locative objects that denote the source, the path and the goal of a movement, of directional verbs.

Simple directional complements 



b. 佢跑咗*(落)三樓。 Keoi 5 paau 2 zo2 (lok6) saam1 lau 2. s/he run asp descend third floor ‘S/he ran down to the third floor.’



c. 佢行咗*(出)客廳。 Keoi 5 haang4 zo2 (ceot1) haak 3teng1. s/he walk asp exit living room ‘S/he walked out into the living room.’



d. 佢行咗*(入)房。 Keoi 5 haang4 zo2 (jap6) fong2. s/he walk asp enter room ‘S/he walked into the room.’



e. 佢跳咗*(埋)呢邊。 Keoi 5 tiu 3 zo2 (maai4) nei1 bin 1. s/he jump asp approach that side ‘S/he jumped to that side.’



f. 佢行咗*(過)辦公室。66 Keoi 5 haang4 zo2 (gwo3) baan6gung1sat1. s/he walk asp pass office ‘S/he walked over to the office.’



g. 佢爬*(到)咗山頂。67 Keoi 5 paa4 (dou 3) zo2 saan 1 deng2. s/he climb arrive asp hill top ‘S/he climbed to the top of the hill.’



h. 佢游咗*(翻)岸邊。 Keoi 5 jau4 zo2 (faan 1) ngon6 bin 1. s/he swim asp return shore side ‘S/he swam back to the shore.’

 67

66 As pointed out in footnote 55, gwo3 過 has two meanings, i.e. ‘to pass’ and ‘to pass over’. It is not clear why when gwo3 過 expresses the meaning of ‘to pass’, zo2 咗 appears after the V-gwo3 過 combination such as keoi 5 haang4 gwo3 zo2 baan6gung1sat1 佢行過咗辦公室 s/he-walk-passasp-office ‘She walked past the office’. This word order contrasts with that in (44f), in which zo2 咗 occurs between the verb and gwo3 過 with the meaning of ‘to pass over’. 67 In the other examples, zo2 咗 occurs after the verb and before the directional complement. However, in the case of dou 3 到 ‘to arrive, zo2 咗 appears after both the verb and the directional complement.

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i. 佢跑咗*(嚟)終點。 Keoi 5 paau 2 zo2 (lai4) zung1dim 2. s/he run asp come finishing line ‘S/he ran here to the finishing line.’



j. 佢跑咗*(去)終點。 Keoi 5 paau 2 zo2 (heoi 3) zung1dim 2. s/he run asp go finishing line ‘S/he ran there to the finishing line.’

In example (44), the action verbs paau 2 跑 ‘to run’, haang4 行 ‘to walk’, tiu 3 跳 ‘to jump’, paa4 爬 ‘to climb’ and jau4 游 ‘to swim’ are the main verbs in the sentences, specifying the manner in which the movements are carried out. They cannot introduce a locative object. Instead, a directional complement is used as a link between the main verb and the locative object.68 It should be noted that in these self-agentive sentences, the action verb can be omitted without giving rise to ungrammaticality, while the presence of the directional complement is necessary.69 On the other hand, the locative object after a non-deictic directional complement, in general, cannot be omitted while that after a deictic one can.70 The directional complements soeng5 上 ‘to ascend’, lok6 落 ‘to descend’, ceot1 出 ‘to exit’, jap6 入 ‘to enter’ and gwo3 過 ‘to pass’ can introduce a path object.71 For example, (45) a. 佢跑緊上樓梯。 Keoi 5 paau 2 gan 2 soeng5 lau4tai1. s/he run asp ascend staircase ‘S/he is running up the staircase.’

b. 佢跑緊落樓梯。 Keoi 5 paau 2 gan 2 lok6 lau4tai1. s/he run asp descend staircase ‘S/he is running down the staircase.’

68 See 2.3.3 for the relevant examples of the causative use of directional verbs in which a locative object is introduced by a preposition. 69 The contrast in omission between the main verb and the directional complement is used in Tai (2003) for arguing that Mandarin is primarily a verb-framed language. See 1.2 for the discussion of Tai. 70 It is mentioned in 2.2.2 that the same contrast is observed in non-deictic and deictic directional verbs. 71 See (34a)–(34e) for the introduction of a path object by these five directional verbs.

Simple directional complements 



c. 佢跑咗出門口。 Keoi 5 paau 2 zo2 ceot1 mun4hau 2. s/he run asp exit doorway ‘S/he ran out through the doorway.’



d. 佢跑咗入門口。 Keoi 5 paau 2 zo2 jap6 mun4hau 2. s/he run asp enter doorway ‘S/he ran in through the doorway.’



e. 佢游咗過河。 Keoi 5 jau4 zo2 gwo3 ho4. s/he swim asp pass river ‘S/he swam across the river.’

 69

The directional complements soeng5 上 ‘to ascend’, lok6 落 ‘to descend’ and ceot1 出 ‘to exit’ can also introduce a locative object which indicates the source of the movement.72 For example, (46) a. 佢跳咗上水。 Keoi 5 tiu 3 zo2 soeng5 seoi 2. s/he jump asp ascend water ‘S/he jumped up from the water (to the shore).’

b. 佢跳咗落車。 Keoi 5 tiu 3 zo2 lok6 ce1. s/he jump asp descend car ‘S/he jumped out from the car.’



c. 佢走咗出課室。 Keoi 5 zau 2 zo2 ceot1 fo3sat1. s/he run asp exit classroom ‘S/he ran out from the classroom.’

2.4.2 Non-agentive motion events In sentences that denote non-agentive motion events, while the co-event verb indicates the manner or the cause of the movement undergone by the theme subject, the simple directional complement denotes the direction of the move72 See (35) for the introduction of a source object by these three directional verbs.

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ment. The subject is often an inanimate entity that is caused to move by an entity unspecified in the sentence whereas the locative object often represents the goal of the movement. When the directional complement is lai4 嚟 ‘to come’ or heoi 3 去 ‘to go’, a locative object becomes optional. (47) a. 啲貨搬咗上貨架。 Di1 fo3 bun1 zo2 soeng5 fo3 gaa 2. cl goods move asp ascend goods shelf ‘The goods were moved up onto the shelf.’

b. 啲貨搬咗落樓下。 Di1 fo3 bun1 zo2 lok6 lau4 haa6. cl goods move asp descend floor Localizer ‘The goods were moved downstairs.’



c. 架船揸咗出海中心。 Gaa 3 syun4 zaa1 zo2 ceot1 hoi 2 zung1sam1. cl ship drive asp exit sea centre ‘The ship was moved out to the deep water.’



d. 啲貨搬咗入貨倉。 Di1 fo3 bun1 zo2 jap6 fo3coeng1. cl goods move asp enter warehouse ‘The goods were moved into the warehouse.’



e. 架船泊咗埋碼頭。 Gaa 3 syun4 paak 3 zo2 maai4 maa 5tau4. cl ship anchor asp approach pier ‘The ship anchored at the pier.’



f. 架巴士揸咗過隧道。 Gaa 3 baa1si 2 zaa1 zo2 gwo3 seoi6dou6. cl bus drive asp pass tunnel ‘The bus passed the tunnel.’



g. 封信寄到咗郵局。73 Fung1 seon 3 gei 3 dou 3 zo2 jau4guk 2. cl letter send arrive asp post office ‘The letter arrived at the post office.’

73 In non-agentive motion events, zo2 咗, in general, appears after the verb and before the simple directional complement. However, it occurs after the verb and the directional complement dou 3 到 ‘to arrive’. See 2.4.1 for a similar contrast between the directional complement dou 3 到 ‘to arrive’ and other directional complements in self-agentive motion events.

Simple directional complements 



h. 本書還咗翻圖書館。 Bun 2 syu1 waan4 zo2 faan 1 tou4syu1gun 2. cl book return asp return library ‘The book was returned to the library.’



i. 架車駛咗嚟(門口)。 Gaa 3 ce1 sai 2 zo2 lai4 (mun4hau 2). cl car drive asp come (doorway) ‘The car was driven here (at the doorway).’



j. 個波轆咗去(門口)。 Go3 bo1 luk 1 zo2 heoi 3 (mun4hau 2). cl ball roll asp go (doorway) ‘The ball rolled there (to the doorway).’

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2.4.3 Agentive motion events In sentences that denote agentive motion events, the co-event verb indicates the cause of the movement instigated by the agent subject, which brings about the change of location of the theme object. The simple directional complement specifies the direction of the movement undergone by the theme object. The locative object is often not involved.74 (48) a. 佢打落咗三架戰機。 Keoi 5 daa 2 lok6 zo2 saam1 gaa 3 zin 3gei1. s/he hit descend asp three cl plane ‘S/he shot down three planes.’

b. 佢踢出咗一個波。 Keoi 5 tek 3 ceot1 zo2 jat1 go3 bo1. s/he kick exit asp one cl ball ‘S/he kicked out one ball.’



c. 佢射入咗三球。 Keoi 5 se6 jap6 zo2 saam1 kau4. s/he shoot enter asp three ball ‘S/he shot in three balls.’

74 It is observed that the directional complements soeng 5 上 ‘to ascend’ and heoi 3 去 ‘to go’often express a metaphorical meaning when it is followed by a theme object, e.g. oi 3 soeng 5 Hon4kek6 愛上韓劇 ‘to fall in love with Korean movies’, and saan 1 heoi 3 di1 gei 2luk6 刪去啲紀錄 delete-go-cl-record ‘to delete the record’. As for the directional complement dou 3 到 ‘to arrive’, it can hardly be followed by a theme object. Therefore, the three of them are excluded here.

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d. 佢推開咗張檯。 Keoi 5 teoi1 hoi1 zo2 zoeng1 toi 2. s/he push depart asp cl table ‘S/he pushed away the table.’



e. 佢拉埋咗張檯。 Keoi 5 laai1 maai4 zo2 zoeng1 toi 2. s/he pull approach asp cl table ‘S/he pulled the table close to a certain location.’



f. 佢搬過咗張檯。 Keoi 5 bun 1 gwo3 zo2 zoeng1 toi 2. s/he move pass asp cl table ‘S/he moved the table past a certain location.’



g. 佢執起咗張紙。 Keoi 5 zap1 hei 2 zo2 zoeng1 zi 2. s/he pick rise asp cl paper ‘S/he picked up the piece of paper.’



h. 佢搬翻咗張檯。 Keoi 5 bun 1 faan 1 zo2 zoeng1 toi 2. s/he move return asp cl table ‘S/he moved back the table.’



i. 佢帶嚟咗好多麻煩。75 Keoi 5 daai 3 lai4 zo2 hou 2do1 maa4faan4. s/he bring come asp much trouble ‘S/he brought much trouble.’

There are three major differences exhibited in the use of the simple directional complement in self-agentive/non-agentive motion events on the one hand, and in agentive motion events on the other hand. First, the verb and the simple directional complement do not form a compound in the former but they do in the latter. Such a contrast can be shown by the different positions in which the aspect marker zo2 咗 appears. In self-agentive and non-agentive motion events, the verb and the simple directional complement, except for dou 3 到 ‘to arrive’,

75 It might be argued that lai4 嚟 ‘to come’ in daai 3 lai4 帶嚟 ‘to bring here’ in (48i) might express a metaphorical meaning rather than a directional meaning. However, since a locative object can be added to indicate the location to which the trouble was brought, it is assumed that lai4 嚟 ‘to come’ expresses a directional meaning (cf. (49h)).

Simple directional complements 

 73

do not form a compound and zo2 咗 appears between them. In agentive motion events, the verb and the simple directional complement form a compound and zo2 咗 occurs after the compound. Second, the former involves a theme subject and a locative object while the latter has an agent subject and a theme object, a pattern of semantic roles that is also exhibited in directional verbs, as shown in Table 17. Third, the omission of the main verb is possible in the former, but is, in general, not allowed in the latter.76 The above differences suggest that different structures are involved in the three kinds of motion events, as illustrated schematically in Figure 2 below: Self-agentive ⎧⎨ [Theme subject + [VP [Main verb + zo2 咗] + [Directional complement Non-agentive ⎩ + Locative object]]] Agentive

⎧ ⎨ ⎩

[Agent subject + [VP [Main verb + Directional complement + zo2 咗] + [Theme object]]]

Figure 2. Two structures exhibited by simple directional complements in the three types of motion events

Sentences that denote self-agentive and non-agentive motion events share an identical structure, a structure that is different from that of agentive motion sentences. In the above examples of agentive motion events, the goal of the movement is implied but not explicitly specified. If the destination of the theme object is to be stressed, the compound can be restructured into the verb complement construction, in which the co-event verb is followed by the theme object which is in turn followed by the directional complement and the locative object.77

76 There are exceptions in which the omission of the co-event verb is possible in agentive motion events. For example, in se6 jap6 zo2 jat1 go3 bo1 射入咗一個波 shoot-enter-asp-one-cl-ball ‘shot in a ball’, the verb or the complement can be omitted without giving rise to ungrammaticality (e.g. se6 zo2 jat1 go3 bo1 射咗一個波 shoot-asp-one-cl-ball ‘shot a ball’ and jap6 zo2 jat1 go3 bo1 入咗一個波 enter-asp-one-cl-ball ‘shot in a ball’). The possibility of omitting the preceding co-event verb of jap6 入 ‘to enter’ seems to suggest that the degree of transitivity of jap6 入 ‘to enter’ is high or its causative use is productive. Otherwise, jap6 入 ‘to enter’ alone cannot be followed by a theme object. 77  Hei 2 起 ‘to rise’ is not included in the discussion because it cannot be followed by a locative object.

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(49) a. 佢打咗三架戰機落海。 Keoi 5 daa 2 zo2 saam1 gaa 3 zin 3gei1 lok6 hoi 2. s/he hit asp three cl plane descend sea ‘S/he shot three planes down into the sea.’

b. 佢踢咗一個波出界。 Keoi 5 tek 3 zo2 jat1 go3 bo1 ceot1 gaai 3. s/he kick asp one cl ball exit boundary ‘S/he kicked a ball out of the playing field.’



c. 佢射咗三球入門。 Keoi 5 se6 zo2 saam1 kau4 jap6 mun4. s/he shoot asp three ball enter goal ‘S/he shot three balls into the goal.’



d. 佢推咗張檯開去。78 Keoi 5 teoi1 zo2 zoeng1 toi 2 hoi1 heoi 3. s/he push asp cl table depart go ‘S/he pushed the table away from here.’



e. 佢拉咗張檯埋牆。 Keoi 5 laai1 zo2 zoeng1 toi 2 maai4 coeng4. s/he pull asp cl table approach wall ‘S/he pulled the table close to the wall.’



f. 佢搬咗張檯過呢邊。 Keoi 5 bun 1 zo2 zoeng1 toi 2 gwo3 nei1 bin 1. s/he move asp cl table pass this side ‘S/he moved the table over to this side.’



g. 佢搬咗張檯翻屋企。 Keoi 5 bun 1 zo2 zoeng1 toi 2 faan 1 uk 1kei 5. s/he move asp cl table return home ‘S/he moved the table back home.’



h. 佢帶咗好多麻煩嚟(呢度)。 Keoi 5 daai 3 zo2 hou 2do1 maa4faan4 lai4 (nei1dou6). s/he bring asp much trouble come here ‘S/he brought much trouble here.’

78 See footnotes 54 and 58 for discussions on the occurrence of a locative object after hoi1 開 ‘to depart’. Also, see section 2.5 for the use of hoi1 開 ‘to depart’ in compound directional complements.

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Although lai4 嚟 ‘to come’ in (48i) can be combined with the main verb to form a compound, it is more natural for it to appear after the theme object, as shown in (49h). Furthermore, the simple directional complement lai4 嚟 ‘to come’ can only be combined with a small number of verbs to form a compound.79 For example, (50) a. *佢擰嚟咗本書。 Keoi 5 ning1 lai4 zo2 bun 2 syu1. s/he bring come asp cl book ‘S/he brought the book here.’

b. *佢送嚟咗一份禮物。 Keoi 5 sung3 lai4 zo2 jat1 fan6 lai 5mat6. s/he send come asp one cl gift ‘S/he sent a gift here.’



c. 佢擰咗本書嚟。 Keoi 5 ning1 zo2 bun 2 syu1 lai4. s/he bring asp cl book come ‘S/he brought the book here.’



d. 佢送咗一份禮物嚟。 Keoi 5 sung3 zo2 jat1 fan6 lai 5mat6 lai4. s/he send asp one cl gift come ‘S/he sent a gift here.’

Examples (50a)–(50b) are ungrammatical. The simple directional complement lai4 嚟 ‘to come’ cannot follow the verbs ning1 擰 ‘to bring’ and sung3 送 ‘to send’. Examples (50c)–(50d) become grammatical when lai4 嚟 ‘to come’ appears in the sentence-final position. The above contrast in grammaticality shows that the simple directional complement lai4 嚟 ‘to come’ cannot be randomly combined with any verb to form a compound, and always prefers to appear in the sentencefinal position. The two word order patterns illustrated in agentive motion events are schematically represented in Figure 3 below:

79 Besides daai 3 帶 ‘to bring’, it is hard to come up with another verb which can be combined with lai4 嚟 ‘to come’ to form a compound. It seems that the V-lai4 嚟 compounds are more often used in a formal context such as news reports than in daily conversations. Therefore, they might have entered Cantonese as a result of influence from Mandarin.

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Agentive:

[Agent subject + [VP [Main verb + Directional complement + zo2 咗] + [Theme object]]]



OR



[Agent subject + [[VP [Main verb + zo2 咗] + [Theme object]] + [Directional complement + Locative object]]]

Figure 3. Two word order patterns exhibited by simple directional complements in agentive motion events

Section 2.4 has illustrated the use of simple directional complements to encode path in self-agentive, non-agentive and agentive motion events, a characteristic which is exemplified in satellite-framed languages. Section 2.5 discusses the expression of path in compound directional complements. While all the dialects examined allow the use of compound directional complements which consist of two simple directional complements, only Cantonese exhibits the use of compound directional complements that are made up of three simple directional complements.

2.5 Compound directional complements A compound directional complement is a complement which consists of two or three simple directional complements.80 The order in which the simple directional complements are combined is fixed, with the non-deictic directional complement(s) preceding the deictic one. Similar to simple directional complements, compound directional complements are used to denote path in self-agentive, non-agentive and agentive motion events. On the other hand, compound directional complements differ from simple directional complements in that the former and the verb do not form a compound while the latter and the verb might.

2.5.1 Self-agentive motion events In sentences that denote self-agentive motion events, the main verb denotes the manner in which the movement is carried out by the theme subject while the compound directional complements denote the spatial configuration of the trajectory traversed by the theme subject. 80 The discussion of compound directional complements in this study follows the classification of simple directional complements in Cheung (2007 [1972]). See 2.1 for further details on Cheung’s classification.

Compound directional complements 

 77

(51) a. 佢跑咗上嚟/去(三樓)。 Keoi 5 paau 2 zo2 soeng5 lai4/heoi 3 (saam1 lau 2). s/he run asp ascend come/go third floor ‘S/he ran up here/there (the third floor).’

b. 佢跑咗落嚟/去(三樓)。 Keoi 5 paau 2 zo2 lok6 lai4/heoi 3 (saam1 lau 2). s/he run asp descend come/go third floor ‘S/he ran down here/there (the third floor).’



c. 佢行咗出嚟/去(客廳)。 Keoi 5 haang4 zo2 ceot1 lai4/heoi 3 (haak 3teng1). s/he walk asp exit come/go living room ‘S/he walked out here/there (the living room).’



d. 佢行咗入嚟/去(睡房)。 Keoi 5 haang4 zo2 jap6 lai4/heoi 3 (seoi6fong2). s/he walk asp enter come/go bedroom ‘S/he walked into here/there (the bedroom).’



e. 佢跑咗開嚟/去(張檯度)。81 Keoi 5 paau 2 zo2 hoi1 lai4/heoi 3 (zoeng1 toi 2 dou6). s/he run asp depart come/go cl table Localizer ‘S/he ran away to here/there (the table).’



f. 佢企咗埋嚟/去(張檯度)。 Keoi 5 kei 5 zo2 maai4 lai4/heoi 3 (zoeng1 toi 2 dou6). s/he stand asp approach come/go cl table Localizer ‘S/he stood close to here/there (the table).’



g. 佢行咗過嚟/去(辦公室)。 Keoi 5 haang4 zo2 gwo3 lai4/heoi 3 (baan6gung1sat1). s/he walk asp pass come/go office ‘S/he walked over here/there (the office).’



h. 佢行到嚟/去學校。82 Keoi 5 haang4 dou 3 lai4/heoi 3 (hok6haau6). s/he walk arrive come/go school S/he arrived here/there (the school).

81 See footnotes 54 and 58 for discussions on the occurrence of a locative object after hoi1 開 ‘to depart’. 82  It is unnatural to insert zo2 咗 between the verb haang4 行 ‘to walk’ and the double directional complement in (51h). However, based on the situations observed in other double directional complements, it is assumed that dou 3 lai4/heoi 3 到嚟/去 ‘to arrive and to come/go’ and the verb do not form a compound.

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 Chapter 2. Directional verbs in modern Cantonese i. 佢游咗翻嚟/去(岸邊)。 Keoi 5 jau4 zo2 faan 1 lai4/heoi 3 (ngon6 bin 1). s/he swim asp return come/go shore side ‘S/he swam back here/there (the shore).’

In the above examples, the subjects bear the role of theme, whose movements are of concern, whereas the optional objects indicate the destinations of the movements. While the non-deictic complements provide information regarding the spatial configurations of the movements, lai4 嚟 ‘to come’ and heoi 3 去 ‘to go’ indicate whether the movement is toward or away from the speaker. Co-event verbs are used to specify the manner in which the movements are carried out and can be omitted. As mentioned above, lai4 嚟 ‘to come’ and heoi 3 去 ‘to go’ have an implied speaker orientation point while the non-deictic directional verbs lack it. In the former, unless the location of the speaker is stressed, a locative object, and more specifically one that denotes the goal of the movement, need not appear after the deictic directional complement. In the latter, the orientation point is defined in relation to a physical location which is indicated by a locative object. As a result, the locative object of a non-deictic directional complement, in general, cannot be omitted. With the presence of lai4 嚟 ‘to come’ and heoi 3 去 ‘to go’ as the last member in a compound directional complement, a locative object becomes optional after the compound directional complement. The following examples illustrate the use of triple directional complements in self-agentive motion events. (52) a. 佢跑咗翻上嚟/去(三樓)。 Keoi 5 paau 2 zo2 faan 1 soeng5 lai4/heoi 3 (saam1 lau 2). s/he run asp return ascend come/go third floor ‘S/he ran back up here/there (the third floor).’

b. 佢跑咗翻落嚟/去(三樓)。 Keoi 5 paau 2 zo2 faan 1 lok6 lai4/heoi 3 (saam1 lau 2). s/he run asp return descend come/go third floor ‘S/he ran back down here/there (the third floor).’



c. 佢行咗翻出嚟/去(客廳)。 Keoi 5 haang4 zo2 faan 1 ceot1 lai4/heoi 3 (haak 3teng1). s/he walk asp return exit come/go living room ‘S/he walked back out here/there (the living room).’

Compound directional complements 

 79



d. 佢行咗翻入嚟/去(睡房)。 Keoi 5 haang4 zo2 faan 1 jap6 lai4/heoi 3 (seoi6fong2). s/he walk asp return enter come/go bedroom ‘S/he walked back here/there (the bedroom).’



e. 佢行咗翻開嚟/去(張檯度)。 Keoi 5 haang4 zo2 faan 1 hoi1 lai4/heoi 3 (zoeng1 toi 2 dou6). s/he walk asp return depart come/go cl table Localizer ‘S/he walked away back here/there (the table).’



f. 佢企咗翻埋嚟/去(張檯度)。 Keoi 5 kei 5 zo2 faan 1 maai4 lai4/heoi 3 (zoeng1 toi 2 dou6). s/he stand asp return approach come/go cl table Localizer ‘S/he stood back close to here/there (the table).’



g. 佢行咗翻過嚟/去(辦公室)。 Keoi 5 haang4 zo2 faan 1 gwo3 lai4/heoi 3 (baan6gung1sat1). s/he walk asp return pass come/go office ‘S/he walked back over here/there (the office).’

The Type 3 directional complement faan 1 翻 ‘to return’ is added to the double directional complements to derive the triple directional complements, indicating that the movement is oriented back to the location from which the theme subjects moved away at an earlier time. The Type 2 directional complements provide information regarding the spatial configurations of the movements. The Type 1 complements lai4 嚟 ‘to come’ and heoi 3 去 ‘to go’ define the direction of the movement in relation to the location of the speaker and appear in the outermost position. The co-event verbs in the above self-agentive motion sentences describe the manner of the movements and can be omitted.

2.5.2 Non-agentive motion events In sentences that denote non-agentive motion events, the co-event verb may describe the manner or the cause of the movement and can be omitted. In the following examples which consist of a double directional complement, the Type 2 complement specifies the spatial configuration of the trajectory traversed by the theme subject while the deictic directional complement indicates whether the movement is toward or away from the speaker. A locative object might optionally appear after the compound directional complement, indicating the goal of the movement.

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(53) a. 啲貨搬咗上嚟/去(貨架)。 Di1 fo3 bun1 zo2 soeng5 lai4/heoi 3 (fo3 gaa 2). cl goods move asp ascend come/go (goods shelf) ‘The goods were moved up here/there (the shelf).’

b. 啲貨搬咗落嚟/去(樓下)。 Di1 fo3 bun1 zo2 lok6 lai4/heoi 3 (lau4 haa6). cl goods move asp descend come/go (floor Localizer) ‘The goods were moved down here/there (downstairs).’



c. 架船揸咗出嚟/去(海中心)。 Gaa 3 syun4 zaa1 zo2 ceot1 lai4/heoi 3 (hoi 2 zung1sam1). cl ship drive asp exit come/to (sea centre) ‘The ship was sailed to here/there (the deep water).’



d. 啲貨搬咗入嚟/去(貨倉)。 Di1 fo3 bun1 zo2 jap6 lai4/heoi 3 (fo3coeng1). cl goods move asp enter come/go (warehouse) ‘The goods were moved into here/there (the warehouse).’



e. 架船泊咗開嚟/去(碼頭)。 Gaa 3 syun4 paak 3 zo2 hoi1 lai4/heoi 3 (maa 5tau4). cl ship anchor asp depart come/go (pier) ‘The ship moved away from somewhere to anchor here/there (the pier).’



f. 架船泊咗埋嚟/去(碼頭)。 Gaa 3 syun4 paak 3 zo2 maai4 lai4/heoi 3 (maa 5tau4). cl ship anchor asp approach come/go (pier) ‘The ship moved close to anchor here/there (the pier).’



g. 架巴士揸咗過嚟/去(車房)。 Gaa 3 baa1si 2 zaa1 zo2 gwo3 lai4/heoi 3 (ce1fong4). cl bus drive asp pass come/go (garage) ‘The bus was moved over here/there (the garage).’



h. 封信寄到嚟/去(郵局)。 Fung1 seon 3 gei 3 dou 3 lai4/heoi 3 (jau4guk 2). cl letter send arrive come/go (post office) ‘The letter arrived here/there (the post office).’



i. 本書還咗翻嚟/去(圖書館)。 Bun 2 syu1 waan4 zo2 faan 1 lai4/heoi 3 (tou4syu1gun 2). cl book return asp return come/go (library) ‘The book was returned here/there (the library).’

Compound directional complements 

 81

Faan 1 翻 ‘to return’ is added to the double directional complements to derive triple directional complements in the following examples. (54) a. 啲貨搬咗翻上嚟/去(貨架)。 Di1 fo3 bun1 zo2 faan 1 soeng5 lai4/heoi 3 (fo3 gaa 2). cl goods move asp return ascend come/go (goods shelf) ‘The goods were moved back up here/there (the shelf).’

b. 啲貨搬咗翻落嚟/去(樓下)。 Di1 fo3 bun1 zo2 faan 1 lok6 lai4/heoi 3 (lau4 haa6). cl goods move asp return descend come/go (floor Localizer) ‘The goods were moved back down here/there (downstairs).’



c. 架船揸咗翻出嚟/去(海中心)。 Gaa 3 syun4 zaa1 zo2 faan 1 ceot1 lai4/heoi 3 (hoi 2 zung1sam1). cl ship drive asp return exit come/go (sea centre) ‘The ship was sailed back out here/there (the deep water).’



d. 啲貨搬咗翻入嚟/去(貨倉)。 Di1 fo3 bun1 zo2 faan 1 jap6 lai4/heoi 3 (fo3coeng1). cl goods move asp return enter come/go (warehouse) ‘The goods were moved back here/there (the warehouse).’



e. 架船泊咗翻開嚟/去(碼頭)。 Gaa 3 syun4 paak 3 zo2 faan 1 hoi1 lai4/heoi 3 (maa 5tau4). cl ship anchor asp return depart come/go (pier) ‘The ship was moved away back here/there (the pier).’



f. 架船泊咗翻埋嚟/去(碼頭)。 Gaa 3 syun4 paak 3 zo2 faan 1 maai4 lai4/heoi 3 (maa 5tau4). cl ship anchor asp return approach come/go (pier) ‘The ship was moved back close to here/there (the pier).’



g. 架巴士揸咗翻過嚟/去(車房)。 Gaa 3 baa1si 2 zaa1 zo2 faan 1 gwo3 lai4/heoi 3 (ce1fong4). cl bus drive asp return pass come/go (garage) ‘The bus was moved back over here/there (the garage).’

2.5.3 Agentive motion events In sentences that denote agentive motion events, the co-event verb refers to the cause instigated by the agent subject, which leads to the change of location of

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the theme object, while the compound directional complement specifies the direction of the movement. The following examples illustrate the use of double directional complements in agentive motion events. (55) a. 佢搬咗啲貨上嚟/去(貨架)。 Keoi 5 bun 1 zo2 di1 fo3 soeng5 lai4/heoi 3 (fo3 gaa 2). s/he move asp cl goods ascend come/go (goods shelf) ‘S/he moved the goods up here/there (the shelf).’

b. 佢搬咗啲貨落嚟/去(樓下)。 Keoi 5 bun 1 zo2 di1 fo3 lok6 lai4/heoi 3 (lau4 haa6). s/he move asp cl goods descend come/go (floor Localizer) ‘S/he moved the goods down here/there (downstairs).’



c. 佢揸咗架船出嚟/去(海中心)。 Keoi 5 zaa1 zo2 gaa 3 syun4 ceot1 lai4/heoi 3 (hoi 2 zung1sam1). s/he drive asp cl ship exit come/go (sea centre) ‘S/he sailed the ship out here/there (the deep water).’



d. 佢搬咗啲貨入嚟/去(貨倉)。 Keoi 5 bun 1 zo2 di1 fo3 jap6 lai4/heoi 3 (fo3coeng1). s/he move asp cl goods enter come/go (warehouse) ‘S/he moved the goods into here/there (the warehouse).’



e. 佢泊咗架船開嚟/去(碼頭)。 Keoi 5 paak 3 zo2 gaa 3 syun4 hoi1 lai4/heoi 3 (maa 5tau4). s/he anchor asp cl ship depart come/go (pier) ‘S/he anchored the ship over here/there (the pier).’



f. 佢泊咗架船埋嚟/去(碼頭)。 Keoi 5 paak 3 zo2 gaa 3 syun4 maai4 lai4/heoi 3 (maa 5tau4). s/he anchor asp cl ship approach come/go (pier) ‘S/he anchored the ship close to here/there (the pier).’



g. 佢揸咗架巴士過嚟/去(車房)。 Keoi 5 zaa1 zo2 gaa 3 baa1si 2 gwo3 lai4/heoi 3 (ce1fong4). s/he drive asp cl bus pass come/go (garage) ‘S/he drove the bus over here/there (the garage).’



h. 佢還咗本書翻嚟/去(圖書館)。 Keoi 5 waan4 zo2 bun 2 syu1 faan 1 lai4/heoi 3 (tou4syu1gun 2). s/he return asp cl book return come/go (library) ‘S/he returned the book back here/there (the library).’

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 83

In the above examples, the co-event verb is followed by the theme object which is, in turn, followed by a double directional complement and an optional locative object. The following examples show the use of triple directional complements in agentive motion events. (56) a. 佢搬咗啲貨翻上嚟/去(貨架)。 Keoi 5 bun 1 zo2 di1 fo3 faan 1 soeng5 lai4/heoi 3 (fo3 gaa 2). s/he move asp cl goods return ascend come/go (goods shelf) ‘S/he moved the goods back up here/there (the shelf).’

b. 佢搬咗啲貨翻落嚟/去(樓下)。 Keoi5 bun1 zo2 di1 fo3 faan1 lok6 lai4/heoi3 (lau4 haa6). s/he move asp cl goods return descend come/go (floor Localizer) ‘S/he moved the goods back down here/there (downstairs).’



c. 佢揸咗架船翻出嚟/去(海中心)。 Keoi 5 zaa1 zo2 gaa3 syun4 faan1 ceot1 lai4/heoi3 (hoi2 zung1sam1). s/he drive asp cl ship return exit come/go (sea centre) ‘S/he moved the ship back out here/there (the deep water).’



d. 佢搬咗啲貨翻入嚟/去(貨倉)。 Keoi 5 bun 1 zo2 di1 fo3 faan 1 jap6 lai4/heoi 3 (fo3coeng1). s/he move asp cl goods return enter come/go (warehouse) ‘S/he moved the goods back into here/there (the warehouse).’



e. 佢泊咗架船翻開嚟/去(碼頭)。 Keoi 5 paak 3 zo2 gaa 3 syun4 faan 1 hoi1 lai4/heoi 3 (maa 5tau4). s/he anchor asp cl ship return depart come/go (pier) ‘S/he anchored the ship back over here/there (the pier).’



f. 佢泊咗架船翻埋嚟/去(碼頭)。 Keoi 5 paak 3 zo2 gaa 3 syun4 faan1 maai4 lai4/heoi 3 (maa 5tau4). s/he anchor asp cl ship return approach come/go (pier) ‘S/he anchored the ship back close to here/there (the pier).’



g. 佢揸咗架巴士翻過嚟/去(車房)。 Keoi 5 zaa1 zo2 gaa 3 baa1si 2 faan 1 gwo3 lai4/heoi 3 (ce1fong4). s/he drive asp cl bus return pass come/go (garage) ‘S/he drove the car back over here/there (to the garage).’

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The structures exhibited by compound directional complements in self-agentive, non-agentive and agentive motion events are schematically represented in Figure 4 below: Self-agentive  Non-agentive Agentive



⎧ ⎨ ⎩ ⎧ ⎨ ⎩

[Theme subject + [VP [Main verb + asp] + [Compound directional complement + (Locative object)]]] [Agent subject + [VP [[Main verb + asp] + [Theme object]] + [Compound directional complement + (Locative object)]]]

Figure 4. Two structures exhibited by compound directional complements in the three types of motion events

Figure 4 shows that in all of the three types of motion events, the compound directional complement and the main verb do not form a compound, a possibility that exists when simple directional complements are used in expressing path in agentive motion events (cf. Figure 2 in section 2.4.3). As a result, an aspect marker follows immediately after the main verb and before the compound directional complement. It is observed above that simple directional complements appear in a fixed word order in a triple directional complement, i.e. Type 3 + Type 2 + Type 1. Greenberg (1966) suggests that “the order of elements in language parallels that in physical experience or the order of knowledge”. Tai (1985) takes a step further in proposing the Principle of Temporal Sequence, according to which the relative word order between two syntactic units reflects the temporal order of the states which they represent in the conceptual world. In other words, Syntactic unit A will appear before Syntactic unit B in a sentence if it represents an event that takes place before that represented by Syntactic unit B in the conceptual world. This principle seems to capture well the semantic difference in the following sentences: Mandarin (57) a. 他在黑板上寫字。 Tā zài hēibǎn shang xiě zì. he at blackboard Localizer write character ‘On the blackboard, he writes characters.’

b. 他寫字在黑板上。 Tā xiě zì zài hēibǎn shang. he write character at blackboard Localizer ‘He writes characters on the blackboard.’

Compound directional complements 

 85

While the phrase zài hēibǎn shang 在黑板上 ‘on the blackboard’ in (57a) denotes the location at which the character-writing action takes place, the same phrase in (57b) refers to the goal or the resultant location of the characters. To put it differently, in (57a) the subject must locate himself in front of the blackboard before he starts to write characters, whereas in (57b) the action of character-writing precedes the existence of the characters on the blackboard. Let’s look at example (58): (58)

你行咗翻開嚟。 Nei 5 haang4 zo2 faan 1 hoi1 lai4. you walk asp return depart come ‘You walked away back from there to here.’

The directional complement faan 1 翻 ‘to return’ in faan 1 hoi1 lai4 翻開嚟 ‘to return, to depart and to come’ indicates that the walking action takes the theme subject back to the source from which s/he moved away at an earlier time. Hoi1 開 ‘to depart’ specifies that this source-returning movement involves the subject walking away from his/her current location, and lai4 嚟 ‘to come’ denotes that the speaker is at the goal or the original source. The Principle of Temporal Sequence also seems to be able to account for the ordering of the simple directional complements in a triple directional complement. Precisely, a movement as denoted by the verb starts at the source, traverses the path and ends at the goal. It is shown in 2.3.1 that the Type 3 and Type 1 directional complements highlight the two ends of a movement, i.e. the source and the goal respectively. In contrast, the meaning of a Type 2 directional complement includes an inherent path. As a result, the syntactic sequence of the three types of simple directional complements, i.e. Type 3 + Type 2 + Type 1, mirrors the temporal sequence of a physical movement of source-path-goal. The ordering observed in (58), i.e. source-path-goal, is also exhibited in the ordering of particles in English. For example, (59) a. She came back over here. b. She brought the book back into there. c. She put the tools back down there. In examples (59a)–(59c), while back appears next to the verb (cf. (59a)), or after the verb and the object (cf. (59b)–(59c)), here or there occurs as the last member in the sequence. The middle position is occupied by over, into and down. The position which back occupies is the same as that of faan 1 翻 ‘to return’, and they both indicate that the goal of the movement is also the source from which the theme moved away at an earlier time. The position of over, into and down cor-

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responds to the position of the Type 2 complements. They all specify the spatial configuration of the path. Here/there and lai4 嚟 ‘to come’/heoi 3 去 ‘to go’, which include a speaker orientation point, appear in the last position in the sequence, and represent the goal of the movement. However, English differs from Cantonese in allowing a maximum of two particles which depict the path of a movement to appear in a sentence. For example, (60) a. She came back up over here. b. She brought the book back up into there. c. She put the tools back down over there. While up is added to (59a) and (59b) to derive back up over here in (60a) and back up into there in (60b), over is added to (59c) to derive back down over there in (60c). In the case of Cantonese, only one Type 2 complement which denotes the path is allowed in triple directional complements.83 Georg Bossong (p.c.) points out that the word order difference in (57a) and (57b) may also be related to the tendency for the old information represented by the topic to precede the new information represented by the focus in a sentence. In particular, in (57a) zài hēibǎn shang 在黑板上 ‘at the blackboard’ may represent a piece of old information, something which has already been mentioned in the discourse, whereas xiě zì 寫字 ‘writing’ a piece of new information which has just been introduced to the discourse. As a result, zài hēibǎn shang 在黑板 ‘at the blackboard’ appears before xiě zì 寫字 ‘writing’. In contrast, (57b) may represent an opposite situation. Specifically, xiě zì 寫字 ‘writing’ represents old information while zài hēibǎn shang 在黑板上 ‘at the blackboard’ new information. As a result, xiě zì 寫字 ‘writing’ precedes zài hēibǎn shang 在黑板上 ‘at the blackboard’. However, it does not seem possible to adopt the topic-focus account to explain the word order exhibited by the simple directional complements in triple directional complements in Cantonese or the particles in English as the movements denoted by the simple directional complements or the particles take place simultaneously. As a result, they will all refer to old information denoting past movements or they will all refer to new information regarding concurrent or future movements. Section 2.5 has examined the use of compound directional complements to encode path in self-agentive, non-agentive and agentive motion events, a characteristic which is exemplified in satellite-framed languages. Section 2.6 focuses on another group of verbs, i.e. state change verbs, which can serve as a main verb or a complement to denote change of state, characteristics that are associated with verb-framed and satellite-framed languages respectively. 83 A similar ordering is also observed in Jakalteck and Thai. See Craig (1993) and Zlatev and Yangklang (2004) for the relevant discussions.

State change verbs 

 87

2.6 State change verbs Talmy (2000b) notes that there is a tendency for languages to encode the core schema of event complexes with the same morphosyntactic element, i.e. verb root vs. satellite. This section discusses the expression of the core schema of change of state in Cantonese. State change verbs in this study include intransitive verbs and adjectives, elements which often appear in the complement position (traditionally referred to as resultative complement), denoting the resultant state of an action.84 The complement position in the following agentive examples is occupied by intransitive verbs.85 Agentive event: Co-event verb + State change satellite (intransitive verb) (61) a. 佢做完咗個project。 Keoi 5 zou6 jyun4 zo2 go3 project. s/he do finish asp cl project ‘S/he completed the project.’

b. 佢擝甩咗啲螺絲。 Keoi 5 mang1 lat1 zo2 di1 lo4si1. s/he pull loose asp cl nut ‘S/he pulled loose the nuts.’



c. 佢吹郁咗張紙。 Keoi 5 ceoi1 juk 1 zo2 zoeng1 zi 2. s/he blow move asp cl paper ‘S/he moved the paper by blowing on it.’



d. 佢踢停咗架機。 Keoi 5 tek 3 ting4 zo2 gaa 3 gei1. s/he kick stop asp cl machine ‘S/he stopped the machine by kicking it.’

84 Xu (2006: 156–157) notes that only a few verbs in contemporary Chinese can occur in the complement position as a resultative complement. These verbs possess an end point with a focus on the final stage of an action such as wán 完 ‘to finish’, chéng 成 ‘to achieve’ and hǎo 好 ‘to perfect’. Moreover, they cannot be repeated. When a duration expression is used, it expresses the duration after the event but not the duration of the action or the event. These verbs share two features with adjectives, i.e. [+accomplish], and the degree of [+action] is very low. The above characteristics in general are also applicable to state change verbs in this study. 85 In example (61), only a few of the intransitive verbs can be involved in sentences that denote self-agentive events, e.g. keoi 5 haam 3 jyun4 zo2 佢喊完咗 s/he-cry-finish-asp ‘S/he stopped crying’, go3 caak 2 zau 2 lat1 zo2 個賊走甩咗 cl-thief-run-loose-asp ‘The thief ran away’, and go2 go3 jan4 dit 3 soeng1 zo2 嗰個人跌傷咗 that-cl-person-trip-hurt-asp ‘That person was hurt by tripping’. Therefore, no specific discussion on self-agentive events is provided.

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e. 佢開着咗盞燈。 Keoi 5 hoi1 zoek6 zo2 zaan 2 dang1. s/he open on asp cl lamp ‘S/he turned on the lamp.’



f. 佢吹熄咗枝蠟燭。 Keoi 5 ceoi1 sik 1 zo2 zi1 laap6zuk 1. s/he blow out asp cl candle ‘S/he blew out the candle.’



g. 佢打傷咗嗰個人。 Keoi 5 daa 2 soeng1 zo2 go2 go3 jan4. s/he hit hurt asp that cl person ‘S/he injured that person by hitting him/her.’

In example (61), the verbs denote the actions which are carried out by the subjects and which bring about the resultant states of the objects specified by the complements. The following agentive examples illustrate the use of adjectives86 as a complement of the main verb. Agentive event: Co-event verb + State change satellite (adjective) (62) a. 佢整平咗條路。 Keoi 5 zing2 ping4 zo2 tiu4 lou6. s/he make flat asp cl road ‘S/he leveled the road.’

b. 佢焗乾咗啲衫。 Keoi 5 guk6 gon 1 zo2 di1 saam1. s/he bake dry asp cl clothes ‘S/he dried the clothes with the dryer.’



c. 佢㩒鬆咗啲肌肉。 Keoi 5 gam6 sung1 zo2 di1 gei1juk6. s/he touch loose asp cl muscle ‘S/he relaxed the muscles by massaging them.’

86 One property of adjectives, especially the gradable ones, is that they can be preceded by a degree adverb. For example, hou 2 ping4 好平 ‘very flat’, hou 2 gon 1 好乾 ‘very dry’, hou 2 sung1 好 鬆 ‘very loose’ and hou 2 sap1 好濕 ‘very wet’.

State change verbs 



 89

d. 佢洗濕咗個頭。 Keoi 5 sai 2 sap1 zo2 go3 tau4. s/he wash wet asp cl head ‘S/he wet his/her hair by washing it.’

In example (62), the agent subjects carry out the actions which are denoted by the main verbs and which cause the objects to be in the states indicated by the complements. The intransitive verbs (cf. (63a)–(63g)) and the adjectives (cf. (63h)–(63k)) in the following non-agentive examples function as complements, denoting the results of the actions. Non-agentive event: Co-event verb + State change satellite (intransitive verb) (63) a. 個project做完咗。 Go3 project zou6 jyun4 zo2. cl project do finish asp ‘The project was completed.’

b. 啲螺絲擝甩咗。 Di1 lo4si1 mang1 lat1 zo2. cl nuts pull loose asp ‘The nuts were pulled loose.’



c. 張紙吹郁咗。 Zoeng1 zi 2 ceoi1 juk 1 zo2. cl paper blow move asp ‘The paper was moved by being blown on.’



d. 架機拉停咗。 Gaa 3 gei1 laai1 ting4 zo2. cl machine pull stop asp ‘The machine was stopped by being pulled.’



e. 盞燈開着咗。 Zaan 2 dang1 hoi1 zoek6 zo2. cl lamp open on asp ‘The light was turned on.’



f. 枝蠟燭吹熄咗。 Zi1 laap6zuk 1 ceoi1 sik 1 zo2. cl candle blow out asp ‘The candle was blown out.’

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 Chapter 2. Directional verbs in modern Cantonese g. 嗰個人打傷咗。 Go2 go3 jan4 daa 2 soeng1 zo2. that cl person hit injure asp ‘That person was injured by being hit.’

Non-agentive event: Co-event verb + State change satellite (adjective) (63) h. 條路整平咗。 Tiu4 lou6 zing2 ping4 zo2. cl road make flat asp ‘The road was leveled.’

i. 啲衫焗乾咗。 Di1 saam1 guk6 gon 1 zo2. cl clothes bake dry asp ‘The clothes were dried with the dryer.’



j. 啲肌肉㩒鬆咗。 Di1 gei1 juk6 gam6 sung1 zo2. cl muscle touch loose asp The muscles were relaxed by being massaged.’



k. 個頭洗濕咗。 Go3 tau4 sai 2 sap1 zo2. cl head wash wet asp ‘The head was wet by being washed.’

In example (63), the verbs refer to the actions which are carried out by entities unspecified in the sentences and which cause the subjects to be in the states denoted by the complements. There are similarities observed in resultative complements and simple directional complements.87 First, they both form a unit with the main verb in agentive events. As a result, the aspect marker zo2 咗 appears after the main verb and the directional/resultative complement (cf. (48) in 2.4.3 and (61)–(63)). Second, both can be used in non-agentive and agentive events (cf. (47)–(48) in 2.4.2–2.4.3 and (61)–(63)). While the resultative complement indicates a change of state, the simple directional complement denotes a change of location. Third, the element 87 There is a difference between resultative complements and simple directional complements in non-agentive events. The former and the verb form a compound and zo2 咗 follows the compound, whereas the latter and the verb do not form a compound and zo2 咗 occurs between them (cf. (47)).

State change verbs 

 91

that functions as a directional complement or a resultative complement can also function as a main verb in the sentence, as shown in the following non-agentive examples:88 Non-agentive event: State change verb (intransitive verb) (64) a. 個project完咗。 Go3 project jyun4 zo2. cl project finish asp ‘The project ended.’

b. 啲螺絲甩咗。 Di1 lo4si1 lat1 zo2. cl nut loose asp ‘The nuts came off.’



c. 張紙郁咗。 Zoeng1 zi 2 juk 1 zo2. cl paper move asp ‘The paper moved.’



d. 架機停咗。 Gaa 3 gei1 ting4 zo2. cl machine stop asp ‘The machine stopped.’



e. 盞燈着咗。 Zaan 2 dang1 zoek6 zo2. cl lamp on asp ‘The lamp was on.’



f. 枝蠟燭熄咗。 Zi1 laap6zuk 1 sik 1 zo2. cl candle out asp ‘The candle was blown out.’



g. 嗰個人傷咗。 Go2 go3 jan4 soeng1 zo2. that cl person hurt asp ‘That person was injured.’

88 See 2.3 for a discussion on the use of directional verbs in the three types of motion events.

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In example (64), the intransitive verbs specify the change of state of the subjects. The adjectives in the following examples function as the head of the predicates and specify the change of state of the subjects.89 Non-agentive event: State change verb (adjective) (65) a. 條路平咗。 Tiu4 lou6 ping4 zo2. cl road flat asp ‘The road has become flat.’

b. 啲衫乾咗。 Di1 saam1 gon 1 zo2. cl clothes dry asp ‘The clothes have become dry.’



c. 啲肌肉鬆咗。 Di1 gei1juk6 sung1 zo2. cl muscle loose asp ‘The muscles have become relaxed.’



d. 個頭濕咗。 Go3 tau4 sap1 zo2. cl head wet asp ‘The head has become wet.’

It is particularly noteworthy that intransitive verbs and adjectives can be used to express agentive events in Cantonese, a characteristic that does not exist in Mandarin. Agentive event: State change verb (intransitive verb) (66) a. 佢完咗個project。 Keoi 5 jyun4 zo2 go3 project. s/he finish asp cl project ‘S/he ended the project.’

b. 佢甩咗啲螺絲。 Keoi 5 lat1 zo2 di1 lo4si1. s/he loose asp cl nut ‘S/he loosened the nuts.’

89 It should be pointed out that the use of zo2 咗 after an adjective denotes a change of state rather than the completion of an action.

State change verbs 



c. 佢郁咗張紙。 Keoi 5 juk 1 zo2 zoeng1 zi 2. s/he move asp cl paper ‘S/he moved the paper.’



d. 佢停咗架機。 Keoi 5 ting4 zo2 gaa 3 gei1. s/he stop asp cl machine ‘S/he stopped the machine.’



e. 佢着咗盞燈。 Keoi 5 zoek6 zo2 zaan 2 dang1. s/he on asp cl lamp ‘S/he turned on the lamp.’



f. 佢熄咗枝蠟燭。 Keoi 5 sik 1 zo2 zi1 laap6zuk 1. s/he out asp cl candle ‘S/he blew out the candle.’



g. 佢傷咗嗰個人。 Keoi 5 soeng1 zo2 go2 go3 jan4. s/he hurt asp that cl person ‘S/he injured that person.’

 93

In example (66), the subjects are the agents who carry out the actions denoted by the intransitive verbs while the objects are the affected entities of the actions. The intransitive verbs simultaneously specify the actions carried out by the subjects and the resultant states of the objects. The following examples show the use of adjectives in agentive events. Agentive event: State change verb (adjective) (67) a. 佢平咗條路。 Keoi 5 ping4 zo2 tiu4 lou6. s/he flat asp cl road ‘S/he leveled the road.’

b. 佢乾咗啲衫。 Keoi 5 gon 1 zo2 di1 saam1. s/he dry asp cl clothes ‘S/he dried the clothes.’

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c. 佢鬆咗啲肌肉。 Keoi 5 sung1 zo2 di1 gei1juk6. s/he loose asp cl muscle ‘S/he relaxed the muscles.’



d. 佢濕咗隻手。 Keoi 5 sap1 zo2 zek 3 sau 2. s/he wet asp cl hand ‘S/he wet his/her hands.’

The adjectives in example (67) simultaneously denote the actions carried out by the subjects and the resultant states of the objects. Directional verbs, intransitive verbs and adjectives are elements that often fill the complement position, indicating the direction of a movement and the resultant state of an action. It has been further demonstrated above that they can also be used causatively. However, directional verbs do not increase the number of arguments, but instead involve arguments of a different set of semantic roles, whereas intransitive verbs and adjectives add an extra argument to the sentence. Sections 2.2–2.6 have provided a detailed description of the expression of the event complexes of motion and change of state in Cantonese. It is shown that Cantonese exhibits both characteristics of verb-framed and satellite-framed languages, some of which are compared with those of Mandarin and Japanese in the next section.

2.7 Discussion This section addresses the following two issues. First, how does Cantonese fit into Talmy’s typology of motion events? Second, how are the differences exhibited by Cantonese and Mandarin accounted for?

2.7.1 From verb framing to satellite framing According to Talmy (2000b), Mandarin is classified as a satellite-framed language while Japanese is considered a verb-framed language. The following discussion highlights the typological characteristics of Cantonese by comparing them with those of Mandarin and Japanese. Section 2.3 shows that directional verbs in Cantonese can be used to express path in self-agentive, non-agentive and agentive motion events.

Discussion 

 95

Cantonese Self-agentive motion event (68) a. 佢入咗課室。 Keoi 5 jap6 zo2 fo3sat1. s/he enter asp classroom ‘S/he entered the classroom.’

b. 佢行咗入課室。 Keoi 5 haang4 zo2 jap6 fo3sat1. s/he walk asp enter classroom ‘S/he walked into the classroom.’

Non-agentive motion event (69) a. 個波入咗。 Go3 bo1 jap6 zo2. cl ball enter asp ‘The ball moved in.’

b. 個波踢入咗。 Go3 bo1 tek 3 jap6 zo2. cl ball kick enter asp ‘The ball was kicked in.’

Agentive motion event (70) a. 佢入咗個波。 Keoi 5 jap6 zo2 go3 bo1. s/he enter asp cl ball ‘S/he moved in a ball.’

b. 佢踢入咗個波。 Keoi 5 tek 3 jap6 zo2 go3 bo1. s/he kick enter asp cl ball ‘She kicked in a ball.’

Example (68) illustrates a self-agentive motion event, example (69) a non-agentive motion event and (70) an agentive motion event. In all three sets of examples, the directional verb jap6 入 ‘to enter’ can function as a main verb in (68a)– (70a) or as a complement in (68b)–(70b), encoding path. A similar causative use is exemplified by intransitive verbs and adjectives, as shown in section 2.6.

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Cantonese Self-agentive event (71) a. 嗰個人傷咗。 (= (64g)) Go2 go3 jan4 soeng1 zo2. that cl person injure asp ‘That person was injured.’

b. 嗰個人跌傷咗。90 Go2 go3 jan4 dit 3 soeng1 zo2. that cl person trip injure asp ‘That person was injured from tripping.’

Agentive event (72) a. 佢傷咗嗰個人。(= (66g)) Keoi 5 soeng1 zo2 go2 go3 jan4. s/he injure asp that cl person ‘S/he injured that person.’

b. 佢打傷咗嗰個人。(= (61g)) Keoi 5 daa 2 soeng1 zo2 go2 go3 jan4. s/he hit injure asp that cl person ‘S/he injured that person by hitting him/her.’

Non-agentive event (73) a. 個project完咗。(= (64a)) Go3 project jyun4 zo2. cl project finish asp ‘The project was completed.’

b. 個project做完咗。(= (63a)) Go3 project zou6 jyun4 zo2. cl project do finish asp ‘The project was completed.’

90 Example (71b) go2 go3 jan4 dit 3 soeng1 zo2 嗰個人跌傷咗 that-cl-person-trip-injure-asp ‘That person was injured from tripping’, which is considered a self-agentive sentence, is different from go2 go3 jan4 daa 2 soeng1 zo2 嗰個人打傷咗 that-cl-person-hit-injure-asp ‘That person was injured by being hit’ in (63g), which is regarded as a non-agentive sentence, as the subject of the former might injure himself/herself by tripping while the subject of the latter might possibly be injured by being hit by others.

Discussion 

 97

Agentive event (74) a. 佢完咗個project。(= (66a)) Keoi 5 jyun4 zo2 go3 project. s/he finish asp cl project ‘S/he completed the project.’

b. 佢做完咗個project。(= (61a)) Keoi 5 zou6 jyun4 zo2 go3 project. s/he do finish asp cl project ‘S/he completed the project.’

While examples (71) and (72) consist of the intransitive verb soeng1 傷 ‘to injure’, examples (73) and (74) involve the intransitive verb jyun4 完 ‘to finish’. Example (71) refers to a self-agentive event, example (73) a non-agentive event, and examples (72) and (74) agentive events. The intransitive verb alone can be used to denote the resultant state of the subject in a self-agentive event as in (71a) and in a non-agentive event as in (73a). The intransitive verb can also simultaneously denote the action carried out by the subject and the resultant state of the object in agentive events as in (72a) and (74a). Alternatively, the use of a co-event verb and a state change satellite is also possible in which the co-event verb, i.e. dit 3 跌 ‘to trip’, daa 2 打 ‘to hit’ and zou6 做 ‘to do’, indicates the cause of the resultant state, whereas the state change satellite, i.e. soeng1 傷 ‘to injure’ and jyun4 完 ‘to finish’, denotes the resultant state (cf. (71b)–(74b)). The following examples illustrate the use of the adjective gon 1 乾 ‘dry’ in a non-agentive event and an agentive event in (75) and (76). Cantonese Non-agentive event (75) a. 啲衫乾咗。 (=(65b)) Di1 saam1 gon 1 zo2. cl clothes dry asp ‘The clothes became dry.’

b. 啲衫焗乾咗。 (=(63i)) Di1 saam1 guk6 gon 1 zo2. cl clothes bake dry asp ‘The clothes were dried.’

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Agentive event (76) a. 佢乾咗啲衫。 (=(67b)) Keoi 5 gon 1 zo2 di1 saam1. s/he dry asp cl clothes ‘S/he dried the clothes.’

b. 佢焗乾咗啲衫。 (=(62b)) Keoi 5 guk6 gon 1 zo2 di1 saam1. s/he bake dry asp cl clothes ‘S/he dried the clothes.’

In examples (75a) and (76a), the adjective gon1 乾 ‘dry’ functions as the main verb. In the former, it denotes the change of state of the theme subject saam 1 衫 ‘the clothes’, whereas in the latter it indicates simultaneously the action carried out by the agent subject and the resultant state of the object. Examples (75b) and (76b) show that it is also possible to combine gon 1 乾 ‘dry’ with the co-event verb guk6 焗 ‘to bake’ to express a change of state in which the adjective gon 1 乾 ‘dry’ indicates the resultant state while the co-event verb specifies the cause which brought about the change of state. At first blush, the Mandarin examples in (77)–(79) seem to suggest that Mandarin is identical to Cantonese in expressing path in a directional verb or in a combination of a co-event verb and a directional complement in the three types of motion events. However, it will be further demonstrated below that the agentive use of directional verbs, intransitive verbs and adjectives in Mandarin is not as productive as that in Cantonese. Mandarin Self-agentive motion event (77) a. 他進了教室。 Tā jìn le jiàoshì. he enter asp classroom ‘He entered the classroom.’

b. 他走進了教室。(= (18b) in Ch. 1) Tā zǒu jìn le jiàoshì. he walk enter asp classroom ‘He walked into the classroom.’

Discussion 

 99

Example (77) shows that similar to Cantonese, Mandarin allows the use of a directional verb such as jìn 進 ‘to enter’ or a combination of a manner verb and a simple directional complement such as zǒu jìn 走進 ‘to walk and to enter’ to express a self-agentive motion event (cf. (68)). While (78) denotes a non-agentive motion event, (79) expresses an agentive motion event. Path is expressed in the directional verb jìn 進 ‘to enter’ in (78a) and (79a) (cf. (69a) and (70a)). Cause and path are expressed in a combination of a co-event verb and a directional complement in (78b) and (79b), i.e. tī jìn 踢進 ‘to kick and to enter’ (cf. (69b) and (70b)). Mandarin Non-agentive motion event (78) a. 球進了球門。 Qiú jìn le qiúmén. ball enter asp goal ‘The ball was moved into the goal.’

b. 球踢進了球門。 Qiú tī jìn le qiúmén. ball kick enter asp goal ‘The ball was kicked into the goal.’

Agentive motion event (79) a. 他進了三個球。 Tā jìn le sān gè qiú. he enter asp three cl ball ‘He put in three balls.’

b. 他踢進了三個球。(= (18a) in Ch. 1) Tā tī jìn le sān gè qiú. he kick enter asp three cl ball ‘He kicked in three balls.’

However, upon a closer examination, it is found that the causative use of directional verbs is greatly restricted in Mandarin, if not impossible. For example, the directional verb jìn 進 ‘to enter’ cannot be modified by the adverbial duō 多 ‘more’ in (80a), and the object qiú 球 ‘a ball’ cannot be replaced by a different

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object, as shown in (80b).91 In contrast, the above constraints are not observed in Cantonese as in (81) below. Mandarin Agentive motion event (80) a. ??他多進了三個球。 Tā duō jìn le sān gè qiú. he more enter asp three cl ball ‘He moved in three more balls.’

b. *他進了三封信。 Tā jìn le sān fēng xìn. he enter asp three cl letter ‘He put three letters into somewhere.’

Cantonese Agentive motion event (81) a. 佢入多咗三個波。 Keoi 5 jap6 do1 zo2 saam1 go3 bo1. s/he enter more asp three cl ball ‘S/he moved in three more balls.’

b. 佢入咗三封信。 Keoi 5 jap6 zo2 saam1 fung1 seon 3. s/he enter asp three cl letter ‘S/he put three letters into somewhere.’

Similar constraints are also exemplified by intransitive verbs in Mandarin. For example,

91 See 2.3.3 for a discussion on the use of directional verbs in agentive motion events in Cantonese. Although not all of the twelve directional verbs studied in Cantonese exhibit the agentive use, the productivity of those that show such a use is high in comparison with that in Mandarin, especially in the cases of jap6 入 ‘to enter’ and lok6 落 ‘to descend’. See 2.4.3 and footnote 76 for the contrast between the directional complement jap6 入 ‘to enter’ and other directional complements regarding the possibility of omitting the preceding co-event verb.

Discussion 

Mandarin Self-agentive event (82) a. *那個人傷了。 Nà ge rén shāng le. that cl person injure sfp ‘That person was injured.’

b. 那個人摔傷了。 Nà ge rén shuāi shāng le. that cl person trip injure sfp ‘That person was injured from tripping.’

Agentive event (83) a. *他傷了那個人。 Tā shāng le nà ge rén. he injure asp that cl person ‘He injured that person.’

b. 他打傷了那個人。 Tā dǎ shāng le nà ge rén. he hit injure asp that cl person ‘He injured that person by hitting him.’

Non-agentive event (84) a. 蠟燭滅了。 Làzhú miè le. candle extinguish sfp ‘The candle was extinguished.’

b. 蠟燭吹滅了。 Làzhú chuī miè le. candle blow extinguish sfp ‘The candle was blown out.’

Agentive event (85) a. *他滅了蠟燭。 Tā miè le làzhú. he extinguish asp candle ‘He extinguished the candle.’

 101

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 Chapter 2. Directional verbs in modern Cantonese b. 他吹滅了蠟燭。 Tā chuī miè le làzhú. he blow extinguish asp candle ‘He blew out the candle.’

Example (82) refers to a self-agentive event whereas (84) refers to a non-agentive event. Shāng 傷 ‘to injure’, in general, cannot function as a main verb to denote the change of state of the subject (cf. (82a)). Instead, the use of a co-event verb and a satellite such as shuāi shāng 摔傷 ‘to injure by tripping’ is preferred as in (82b). In the case of miè 滅 ‘to extinguish’, the use of miè 滅 ‘to extinguish’ alone in (84a) or the combination of chuī miè 吹滅 ‘to blow out’ in (84b) are equally acceptable. However, neither the sole use of shāng 傷 ‘to injure’ nor miè 滅 ‘to extinguish’ is possible to express the agentive events in (83a) and (85a). Instead, the combination of Co-event verb + shāng 傷 ‘to injure’/miè 滅 ‘to extinguish’ is used in (83b) and (85b). The causative use of adjectives also seems restricted in Mandarin. Mandarin Non-agentive event (86) a. 襯衣乾了。 Chènyī gān le. shirt dry sfp ‘The shirt is dry.’

b. 襯衣晾乾了。 Chènyī liàng gān le. shirt hang dry sfp ‘The shirt was hung dry.’

Agentive event (87)

a. *他乾了襯衣。 Tā gān le chènyī. he dry asp shirt ‘He dried the shirt.’



b. 他晾乾了襯衣 Tā liàng gān le chènyī. he hang dry asp shirt ‘He hung the shirt dry.’

Discussion 

 103

Gān 乾 ‘dry’ in (86a) and liàng gān 晾乾 ‘to hang dry’ in (86b) can both be used to denote the change of state of the subject in a non-agentive event. However, when expressing an agentive event, gān 乾 ‘dry’ cannot be used as a main verb in (87a). Instead, the Co-event verb + Satellite pattern is employed in (87b), in which the co-event verb liàng 晾 ‘to hang’ indicates the action carried out by the subject and the satellite gān 乾 ‘dry’ specifies the resultant state of the object. Kē (2003) points out that one major difference between Mandarin and verbframed languages such as Japanese and French is that an agentive motion event is expressed by a combination of Co-event verb + Path satellite in the former but by a single path verb in the latter. Similarities are observed when Cantonese and Japanese are compared. In Japanese, a path verb has two sets of verb forms, i.e. intransitive and transitive forms. While the intransitive form is used to express self-agentive or nonagentive motion events, the transitive form is used to represent agentive motion events.92 The following examples illustrate the use of the intransitive form of path verbs in self-agentive and non-agentive motion events in Japanese. Japanese Self-agentive motion event (88) a. 彼は三階に上がった。 Kare wa sangai ni agatta. s/he top third floor to ascend.pst ‘S/he ascended to the third floor.’

b. 彼は三階に下りた。 Kare wa sangai ni orita. s/he top third floor to descend.pst ‘S/he descended to the third floor.’



c. 彼は台所に入った。 Kare wa daidokoro ni haitta. s/he top kitchen to enter.pst ‘S/he entered the kitchen.’

92 The difference in the use of the transitive and the intransitive forms seems to be related to the agentivity of the subject. If the subject is the agent who carries out an action which brings about a certain effect on the object, then the transitive form is used. If the subject bears the role of theme, whether the subject moves voluntarily or is caused to move, the intransitive form is used.

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Non-agentive motion event (89) a. 荷は棚に上がった。 Ni wa tana ni agatta. goods top shelf to ascend.pst ‘The goods were moved up onto the shelf.’

b. 荷は船から下りた。 Ni wa fune kara orita. goods top ship from descend.pst ‘The goods were unloaded from the ship.’



c. ボールはゴールに入った。 Booru wa gooru ni haitta. ball top goal to enter.pst ‘The ball was moved into the goal.’

While example (88) illustrates the use of the directional verbs agaru 上がる ‘to ascend’, oriru 下りる ‘to descend’ and hairu 入る ‘to enter’ in self-agentive motion events, the corresponding non-agentive sentences are shown in (89). In both types of motion events, an intransitive form is used to indicate the direction of the movement undergone voluntarily or involuntarily by the subject. In contrast, a transitive form is used in agentive motion events to indicate simultaneously the action which is carried out by the subject and which causes the object to move in a certain direction. For example, Japanese Agentive motion event (90) a. 彼は荷を上げた。 Kare wa ni o ageta. s/he top goods acc ascend.pst ‘S/he moved up the goods.’

b. 彼は荷を下ろした。 Kare wa ni o oroshita. s/he top goods acc descend.pst ‘S/he moved down the goods.’



c. 彼はボールを入れた。 Kare wa booru o ireta. s/he top ball acc enter.pst ‘S/he moved in the ball.’

Discussion 

 105

In example (90), the verbs ageru 上げる ‘to ascend’, orosu おろす ‘to descend’ and ireru 入れる ‘to enter’ are used to indicate the actions which are carried out by the subjects and which cause the objects to move in a certain direction. The intransitive and the transitive forms of the Japanese path verbs are similar to the self-agentive/non-agentive use and the agentive use of directional verbs in Cantonese.93 Furthermore, in Japanese a path verb can also be combined with a co-event verb when the manner or the cause of the movement is to be stressed.94 Japanese Self-agentive motion event (91) a. 彼は三階に駆け上がった。 Kare wa sangai ni kake-agatta. s/he top third floor to run-ascend.pst ‘S/he ran up to the third floor.’

b. 彼は三階に駆け下りた。 Kare wa sangai ni kake-orita. s/he top third floor to run-descend.pst ‘S/he ran down to the third floor.’



c. 彼は台所に駆け入った。 Kare wa daidokoro ni kake-haitta. s/he top kitchen to run-enter.pst ‘S/he ran into the kitchen.’

Non-agentive motion event (92) a. 荷は棚に運び上がった。 Ni wa tana ni hakobi-agatta. goods top shelf to carry-ascend.pst ‘The goods were moved up onto the shelf.’ 93 Similar to Japanese, in Cantonese the deictic directional verbs ‘to come’ and ‘to go’ in general cannot be used to express agentive motion events 94 Beavers et al. (2010) note that when two verbs appear side by side in Japanese, they can be analyzed as a compound or a serial verb construction, in which both verbs might be considered equipollent. However, the authors also point out that there is no consensus as to whether the two verbs indeed have the same status. See a later discussion in this section for evidence which suggests that the final verb, i.e. the path verb or the state change verb, in the verb series might be interpreted as the head. In other words, verb compounds and serial verb constructions in Japanese are not truly equipollently-framed.

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b. 荷は船に投げ下りた。95 Ni wa fune ni nage-orita. goods top ship to throw-enter.pst ‘The goods were thrown onto the ship.’



c. ボールはゴールに転がり入った。 Booru wa gooru ni korogari-haitta. ball top goal to roll-enter.pst ‘The ball rolled into the goal.’

Example (91) denotes self-agentive motion events while (92) refers to non-agentive motion events. Examples (91) and (92) differ from the corresponding ones of (88) and (89) in having the co-event verbs kakeru 駆ける ‘to run’, hakobu 運ぶ ‘to carry’, nageru 投げる ‘to throw’ and korogaru 転がる ‘to roll’, which denote the manner and the causes of the movements. Similarly, example (93) is derived by combining the co-event verbs hakobu 運ぶ ‘to carry’, nageru 投げる ‘to throw’ and korogaru 転がる ‘to roll’ to example (90) with the co-event verbs to emphasize the causes which bring about the movements of the objects. Japanese Agentive motion event (93) a. 彼は荷を棚に運び上げた。 Kare wa ni o tana ni hakobi-ageta. s/he top goods acc shelf to carry-ascend.pst ‘S/he moved the goods up onto the shelf.’

b. 彼は荷を船から投げ下ろした。 Kare wa ni o fune kara nage-oroshita. s/he top goods acc ship from throw-descend.pst ‘S/he threw the goods from the ship.’



c. 彼はボールをゴールに転がし入れた。 Kare wa booru o gooru ni korogashi-ireta. s/he top ball acc goal to roll-enter.pst ‘S/he rolled the ball into the goal.’

95 According to the informant, the use of the corresponding transitive form nage-orosu 投げ下 ろすseems to be more natural than the use of the intransitive form.

Discussion 

 107

While the transitive forms are used in the agentive example in (93), the intransitive forms are used in the self-agentive examples in (91) and in the non-agentive examples in (92). It is illustrated above that intransitive verbs also exhibit a causative use in Cantonese. Parallels are also observed in Japanese. Japanese Non-agentive event (94) a. プロジェクトが終わった。 Purojekuto ga owatta. project nom complete.pst ‘The project was completed.’

b. ねじが抜けた。 Neji ga nuketa. nuts nom pull off.pst ‘The nuts came off.’



c. 紙が動いた。 Kami ga ugoita. paper nom move.pst ‘The paper was moved.’



d. 機器が止まった。 Kiki ga tomatta. machine nom stop.pst ‘The machine was stopped.’



e. 電気がついた。 Denki ga tsuita. lamp nom turn on.pst ‘The lamp was turned on.’



f. ろうそくが消えた。 Rousoku ga kieta. candle nom blow out.pst ‘The candle was blown out.’



g. その人が傷ついた。 Sono hito ga kizutsuita. that person nom injure.pst ‘That person was injured.’

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Example (94) denotes non-agentive events. The verb in each sentence indicates the resultant state of the theme subject. The following examples show the corresponding agentive sentences. Japanese Agentive event (95) a. 彼がプロジェクトを終えた。 Kare ga purojekuto o oeta. s/he nom project acc complete.pst ‘S/he completed the project.’

b. 彼がねじを抜いた。 Kare ga neji o nuita. s/he nom nuts acc pull off.pst ‘S/he pulled off the nuts.’



c. 彼が紙を動かした。 Kare ga kami o ugokashita. s/he nom paper acc move.pst ‘S/he moved the paper.’



d. 彼が機器を止めた。 Kare ga kiki o tometa. s/he nom machine acc stop.pst ‘S/he stopped the machine.’



e. 彼が電気をつけた。 Kare ga denki o tsuketa. s/he nom lamp acc turn on.pst ‘S/he turned on the lamp.’



f. 彼がろうそくを消した。 Kare ga rousoku o keshita. s/he nom candle acc blow out.pst ‘S/he blew out the candle.’



g. 彼がその人を傷つけた。 Kare ga sono hito o kizutsuketa. s/he nom that person acc injure.pst ‘S/he injured that person.’

Discussion 

 109

In example (95), the subjects are the agents who carry out the actions denoted by the verbs while the objects are the entities that are affected by the actions of the subjects. Moreover, two sets of verb forms are exhibited in (94) and (95). While the transitive forms are used in the agentive sentences in (95), the intransitive forms are used in the non-agentive sentences in (94). It is also possible to use a co-event verb to indicate the cause of the resultant state in an agentive sentence if the cause is emphasized. Japanese Agentive event (96) a. 彼がプロジェクトをやり終えた。 Kare ga purojekuto o yari-oeta. s/he nom project acc do-complete.pst ‘S/he completed the project.’

b. 彼がねじを引き抜いた。 Kare ga neji o hiki-nuita. s/he nom nuts acc drag-pull off.pst ‘S/he pulled off the nuts.’



c. 彼が紙を吹いて動かした。 Kare ga kami o fuite-ugokashita. s/he nom paper acc blow-move.pst ‘S/he moved the paper by blowing it.’



d. 彼が機器を蹴って止めた。 Kare ga kiki o kette-tometa. s/he nom machine acc kick-stop.pst ‘S/he stopped the machine by kicking it.’



e. 彼がスイッチを入れて電気をつけた。 Kare ga suicchi o irete denki o tsuketa. s/he nom switch acc enter lamp acc turn on.pst ‘S/he turned on the lamp by pressing the switch.’



f. 彼がろうそくを吹いて消した。 Kare ga rousoku o fuite-keshita. s/he nom candle acc blow out.pst ‘S/he blew out the candle.’

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 Chapter 2. Directional verbs in modern Cantonese g. 彼がその人を殴って傷つけた。 Kare ga sono hito o nagutte-kizutsuketa. s/he nom that person acc hit-injure.pst ‘S/he injured the person by hitting him/her.’

Example (96) shows that the cause of a certain resultant state can be specified by the use of a co-event verb or phrase, as illustrated by yaru やる ‘to do’, hiku 引 く ‘to pull’, fuku 吹く ‘to blow’, keru 蹴る ‘to kick’, suicchi o ireru スイッチを入れ る ‘to press the switch’ and naguru 殴る ‘to hit’. The following table summarizes the ways in which Cantonese, Mandarin and Japanese express the core schemas of path and change of state.96 Table 18. Expression of path and change of state in Mandarin, Cantonese and Japanese9798 99 Self-agentive

Mandarin

Cantonese

Japanese

Path

• Verb-framed Path verb • Satellite-framed Co-event verb + Path satellite

• Verb-framed Path verb • Satellite-framed Co-event verb + Path satellite

• Verb-framed Path verb • Verb-framed Co-event verb + Path verb

Change of state

• Verb-framed98 State change verb • Satellite-framed Co-event verb + State change satellite

• Verb-framed State change verb • Satellite-framed Co-event verb + State change satellite

• Verb-framed State change verb99 • Verb-framed Co-event verb + State change verb

96 Kē (2004) only discusses the complex event of motion in Japanese but does not touch upon the event of change of state. 97 Differences are indicated by light shading. 98 Although example (82a) nà ge rén shāng le that-cl-person-injure-sfp 那個人傷了 ‘That person was injured’ is ruled out as ungrammatical, the use of an intransitive verb to denote a self-agentive event is possible in Mandarin, e.g. nà ge rén sǐ le that-cl-person-die-sfp 那個人 死了 ‘That person died’. 99 Adjectives in Cantonese sometimes correspond to an intransitive form of a verb in Japanese, e.g. thin in Cantonese corresponds to become thin in Japanese. Also, although adjectives do have an “intransitive” form and a “transitive” form in Japanese, i.e. “become + adjective” and “do + adjective”, those forms are compound forms. Therefore, no example from Japanese is provided to illustrate the two uses of adjectives.

Discussion 

 111

Non-agentive

Mandarin

Cantonese

Japanese

Path

• Verb-framed Path verb • Satellite-framed Co-event verb + Path satellite

• Verb-framed Path verb • Satellite-framed Co-event verb + Path satellite

• Verb-framed Path verb • Verb-framed Co-event verb + Path verb

Change of state

• Verb-framed State change verb • Satellite-framed Co-event verb + State change satellite

• Verb-framed State change verb • Satellite-framed Co-event verb + State change satellite

• Verb-framed State change verb • Verb-framed Co-event verb + State change verb

Agentive

Mandarin

Cantonese

Japanese

Path

• Satellite-framed Co-event verb + Path satellite

• Verb-framed Path verb • Satellite-framed Co-event verb + Path satellite

• Verb-framed Path verb • Verb-framed Co-event verb + Path verb

Change of state

• Satellite-framed • Verb-framed Co-event verb + State State change verb change satellite • Satellite-framed Co-event verb + State change satellite

• Verb-framed State change verb • Verb-framed Co-event verb + State change verb

Table 18 shows that in all three types of events, i.e. self-agentive, non-agentive and agentive events, Japanese exhibits the characteristics of verb-framed languages in expressing path and change of state in the verb, whereas Mandarin and Cantonese display the properties of both verb-framed and satellite-framed languages. When representing self-agentive and non-agentive events, Mandarin, Cantonese and Japanese can all make use of a single path verb or a single state change verb. When a co-event verb is involved to specify the manner or the cause, they differ in whether the second verb should be analyzed as a verb or a satellite. In particular, there is evidence which suggests that the second verb in Mandarin and Cantonese should be treated as a satellite, whereas the second verb in Japanese should be analyzed as a verb. Shěn (2003) suggests that the head of a verb complement construction in Mandarin, including those constructions whose complement position is occupied by a resultative complement or a directional complement, is the verb rather than the complement. It follows that Mandarin is basically a satellite-framed language, a claim which is supported by the following. First, the membership of

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the head element, i.e. the membership of the co-event verb, is open while that of the non-head element, i.e. the membership of the resultative/directional complement, is closed. Second, the meaning of the complement is often grammaticalized and its syllable undergoes phonological reduction, i.e. being pronounced in a neutral tone in Mandarin, while the meaning and the syllable of the verb are not eroded. Third, the verb rather than the complement is repeated when juxtaposing an affirmative form and a negative form to form a neutral question. For example, Mandarin (97) a. 帽子吹沒吹掉？ Màozi chuī méi chuī diào? hat blow not blow lose ‘Has the hat been blown away?’

b. *帽子吹掉沒掉？ Màozi chuī diào méi diào? hat blow lose not lose ‘Has the hat been blown away?’

Fourth, non-head elements are under the scope of a negator, but not head elements. Mandarin (98)

我沒有跑累。 Wǒ méiyou pǎo lèi. I not run tired ‘I have not become tired as a result of running.’

In example (98), the negator méiyou 沒有 ‘not’ negates the complement lèi 累 ‘tired’ but not the verb pǎo 跑 ‘to run’. Lastly, the verb complement construction was historically derived from the serial verb construction, which in turn originated from the coordinate verb construction, when the second verb underwent syntactic demotion to become a complement. Nevertheless, Shěn also notes that the complement in Mandarin is not a typical satellite as it alone can function as a predicate. What Shěn has said about Mandarin, by and large, also applies to Cantonese except that no phonological reduction has taken place in the complement.100 100 Some of the criteria are also proposed in Talmy (2009) to identify the main verb in a multiple-verb sentence, including class size, phonological length, substantive content, etc.

Discussion 

 113

In contrast, there are at least two pieces of evidence which suggest that in Japanese the head is the path verb or the state change verb when it co-occurs with a co-event verb. First, tense is marked on the second verb of a compound or a complex predicate. For example, kake-agaru 駆け上がる ‘to run and to ascend’ is a lexical compound verb according to Matsumoto (1996: 211). If the past tense is to be expressed, it is marked on the second verb agaru 上がる ‘to ascend’, i.e. agatta 上がった ‘ascended’ being the past tense form, rather than on the first verb kake 駆け ‘to run’. That tense marking can be used as an indicator of the independence of a verb is further supported by the following contrast. Japanese (Cipris and Hamano 2002: 126) (99) a. 靴を履いたまま,上へあがった。 Kutsu o haita mama, ue-e agatta. shoe acc wear.pst still above-toward ascend.pst ‘I went up (still) wearing my shoes.’

b. 靴を履いて, 上へあがった。 Kutsu o haite, ue-e agatta. shoe acc wear above-toward ascend.pst ‘I went up wearing my shoes.’

The major difference between (99a) and (99b) is that tense is marked on both haku 履く ‘to wear’ and agaru 上がる ‘to ascend’ in the former but only on agaru 上がる ‘to ascend’ in the latter. The contrast in tense marking shows that the two actions, i.e. shoe-wearing and going up, in (99a) are interpreted as independent events, while the same two events in (99b) are analyzed as more closely connected. As a result, the subject in the former might put on the shoes long before s/he went up, while the subject in the latter might carry out the two events simultaneously. The point is that it is possible for tense to be expressed more than once in a complex sentence. The fact that tense is only marked on one of the two verbs in the Japanese examples in the above section suggests that the two events denoted by the verbs are closely connected and the one that is marked for tense is the head. Similarly, in a coordinate structure in which two verbs are linked up by the conjunction te て, it is the second verb that bears tense marking. Japanese (Croft et al. 2010: 20) (100)

三博士は星に従ってベツレヘムを出た。 Sanhakase wa hoshi ni shitagat te Besturehemu o deta. three doctor top star to follow and Bethlehem acc go out.pst ‘The wise men followed the star out of Bethlehem’

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 Chapter 2. Directional verbs in modern Cantonese

The verbs shitagau 従う ‘to follow’ and deru 出る ‘to exit’ are said to be in a coordinate relationship, each of which has its own argument, i.e. hoshi 星 ‘the star’ and Besturehemu ベツレヘム ‘Bethlehem’. However, the past tense is marked only on the second verb deru 出る ‘to exit’, for which the past tense form is deta 出た ‘exited’, whereas the first verb shitagau 従う ‘to follow’ is not marked for tense.101 Second, in the three types of events, i.e. self-agentive, non-agentive and agentive events, only the path verb or the state change verb is obligatory while the co-event verb is optional in Japanese. In fact, the use of a single path verb or a single state change verb is preferred. The above differences in head between Cantonese and Japanese are in line with their word order characteristics. While Cantonese is a head-initial language, Japanese is a head-final language. It follows that when two verbs occur side by side, the head is the first verb in Cantonese but the second verb in Japanese.102 Table 18 shows that an apparent difference is observed in agentive events. Although Mandarin and Cantonese are descendants of the same ancestral language, Cantonese exhibits characteristics that are observed in Japanese but not in Mandarin. Specifically, both Cantonese and Japanese can use a single path verb or a single state change verb to represent agentive events. While Japanese has two sets of verb forms, namely, intransitive and transitive, with the former used in self-agentive and non-agentive events and the latter in agentive events, Cantonese has one set. Alternatively, the use of a combination of Co-event verb + Path verb/State change verb is also available in Cantonese and Japanese. However, for the reasons stated above, it is assumed that the head in such a combination is the co-event verb in Cantonese but the path verb/state change verb in Japanese. Mandarin, on the other hand, displays restrictions on the causative use of path verbs and state change verbs, and the use of the combination of Coevent verb + Satellite is preferred. Cantonese stands out from Mandarin in having a group of path verbs and state change verbs which exhibits a causative use, a characteristic which is also observed in Classical Chinese.103 Scholars (cf. Li 1993, Xu 2006, Mǎ 2008, Peyraube 2009) show that Classical Chinese underwent a typological change from a verb-framed language to a satellite-framed language. For example, chū 出 ‘to exit’ is a directional verb and xiǎo 小 ‘small’ is an adjective in Mandarin, denoting the direction of a movement and a state. In Classical Chinese, they could be 101 Beavers et al. (2010: 355) quote Matsumoto (1996) and Nishiyama (1998), who argue that the right-hand verb is the head in Japanese VV compounds. 102 See 3.1 and 3.6.2 for further discussions on head-initial and head-final languages. 103 Classical Chinese is equivalent to Old Chinese in Xu (2006), and is said to represent the Chinese language spoken during eleventh – first centuries BC.

Discussion 

 115

used to refer to self-agentive and agentive events, uses which are identical to those observed in directional verbs and state change verbs in Cantonese. Classical Chinese (101) a. 既醉而出…. (Book of Songs《詩經》)104 Jì zuì ér chū… already drunk and go out ‘If they, when drunk, go out (retire),…’

b. 我出我車…. (Book of Songs《詩經》) Wǒ chuì wǒ jū… we bring out our carriage ‘We bring out our carriages…’

(102) a. 鄭小齊大。(The Records of the Grand Historian《史記》)105 Zhèng xiǎo Qí dà. Zheng state small Qi state big ‘The state of Zheng is small; the state of Qi is big.’

b. 匠人斵而小之。 (Wáng 2001 [1980]: 376) Jiàngrén zhuó ér xiǎo zhī. carpenter chop and small it ‘The carpenter chopped it small.’

Examples (101a) and (102a) denote a self-agentive motion event and a state. Chū 出 ‘to exit’ in the former indicates the movement undergone by the subject whereas xiǎo 小 ‘small’ refers to Zhèng 鄭 ‘the State of Zheng’. The corresponding (b) examples illustrate the causative use of chū 出 ‘to bring out’ and xiǎo 小 ‘to cause to become small’, expressing the meanings of causing the object wǒ jū 我車 ‘our carriages’ to move from the inside to the outside and causing zhī 之 ‘it’ to become small. The striking similarity between Cantonese and Classical Chinese in terms of the use of directional verbs and state change verbs in selfagentive, non-agentive and agentive events suggests that Cantonese has retained more features of Classical Chinese than Mandarin. In particular, while the use 104 Example (101) is taken from Xu (2006: 65), according to whom the pronunciations of 出 are reconstructed differently. The reconstructions for 出 when denoting a self-agentive event and an agentive event are: chū vs. chuì. 105 Example (102a) is taken from the “Academia Sinica Tagged Corpus of Old Chinese”. Also, the following example from the same corpus shows the use of the directional verb chū 出 ‘to exit’ in non-agentive motion events míngxīng chū xīfāng 明星出西方 comet-exit-west ‘The comet moved out from the west’ (The Records of the Grand Historian《史記》).

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of directional verbs and state change verbs in self-agentive and non-agentive events has been preserved in both dialects, the corresponding agentive use has been kept in Cantonese but has become obsolete in Mandarin.106 As a result, the verb complement construction (such as gǎn chū 趕出 ‘to rush out’ and kán xiǎo 砍小 ‘to chop small’) is the only way in Mandarin to express the causative meaning originally conveyed by directional verbs and state change verbs, an option which is also available in Cantonese. The picture which emerges from the above discussion is that Classical Chinese, as claimed by scholars, was a verbframed language and underwent a typological shift to a satellite-framed language.107 Descendants of Classical Chinese, Cantonese has progressed slower than Mandarin in becoming a satellite-framed language. It is further noticed that both Cantonese and Classical Chinese are largely monosyllabic while Mandarin is increasingly disyllabic. Syllabicity seems to be correlated with the causative use. For example, the causative use is not observed in disyllabic adjectives in Cantonese, e.g. *gon 1zeng6 go3 dei6 乾淨個地 clean-cl-floor ‘to cause the floor to become clean’. Furthermore, one of the factors that has contributed to the rise of the verb complement construction in Classical Chinese is the disappearance of the causative use of verbs (cf. Mei 2000 [1991], Jiǎng 2000), a process during which causation, which was originally expressed by a monosyllabic element, was gradually conveyed by a disyllabic complex predicate. If our speculation that the number of syllables correlates with the causative use turns out to be true, it would help explain why Mandarin, which is becoming disyllabic, lacks it while Cantonese, which is basically monosyllabic, shows it.108 2.7.2 From satellite framing to compounding As noted in Chapter 1, researchers observe time and again that languages do not fall neatly into either category of verb-framed or satellite-framed languages put forward by Talmy when expressing complex events. Croft et al. (2010) illustrate 106 Xu (2006) also notes that some verbs which were used primarily as transitive verbs in Classical Chinese were later reanalyzed as adjectives. For example, pò 破 was used mainly as a transitive verb before Han with the meaning of ‘to break’. Its use as an adjective was attested in the beginning of Han. 107 As stated in 1.2, the categories of verb-framed, satellite-framed and equipollently-framed languages are assumed to be relative rather than absolute. Therefore, although both verb and serial verb construction are used in Classical Chinese to express path, it is assumed that Classical Chinese exhibits more characteristics of verb-framed languages than equipollently-framed languages. 108 See 4.3.3 for a discussion on the agentive use of directional verbs and state change verbs in early Cantonese.

Discussion 

 117

that the languages they examine including Bulgarian, Japanese, Icelandic, Dutch and English, use more than one of Talmy’s types to encode complex events. For example, Japanese, a verb-framed language according to Talmy (2000b), uses a number of strategies to encode non-motion complex events, including the satellite framing construction, compounding and coordination. Japanese (Croft et al. 2010: 18, 19, 20) (103) a. 壁を赤く塗る kabe o akaku nuru wall acc red paint ‘to paint the wall red’

b. 熊を撃ち殺す kuma o uchi-korosu bear acc shoot-kill ‘to shoot the bear dead’



c. 彼女は赤ん坊を揺すって眠らせた。 Kanojo wa akanbo o yusut te nemur-aseta. she top baby acc rock and sleep-caus.pst ‘She rocked the baby to sleep.’

The result or realization of state is expressed by the satellite akaku 赤く ‘red’ in (103a), by the compound utsu-korosu 撃つ殺す ‘to shoot and to kill’ in (103b) and by the coordinate verbs yusuru-te-nemuraseru 揺するて眠らせる ‘to rock and to sleep’ in (103c). Similarly, Croft et al. (2010) note that compounding (cf. (104a)–(104b)) and coordination (cf. (104c)) are also used to express motion events in Japanese.109 Japanese (Croft et al. 2010: 19, 20) (104) a. 私は家に駆け込んだ。 Watashi wa ie ni kake-konda.110 I top house to run-go into.pst ‘I ran into the house.’ 109 See examples (91)–(93) for the use of a co-event verb and a path verb in expressing the three kinds of motion events in Japanese. 110 Croft et al. (2010) note that a te-compound hashitte-haitta 走って入った ‘run-went into’ can also be used in this example. However, the one with an i-compound is more pervasive and more natural.

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 Chapter 2. Directional verbs in modern Cantonese

b. 瓶が洞窟の中に浮かんでいった。 Bin ga doukutsu no naka ni ukande-itta. bottle nom cave gen inside to float-go.pst ‘The bottle floated to the inside of the cave.’

c. 私は樽を転がして地下室に入れた。 Watashi wa taru o korogashi te chikashitsu ni ireta. I top barrel acc roll and basement to put into.pst ‘I rolled the barrel into the basement.’

Two new types, namely, symmetrical framing111 and double framing languages, are proposed by Croft et al. to be added to Talmy’s two-way classification. Symmetrical framing is proposed to encompass serial verb languages in which both event and frame are expressed in forms that may occur as predicates on their own. It consists of three sub-types: serial strategy, compounding and coordination. Mandarin is used by the authors to illustrate the use of the serial verb ­strategy to express the core schema and the co-event. For example, Mandarin (105) 他們跑出來了。 Tāmen pǎo chū lái le. they run exit come sfp ‘They came running out.’ In example (105), the verb pǎo 跑 ‘to run’ expresses manner while the directional complements chū 出 ‘to exit’ and lái 來 ‘to come’ denote the non-deictic path and the deictic path. All of them can occur as predicates on their own, as illustrated in the following examples: Mandarin (106) a. 他們還在跑。 Tāmen háizài pǎo. they still run ‘They are still running.’

111 Symmetrical framing includes serial verb languages, bipartite verb languages and Jaminjungan languages. It is equivalent to the equipollent framing proposed to encompass lan­ guages in which path and manner are expressed by equivalent grammatical forms (cf. Slobin and Hoiting 1994, Slobin 2004, Zlatev and Yangklang 2004).

Discussion 



b. 他出了教室。 Tā chū le jiàoshì. he exit asp classroom ‘He exited from the classroom.’



c. 他來了。 Tā lái le. he come sfp ‘He came.’

 119

According to Croft et al. (2010), compounding is more grammaticalized than the serial verb strategy. The forms that express the core schema and the co-event in the former are morphologically bound or more tightly integrated than those in the latter. The compounding strategy is used in Kiowa, a member of the KiowaTanoan family. For example, Kiowa (Croft et al. 2010: 8) (107) ɔ̀:pàl sép cándé-à ̜: nɔ̀ pàhí ̜: bà-thí d̜ áy. nearer rain reach-come and.ds clearly get.wet.pfv ‘The rain is coming closer and it is clear we will get wet.’ In example (107), the path component is expressed by cándé ‘to reach’ and the deictic component by -à ̜: ‘to come’, and together the two form a compound. The third sub-type of symmetrical framing is coordination. Amele, a TransNew-Guinea language, uses a combination which involves the path component and the deictic component to express a complex event. For example, Amele (Roberts 1987 quoted in Croft et al. 2010: 9) (108) Cois hina gad cesel -i nu-ug-a. OK 2sg may return-pred(ss) go-2sg-imp ‘Alright [sic] you can go home [back] now.’ The other new type proposed is the double framing construction, as illustrated by the following Russian example, in which the path and the framing expression are expressed by the satellite, i.e. iz ‘from’, and by part of the path verb, i.e. vy ‘out’.112 112 It is pointed out to me by Georg Bossong that the double framing construction is also used in German: ich bin aus dem Haus herausgelaufen I-am-out of-the-house-run out ‘I ran out of the house’, as an alternative to ich bin aus dem Haus gelaufe I-am-out of-the-house-ran ‘I ran out of the house’.

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 Chapter 2. Directional verbs in modern Cantonese

Russian (Talmy 1985: 105 quoted in Croft et al. 2010: 9) (109) Ja vy-bežal iz doma. I out-ran from house:gen ‘I ran out of the house.’ Croft et al. further point out that the different strategies adopted by languages for the expression of motion events and change of state appear to represent a grammaticalization path of morphosyntactic integration which reflects event integration. The following two grammaticalization paths which end in univerbation of the event and the frame morphemes have emerged from their study: (110) a. Coordination > Serialization > Satellite framing > Verb satellite fusion b. Coordination > Verb framing > Verb adverb fusion The strategy/strategies on the right represent(s) a higher degree of morphosyntactic integration of elements than that/those on the left. Dutch and Japanese are used to illustrate the two paths. As noted by the authors, it is not clear whether the directional satellites of Indo-European were originally serial verbs. However, there is evidence which shows that the satellites are attracted to the verb, leading to the fusion of both event and frame in a single predicate, as illustrated by the following examples from Dutch. Dutch (Croft et al. 2010: 27) (111) a. De fles dreef de grot in. the bottle float.pst the cave in ‘The bottled floated into the cave.’

b. De fles is de grot in-gedreven. the bottle be the cave in-float.pst ‘The bottle has floated into the cave.’

In ‘in’ in (111a) is a path satellite used in the simple past or present of a main clause without an auxiliary. In example (111b), when the auxiliary zijn ‘to be’ is present, the path expression in is prefixed to the manner verb drijven ‘to float’. Similarity is observed in the resultative constructions.

Discussion 

 121

Dutch (Croft et al. 2010: 27) (112) a. Ze schoten hem dood. they shoot him dead ‘They shot him to death/dead.’

b. Ze hebben hem dood-geschoten. they have him dead-shot ‘They have shot him to death.’

Result is expressed by the satellite dood ‘dead’ in (112a), which is prefixed to the verb schieten ‘to shoot’ when the auxiliary verb hebben ‘to have’ is used in (112b). The following Dutch example illustrates the fusion of the event and frame even in the simple past. Dutch (Croft et al. 2010: 28) (113)

Zij vieren-delen hem. they four.parts-divide him. ‘They quartered him.’ [medieval execution technique]

However, as noted by the authors, (113) may represent a grammaticalization process going from the satellite framing construction to the verb-satellite fused construction in an earlier stage of Dutch that later halted. The following examples from Japanese demonstrate the grammaticalization path in (110b). Unlike Spanish, Japanese does not express manner or process in an adverbial verb. As a result, the process directly leads via the verb framing construction to verbal compound construction. Example (114) below illustrates the strategy of coordination: Japanese (Croft et al. 2010: 28, 29) (114) a. 赤ん坊を揺すって眠らせる akanbo o yusut te nemur-ase-ru baby acc rock and sleep-caus-inf ‘to rock a baby to sleep’

b. 彼女は歩いて道路を横切った。 Kanojo wa arui te douro o yokogitta. she top walk and street acc cross.pst ‘She walked and crossed the street.’

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 Chapter 2. Directional verbs in modern Cantonese

While (114a) denotes a change of state, (114b) represents a self-agentive motion event. In both examples, the verbs, i.e. yusuru 揺する ‘to rock’ and nemuru 眠 る ‘to sleep’ in (114a) and aruku 歩く ‘to walk’ and yokogiru 横切る ‘to cross’ in (114b), are linked by the conjunction te て ‘and’. Example (115) shows the strategy of compounding: Japanese (Croft et al. 2010: 29) (115) a. 彼女は道路を歩いて横切った。 Kanojo wa douro o aruite-yokogitta. she top street acc walk-cross.pst ‘She walked across the street.’

b. 父は書類を家に持ち帰った。 Chichi wa shorui o ie ni mochi-kaetta. father top document acc house to have-return.pst ‘Father brought the document home.’

The verbs aruku 歩く ‘to walk’ and yokogiru 横切る ‘to cross’ in (115a) and motsu 持つ ‘to have’ and kaeru 帰る ‘to return’ in (115b) are fused together, becoming compounds.113 The grammaticalization path depicted in (110a) is supported by the development of Chinese. Scholars (cf. Wáng 2001 [1980], Mei 2000 [1991], Jiǎng 2000, Peyraube 2009, Zhāng and Lǐ 2009) recognize that the verb complement construction was derived from the serial verb construction, which in turn originated from the coordinate construction. For example, the phrase qū ér chū 趨而出 ‘to move forward and to exit’ is a coordinate structure in which the verbs qū 趨 ‘to move forward’ and chū 出 ‘to exit’ are linked by the conjunction ér 而 ‘and’. Later on, the coordinate verbs were reanalyzed as a serial verb structure and then a verb complement structure. In the latter two stages, ér 而 ‘and’ could no longer be inserted between the verbs. The above syntactic difference between the coordinate construction and the serial verb construction, i.e. the possibility of inserting a conjunction between the two verbs, is also exemplified in Cantonese and Mandarin.

113 It seems that the contrast between the coordinate structure in (114b) and the compound structure in (115a) can be differentiated by the insertion of an object between the two verbs. In example (114b), douro 道路 ‘the street’ appears between the two verbs but it occurs before the two verbs in (115a). Similarly, the two objects shorui 書類 ‘the document’ and ie 家 ‘home’ appear in front of the compound verb motsu 持つ ‘to have’ and kaeru 帰る ‘to return’ in (115b).

Discussion 

 123

Cantonese (116) a. 佢瞓覺(同)游水。 Keoi 5 fan 3gaau 3 (tung4) jau4seoi 2. s/he sleep (and) swim ‘S/he sleeps (and) swims.’

b. 佢游水(同)瞓覺。 Keoi 5 jau4seoi 2 (tung4) fan 3gaau 3. s/he swim (and) sleep ‘S/he swims (and) sleeps.’

The verbs fan 3gaau 3 瞓覺 ‘to sleep’ and jau4seoi 2 游水 ‘to swim’ are juxtaposed in (116) and the conjunction tung4 同 ‘and’ can be optionally used between them.114 Furthermore, the positions of the two verbs can be switched without changing the meaning of the sentence. Similar situations are observed in the following Mandarin examples: Mandarin (117) a. 他睡覺(和)游泳。 Tā shuìjiào (hé) yóuyǒng. he sleep (and) swim ‘He sleeps and swims.’

b. 他游泳(和)睡覺。 Tā yóuyǒng (hé) shuìjiào. he swim (and) sleep ‘He swims (and) sleeps.’

The possibilities of inserting a conjunction between the verbs and of switching the positions of the verbs are, nevertheless, not allowed in the following examples, thus suggesting that the verbs are not in a coordinate relationship but in a serial verb relationship.115

114 When the conjunction tung4 同 ‘and’ is omitted, there is often a pause between the two verbs. 115 See 1.2 for the discussion on the serial verb construction.

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 Chapter 2. Directional verbs in modern Cantonese

Cantonese (118) a. 佢行(*同)入(*同)嚟。 Keoi 5 haang4 (tung4) jap6 (tung4) lai4. s/he walk (and) enter (and) come ‘S/he walks into here.’

b. *佢入行嚟。 Keoi 5 jap6 haang4 lai4. s/he enter walk come ‘S/he walks into here.’

(119) a. 個波慢慢碌(*同)入(*同)去。 Go3 bo1 maan6maan 2 luk 1 (tung4) jap6 (tung4) heoi 3. cl ball slowly roll (and) enter (and) go ‘The ball slowly rolled into there.’

b. *個波慢慢入碌去。 Go3 bo1 maan6maan 2 jap6 luk 1 heoi 3. cl ball slowly enter roll go ‘The ball slowly rolled into there.’

(120) a. 佢踢(*同)入個波。 Keoi 5 tek 3 (tung4) jap6 go3 bo1. s/he kick (and) enter cl ball ‘S/he kicks in the ball.’

b. *佢入踢個波。 Keoi 5 jap6 tek 3 go3 bo1. s/he enter kick cl ball ‘S/he kicks in the ball.’

Similarly, the insertion of hé 和 ‘and’ and the switching of the positions of the verbs are not allowed in the following Mandarin examples. Mandarin (121) a. 他走(*和)進(*和)來。 Tā zǒu (hé) jìn (hé) lái. he walk (and) enter (and) come ‘He walks into here.’

Discussion 



 125

b. *他進來走。 Tā jìn lái zǒu. he enter come walk ‘He walks into here.’

(122) a. 球慢慢滾(*和)進去。 Qiú mànmàn gǔn (hé) jìn qù. ball slowly roll and enter go ‘The ball slowly rolls into there.’

b. *球慢慢進滾去。 Qiú mànmàn jìn gǔn qù. ball slowly enter roll go ‘The ball slowly rolls into there.’

(123) a. 他踢(*和)進三個球。 Tā tī (hé) jìn sān gè qiú. he kick (and) enter three cl ball ‘He kicks in three balls.’

b. *他進踢三個球。 Tā jìn tī sān gè qiú. he enter kick three cl ball ‘He kicks in three balls.’

Examples (118)–(123) involve self-agentive, non-agentive and agentive motion events. The order of the co-event verb and the simple/compound directional complement cannot be changed, nor can the conjunction tung4 同/hé 和 ‘and’ be inserted between the verbs. The above constraint is also exemplified in triple directional complements in Cantonese, thus suggesting that a serial verb relationship rather than a coordinate relationship exists among the verbs in the following examples. Cantonese (124) a. 佢行(*同)翻(*同)入(*同)嚟。 Keoi 5 haang4 (tung4) faan 1 (tung4) jap6 (tung4) lai4. s/he walk (and) return (and) enter (and) come ‘S/he walks back here.’

126 

 Chapter 2. Directional verbs in modern Cantonese b. *佢翻行入嚟。 Keoi 5 faan 1 haang4 jap6 lai4. s/he return walk enter come ‘S/he walks back here.’

(125) a. 個波碌(*同)翻(*同)入(*同)去。 Go3 bo1 luk 1 (tung4) faan 1 (tung4) jap6 (tung4) heoi 3. cl ball roll (and) return (and) enter (and) go ‘The ball rolls back there.’

b. *個波翻入碌去。 Go3 bo1 faan 1 jap6 luk 1 heoi 3. cl ball return enter roll go ‘The ball rolls back there.’

(126) a. 佢搬張檯(*同)翻(*同)入(*同)嚟。 Keoi 5 bun 1 zoeng1 toi 2 (tung4) faan 1 (tung4) jap6 (tung4) lai4. s/he move cl table (and) return (and) enter (and) come ‘S/he moves the table back here.’ b. *佢搬張檯翻嚟入。 Keoi 5 bun 1 zoeng1 toi 2 faan 1 lai4 jap6. s/he move cl table return come enter ‘S/he moves the table back here.’ As noted by Croft et al. (2010), the difference between the serial verb strategy and compounding is that the former is not as morphologically bound or at least less tightly integrated than the latter. When expressing the event complexes of motion and change of state, Mandarin exemplifies compounding while Cantonese displays both the serial verb strategy and compounding. The following examples show that the aspect marker zo2 咗 in Cantonese appears after the verb, whether it is a monosyllabic verb such as sik6 食 ‘to eat’ (cf. (127a)) or a disyllabic compound verb such as sing4laap6 成立 ‘to establish’ (cf. (127b)) and tai4gou1 提高 ‘to raise’ (cf. (127c)). Cantonese (127) a. 佢食咗飯。 Keoi 5 sik6 zo2 faan6. s/he eat asp rice ‘S/he ate.’

Discussion 



b. 佢成立咗一間公司。 Keoi 5 sing4laap6 zo2 jat1 gaan 1 gung1si1. s/he establish asp one cl company ‘S/he established a company.’



c. 佢哋提高咗入學資格。 Keoi 5dei6 tai4 gou1 zo2 jap6hok6 zi1gaak 3. they raise high asp admission requirement ‘They raised the admission requirements.’

 127

Le 了, the Mandarin equivalent of zo2 咗, also occurs after the verbs chī 吃 ‘to eat’ (cf. (128a)), chénglì 成立 ‘to establish’ (cf. (128b)) and tígāo 提高 ‘to raise’ (cf. (128c)) in the following examples. Mandarin (128) a. 他吃了飯了。 Tā chī le fàn le. he eat asp rice sfp ‘He ate.’

b. 他成立了三家公司。 Tā chénglì le sān jiā gōngsī. he establish asp three cl company ‘He established three companies.’



c. 他們提高了入學資格。 Tāmen tí gāo le rùxué zīgé. they raise high asp admission requirement ‘They raised the admission requirements.

It is pointed out in section 2.4.3 that the aspect marker zo2 咗 in Cantonese appears after the verb and the complement when the complement denotes path in agentive motion events (cf. (129a)), or result (cf. (129b)), resembling the situation exhibited in compound verbs. Cantonese Agentive event (129) a. 佢射入咗一個波。 Keoi 5 se6 jap6 zo2 jat1 go3 bo1. s/he shoot enter asp one cl ball ‘S/he shot in one ball.’

128 

 Chapter 2. Directional verbs in modern Cantonese b. 佢睇完咗本書。 Keoi 5 tai 2 jyun4 zo2 bun 2 syu1. s/he see finish asp cl book ‘S/he finished reading the book.’

In contrast, zo2 咗 occurs after the verb and before the directional complement in sentences that express self-agentive (cf. (130)) and non-agentive motion events (cf. (131)). Cantonese Self-agentive motion event (130) a. 佢行咗入課室。(= (68b)) Keoi 5 haang4 zo2 jap6 fo3sat1. s/he walk asp enter classroom ‘S/he walked into the classroom.’

b. 佢行咗入嚟課室。 Keoi 5 haang4 zo2 jap6 lai4 fo3sat1. s/he walk asp enter come classroom ‘S/he walked into the classroom here.’



c. 佢行咗翻入嚟課室。 Keoi 5 haang4 zo2 faan 1 jap6 lai4 fo3sat1. s/he walk asp return enter come classroom ‘S/he walked back into the classroom here.’

Non-agentive motion event (131) a. 個波碌咗入龍門。 Go3 bo1 luk 1 zo2 jap6 lung4mun4. cl ball roll asp enter goal ‘The ball rolled into the goal.’

b. 個波碌咗入嚟龍門。 Go3 bo1 luk 1 zo2 jap6 lai4 lung4mun4. cl ball roll asp enter come goal ‘The ball rolled into the goal here.’



c. 個波碌咗翻入嚟龍門。 Go3 bo1 luk 1 zo2 faan 1 jap6 lai4 lung4mun4. cl ball roll asp return enter come goal ‘The ball rolled back into the goal here.’

Discussion 

 129

The following Mandarin examples show that the aspect marker le 了 appears after the verb and the complement in agentive sentences (cf. (132)). Mandarin Agentive event (132) a. 他踢進了三個球。(= (18a) in Ch. 1) Tā tī jìn le sān gè qiú. he kick enter asp three cl ball ‘He kicked in three balls.’

b. 他看完了書了。 Tā kàn wán le shū le. he see finish asp book sfp ‘He finished reading the book.’

Example (132a) involves the directional complement jìn 進 ‘to enter’ and (132b) the resultative complement wán 完 ‘to finish’. In both cases, le 了 appears after the verb and the complement. Similarly, le 了 occurs after the verb and the complement in the following self-agentive (cf. (133a)) and non-agentive sentences (cf. (133b)), a possibility that is not allowed in Cantonese. Mandarin Self-agentive motion event (133) a. 他走進了教室。116 (= (18b) in Ch. 1) Tā zǒu jìn le jiàoshì. he walk enter asp classroom ‘He walked into the classroom.’ Non-agentive motion event (133) b. 球滾進了球門。 Qiú gǔn jìn le qiúmén. ball roll enter asp goal ‘The ball rolled into the goal.’

116 Mandarin does not allow the occurrence of a locative object after a compound directional complement, e.g. *tā zǒu shànglái sān lóu 他走上來三樓 he-walk-ascend-come-three-floor ‘He walked up here to the third floor’.

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Additional evidence which shows that the relationship between the co-event verb and the directional complement in Cantonese is rather loose is shown by the possibility of separating the verb and the directional complement.117 Cantonese (134) a. 佢踢入咗一個波。 Keoi 5 tek 3 jap6 zo2 jat1 go3 bo1. s/he kick enter asp one cl ball ‘S/he kicked in a ball.’

b. 佢踢咗一個波入龍門。 Keoi 5 tek 3 zo2 jat1 go3 bo1 jap6 lung4mun4. s/he kick asp one cl ball enter goal ‘S/he kicked a ball into the goal.’

While jap6 入 ‘to enter’ in (134a) indicates the resultant state of the object jat1 go3 bo1 一個波 ‘a ball’, i.e. its location in the goal, it indicates the inward movement undergone by the object and introduces the goal object lung4mun4 龍門 ‘the goal’ in (134b). It is shown above that the verb and the directional complement behave like one single compound in Mandarin in all three types of motion events, but they might or might not behave so in Cantonese depending on the type of events involved. It is further observed that it is possible for a compound directional complement to appear after the main verb and before the theme object in Mandarin. Mandarin (135) a. V + CND + CD + O 他踼進來三個球。 Tā tī jìn lai sān gè qiú. he kick enter come three cl ball ‘He kicked three balls into here.’

b. V + CND + O + CD 他踼進三個球來。 Tā tī jìn sān gè qiú lai. he kick enter three cl ball come ‘He kicked three balls into here.’

117 See 2.4.3 for more examples on the alternation between the “verb-directional complementobject” structure and the “verb-object-directional complement-locative object” structure.

Discussion 



 131

c. V + O + CND + CD 他踼了三個球進來。 Tā tī le sān gè qiú jìn lái. he kick asp three cl ball enter come ‘He kicked three balls into here.’

The compound directional complement jìn lái 進來 ‘to enter and to come’ occurs after the verb and before the object in (135a), i.e. V + CND + CD + O, but after both the verb and the object in (135c), i.e. V + O + CND + CD. In example (135b), the object sān gè qiú 三個球 ‘three balls’ is inserted between jìn lái 進來 ‘to enter and to come’, i.e. V + CND + O + CD.118 Among the three word order patterns, only V + O + CND + CD is allowed in Cantonese. Cantonese (136) a. V + CND + CD + O *佢踢入嚟一個波。 Keoi 5 tek 3 jap6 lai4 jat1 go3 bo1. s/he kick enter come one cl ball ‘S/he kicked a ball into here.’

b. V + CND + O + CD *佢踢入一個波嚟。 Keoi 5 tek 3 jap6 jat1 go3 bo1 lai4. s/he kick enter one cl ball come ‘S/he kicked a ball into here.’



c. V + O + CND + CD 佢踢一個波入嚟。 Keoi 5 tek 3 jat1 go3 bo1 jap6 lai4. s/he kick one cl ball enter come ‘S/he kicked a ball into here.’

Zhāng (1991) points out that compound directional complements emerged in the history of the standard language in the following chronological order: Stage I: V + O + CND + CD > Stage II: V + CND + O + CD > Stage III: V + CND + CD + O. While

118 Zhāng and Fāng (1996) note the following: the use of V + O + CND + CD is restricted to the ­irrealis mood. V + CND + CD + O in general is interpreted as a declarative sentence and V + CND + O + CD can be interpreted as a declarative sentence or an imperative sentence. See 3.1 for a further discussion on Zhāng and Fāng (1996).

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Mandarin has gone through all three stages, Cantonese is still lagging behind at Stage I. The contrasts between Cantonese and Mandarin in simple as well as compound directional complements suggest that the verb complement construction in Mandarin is more grammaticalized than that in Cantonese. Both simple and compound directional complements and the main verb in Mandarin form a compound but they have yet to be fused together in Cantonese. Harris and Campbell (1995) discuss cases in which constituents are reordered to be adjacent as a result of reanalysis. A chronology of reordering is often observed: in an early period the two words did not form a constituent; they were reanalyzed and found to do so in a later period. An example of the above word order change is from English. (137) a. John has the work completed. b. John has completed the work. In example (137a), the auxiliary verb have and the main verb complete are separated by the object the work. In example (137b), the verb complete is adjacent to have. Since the actualization of the reordering is an on-going process, the older order, i.e. the non-adjacent order, and the newer order, i.e. the adjacent order, are both exemplified in some verbs.119 The English examples above are similar to the Cantonese examples in (134) except that jap6 入 ‘to enter’ cannot be left dangling (cf. (138)) at the end of the sentence but complete can. Cantonese (138)

*佢踢咗一個波入。 Keoi 5 tek 3 zo2 jat1 go3 bo1 jap6. s/he kick asp one cl ball enter S/he kicked in a ball’.

Nevertheless, they both end up right next to the main verb and the auxiliary verb. Moreover, the alternation in word order is only exemplified when a directional complement expresses a path meaning and is not available when it conveys a metaphorical meaning.

119 Verbal attraction is another similar process in which units being part of or forming arguments of the predicate are attracted to the verb and the endpoint of the process is reached when the relevant unit either becomes a verbal affix or merges entirely with the verb (cf. Heine and Reh 1984: 50).

Discussion 

 133

Cantonese (139) a. 佢插入咗好多新元素。 Keoi 5 caap3 jap6 zo2 hou 2 do1 san 1 jyun4sou 3. s/he insert enter asp very many new element ‘S/he added in many new elements.’

b. *佢插咗好多新元素入幅畫。 Keoi 5 caap3 zo2 hou 2 do1 san 1 jyun4sou 3 jap6 fuk 1 waa 2. s/he insert asp very many new element enter cl picture ‘S/he added many new elements to the picture.’



c. *佢插咗好多新元素入。 Keoi 5 caap3 zo2 hou 2 do1 san 1 jyun4sou 3 jap6. s/he insert asp very many new element enter ‘S/he added in many new elements.’

In example (139a), jap6 入 does not indicate an inward movement but a resultant state of the action denoted by the verb caap3 插 ‘to insert’. Example (139b) shows that when expressing a metaphorical meaning, jap6 入 cannot introduce the goal object fuk 1 waa6 幅畫 ‘the picture’. Neither can it be left dangling at the end of the sentence (cf. (139c)). The contrast in the availability of the word order alternation between (134) and (139) suggests that the following syntactic and semantic changes might have been involved in the reordering of simple directional complements in agentive motion events, from the position after the theme object to the position before the theme object. Stage I: the simple directional complement did not follow immediately after the main verb; it expressed a path meaning and introduced a locative object (e.g. Keoi 5 tek 3 zo2 jat1 go3 bo1 jap6 lung4mun4 佢踢咗一個波入 龍門 s/he-kick-asp-one-cl-ball-enter-goal ‘S/he kicked a ball into the goal.’) Stage II: the simple directional complement might have been attracted to the main verb; it expressed a path meaning and introduced a theme object or a locative object; it might still have been separated from the main verb (e.g. Keoi 5 tek 3 jap6 zo2 jat1 go3 bo1/lung4mun4 佢踢入咗一個波/龍門 s/he-kick-enter-asp-one-cl-ball/goal ‘S/he kicked in a ball/kicked X into the goal’ → Keoi 5 tek 3 zo2 jat1 go3 bo1 jap6 lung4mun4 佢踢咗一個波 入龍門 ‘S/he kicked a ball into the goal.’)

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Stage III: the simple directional complement occurred adjacent to the main verb; its meaning bleached and it no longer introduced a locative object; it and the verb formed a compound (e.g. Keoi 5 caap3 jap6 zo2 hou 2 do1 san 1 jyun4sou 3 佢插入咗好多新元素 s/he-insert-enter-asp-very-many-newelement ‘S/he added in many new elements.’) The above discussion tries to reconstruct the process during which the main verb and the simple directional complement started to form a compound with data from modern Cantonese, an issue which is further taken up in Chapter 4. Suffice it to say that Mandarin uses compounding to express the event complexes of motion and change of state, while Cantonese primarily uses the serial verb strategy and only occasionally uses compounding. In Cantonese, in particular, the serial verb strategy is the essential way to express motion events whereas compounding is basically employed to encode the event complex of change of state and might also be used to express agentive motion events. All in all, Mandarin has progressed much further on the grammaticalization path than Cantonese in combining the verb and the satellite together.

2.8 Summary In this chapter, I have shown that the Cantonese directional verbs examined in this study constitute a unique group, denoting movements with an inherently specified direction. They differentiate themselves from other verbs in the following aspects: (i) expression of motion; (ii) ability to take a locative object; and (iii) potential to form compound directional complements. More important, some members of the group can be used to express path in agentive motion events, a use which is exemplified in verb-framed languages such as Japanese and Classical Chinese but which has rarely, if ever, been reported in other Chinese dialects. I have further illustrated that the agentive use is also exemplified in state change verbs. In expressing self-agentive and non-agentive motion events, Cantonese and Mandarin both exhibit the characteristics of verb-framed and satellite-framed languages in using a single directional verb or a combination of a co-event verb and a directional complement to encode path. Similarly, in expressing a change of state in self-agentive and non-agentive events, Cantonese and Mandarin can use a single state change verb or a combination of a coevent verb and a resultative complement. The two dialects differ significantly in the representation of agentive events. In particular, Cantonese can use a single directional verb or a state change verb to express path and change of state in agentive events, but Mandarin cannot. Scholars argue that Classical Chinese

Summary 

 135

was a verb-framed language and Chinese underwent a typological shift to a satellite-framed language. Such a change, however, did not happen overnight and modern Chinese dialects seem to have participated in the change at their own pace, with some closer to the finishing line than others. The contrast in the causative use between Cantonese and Mandarin coincides with the different stages of grammaticalization that the two dialects have undergone in developing the verb complement construction. Specifically, the degree of integration of the verb and the complement is higher in Mandarin than in Cantonese, as illustrated in Table 19 below:120 Table 19. Fusion of the verb and the complement in the events of motion and change of state in Cantonese and Mandarin Cantonese

Mandarin

Simple directional complement Self-agentive Non-agentive Agentive

û121 û P

P P P

û û û

— — P

P P P

P P P

Compound directional complement Self-agentive Non-agentive Agentive Resultative complement Self-agentive Non-agentive Agentive

121

120 For the use of simple and compound directional complements in Cantonese, see 2.4 and 2.5. For the use of resultative complements in Cantonese, see 2.6. Relevant examples in Mandarin are discussed in 2.7.1 and 2.7.2. 121 For the fusion of the verb and the complement, ‘P’ indicates that the fusion is possible; ‘û’ means that the fusion is not possible; and, ‘—’ means the fusion is not relevant as a locative object cannot follow a compound directional complement in Mandarin.

Chapter 3. Directional verbs in modern Chinese dialects

Directional verbs in modern Chinese dialects A synchronic perspective 3.0 Introduction This chapter provides a cross-dialectal survey on the use of directional verbs and directional complements in modern Mandarin, Wú, Hakka, Mǐn and Cantonese with a particular emphasis on their encoding of path in self-agentive, non-agentive and agentive motion events. The discussion also focuses on the cross-dialectal variations exemplified in word order when denoting the three types of motion events. Section 3.1 reviews works that investigate directional verbs and directional complements in the five modern Chinese dialects and also studies on word order. Section 3.2 compares the core directional verbs in the above dialects. Sections 3.3–3.5 examine the use of directional verbs, simple directional complements and compound directional complements in self-agentive, non-agentive and agentive motion events in the five dialects. Two issues are discussed in section 3.6, i.e. how the expression of path in the five modern Chinese dialects relates to Talmy’s typology of motion events, and how the classification of Chinese dialects emerging in this study resembles or differs from Liú’s (2001b). Section 3.7 is a summary.

3.1 Previous works Directional verbs are multifarious in meaning as well as in function, complexities that have attracted a fair amount of attention from scholars in the field. Liú (1998) provides a comprehensive study on directional verbs, specifically with reference to their complement function in Mandarin, the standard language. She studies the meanings of direction, result and state of the eleven directional complements: the deictic directional complements lái 來 ‘to come’ and qù 去 ‘to go’; and the non-deictic directional complements shàng 上 ‘to ascend’, xià 下 ‘to descend’, jìn 進 ‘to enter’, chū 出 ‘to exit’, huí 回 ‘to return’, guò 過 ‘to pass’, qǐ 起 ‘to rise’, kāi 開 ‘to depart’ and dào 到 ‘to arrive’. She also studies the seventeen compound directional complements, each of which is made up of a deictic and a

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non-deictic directional complement.122 Examples (1) and (2) illustrate the use of shàng 上 ‘to ascend’ and shànglái 上來 ‘to ascend and to come’.123 Mandarin (Liú 1998: 81, 85, 105, 117, 122, 124) (1)

a. Direction 江濤走上高台階，拉了一下門鈴。 Jiāng Tāo zǒu shàng gāo táijiē, lā le yí xià ménlíng. Jiāng Tāo walk ascend tall step, pull asp one cl doorbell ‘Jiāng Tāo walked up the steps and rang the bell.’



b. Result 他閉上眼睛不說了。 Tā bì shang yǎnjīng bù shuō le. he close ascend eye not say sfp ‘He closed his eyes and stopped talking.’



c. State 這麼快就和姓王的那小子好上了！ Zhème kuài jiù hé xìng Wáng de nà xiǎozi hǎo so fast then and surname Wang mp that fellow good shang le! ascend sfp ‘She has become close to that fellow Wáng within such a short period of time!’

(2)

a. Direction 我看見一個女同志跳上台來。 Wǒ kànjiàn yí gè nǚ tóngzhì tiào shàng tái lai. I see one cl female comrade jump ascend stage come ‘I saw a female comrade jump up to the stage.’

122 All of the five dialects studied show the use of double directional complements, a combination of two simple directional complements. As for the use of triple directional complements, a combination of three simple directional complements, it is only possible in Cantonese. See 2.5 for a discussion on the triple directional complements in Cantonese. Also, in Mandarin each of the nine non-deictic directional complements can be combined with both lái 來 ‘to come’ and qù 去 ‘to go’, except for qǐ 起 ‘to rise’, which can only be combined with lái 來 ‘to come’. 123 According to Liú, the examples used in her book were taken from novels written by contemporary writers.

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b. Result 但是沒有人接上來。 Dànshì méiyou rén jiē shàng lai. but no person continue ascend come ‘But no one continued.’



c. State 天邊黑上來了。 Tiānbiān hēi shàng lai le. sky dark ascend come sfp ‘It became dark.’

According to Liú, shàng 上 and shànglái 上來 express a meaning of direction in (1a) and (2a), i.e. moving upward in (1a) and moving upward toward the speaker in (2a), a meaning of result in (1b) and (2b), i.e. coming into contact, and a meaning of state in (1c) and (2c), i.e. starting a new state. In addition to the three types of meanings discussed in Liú, directional verbs constitute a major source of aspect markers in Chinese dialects. Various scholars examine the temporal meanings conveyed by shàng 上, xià 下, qǐ 起, guò 過, qǐlái 起來, etc., and the ways in which their directional meanings give rise to the temporal meanings such as beginning (cf. (3a) and (3c)), termination (cf. (3b)), temporal passing (cf. (3d)) and imperfective (cf. (3e)) (cf. Huang and Chang 1996, Wu 2003 and Huang and Hsieh 2008). Mandarin (3)

a. Beginning (Huang and Hsieh 2008: 56) 他愛上了一位女演員。 Tā ài shang le yí wèi nǘyǎnyuán. he love ascend asp one cl actress ‘He fell in love with an actress.’



b. Termination (Huang and Hsieh 2008: 59) 他把那批貨全部買下了。 Tā bǎ nà pī huò quánbù mǎi xia le. he dm that cl goods all buy descend sfp ‘He bought the whole lot of products.’

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c. Beginning (Huang and Hsieh 2008: 61) 他拿起小號，又吹起了那枝優美動聽的曲子。 Tā ná qí xiǎohào, yòu chuī qǐ le nà zhī he take rise trumpet, again blow rise asp that cl yōuměi dòngtīng de qǔzi. beautiful moving mp song ‘He took a trumpet and played that euphonious tune again.’



d. Temporal passing (Chao 1968: 450) 我吃過了飯就走。 Wǒ chī guò le fàn jiù zǒu.124 I eat pass asp rice then leave ‘I will go as soon as I have finished my dinner.’



e. Imperfective (Huang and Chang 1996: 207) 他/她突然聰明起來了。 Tā tūrán cōngmíng qǐlai le. s/he suddenly clever asp sfp ‘S/he suddenly became clever.’

 139

In terms of the function performed in a sentence, a directional verb can serve as a main verb (cf. (4a)) as well as a complement (cf. (4b)). (4)

a. 他來了。 Tā lái le. he come sfp ‘He came.’



b. 他趕來了。 Tā gǎn lai le. he rush come sfp ‘He rushed to here.’

Moreover, a non-deictic and a deictic directional complement can be combined to form a compound directional complement. It is pointed out in section 2.7.2 that when an indefinite theme object and a compound directional complement

124 In Chao (1968), guò 過 is referred to as a phase complement which expresses “…the phase of an action in the first verb rather than some result in the action or goal. Some of them have the neutral tone and sometimes suffer vocalic reduction and become aspect suffixes” (Chao 1968: 446).

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are involved in a sentence, Mandarin exhibits the three word orders in (5a)–(5c). According to Zhāng and Fāng (1996), the three examples express more or less the same meaning, i.e. to take out a book. Mandarin (Zhāng and Fāng 1996: 91) (i)

V + O + CND + CD

(5)

a. 拿一本書出來 ná yì běn shū chū lai take one cl book exit come

(ii)

V + CND + O + CD

(5)

b. 拿出一本書來 ná chū yì běn shū lai take exit one cl book come

(iii) V + CND + CD + O (5)

c. 拿出來一本書 ná chū lai yì běn shū take exit come one cl book

However, the use of the three word orders is subject to various constraints. For example, (iii) is used when a sentential object is involved such as nà bìdìng shì yì zhāng huà 那必定是一張畫 ‘that must be a painting’ in (6). Mandarin (Zhāng and Fāng 1996: 93) (6) 他們倆都猜出來那必定是一張畫。 Tāmen liǎ dōu cāi chū lai nà bìdìng shì yì zhāng they two all guess exit come this certainly be one cl huà. painting ‘They two of them guessed correctly that that must be a painting.’ Zhāng and Fāng further observe that the perfective aspect marker le 了 is always involved in the use of (i) but rarely appears in (ii) and (iii). Moreover, when le 了 is not used, sentences displaying the word order in (i) are interpreted as imperative sentences.

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 141

The difference in word order is further complicated if a locative object and a compound directional complement are involved. Specifically, instead of displaying all of the three word orders above, only one word order, i.e. (ii), is possible. Mandarin (7)

走進教室去 zǒu jìn jiàoshì qu walk enter classroom go ‘to walk into the classroom’

Besides investigating the semantic and syntactic complexities associated with directional verbs, scholars also try to examine the typological status of Mandarin according to the dichotomy of verb-framed and satellite-framed languages proposed by Talmy, as discussed in 1.2. While some scholars suggest that Mandarin is a satellite-framed language based on the fact that path is expressed in a directional complement, as in (4b) (cf. Talmy 2000b and Shěn 2003), some argue that Mandarin is primarily a verb-framed language, as path is encoded in a directional verb, as in (4a) (cf. Tai 2003). Yet, some (cf. Kē 2003) show that Mandarin is a split-type language, as path can be expressed by a directional verb or a directional complement depending on the type of events involved. It is also suggested by some that Mandarin is an equipollently-framed language because it situates between verb-framed and satellite-framed languages in terms of the number of manner verb types and the percentage of manner and path verbs used in novels (cf. Chen and Guo 2009).125 In contrast to the substantial amount of work carried out to study directional verbs in the standard language, much less attention has been given to the investigation of directional verbs in other dialects. Lien (1997) compares the use of directional complements in Táiwān Southern Mǐn with that in Táiwān Mandarin. Among the three word orders illustrated in (5a)–(5c), only V + O + CND + CD is acceptable in Táiwān Southern Mǐn (cf. (8)). However, two of them, i.e. V + O + CND + CD and V + CND + O + CD, are used in Táiwān Mandarin (cf. (9a)–(9b)). Táiwān Southern Mǐn (Lien 1997: 389) (8)

拿一本書出來 khioʔ 2 tsek 2 puŋ35 tsɯ 33 tshuk 2 lai 21 take one cl book exit come ‘to take out a book’

125 See 1.2 for a discussion on the various proposals regarding the typological status of Mandarin.

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 Chapter 3. Directional verbs in modern Chinese dialects

Táiwān Mandarin (Lien 1997: 389) (9)

a. 拿一本書出來 ná yì běn shū chū lai take one cl book exit come



b. 拿出一本書來 ná chū yì běn shū lai take exit one cl book come

When a locative object and a compound directional complement are involved, Táiwān Southern Mǐn exhibits the word order of V + CND + CD + LOC (cf. (10)) while Táiwān Mandarin shows the word order of V + CND + LOC + CD (cf. (11)). Táiwān Southern Mǐn (Lien 1997: 388) (10) 行入去厝內 kiã 213 dzik 2 khɯ 53 tshu 53 lai 35 walk enter go house Localizer ‘to walk into the house’ Táiwān Mandarin (11) 走進屋裏去 zǒu jìn wū li qù walk enter house Localizer go Tang and Lamarre (2007) and Táng (2008) investigate the expression of motion events in the Guānzhōng 關中 dialect of Mandarin, a northern variety of Mandarin spoken in the province of Shǎnxī 陝西. They observe that the use of directional verbs in the Guānzhōng dialect differs quite significantly from that in the standard language, which is based on the Běijīng 北京 variety of Mandarin. For example, according to Táng (2008: 169), non-deictic directional complements can introduce a locative object in the standard language, especially when the locative object denotes the source of the movement, i.e. V + CND + LOC, (cf. (12)), but cannot in the Guānzhōng dialect (cf. (13a)). Instead, a prepositional phrase is used to introduce the source object in the Guānzhōng dialect (cf. (13b)). Mandarin (12) 走下飛機來 zǒu xia fēijī lai walk descend airplane come ‘to step out of the plane (toward the speaker)’

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 143

Guānzhōng Mandarin (Tang and Lamarre 2007: 149, 150) (13) a. *走下飛機來 tsʊ51 xɑ44 fei 24tɕi 21 lE walk descend airplane come

b. 打£飛機上走下來 tɑ 51ǝ fei 24tɕi 51 ȿɑ ̃ tsʊ51 xɑ lE from plane Localizer walk descend come

Moreover, the word order of V + CND + O + CD is allowed in the standard language (cf. (14)) but not in the Guānzhōng dialect. The word order of V + CND + CD + O is used instead (cf. (15)). Mandarin (14) 你給我扔下根繩子來！ Nǐ géi wǒ rēng xia gēn shéngzi lai! you for me throw descend cl rope come ‘Throw me a rope down here!’ Guānzhōng Mandarin (Tang and Lamarre 2007: 150) (15) 你給我扔下來個繩！ Ni 51 keɪ44 ŋɤ51 ɚ51 xɑ lE kə ʂə 24 ̃ ! you for me throw descend come cl rope ‘Throw me a rope down here!’ Xíng (2011) discusses the directional use and the grammaticalized use of directional verbs in the Shénmù 神木 dialect of Jìn 晉 spoken in Shǎnxī. A number of differences in the directional use between the Shénmù dialect and the standard language are addressed. According to Xíng (2011), deictic directional verbs in the former can be followed by a locative object when they function as a main verb or as a complement (cf. (16a)–(16b)) whereas those in the latter cannot (cf. (17a)–(17b)). Shénmù Jìn (Xíng 2011: 567, 569) (16) a. 我去西安去也。 Wǒ qù Xī’ān qù yě. I go Xī’ān go sfp ‘I go to Xī’ān.’

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 Chapter 3. Directional verbs in modern Chinese dialects b. 投走得去大柳塔就黑了。 Tóu zǒu de qù Dàliútǎ jiù hēi le. wait walk arrive go Dàliútǎ already dark sfp ‘It becomes dark by the time X gets to Dàliútǎ.’

Mandarin (17) a. ??我去西安。 Wǒ qù Xī’ān. I go Xī’ān ‘I go to Xī’ān.’

b. *我飛去西安。 Wǒ fēi qù Xī’ān. I fly go Xī’ān ‘I fly to Xī’ān.’

On the other hand, non-deictic directional verbs cannot be followed by a locative object in the Shénmù dialect (cf. (18)) but those in Mandarin can (cf. (19)). Shénmù Jìn (Xíng 2011: 567) (18) *你先出街上去。 Nǐ xiān chū jiē shang qu. you first exit street Localizer go ‘You go out to the street first.’ Mandarin (19) 他出了教室。 Tā chū le jiàoshì. he exit asp classroom ‘He exited from the classroom.’ When an indefinite object and a compound directional complement are involved in a sentence, only two of the three word orders exemplified in Mandarin are found in the Shénmù dialect, i.e. V + CND + CD + O and V + CND + O + CD (cf. (20a)– (20b)).

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Shénmù Jìn (Xíng 2011: 572) (20) a. 你給咱搬過來一個凳凳。(V + CND + CD + O) Ní gěi zán bān guò lai yí gè dèng deng. you for me move pass come one cl chair ‘You move a chair over here for me.’

b. 你給咱搬過一個凳凳來。(V + CND + O + CD) Ní gěi zán bān guò yí gè dèng deng lai. you for me move pass one cl chair come

Liú (2001b) compares the word order exhibited in Cantonese, Mandarin and Shanghainese when a deictic directional verb and a locative object are involved in a sentence. He notes that the locative object follows the deictic directional verb in Cantonese (cf. (21)), but precedes the deictic directional verb and is introduced by dào 到 ‘to arrive’ in Mandarin (cf. (22)). In Shanghainese, in addition to the above word order exemplified in Mandarin, the word order that is more often used displays the sequence of LOC + VD without the use of tɔ34 到 ‘to arrive’ (cf. (23)). Cantonese (21) 佢去西安。(VD + LOC) Keoi 5 heoi 3 Sai1on 1. s/he go Xī’ān ‘S/he goes to Xī’ān.’ Mandarin (22) 他到西安去。(dào 到 ‘to arrive’ + LOC + VD) Tā dào Xī’ān qù. he arrive Xī’ān go ‘He goes to Xī’ān.’ Shanghainese (23) 伊西安去。(LOC + VD) I 34 ɕi 55ø2 tɕhi 34. s/he Xī’ān go ‘S/he goes to Xī’ān.’ Liú then tries to correlate the difference observed in (21)–(23) with the corresponding difference in the position in which the direct object tends to occur in

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the three dialects. While the object tends to follow the verb in Cantonese (cf. (24)), it is often preposed and marked by the disposal marker bǎ 把 in Mandarin (cf. (25)). In Shanghainese, the object tends to occur before the verb and is not introduced by any marker (cf. (26)). The difference in the relative position of the direct object and the verb, and whether the object is introduced by any marker in the three dialects when preposed, are consistent with the situations observed in the deictic directional verb and the locative object (cf. (21)–(23). Cantonese (24) 你殺咗隻雞佢！(VO) Nei 5 saat 3 zo2 zek 3 gai1 keoi 5! you kill asp cl chicken it ‘Kill the chicken!’ Mandarin (25) 你把雞殺嘍！(bǎ 把 OV) Ní bǎ jī shā lou! you dm chicken kill sfp Shanghainese (26) 儂雞殺脫伊！(OV) Noŋ13 tɕi 53 səʔ55 təʔ55 i 34! you chicken kill asp it Based on the above observations in word order, Liú concludes that Cantonese is a strong VO dialect, Mandarin a moderate VO dialect and Wú a weak VO dialect.126 The above review shows that the word order exhibited when expressing path in self-agentive and agentive events varies across dialects. In self-agentive motion events, the different word orders exemplified are related to whether the deictic and non-deictic directional verbs, when functioning as a main verb or as a complement, can be followed by a locative object. In agentive motion events, the variations in word order involve the difference in the relative position of the theme object and the compound directional complement, displaying the word orders of V + O + CND + CD, V + CND + O + CD and V + CND + CD + O (cf. (5a)–(5c)). Since word order has been already touched upon and will be frequently referred to in the following discussion, a review on studies of word order is necessary. 126 See 3.6.2 for further details of Liú (2001b).

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In his seminal paper, Greenberg (1966) proposes forty-five universals based on a sample of thirty languages. Among the universals put forth, twenty-five deal with basic word order and the others are related to morphology. Three sets of criteria are employed to set up the basic order typology. The first characteristic concerns the use of prepositions or postpositions in a language. The second characteristic is related to the relative order of subject, verb and object in declarative sentences with nominal subject and object. The third characteristic centres on the position of an adjective in relation to the noun it modifies. According to the relative position of subject, verb and object, there are six possible word orders: SVO, SOV, VSO, VOS, OSV and OVS. Of these six word orders, only three, i.e. SVO, SOV and VSO, normally occur as dominant orders in languages. The other three, i.e. VOS, OSV and OVS, do not occur at all, or are excessively rare. Greenberg further notes that there is an association or a correlation among a number of word order characteristics so that given a single word order characteristic of a language, such as the order of the verb and the object, at least in a statistical sense, one can predict a variety of other characteristics of the language. For example, Greenberg’s Universal 4 (1966: 79) states that “With overwhelmingly greater than chance frequency, languages with normal SOV order are postpositional”. The following examples from Japanese and Thai illustrate the word order correlations associated with two of the three criteria: the relative word order of subject, verb and object (SVO vs. SOV) and the use of preposition/ postposition (preposition-noun vs. noun-postposition). Japanese (27) a. Noun-postposition 太郎が自動車で花子と東京から旅行した。 Taroo ga zidoosya de Hanako to Tokyo kara ryokoosita. Taroo nom car by Hanako with Tokyo from travel.pst ‘Taroo travelled from Tokyo with Hanako by car.’

b. S-O-V 太郎が手紙を書いた。 Taroo ga tegami o kaita. Taroo nom letter acc write.pst ‘I wrote a letter.’

While the postpositions ga が, de で, to と and kara から in (27a) mark the syntactic or semantic roles of their preceding nouns, i.e. subject, instrument, comitative and source, example (27b) shows that the verb kaku 書く ‘to write’ follows the object tegami 手紙 ‘a letter’. If the verb and the adposition, or specifically the

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postposition in Japanese, are taken as modified elements, and the object and the noun as modifiers, then the Japanese examples in (27) exhibit a modifiermodified template. Languages that show the above properties are often referred to as OV or head-final languages. In contrast, the Thai examples in (28) show a modified-modifier template. The adoposition and specifically the preposition tee ‘in’ precedes the noun Pattaya ‘Pattaya’ and the verb rak ‘to love’ is followed by the object khun ‘you’. Languages which illustrate the above properties are often called VO or headinitial languages. Thai (28) a. Preposition-noun tee Pattaya in Pattaya ‘in Pattaya’

b. S-V-O pom rak khun I love you ‘I love you.’

To account for the observed word order correlations, Greenberg (1966: 97) proposes the notions of dominance and harmony, according to which “A dominant order may always occur, but its opposite, the recessive, occurs only when a harmonic construction is likewise present”. For example, with their unrestricted distribution, prepositions are dominant over postpositions, whose occurrence is primarily confined to SOV languages. While prepositions are harmonic with VS and disharmonic with SV, postpositions are harmonic with SV and OV and disharmonic with VS. As a result, being the recessive, postpositions can occur with the OV word order with which they are harmonic but are avoided in VSO languages because postpositions are disharmonic with the VS word order. Proposals have been put forward by later studies to reduce Greenberg’s tripartite typology of SVO, SOV and VSO to a binary typology (cf. Hawkins 1983, 1994, Dryer 1991). Hawkins (1983) uses a sample of over 300 languages to develop exceptionless universals. Instead of adopting Greenberg’s verb-based typology, Hawkins (1983: 16) suggests that the distribution of adpositions, i.e. prepositions and postpositions, is a better indicator of word order properties. Hawkins also differs from Greenberg in using more than two word order properties to define his universals. Most of Greenberg’s universals involve two word order properties such

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as his Universal 4 given above, which relates the SOV word order to the nounpostposition property. However, Hawkins’ universals are formulated as multivalued implicational universals. For example, one of Hawkins’ universals (1983: 64) states that “If a language has SOV word order, then if the adjective precedes the noun, the genitive precedes the noun”. To explain his universals, Hawkins proposes two principles: The Heaviness Serialization Principle and the Mobility Principle. The basic idea of the Heaviness Serialization Principle is that certain types of modifiers tend to be larger grammatical units in terms of number of syllables, number of words and syntactic constituency and could be ranked in order of heaviness according to the following Heaviness Hierarchy (Hawkins 1983: 90): REL > gen > ADJ > {DEM, NUM} Figure 5. Hawkins’ Heaviness Hierarchy

Among these modifiers, the relative clause (REL) is the heaviest followed by the genitive (gen), then the adjective (ADJ), and the demonstrative determiner (DEM) and the numeral (NUM) are the lightest. Hawkins claims that heavier modifiers tend to occur to the right of lighter modifiers (e.g. a rich country (ADJ-N) vs. a country rich in petroleum (N-ADJ)). Another principle introduced by Hawkins is the Mobility Principle, according to which the DEM, the NUM and the ADJ are more mobile than the gen and the REL and therefore are able to move around their heads more easily. The Mobility Principle in general takes priority over the Heaviness Serialization Principle and can account for the co-occurrence of “deviated” word order properties in a language. For example, in consistent postpositional languages, all nominal modifiers should occur to the left of the head, i.e. DEM-N, NUM-N, ADJ-N, gen-N and REL-N. However, there are co-occurrences of nominal modifiers in postpositional languages which go against the Heaviness Serialization Principle. For example, (29)

a. n-adj & gen-n b. N-DEM & gen-N c. N-NUM & gen-N d. N-ADJ & REL-N

(Adapted from Song 2001: 73)

By applying the Mobility Principle, the anomalies in (29) are explained in the following way: Since the ADJ and the DEM are more mobile, they can be moved from the pre-head position to the post-head position in postpositional languages, giving rise to the N-ADJ and N-DEM word orders in (29). In contrast, since the

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gen and the REL are less mobile, they remain in the position to the left of the N. In view of the potential conflicts that may arise from applying the Heaviness Serialization Principle and the Mobility Principle to postpositional languages, Hawkins (1983: 94) further puts forward the Mobility and Heaviness Interaction Principle, which states that “The larger the heaviness difference between the two modifiers on the Heaviness Hierarchy (HH), the greater or equal the ability of HSP [Heaviness Serialization Principle] to override MP’s [Mobility Principle] contrary predictions: but HSP will override MP only when the heavier noun modifier is the relative clause”. Finally, to predict the relative quantities of languages that have the implicationally permitted word order co-occurrence sets, Hawkins (1983: 134) proposes the Principle of Cross-Category Harmony, which asserts that: …there is a quantifiable preference for the ratio of preposed to postposed operators within one phrasal category (i.e. NP, VP/S[EN], A[DJ]P, A[DP]P) to generalize to the others. Whatever position the operand of one phrasal category occupies in relation to all its operators will preferably be matched by the position of the operand in each of the other phrasal categories. And the more the word order co-occurrence sets of languages depart from this ‘ideal’ harmonic ordering, the fewer exemplifying languages there are.

In his recent work (1994), Hawkins tries to account for word order correlations with a processing explanation, namely the Principle of Early Immediate Constituents (PEIC). According to Hawkins (1994: 57), “…words and constituents occur in the orders they do so that syntactic groupings and their immediate constituents (ICs) can be recognized (and produced) as rapidly and efficiently as possible in language performance”. One piece of evidence in support of PEIC comes from the particle movement in English. Hawkins (1994: 65) (30) a. Mary [VP looked up [NP the number]] b. Mary [VP looked [NP the number] up] c. Mary [VP looked [NP the number of the ticket] up] d. Mary [VP looked [NP the number that Mary had forgotten] up]

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In example (30), there are three immediate constituents, i.e. the verb, the particle and the noun phrase. Examples (30a)–(30d) show that the further the particle is from the verb, the less acceptable the sentence becomes. According to the PEIC, the different degrees of acceptability judgement associated with (30a)–(30d) are related to the distance between the verb and the other two immediate constituents: specifically, when we parse a sentence from left-to-right, how rapidly we process all of the immediate constituents. The shorter the distance between the immediate constituents, the faster we process all the immediate constituents in a sentence. The distance between the verb and the particle is the shortest in (30a). As we go down from (30b) to (30d), the distance between the verb and the particle increases and the acceptability decreases. Dryer (2011) is perhaps the most comprehensive study of the typology of word order, involving 1377 languages. Table 20. Frequencies of basic word orders in languages of the world based on Dryer (2011)

SOV SVO VSO VOS OVS OSV Lacking a dominant word order Total

Number of languages

Percentage

565 488 95 25 11 4 189

41.03 35.44 6.90 1.82 0.80 0.29 13.73

1377

100

Table 20 shows that all six types of word orders are attested with SOV and SVO being the most frequent, OVS and OSV the least frequent and VSO and VOS situating in between. In addition to adopting the binary typology of the VO-OV word orders, Dryer (1997) argues that the SV-VS parameter is also useful. Based on a sample of 625 languages, Dryer (1992) examines the correlation between the order of twentyfour pairs of elements and the order of the verb and the object and explains why such correlations exist.

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Table 21. Correlation pairs based on Dryer (1992)127 Verb patterner127

Object patterner

Example

Verb

Object

ate + the sandwich

Verb

Subject

(there) entered + a tall man

Adposition

NP

on + the table

Copula verb

Predicate

is + a teacher

‘Want’

VP

wants + to see Mary

Tense/aspect auxiliary verb

VP

has + eaten dinner

Negative auxiliary

VP

Diegueño ˀ-u·ya·w-x ˀ-əma·w-x. 1-know-fut 1-not-fut ‘I won’t know.’

Complementizer

SEN

that + John is sick

Question particle

SEN

Mokilese (Austronesian) a koah sihkei? Q you well ‘Are you well?’

Adverbial subordinator

SEN

because + Bob has left

Article

N’

the + tall man

Plural word

N’

Gbeya ó tú̧  wí-ré PLURAL black person ‘black people’

Noun

Genitive

father + of John

Noun

Relative clause

movies + that we saw

Adjective

Standard of comparison

taller + than Bob

Verb

PP

slept + on the floor

Verb

Manner adverb

ran + slowly (Adapted from Dryer 1992: 108)

Dryer observes anomalies in some of the word order correlations. For example, although relative clauses and adjectives are both dependents of the noun, relative clauses are object patterners while adjectives are not. He attributes the contrast between relative clauses and adjectives to their distinction of being phrasal and non-phrasal categories. Dryer further proposes the following Branching Direction Theory to account for these categorical differences. 127 A verb patterner and an object patterner refer to the elements in a pair which exhibit a correlation with the order of the verb and the object respectively (cf. Dryer 1992: 82). See Dryer (1992) for the noncorrelation pairs.

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(31) Branching Direction Theory (BDT) (Dryer 1992: 89) Verb patterners are non-phrasal (nonbranching, lexical) categories and object patterners are phrasal (branching) categories. That is, a pair of elements X and Y will employ the order XY significantly more often among VO languages than among OV languages if and only if X is a nonphrasal category and Y is a phrasal category. According to the BDT, languages tend towards right-branching in which phrasal categories follow nonphrasal categories, or towards left-branching in which phrasal categories precede nonphrasal categories. The above branching preferences are exemplified in VO and OV languages, in which the former tends towards right-branching and the latter left-branching. However, the BDT fails to account for the contrast between (32a) and (32b) below. (32) a. [VP will [VP see [NP John]]] b. [VP Tense/Aspect particle [VP see [NP John]]] The BDT predicts that both the auxiliary in (32a) and the tense-aspect particle in (32b) should be verb patterners as they combine with fully recursive phrasal categories. However, the auxiliary is a verb patterner, the tense/aspect particle is not because the former is the head of the higher VP while the latter is only a modifier of the lower VP. Dryer thus invokes the distinction between major and minor constituents to capture the above contrast. In particular, the lower VP in (32a) is a major constituent but a minor constituent in (32b) because a minor constituent is defined not only as a constituent immediately dominated by a node of the same category but also as the head of the higher node. Put differently, the tense/aspect particle is a modifier of the lower VP and the lower VP is the head of the higher VP. As a result, only the auxiliary is considered a verb patterner but not the tense/aspect particle and the BDT is revised as follows: (33) Branching Direction Theory (revised version) (Dryer 1992: 114) Verb patterners are nonphrasal categories or phrasal categories that are not fully recursive, and object patterners are fully recursive phrasal categories in the major constituent tree. That is, a pair of elements X and Y will employ the order XY significantly more often among VO languages than among OV languages if and only if X is not a fully recursive phrasal category in the major constituent tree and Y is a fully recursive phrasal category in the major constituent tree.

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However, the contrast between (32a) and (32b) above is not really the distinction between major and minor constituents but the distinction between head and dependent. Not knowing which element in the two examples is the head, the distinction between major and minor constituents cannot be identified. Dryer thus proposes the following alternate version of BDT, incorporating the distinction between head and dependent. (34) Branching Direction Theory (alternate version) (Dryer 1992: 116) Verb patterners are heads and object patterners are fully recursive phrasal dependents. I.e. a pair of elements X and Y will employ the order XY significantly more often among VO languages than among OV languages if and only if X is a head and Y is a phrasal dependent of X. Dryer does not take a stand on which of the two versions of BDT is correct because each of the two versions has its own advantages in accounting for a certain word order phenomena. Dryer (2003) discusses the word order characteristics of Mandarin, according to whom Mandarin is considered a VO language. In example (35), the verb kànjiàn 看見 ‘to see’ precedes the object Zhāngsān 張三 ‘Zhāngsān’, exhibiting the VO word order.128 (35) 我看見張三。 Wǒ kànjiàn Zhāngsān. I see Zhāngsān ‘I saw Zhāngsān.’ Dryer further notes that although a VO language, Mandarin exhibits a number of word orders that are associated with OV languages. First, Mandarin has both prepositions and postpositions when it is expected to employ only prepositions. (36) 我把書放在桌子上。 Wó bǎ shū fàng zài zhuōzi shang. I dm book put at table Localizer ‘I put the book on the table.’

128 That Mandarin is a VO language is supported by Sun and Givón (1985), who conduct a quantified study of the word order in contemporary written and spoken Mandarin.

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The noun zhuōzi 桌子 ‘the table’ in (36) is preceded by the preposition zài 在 ‘at’ and followed by the postposition shang 上 ‘above’. Second, adpositional phrases more often precede rather than follow the verb, as illustrated by the preverbal prepositional phrase cóng xuéxiào 從學校 ‘from school’ in (37). (37) 張三從學校來了。 Zhāngsān cóng xuéxiào lái le. Zhāngsān from school come sfp ‘Zhāngsān came from school.’ According to Dryer (2003: 49), among the 199 VO languages in his database there are only three exceptional cases in which the prepositional phrase precedes the verb and they are all Chinese dialects: Mandarin, Cantonese and Hakka. Third, in the comparative construction Mandarin displays the Marker + Standard + Adjective order such as bǐ Zhāngsān gāo 比張三高 ‘taller than Zhāngsān’ in (38), when it is expected to use the Adjective + Marker + Standard order such as taller than John in (39), an order that is used in VO languages like English. (38) 我比張三高。 Wó bǐ Zhāngsān gāo. I cm Zhāngsān tall ‘I am taller than Zhāngsān.’ (39) Peter is taller than John. Again, Dryer notes that Mandarin and Hakka are the only two exceptions in his database which simultaneously display the VO and the Marker + Standard + Adjective word orders. Fourth, manner adverbs generally precede rather than follow the verb in Mandarin, as shown by mànmàn de 慢慢地 ‘slowly’ in (40). (40) 張三慢慢地走。 Zhāngsān mànmàn de zǒu. Zhāngsān slowly mp walk ‘Zhāngsān walked slowly.’ Fifth, relative clauses such as wǒ jiè de 我借的 ‘that I borrowed’ in (41) are placed before rather than after the noun in Mandarin.

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(41) 我借的書已經還了。 Wǒ jiè de shū yǐjīng huán le. I borrow mp book already return sfp ‘The book that I borrowed has already been returned.’ On the other hand, there are other respects in which Mandarin shows the order associated with verb-initial languages, including the order of the copula and the predicate, and the order of the modal verb and the main verb. (42) a. 我是張三。 Wǒ shì Zhāngsān. I be Zhāngsān ‘I am Zhāngsān.’

b. 張三能游泳。 Zhāngsān néng yóuyǒng. Zhāngsān can swim ‘Zhāngsān can swim.’

The copula shì 是 ‘to be’ in (42a) precedes the predicate Zhāngsān 張三 ‘Zhāngsān’. Similarly, the modal verb néng 能 ‘can’ in (42b) occurs before the main verb yóuyǒng 游泳 ‘to swim’. Dryer (2003: 50–51) summarizes the above mixed characteristics exhibited in word order in Mandarin as follows: To a large extent, the inconsistencies in Mandarin word order can be characterized in terms of the distinction between two types of dependents, what in different grammatical traditions have been called complements or arguments on the one hand vs adjuncts or modifiers on the other. Mandarin typically places the head before a complement, a dependent which is required grammatically and semantically to complete the meaning of the phrase: verb before object, adposition before object, copula before predicate, verbs with meanings like ‘want’ or ‘able’ before their verbal complements. On the other hand, Mandarin typically places heads after adjuncts (i.e. modifiers), dependents which are not required grammatically or semantically but which optionally elaborate on the meaning of their phrases; this is reflected in placing nouns after adjectives, relative clauses and other modifiers of nouns, adjectives after intensifiers or standards of comparison, and verbs after manner adverbs and adpositional phrases. Whether this pattern is more than a coincidence, either synchronically or diachronically, is not clear.

The co-occurrence of the word order of VO (cf. (35)) and the word order of Relative clause + Modified noun (cf. (41)) in Mandarin is rare cross-linguistically according to Dryer (2003). Furthermore, he notes that the above word orders

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have existed in Chinese for a long time because the VO order can be dated back to Proto-Sinitic or close to that, and the order of Relative clause + Modified noun is dominant across Tibeto-Burman languages and its use goes back to Proto Sino-Tibetan. Therefore, the prenominal relative clause is a retention from Proto Sino-Tibetan, while the VO order suggests that Chinese underwent a change from an OV language to a VO language, departing from the TibetoBurman languages, whose dominant word order is OV.129 Dryer also notices that Chinese resembles languages to the north such as Japanese, Korean, Mongolian, Tungusic and Turkic, all of which place the relative clauses before the noun and adpositional phrases before the verb. The use of prenominal relative clause is, however, not common among OV languages elsewhere in the world but in OV languages spoken in Eurasia, particularly eastern Asia, in the area surrounding Chinese, except for the languages spoken to the south where the word order is not OV. Besides relative clauses, the tendency to consistently place modifying elements such as adjectives, demonstrative, numerals and intensifiers before the modified elements is a feature of OV languages of northern Asia. In this regard, Chinese resembles the OV languages spoken to the north in placing the modifying elements before the modified elements. In conclusion, Dryer believes that both internal and external factors may have contributed to the mixed word order types exemplified in Chinese. On the other hand, there are scholars, notably, Li and Thompson (1974) and Tai (1973), who argue that Mandarin has undergone a change from an SVO language to an SOV language because of language internal reasons. Li and Thompson (1974) show that Mandarin has changed into an SOV language with evidence from syntax and morphology. For example, they observe that the prepositional phrase occurs after the verb in Archaic Chinese130 but generally precedes the verb in Modern Chinese. Archaic Chinese (Li and Thompson 1974: 200) (43) a. 出於幽谷 (Mencius《孟子》) chū yú yōu gǔ emerge from dark valley ‘to emerge from the dark valley’

129 A similar idea is echoed in LaPolla (1994). 130 Archaic Chinese refers to the period from the eleventh century B.C. to the fourth century B.C.

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Modern Chinese (43) b. 從幽谷出來 cóng yōu gú chū lai from dark valley exit come ‘to emerge from the dark valley’ A similar change is observed in the way agent is marked in the passive construction. In Archaic Chinese, the agent is marked by the preposition yú 於 ‘by’ and the resulting prepositional phrase occurs after the verb (cf. (44a)). In Modern Chinese, the agent is marked by the agentive case marker bèi 被 and the resulting phrase appears before the verb (cf. (44b)). Archaic Chinese (Li and Thompson 1974: 202) (44) a. 勞力者治於人。(Mencius《孟子》) Láo lì zhě zhì yú rén. apply strength person govern by person ‘Those who do manual labor are governed by others.’ Modern Chinese (44) b. 杯子被我打破了。 Bēizi bèi wǒ dǎ pò le. cup pm me hit break sfp ‘The cup was broken by me.’ Li and Thompson note that bèi 被 in Archaic Chinese is a verb with the meaning of ‘to receive’ (cf. (45a)). Furthermore, before the bèi 被 passive construction has developed into its present form, it went through an intermediate stage at which it did not have an agent (cf. (45b)). Archaic Chinese (Li and Thompson 1974: 203) (45) a. 薄者被毀醜。(Mòzi《墨子》) Báo zhě bèi huǐchǒu. immoral person receive punishment ‘Those who are immoral will receive punishment.’

b. 忠而被謗。(Book of Songs《詩經》) Zhōng ér bèi bàng. loyal yet pm vilify ‘Loyal and yet was vilified.’

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Another piece of evidence which supports their claim that Chinese has become an SOV language comes from the emergence of the disposal construction. Archaic Chinese (Li and Thompson 1974: 201) (46) a 詩句無人識，應把劍看。 Shī jù wú rén shì, yīng bǎ jiàn kàn. poem sentence no person appreciate, should hold sword see. ‘Since no one appreciates poetry, I should take hold of the sword to contemplate it.’ Modern Chinese (46) b. 張三把杯子打破了。 Zhāngsān bǎ bēizi dǎ pò le. Zhāngsān dm cup hit break sfp ‘Zhāngsān broke the cup.’ Wáng (1947) uses the term Chǔzhìshì 處置式 to refer to the bǎ 把-construction, which is often referred to as the disposal construction nowadays. According to Wáng, the disposal construction is used to emphasize how the direct object is handled, manipulated or disposed of, or how an affair is conducted. Syntactically, the direct object in the bǎ 把-construction is generally specific and is placed immediately after bǎ 把 and before the verb. Moreover, the verb cannot be bare but is preceded or followed by some element such as a premodifying adverb or a postverbal aspect marker or complement.131 Li and Thompson point out that bǎ 把 in Archaic Chinese is a verb with the meaning of ‘to take hold of’ and it occurs more often in serial verb sentences than in single sentences (cf. (46a)). In Modern Chinese, bǎ 把 functions as an objective case marker (cf. (46b)). With a preposed direct object, the bǎ 把-construction exhibits the SOV word order. Li and Thompson also note that the emergence of compounds, postpositions and verbal suffixes, which are characteristics of SOV languages, suggests that Chinese has undergone a change from an SVO language to an SOV language. Among the three features, the relationship between compounds and SOV language is less obvious. Li and Thompson’s idea is that there is evidence which 131 There is a strong tendency for the disposal marker in Chinese dialects to have been derived from a verb with the meaning of ‘to take, to grasp, to hold’ such as bǎ 把 in Mandarin, zoeng1 將 in Cantonese and nɛ 53 拿 in Wú. In Mandarin and Cantonese, the verb use of bǎ 把 and zoeng1 將 has become obsolete and bǎ 把 and zoeng1 將 function solely as disposal markers. In Wú, nɛ 53 拿 functions both as a verb and as a disposal marker. See 2.3.3 for a discussion on the use of the zoeng1 將-construction in Cantonese and 3.4.3 and 3.5.3 for examples of nɛ 53 拿 in Wú.

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suggests that early Archaic Chinese had inflection and the use of compounds is a characteristic of agglutinative morphology. As a result, according to them (1974: 203–204), “This development from an inflectional morphology toward an agglutinative morphology points to the word order change SVO > SOV”. Another change that is discussed in Li and Thompson and is closely related to the discussion in 3.3 is the shift of the VO construction to the Preposition + Object + Verb construction. Modern Chinese (47) a. 出房子 chū fángzi exit house ‘to exit from the house’

b. 從房子出來 cóng fángzi chū lai from house exit come ‘to exit from the house’

The noun fángzi 房子 ‘the house’ denotes the source of the movement in (47). Fángzi 房子 ‘the house’ is the object of the directional verb chū 出 ‘to exit’ in (47a) and is the object of the preposition cóng 從 ‘from’ in (47b). It occurs after the verb in the former but appears before the verb in the form of a prepositional phrase in the latter. While example (47a) displays the VO word order, the word order of PP + V in (47b) is associated with OV languages. The VO word order and the PP + V word order are competing with each other in some cases, as illustrated in (48): Modern Chinese (Li and Thompson 1974: 205) (48) a. 你去哪？ Nǐ qù nǎr? you go where ‘Where are you going?’

b. 你到哪去？ Nǐ dào nǎr qù? you to where go ‘Where are you going?’

Besides the above change of word order, another change that is illustrated in (47) is that the verb changes from a monosyllabic verb to a disyllabic verb. This is an important point which will be returned to in 4.6.2.

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The last piece of evidence in support of the OV order in Mandarin comes from the simplification of the system of personal pronouns. Li and Thompson quote Lehmann (1973) who observes the low prominence of personal pronouns in OV languages and suggests that there is some kind of association of OV languages with poorly developed personal pronoun systems. Li and Thompson then remark that the system of personal pronouns in Chinese has been substantially simplified. For example, the first person pronoun in Modern Mandarin is wǒ 我 in all contexts. In contrast, in early Archaic Chinese, the first person pronoun includes jèn [zhèn] 朕, wú 吾, wǒ 我, etc., used in different contexts such as genitive, nominative and accusative case (cf. Li and Thompson 1974: 205). Despite all the evidence presented above, Li and Thompson conclude that the change of word order is incomplete as Modern Chinese still permits the use of the SVO word order in certain constructions. To account for the change of word order in Chinese, Li and Thompson suggest that the existence of SOV characteristics in Archaic Chinese may provide additional force for the SVO order to shift toward the SOV word order (cf. (49)). Archaic Chinese (Li and Thompson 1974: 206, 208) (49) a. O + V 吾誰欺？欺天乎？(Analects《論語》) Wú shuí qī? Qī tiān hu? I who cheat cheat heaven question particle ‘Who do I cheat? Do I cheat heaven?’

b. Relative clause + N 敷前人受命 (Classic of History《尚書》) Fū qián rén shòu mìng. proclaim former person issue mandate ‘(I) proclaim the mandate issued by my forebears.’



c. Genitive + N 乃祖南公旗 (Inscription on Dà Yū Dǐng 大盂鼎) nǎi zǔ Nán gōng qí your ancestor Nán duke flag ‘the flag of your ancestor, the Duke of Nán’



d. Modifier + N 小國 (Classic of History《尚書》) xiǎo guó minor state ‘minor states’

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 Chapter 3. Directional verbs in modern Chinese dialects e. S + Yes/no question marker 管仲儉乎？(Mencius《孟子》) Guǎngzhòng jiǎn hu? Guánzhōng frugal question marker ‘Is Guánzhōng frugal?’

The above SOV characteristics in Archaic Chinese prompt Li and Thompson to speculate pre-Archaic Chinese may be an SOV language and they suggest that the following cycle of changes may have taken place in Chinese: Pre-Archaic SOV >

Archaic SVO >

Modern SOV

Figure 6. The cycle of word order changes undergone by Chinese (Li and Thompson 1974: 208)

A more significant and direct factor proposed by Li and Thompson to explain the change from SVO to SOV in Figure 6 is that the first verb in SVOV can develop into a case marker such as bǎ 把 and bèi 被, collapsing complex sentences SVOV into simple SOV sentences. The grammaticalization of the first verb in SVOV to a case marker not only gives rise to the SOV word order. The change also results in the occurrence of the prepositional phrase in the preverbal position, a characteristic that is associated with SOV languages. While Li and Thompson discuss the change of word order in Chinese from a diachronic perspective, Tai (1973) argues from a theory-internal perspective that Mandarin is an SOV language. Tai shows that a grammar that assumes an underlying SOV order in Chinese is simpler than a grammar that assumes an underlying SVO order because a number of language-specific rules can be eliminated. For example, the rule of NP-V inversion is used to move an indefinite subject to the postverbal position (cf. (50)) and it is required whether an SVO order or an SOV order is assumed to be the underlying structure in Mandarin. Mandarin (50) a. 一個人來了。 Yí gè rén lái le. one cl person come asp ‘One person came.’

b. 來了一個人。 Lái le yí gè rén. come asp one cl person ‘There came one person.’

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However, to derive the bǎ 把 or the bèi 被 construction, the process that involves an underlying SOV order is more economical than the one with an underlying SVO order in terms of the number of rules needed. For example: Mandarin (51) a. 張三打了李四。 Zhāngsān dǎ le Lǐsì. Zhāngsān hit asp Lǐsì ‘Zhāngsān hit Lǐsì.’

b. 張三把李四打了。 Zhāngsān bǎ Lǐsì dǎ le. Zhāngsān dm Lǐsì hit asp ‘Zhāngsān hit Lǐsì.’

If an underlying SVO order is assumed, (51a) is the basic order and a rule which moves the object to the preverbal position is needed to derive (51b). In contrast, if an underlying SOV order is assumed, (51b) is the basic order, and to derive (51a) from (51b), the NP-V inversion rule is applied to move the object to the postverbal position. In other words, only the NP-V inversion rule is needed to derive (50b) and (51a) if an underlying SOV order is assumed. In contrast, both the NP-V inversion rule and an object-preposing rule are necessary in order to derive (50b) and (51b) if an underlying SVO order is assumed. Tai further points out that if an underlying SOV order is assumed for Mandarin, the characteristics associated with SOV languages would also fall into place. The above review on word order shows that ever since Greenberg put forward the implicational universals of word order, scholars have not only tried to refine the universals to accommodate the observed exceptions. They have also tried to account for the word order correlations and characteristics in terms of language internal and external factors. Two more studies on word order, i.e. Hashimoto (2008 [1985]) and Liú (2001b), will be discussed in 3.6.2 because they are conducted to achieve an end that is different from those studies discussed above. In particular, both studies try to use word order as a criterion to classify Chinese dialects into different groups. In the following sections, section 3.2 examines the core directional verbs in modern Mandarin, Wú, Hakka, Mǐn and Cantonese. Sections 3.3–3.5 provide a systematic examination of the use of directional verbs, and directional complements to express path, including both the simple and the compound directional complements, in the five dialects. The discussion also focuses on the relevant word orders exhibited when denoting path in self-agentive, non-agentive and

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agentive motion events. In addition to describing the use of directional verbs and directional complements in qualitative terms like the previous studies, the present study also takes into account the quantitative aspect of the use of directional verbs. Specifically, we will count the number of tokens of the verb use and the complement use of the following six directional verbs in the Chinese Pear Stories for the above five modern dialects: shàng 上 ‘to ascend’/qǐ 起 ‘to rise’, xià 下/luò 落 ‘to descend’, chū 出 ‘to exit’, jìn 進/rù 入 ‘to enter’, lái 來 ‘to come’ and qù 去 ‘to go’.132 The qualitative and the quantitative aspects of the study thus provide a comprehensive picture of the typological status of Chinese dialects in light of Talmy’s typology of motion events.

3.2 Lexical variations in directional verbs As noted in 2.2, directional verbs can be divided into two groups. The first group includes non-deictic directional verbs whose orientation point does not involve the location of the speaker or the perspective in which the speaker situates himself/herself. Examples from Mandarin are sháng 上 ‘to ascend’, xià 下 ‘to descend’, jìn 進 ‘to enter’, chū 出 ‘to exit’, etc. The second group is referred to as deictic directional verbs. They define the direction of a movement in relation to the location or perspective of the speaker. Examples from Mandarin are lái 來 ‘to come’ and qù 去 ‘to go’. Although directional verbs constitute a closed class, it is difficult to reach a consensus regarding the number or the membership of directional verbs in a dialect. For example, Lǚ (1996 [1980]) and Liú (1998) discuss the eleven Mandarin directional verbs shown in Table 22 below. However, since kāi 開 ‘to depart’ and dào 到 ‘to arrive’ do not behave in the same way as other directional verbs,133 they are not included in the discussion on directional verbs by some scholars (cf. Lien 1997, Zhū 1997 [1982], Lamarre 2009). Nevertheless, all five modern dialects examined in this study share the same cognates of the two deictic directional verbs.

132 Lexical variations are observed in non-deictic directional verbs which express the meanings of ‘to ascend’ (shàng 上/qǐ 起 ‘to rise’), ‘to descend’ (xià 下/luò 落), ‘to enter’ (jìn 進/rù 入), and ‘to return’ (huí 回/fǎn 返/zhuǎn 轉/dào 倒). While some dialects opt for the use of one verb, some dialects make use of the other one. 133 In Mandarin, kāi 開 ‘to depart’ cannot have a locative object while most of the directional verbs can. Additionally, dào 到 ‘to arrive’ cannot be combined with lái 來 ‘to come’ and qù 去 ‘to go’ to form a compound directional complement but most of the non-deictic directional verbs can.

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Table 22 shows both the non-deictic and deictic directional verbs in modern Mandarin, Wú, Hakka, Mǐn and Cantonese. 134 Table 22. Directional verbs in the five modern Chinese dialects Mandarin

Wú

Hakka

Mǐn

Cantonese

ascend

shàng 上

zã13 上

soŋ44 上

khi53 起 / tsiõ35上

soeng5 上

rise

qǐ 起

tɕ i 起

hi 起

ki 起

hei2 起

descend

xià 下

lɔʔ12 落/ ɦo13 下

lok5 落/ ha44 下

loʔ5 落

lok6 落

enter

jìn 進

tsin 進

ŋip 入

dzik 入

jap6 入

exit

chū 出

tshǝʔ55 出

return

huí 回

ɦuɛ 回/ tsø 轉

tson 轉/ fan 返

tɯŋ 轉/to

pass

guò 過

ku34 過

kuo53 過

kue213 過

gwo3 過

depart

kāi 開

h 53

kɛ 開

k oi 開

33

k ui 開

hoi1 開

arrive

dào 到

tɔ34 到

tau31 到

kau213 到

dou3 到

come

lái 來

lɛ 來

loi 來

lai 來

lai4 嚟

go

qù 去

tɕhi34 去

hi53 去

khɯ213 去

heoi3 去

h 34

31

34

13

13

h 53

5

5

tshut1 出 34

31

h

44

11

tshuk2 出 31

53

h

55

ceot1 出 213

倒

faan1 翻

A closer examination of Table 22 shows that lexical variations exist across dialects and within a single dialect (indicated by light shading). Across the dialects, variations are observed in non-deictic directional verbs with the meanings of ‘to descend’, ‘to enter’ and ‘to return’. Within a single dialect, variations are found in non-deictic directional verbs with the meanings of ‘to ascend’, ‘to descend’ and ‘to return’ and the variations exist in Wú, Hakka and Mǐn. 134 In addition to the nine non-deictic directional verbs as listed in Table 22, Chapter 2 also examines the use of maai4 埋 ‘to approach’ in Cantonese. However, since the use of maai4 埋 ‘to approach’ in general does not have any equivalent in the other four dialects, it is not included in Table 22. On the other hand, a Mǐn informant has pointed out that bua 55 埋 ‘to approach’ in Cháo’ān 潮安 is similar to maai4 埋 ‘to approach’ in Cantonese. For example, both maai4 埋 in Cantonese and bua 55 埋 in Cháo’ān can be followed by a deictic directional complement. Moreover, they can be combined with a deictic directional complement to form a compound directional complement (e.g. haang4 maai4 lai4 行埋嚟 walk-approach-come ‘to walk and to approach and to come’ and kiã 213 bua 55 lai 21 行埋來 walk-approach-come ‘to walk and to approach and to come’). However, the use of bua 55 ‘to approach’ in Cháo’ān is much more restricted than the use of maai4 埋 ‘to approach’ in Cantonese in that the former cannot be followed by a locative object but the latter can (e.g. *bua 213 ŋai 35 埋岸 approach-shore ‘to approach the shore’ vs. maai4 ngon6 埋岸 approach-shore ‘to approach the shore’). It is uncertain whether such use in Cháo’ān is a result of influence from Cantonese as such use is not available in the other two Mǐn dialects examined in 3.6.2.1, i.e. the Huì’ān 惠安 variety of Southern Mǐn and the Fúqīng 福清 variety of Eastern Mǐn, according to our informants.

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3.2.1 Forms expressing ‘to ascend’ Lien (1997: 381) points out that in the Mǐn dialect spoken in Táiwān, tsiõ35 上 ‘to ascend’ and khi 53 起 ‘to rise’ belong respectively to the literary and the colloquial layers. The contrast between the literary form tsiõ35 上 ‘to ascend’ and the colloquial form khi 53 起 ‘to rise’ is reflected in their use in different genres. In the (1884) version of Romance of the Litchi Mirror《荔鏡記》, a drama script written in the Mǐn dialect with the use of both literary and colloquial language, the use of both tsiõ35 上 ‘to ascend’ (e.g. Taŋ213sã 33 tsiõ35 lai 21 陳三上來 Chén Sānascend-come ‘Chén Sān ascended here’), and khi 53 起 ‘to rise’ (e.g. tsa 35 khi 21 loʔ 2 tshɯŋ55 thĩ 33 iu 21 kɯŋ33 早起落床天又光 early-rise-descend-bed-sky-also-bright ‘By the time I got up, the sky was still bright’) is found. In contrast, in the Mǐn Pear Stories, a spoken narrative told by Mǐn speakers, only the use of khi 53 起 ‘to rise’ is observed.

3.2.2 Forms expressing ‘to descend’ The use of xià 下 and luò 落 ‘to descend’ represents different strata in Wú and Hakka. Scholars (cf. Xǔ and Tang 1988, Liú 2001b, Qián 2003) note that the difference in their use in Wú reflects a difference in age. While the former is used by young Wú speakers, the latter is used by old Wú speakers. The variation in the use of ɦo13 下 and loʔ12 落 in Wú suggests that a process of lexical replacement seems to have taken place. In particular, the meaning of ‘to descend’ is conveyed by loʔ12 落 according to the Míng-Qīng dictionary of Shí and Miyata (2005), but the use of both is exemplified in Sing-song Girls of Shànghǎi《海上花列傳》, a nineteenth century novel written in the dialect of Sūzhōu 蘇州. In the Wú Pear Stories, only the use of ɦo13 下 was provided by thirty-three informants whose ages ranged from nineteen to twenty-one. The above facts suggest that Wú has undergone the following lexical replacement process: loʔ12 落 > loʔ12 落 / ɦo13 下 > ɦo13 下, during which loʔ12 落 has been gradually replaced by ɦo13 下 with an intermediate stage at which both forms are used. The use of both lok 5 落 and ha44 下, forms used in the southern and the northern dialects, is also found in the Hakka Pear Stories and in the data provided by our Hakka informants. That Hakka exhibits both characteristics of the southern and the northern dialects is probably related to their migration history as suggested by Hashimoto (2008 [1985]: 28), an issue that is further discussed in 3.6.2.3.

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3.2.3 Forms expressing ‘to enter’ Ōta (2003 [1958]) notes that the use of the directional verb jìn 進 ‘to enter’ was not found until the Yuán dynasty. Before that, rù 入 ‘to enter’ was used. Table 22 shows that the older form rù 入 ‘to enter’ is used in Hakka, Mǐn and Cantonese whereas the newer form jìn 進 ‘to enter’ is used in Mandarin and Wú.

3.2.4 Forms expressing ‘to return’ Directional verbs that express the meaning of ‘to return’ represent geographical variations. Ōta (2003 [1958]) mentions that the concept of ‘to return’ is expressed by different variant forms of zhuǎn 轉 in the southern dialects but by huí 回 in the northern dialect.135 In Table 22, in addition to zhuǎn 轉, fǎn 返/翻 and dào 倒 are also used in the southern dialects such as Hakka, Mǐn and Cantonese. On the other hand, both ɦuɛ13 回 and tsø34 轉 are found in the Wú Pear Stories. However, it is highly likely that the use of ɦuɛ13 回 to express the meaning of ‘to return’ has entered the Wú dialect because of the influence from Mandarin.136 The hypothesis is supported by the contrast in the frequency of use exemplified in Sing-song Girls of Shànghǎi and the Wú Pear Stories. The meaning of ‘to return’ is primarily expressed by tsø34 轉 in the former but by ɦuɛ13 回 in the latter. Moreover, in the Míng-Qīng dictionary compiled by Shí and Miyata (2005), the meaning of ‘to return’ is listed under tsø34 轉 but is not found under ɦuɛ13 回. The two pieces of evidence above support our speculation that tsø34 轉 is a native form of Wú while ɦuɛ13 回 is likely to have been borrowed from Mandarin. In the case of Mǐn, only tɯŋ53 轉 ‘to return’ was provided by our Mǐn informants. However, both tɯŋ53 轉 and to213 倒 are used in Táiwān Southern Mǐn according to Lien (1997) and in the Mǐn Pear Stories, variations which are also observed in the (1566) version of Romance of the Litchi Mirror according to the author (1997: 794). He further points out that tɯŋ53 轉 is a form used in the Zhāngzhōu 漳州 dialect, whereas both tɯŋ53 轉 and to213 倒 are used in the Quánzhōu 泉州 dialect, of which the latter represents a prominent feature of the Quánzhōu variety of Mǐn.

135 Ōta (2003 [1958]) further suggests that the use of zhuǎn 轉 ‘to return’ is also found in Classical Chinese and might reflect a colloquial usage from the southern dialects at the time being recorded in the standard language. 136 Lien (2006b: 779) notes that the use of hue55 回 ‘to return’ in the (1566) version of Romance of the Litchi Mirror is a stratum from Mandarin.

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The lexical variations discussed above represent different linguistic strata. While the case of ‘to ascend’ (i.e. the contrast between tsiõ35 上 ‘to ascend’ and khi 53 起 ‘to rise’ in Mǐn) reflects the contrast between the colloquial and literary strata, the case of ‘to enter’ (i.e. the geographical distribution of the use of rù 入 and jìn 進 in the five dialects) shows different temporal strata. Regarding the cases of ‘to descend’ and ‘to return’ in Wú, they illustrate the process of lexical replacement. The above discussion demonstrates dialectal variations exemplified in the core directional verbs. In what follows, we examine the use of directional verbs in the five modern dialects to express path for the three types of motion events.

3.3 Directional verbs This section conducts a cross-dialectal survey of the use of directional verbs in modern Mandarin, Wú, Hakka, Mǐn and Cantonese. Specifically, we study the use of directional verbs in self-agentive, non-agentive and agentive motion events in the five modern dialects. As noted above, there is controversy over the status of some directional verbs. Therefore, the following discussion focuses on six of the core directional verbs, including the non-deictic ones represented by the following Mandarin equivalents: shàng 上 ‘to ascend’137, xià 下 ‘to descend’, jìn 進 ‘to enter’ and chū 出 ‘to exit’, and the deictic ones illustrated by the following Mandarin examples: lái 來 ‘to come’ and qù 去 ‘to go’. Unless otherwise specified, examples are drawn from the Chinese Pear Stories.138

3.3.1 Self-agentive motion events In sentences that denote self-agentive motion events, the directional verb indicates the direction of the movement undergone voluntarily by the subject. The trajectory of the movement, i.e. the source, the path and the goal, may or may not be specified in the sentence. Moreover, the possibility for a directional verb to be followed by a locative object varies among the directional verbs and among the five modern dialects. 137 As pointed out in 3.2.1, the meanings of ‘to rise’ and ‘to ascend’ are expressed by the same directional verb khi 53 起 in the Mǐn Pear Stories but by two different directional verbs in the other four dialects. Therefore, the following discussion in relation to Mǐn involves only examples of khi 53 起 ‘to rise’. 138 Because of the specific setting of the Chinese Pear Stories, there are only a few tokens of the non-deictic directional verbs with the meanings of ‘to enter’ and ‘to exit’.

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Mandarin (52) a. 他上那個樓梯的聲音都很清楚。(VND + LOC) Tā shàng nà gè lóutī de shēngyīn dōu hěn qīngchu. he ascend that cl ladder mp sound also very clear ‘The noise from him ascending the ladder is very clear.’

b. 他又上去了。(VND + CD) Tā yòu shàng qu le. he again ascend go sfp ‘He went up again.’



c. 一直到他的果園裏頭去。(‘to arrive’ + LOC + VD) Yìzhí dào tā de guǒyuán lǐtou qù. straight arrive he mp orchard Localizer go ‘He went straight to his orchard.’

While the main verb in (52a) and (52b) involves the non-deictic directional verb shàng 上 ‘to ascend’, that in (52c) is the deictic directional verb qù 去 ‘to go’. The directional verb shàng 上 ‘to ascend’ in (52a) and (52b) is followed by the locative object nà gè lóutī 那個樓梯 ‘that ladder’, which indicates the path of the upward movement, and by the deictic directional complement qù 去 ‘to go’, which indicates that the subject moves away from where the speaker is. In Mandarin, deictic directional verbs cannot be immediately followed by a locative object (cf. Lǚ 1996 [1980], Zhū 1997 [1982], Liú 1998). In example (52c), the locative object tā de guǒyuán lǐtou 他的果園裏頭 ‘his orchard’, which refers to the goal of the movement, precedes the deictic directional verb qù 去 ‘to go’ rather than follows it and is introduced by dào 到 ‘to arrive’, thus exhibiting the word order of ‘to arrive’ + LOC + VD. In example (52c), dào 到 ‘to arrive’ in ‘to arrive’ + LOC + VD behaves like a preposition because its following locative object cannot be omitted, an option that is available for other non-deictic directional verbs such as xià 下 ‘to descend’ as in xià (lóu) qu 下(樓)去 ‘to go downstairs’. Liú (2001a) notes that the use of V D + LOC has become widely acceptable in Mandarin139 and he examines the above use in the first thirty-three chapters of My Memoirs《我的自傳》, which amount to about 80,000 words. My Memoirs is a novel written by Lǎoshě 老舍 and believed to reflect old Pekingese spoken in the early twentieth century. Liú finds that except for fixed expressions such as lái cǐ 來此 ‘to come here’, the pattern of VD + LOC is basically not used. Moreover, he 139 According to our Běijīng informant, both V D + LOC and ‘to arrive’ + LOC + V D are equally acceptable.

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observes that in some cases in which a locative object is allowed after a deictic directional verb, the locative object is often introduced by dào 到 ‘to arrive’, displaying the pattern of VD + ‘to arrive’ + LOC. For example, Mandarin (Liú 2001a: 13) (53) 許地山兄來到倫敦。 Xǔ Dìshān xiōng lái dào Lúndūn. Xǔ Dìshān brother come arrive London ‘Brother Xǔ Dìshān came to London.’ Liú further suggests that the use of VD + LOC in Mandarin might have been borrowed from Cantonese as the above pattern is the dominant word order used in Cantonese, but not necessarily the norm in other southern Chinese dialects. Table 23. Word orders of the directional verb and the locative object in s­ elf-agentive sentences in modern Mandarin VND + LOC

VND + CD

‘to arrive’ + LOC + VD

VD + LOC

P

P

P

?

In Wú, the use of VND/D + LOC is similar to that in Mandarin. Wú (54) a. 伊再下樹。(VND + LOC) I 34 tsɛ 34 ɦo11 zɾ44. he again descend tree ‘He then descended from the tree.’

b. 伊下來。(VND + CD) I 34 ɦo11 lɛ44. he descend come ‘He descended.’



c. 然後伊就到梯子上頭去。(‘to arrive’ + LOC + CD) Zø11 ɦɤ44 i 34 ʥiɤ34 tɔ34 thi 55tsɾ2 zã11 dɤ44 tɕhi 34. afterward he then arrive ladder Localizer go ‘Then he went up the ladder.’

Directional verbs 

 171

Examples (54a) and (54b) involve the non-deictic directional verb ɦo13 下 ‘to descend’, which is followed by the locative object zɾ13 樹 ‘the tree’ in (54a) and by the deictic directional complement lɛ13 來 ‘to come’ in (54b). The locative object zɾ13 樹 ‘the tree’ denotes the source of the movement while the deictic directional complement lɛ13 來 ‘to come’ indicates that the subject i 34 伊 ‘he’ moves toward the speaker. When a deictic directional verb and a locative object are involved in a sentence, our Wú informant has pointed out that the use of ‘to arrive’ + LOC + VD sounds more natural than the use of VD + LOC. An example of ‘to arrive’ + LOC + VD in Wú is illustrated in (54c), in which the locative object thi 53 tsɾ34 zã13 dɤ13 梯 子上頭 ‘the top of the ladder’ is introduced by tɔ34 到 ‘to arrive’ and is followed by the deictic directional verb tɕhi 34 去 ‘to go’. Liú (2001c: 13) also points out that the use of VND + LOC in Wú is not productive whereas the use of VD + LOC is not acceptable. In general, the ‘to arrive’ + LOC + VD pattern is used in Wú for the expression of V ND/D + LOC and it is common for tɔ34 到 ‘to arrive’ to be deleted in colloquial speech, resulting in the pattern of LOC + VD. Table 24. Word orders of the directional verb and the locative object in s­ elf-agentive sentences in modern Wú VND + LOC

VND + CD

‘to arrive’ + LOC + VD

VD + LOC

?

P

P

?

In contrast to the various restrictions in Mandarin and Wú that do not allow a locative object to follow a deictic directional verb or both types of directional verbs, Hakka, Mǐn and Cantonese enjoy much more freedom. Hakka (55) a. 落山就爭滴同單車撞到。(VND + LOC) Lok 5 san44 tsiu 53 tsaŋ35tit1 thuŋ11 tan44tsha44 tshoŋ53 tau 31. descend hill then almost with bicycle collide arrive ‘(The boy) almost ran into another bicycle when descending from the hill.’

b. 跟尾又上去摘。(VND + CD) Ken44mi44 iu 53 soŋ35 hi 53 tsak 1. then again ascend go pick ‘Then (he) went up to pick pears again.’

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 Chapter 3. Directional verbs in modern Chinese dialects c. 去樹該定140 摘該等梨。(VD + LOC) Hi 53 su 53 e55thin 53 tsak 1 e53 teu44 li11. go tree there pick those cl pear ‘(He) went up the tree to pick those pears.’

The non-deictic directional verb lok 5 落 ‘to descend’ and the deictic directional verb hi 53 去 ‘to go’ in Hakka are followed by the locative objects san44 山 ‘the hill’ in (55a) and su 53 樹 ‘the tree’ in (55c), which denote the source and the goal of the movements. Alternatively, a locative object might be absent in the sentence, as in (55b), in which soŋ44 上 ‘to ascend’ is followed by the deictic directional complement hi 53 去 ‘to go’. Table 25. Word orders of the directional verb and the locative object in s­ elf-agentive sentences in modern Hakka VND + LOC

VND + CD

‘to arrive’ + LOC + VD

VD + LOC

P

P

O

P

Similarly, non-deictic and deictic directional verbs in Mǐn can be followed by a locative object. Mǐn141 (56) a. 挽了就落樓梯。(VND + LOC) Maŋ35 liou 53 tsu 21 loʔ 2 lau 213thui 33. pick asp then descend ladder ‘(He) carried (the pears) and descended from the ladder.’

b. 迄個落來。(VND + CD) Hɯ 35 kai 213 loʔ5 lai 21. that cl descend come ‘That one descended.’



c. 伊去樹頂挽蜀撮梨。(VD + LOC) I 33 khɯ 53 tshiu 22 teŋ53 maŋ35 tseʔ 2 tshoʔ5 lai 55. he go tree top pick one cl pear ‘He climbed up the tree to pick pears.’

140 According to Lau (1997: 93), thin 53 定 ‘a place’ is a combined form of thi 53 地 and fong44 方. 141 Example (56c) was provided by our Mǐn informant.

Directional verbs 

 173

In examples (56a) and (56c), loʔ5 落 ‘to descend’ and khɯ 213 去 ‘to go’ are followed by the locative objects lau 55thui 33 樓梯 ‘the ladder’ and tshiu 22 teŋ53 樹頂 ‘the tree’, which indicate the path and the goal of the movements. It is also possible for the trajectory of a movement not to be specified in the sentence, as in (56b), in which loʔ5 落 ‘to descend’ is followed by the deictic directional complement lai 55 來 ‘to come’. Table 26. Word orders of the directional verb and the locative object in s­ elf-agentive sentences in modern Mǐn VND + LOC

VND + CD

‘to arrive’ + LOC + VD

VD + LOC

P

P

O

P

The occurrence of a locative object after a non-deictic or deictic directional verb is also observed in Cantonese. Cantonese (57) a. 咁經過嘅時侯呢就落咗車啦。(VND + LOC) Gam 2 ging1gwo3 ge3 si4hau6 ne1 zau6 lok6 zo2 ce1 laa1. then pass mp time prt then descend asp car sfp ‘(The child) got off from the bicycle when passing by (where the farmer was).’

b. 農夫就落嚟喇。(VND + CD) Nung4fu1 zau6 lok6 lai4 laa 3. farmer then descend come sfp ‘The farmer then descended.’



c. 去翻經過嗰棵樹。(VD + LOC) Heoi 3 faan 1 ging1gwo3 go2 po1 syu6. go return pass that cl tree ‘(Those three boys) went back to the tree which they passed by.’

In examples (57a) and (57c), the non-deictic directional verb lok6 落 ‘to descend’ and the deictic directional verb heoi 3 去 ‘to go’ are respectively followed by the locative objects ce1 車 ‘the car’ and ging1gwo3 go2 po1 syu6 經過嗰棵樹 ‘that tree which they passed by’, which specify the source and the goal of the movements. Moreover, it is also possible for a locative object to be absent in the sentence, as in (57b), in which lok6 落 ‘to descend’ is followed by the deictic directional complement lai4 嚟 ‘to come’.

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Table 27. Word orders of the directional verb and the locative object in s­ elf-agentive sentences in modern Cantonese VND + LOC

VND + CD

‘to arrive’ + LOC + VD

VD + LOC

P

P

O

P

Table 28 below summarizes the word orders of the directional verb and the locative object in sentences that denote self-agentive motion events in the five modern dialects. Table 28. Word orders of the directional verb and the locative object in s­ elf-agentive sentences in the five modern dialects142 VND + LOC 上樓142

VND + CD 下來

‘to arrive’ + LOC + VD 到教室來

VD + LOC 來教室

Mandarin

ü

ü

ü

?

Wú

?

ü

ü

?

Hakka

ü

ü

û

ü

Mǐn

ü

ü

û

ü

Cantonese

ü

ü

û

ü

Table 28 shows that all five modern dialects use both non-deictic and deictic directional verbs to express path in self-agentive motion events. Moreover, if the cases with a question mark are excluded, it is found that the word orders exhibited in Mandarin and Wú are basically identical (indicated by light shading), whereas those shown by Hakka, Mǐn and Cantonese are the same (indicated by heavy shading).

3.3.2 Non-agentive motion events In sentences that denote non-agentive motion events, the directional verb denotes the direction of the movement undergone by the subject. Non-agentive motion events often involve natural phenomena such as sunrise and sunset, as illustrated by the following example from Cantonese:

142 The examples are for easy reference and are not associated with grammaticality judgement.

Directional verbs 

 175

Cantonese143 (58) 個日頭落咗山。 zo2 saan 1. Go3 jat6tau 2 lok6 cl sun descend asp hill ‘The sun already set.’ However, in the Chinese Pear Stories, there is no such example. On the other hand, it is often for the subject in a non-agentive motion event to be caused to undergo the movement involuntarily especially when it is inanimate. In those cases, a co-event verb such as kāi 開 ‘to drive’ in (59) is often used to denote the cause and path is expressed in a directional complement such as jìn lái 進來 ‘to enter and to come’. Mandarin (Kē 2003: 7) (59) 大車也能開進來。 Dà chē yě néng kāi jìn lai. truck also can drive enter come ‘Trucks can also enter.’ A locative object may or may not be present in a non-agentive sentence if a deictic directional verb is involved, while a non-deictic directional verb requires an orientation point, which might be provided by a locative object or a deictic directional complement. Mandarin144 (60) a. 另外一個空簍子是從哪兒來的？(VD) Lìngwài yí gè kōng lǒuzi shì cóng nǎr lái de? other one cl empty basket be from where come sfp ‘Where did the other empty basket come from?’

 

b. 錢包到哪裏去了？(‘to arrive’ + LOC + VD) Qiánbāo dào nálǐ qù le? wallet arrive where go sfp ‘Where is the wallet?’

143 Example (58) was provided by the author. 144 Example (60b) was provided by our Běijīng informant.

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 Chapter 3. Directional verbs in modern Chinese dialects

Wú145 (61) 書到阿裏搭去啦？(‘to arrive’ + LOC + VD) Sɾ53 tɔ34 ɦa11li44 tǝʔ55 tɕhi 34 lǝʔ55? book arrive where Localizer go sfp ‘Where is the book?’ Hakka (62) 我介啤梨去哪定呢？(VD + LOC) ŋai11 e53 pe35li11 hi 53 nai 55thin 53 e? I mp pear go where sfp ‘Where did my pears go?’ Mǐn146 (63) 許幾籃梨去底隙？(VD + LOC) Hɯ 35 kui 35 nã 213 lai 55 khɯ 53 ti 21khiaʔ 2? that few basket pear go where ‘Where are those few baskets of pears?’ Cantonese (64) 但又唔知嗰籃生果去咗邊。(VD + LOC) Daan6 jau6 m4 zi1 go2 laam4 saang1gwo2 heoi 3 zo2 bin 1­. but also not know that cl fruit go asp where ‘But (he) did not know where the basket of fruit was.’ There are few examples of non-agentive motion events in the Chinese Pear Stories. Among the few examples found, a locative object is rarely involved, except in the Hakka and Cantonese examples illustrated respectively in (62), i.e. nai 55 thin 53 哪定 ‘where’, and (64), i.e. bin 1 邊 ‘where’. Table 29 below summarizes the word orders of the directional verb and the locative object in non-agentive sentences in the five modern dialects.

145 Example (61) was provided by our Wú informant, according to whom sɾ53 tɕhi 34 ɦa11li44 書 去哪裏 book-go-where ‘Where is the book?’ and sɾ53 ɦa13li44 tɕhi 34 lǝʔ55 書哪裏去了 book-wherego-sfp ‘Where is the book?’ would not be ruled out as unacceptable, but they sound unnatural. 146 Example (63) was provided by our Mǐn informant.

Directional verbs 

 177

Table 29. Word orders of the directional verb and the locative object in n ­ on-agentive sentences in the five modern dialects VD Mandarin Wú

‘to arrive’ + LOC + VD ‘to arrive’ + LOC + VD

Hakka

VD + LOC

Mǐn

VD + LOC

Cantonese

VD + LOC

Table 29 shows that, again, all of the five modern dialects use directional verbs to express path in sentences that denote non-agentive motion events. Moreover, according to the word order used in the five modern dialects, Mandarin and Wú fall into the same group (indicated by light shading), while Hakka, Mǐn and Cantonese belong to another group (indicated by heavy shading). 3.3.3 Agentive motion events In sentences that denote agentive motion events, the directional verb refers to the action which is carried out intentionally by the agent subject and which causes the theme object to move in a certain direction. It is illustrated in 2.3.3 that directional verbs in Cantonese exhibit the agentive use, a use that has rarely, if ever, been reported in other dialects. However, examples in which directional verbs are used to express agentive motion events are not found in the Chinese Pear Stories of any of the five modern dialects. Instead, all five dialects exhibit the characteristic of satellite-framed languages in encoding path in a directional complement. Sections 3.3.1–3.3.2 have shown that modern Mandarin, Wú, Hakka, Mǐn and Cantonese can use a directional verb to express path in self-agentive and nonagentive motion events, a characteristic that is observed in verb-framed languages. As for the encoding of path in sentences that denote agentive motion events, it is demonstrated in 2.3.3 that the agentive use of directional verbs is observed in modern Cantonese and it is further discussed in 3.6.1.3 that such use is also exhibited in modern Mǐn, a use which has completely escaped scholars’ notice.147 Section 3.4 below examines the characteristic of satellite-framed languages in expressing path in a satellite, as exemplified in the five Chinese dialects. 147 Although the agentive use of directional verbs is not observed in the daily use in modern Mandarin, Wú and Hakka, it is, nevertheless, exemplified in fixed expressions with a metaphorical meaning such as shàng yǐn 上癮 ‘addicted to’ and chū hàn 出汗 ‘to sweat’.

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 Chapter 3. Directional verbs in modern Chinese dialects

3.4 Simple directional complements A directional verb can function as a main verb as well as a complement of another verb, indicating the direction of a movement in a sentence. This section shows how modern Mandarin, Wú, Hakka, Mǐn and Cantonese resemble satellite-framed languages in denoting path in a satellite, or more precisely, in a simple directional complement, in self-agentive, non-agentive and agentive motion events.

3.4.1 Self-agentive motion events In sentences that denote self-agentive motion events, the co-event verb denotes the manner in which the movement is carried out by the subject while the simple directional complement indicates the direction of the movement. The orientation point of the movement might be represented by a locative object or be implied by the use of a deictic directional complement. The co-event verb in general cannot be immediately followed by a locative object. Instead, the use of a directional complement is necessary to serve as a bridge between the co-event verb and the locative object. Mandarin (65) a. 很高興地騎上了腳踏車。(V + CND + LOC) Hěn gāoxìng de qí shang le jiǎotàchē. very happy mp ride ascend asp bicycle ‘(The child) mounted the bicycle happily.’

b. 從他旁邊騎過去。(V + CND + CD) Cóng tā pángbiān qí guò qu. from his side ride pass go ‘(The child) rode by him.’



c. 跑去送給他。(V + CD) Pǎo qù sòng gěi tā. run go send give him ‘(The child) ran to return (the hat) to him.’



d. 然後他再爬到樹上去摘。(V + ‘to arrive’ + LOC + CD) Ránhòu tā zài pá dào shù shàng qù zhāi. then he again climb arrive tree Localizer go pick ‘Then he climbed up the tree to pick (pears) again.’

Simple directional complements 

 179

In example (65a), qí 騎 ‘to ride’ refers to the manner in which the child mounts the bicycle. Although qí 騎 ‘to ride’ can be followed by jiǎotàchē 腳踏車 ‘the bicycle’, the use of the non-deictic directional complement shàng 上 ‘to ascend’ indicates that the mounting of the bicycle is an upward movement. If a locative object is not present, there is a strong tendency for a non-deictic directional complement to be followed by a deictic directional complement. This is illustrated in (65b), in which the non-deictic directional complement guò 過 ‘to pass’ is followed by the deictic directional complement qù 去 ‘to go’, which indicates that the destination is away from where the speaker is or away from the orientation point at which the speaker situates himself/herself. Example (65c) illustrates that the deictic directional verb qù 去 ‘to go’ functions as a complement of the verb pǎo 跑 ‘to run’. It is noted in section 3.3.1 that the use of VD + LOC is becoming more and more acceptable to young Mandarin speakers. However, the use of V + CD + LOC is still not possible. Instead, example (65d) shows that dào 到 ‘to arrive’ is used after the co-event verb pá 爬 ‘to climb’ to introduce the locative object shù shàng 樹上 ‘the tree’, without which the sentence would become unacceptable, as pá 爬 ‘to climb’ cannot have a locative object. Example (65d) thus exhibits the pattern of V + ‘to arrive’ + LOC + CD. Table 30. Word orders of the simple directional complement and the locative object in ­­self-agentive sentences in modern Mandarin V + CND + LOC

V + CND + CD

V + CD

V + ‘to arrive’ + LOC + CD

V + CD + LOC

P

P

P

P

O

While the use of non-deictic directional complements in Wú is somewhat different from that in Mandarin, the use of deictic directional complements in Wú and Mandarin is the same. Wú (66) a. 後頭伊就踏上腳踏車。(V + CND + LOC) ɦɤ11 dɤ44 i 34 ʥiɤ13 dǝʔ12 zã 13 tɕiǝʔ55dǝʔ55tsho2. afterward he then ride ascend bicycle ‘Afterward, he mounted the bicycle.’

b. 伊爬上去。(V + CND + C­D) I 34 bo11 zã44 tɕhi44. he climb ascend go ‘He climbed up there.’

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 Chapter 3. Directional verbs in modern Chinese dialects



c. 迭個男小人趕得來以後… (V + CD) Diǝʔ12 gǝʔ12 nø11 ɕiɔ44nin44 kø34 tǝʔ55 lɛ13 i 34ɦɤ13… that cl male child rush mp come after ‘After that boy ran back (to the boys)…’



d. 然後就爬到樹高頭去了。(V + ‘to arrive’ + LOC + CD) Zø11ɦɤ44 ʥiɤ34 bo11 tɔ44 zɾ11 kɔ44dɤ2 tɕhi 34 lǝʔ55. afterward then climb arrive tree Localizer go sfp ‘Then he climbed up the tree.’

A non-deictic directional complement in Wú can be followed by a locative object, as illustrated in (66a), in which the non-deictic directional complement zã13 上 ‘to ascend’ is followed by the locative object tɕiǝʔ55dǝʔ12tsho53 腳踏車 ‘the bicycle’, or by a deictic directional complement such as tɕhi 34 去 ‘to go’ in (66b). On the other hand, when a deictic directional complement is involved, a locative object need not be present, as in (65c). If a locative object is to be present, as in (66d), it is often introduced by tɔ53 到 ‘to arrive’, displaying the pattern of V + ‘to arrive’ + LOC + CD. Liú (2001c: 18) points out that the acceptability of the use of a non-deictic directional complement to introduce a locative object varies. While the use of the complement tɕin 34 進 ‘to enter’ to introduce a locative object is relatively natural (cf. (67a)–(67b)), the combination of the complement tshǝʔ55 出 ‘to exit’ and a locative object is acceptable but rarely used (cf. (67c)–(67d)). For example, Wú (67) a. 走進教室里 tsɤ33 tɕin44 tɕiɔ33sǝʔ44 li walk enter classroom Localizer ‘to walk into the classroom’

b. 開進上海 khɛ 55 tɕin44 Zã11hɛ44 drive enter Shànghǎi ‘(the car) entered Shànghǎi’



c. 逃出監牢 dɔ11 tshǝʔ44 kɛ 55lɔ2 escape exit prison ‘to escape from prison’

Simple directional complements 



 181

d. 跳出圈子 thiɔ33 tshǝʔ44 tɕhyø55tsɾ2 jump exit circle ‘to jump out of a circle’

As for the occurrence of a locative object after the complements zã13 上 ‘to ascend’ and ɦo13 下 ‘to descend’, such a combination is not possible (cf. (67e)–(67f)). Wú (67) e. *爬上山頂 sɛ 55 tin 2 bo11 zã44 climb ascend hill top ‘to climb up to the top of the hill’

f. *滾下山坡 kuǝn 33 ɦo44 sɛ 55 phu 2 roll descend hill side ‘to roll down the hillside’

Instead, the use of lǝʔ55 勒 ‘at’ or tɔ34 到 ‘to arrive’ after a co-event verb is employed to introduce a locative object (cf. (67g)–(67h)). Wú (67) g. 爬勒/到山頂上 bo13 lǝʔ55/tɔ34 sɛ 55 tin 5 lã 2 climb at/arrive hill top Localizer ‘to climb up to the top of the hill’

h. 滾勒/到山腳下 kuǝn 34 lǝʔ55/tɔ34 sɛ 55 tɕiǝʔ55 ɦo2 roll at/arrive hill foot Localizer ‘to roll down to the foot of the hill’

At first blush, the data from the Wú Pear Stories show that the use of non-deictic and deictic directional complements in Wú is similar to that in Mandarin. However, according to Liú (2001c), the use of both types of directional complements in Wú is more restricted than that in Mandarin, especially in terms of their ability to introduce a following locative object.

182 

 Chapter 3. Directional verbs in modern Chinese dialects

Table 31. Word orders of the simple directional complement and the locative object in ­­self-agentive sentences in modern Wú V + CND + LOC

V + CND + CD

V + CD

V + ‘to arrive’ + LOC + CD

V + CD + LOC

?

P

P

P

O

In Hakka, the use of non-deictic directional complements resembles that in Mandarin. However, the use of deictic directional complements is different from Mandarin and Wú and variation exists among speakers. Hakka148 (68) a. 該隻爬上樹介肥佬又係戴帽仔。(V + CND + LOC) E55 tsak¹ pha11 soŋ44 su 53 e53 phi11 lau 31 iu 53 he53 tai 53 mau 53 ve. that cl climb ascend tree mp fat man also be wear hat ‘The fat man who climbed up the tree also wore a hat.’

b. 另自爬上去還去摘。(V + CND + CD) Laŋ55 tshɿ 53 pha11 soŋ35 hi 53 han 11 hi 53 tsak 1. another himself climb ascend go also ascend pick ‘(He) again climbed up to pick (the pears).’



c. ££走去看。(V + CD) kiak 1 kiak 1 tseu 31 hi 53 khon 53. quickly run go look ‘(He) quickly ran to take a look.’



d. 行到半路頭去呢 … (V + ‘to arrive’ + LOC + CD) haŋ11 tau 53 pan 55lu 53theu11 hi 53 e … walk arrive half-way go sfp ‘As (he) continued to walk half-way…’



e. 佢行去學校。(V + CD + LOC) Ki11 haŋ11 hi 53 hok 5kau 31. s/he walk go school ‘S/he walked to school.’

Examples (68a) and (68b) involve the non-deictic directional complement soŋ44 上 ‘to ascend’, which is followed by the locative object su 53 樹 ‘the tree’ in the former 148 Example (68c) is taken from Yuán (2001: 175) while example (68e) was provided by our Hakka informants.

Simple directional complements 

 183

and by the deictic directional complement hi 53 去 ‘to go’ in the latter. Example (68c) shows the combination of V + CD, i.e. tseu 31 hi 53 走去 ‘to run there’. Examples (68d) and (68e) illustrate that when a locative object and a deictic directional complement are involved in a sentence, variations exist among speakers. Example (68d) exhibits the pattern of V + ‘to arrive’ + LOC + CD, i.e. haŋ11 tau 53 pan 53lu 53theu11 hi 53 行到半路頭去 ‘to walk half-way’, a pattern that is used in Mandarin and Wú as discussed above. Example (68e) illustrates the pattern of V + CD + LOC, i.e. haŋ11 hi 53 hok 5kau 31 行去學校 ‘to walk to school’, a pattern that is commonly observed in Mǐn and Cantonese and is discussed below.149 The exhibition of characteristics of the northern and southern dialects in Hakka is also observed in its core directional verbs in which members from both groups of dialects are used (cf. Table 22). Table 32. Word orders of the simple directional complement and the locative object in ­­self-agentive sentences in modern Hakka V + CND + LOC

V + CND + CD

V + CD

V + ‘to arrive’ + LOC + CD

V + CD + LOC

P

P

P

P

P

Mǐn allows both non-deictic and deictic directional complements to be followed by a locative object. Mǐn150 (69) a. 伊爬起許樹頂去挽蘋果。(V + CND + LOC) I 33 peʔ 213 khi 35 hɯ 35 tshiu 22 teŋ53 khɯ 53 maŋ35 pheŋ213kuẽ53. he climb rise that tree top go pick apple ‘He climbed up the tree to pick apples.’

b. 伊爬起去。(V + CND + CD) I 33 peʔ5 khi 213 khɯ 21. he climb rise go ‘He climbed up there.’

149 Age does not seem to play a role in the variations as the Hakka speaker who used V + ‘to arrive’ + LOC + CD in the Hakka Pear Stories and our Hakka informant who used V + C D + LOC were in their twenties. Whether the variations are caused by factors such as difference in education level (the participant in the Hakka Pear Stories was a secondary school graduate while ours was an undergraduate student) or internal variations within Hakka (the participant in the Hakka Pear Stories speaks the Bǎo’ān 寶安 variety of Hakka but ours speaks the Méixiàn variety) requires further investigation. 150 Examples (69a)–(69c) were provided by our Mǐn informant.

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 Chapter 3. Directional verbs in modern Chinese dialects



c. 伊就行去。(V + CD) I 33 tsu 21 kiã 55 khɯ 21. he then walk go ‘He then walked away.’



d. 行去頭前。(V + CD + LOC) Kiã 213 khɯ 53 thau 213tsõi 55. walk go front ‘(He) walked to the front.’

In example (69a), the non-deictic directional complement khi 53 起 ‘to rise’ is followed by the locative object hɯ 53 tshiu 22 teŋ53 許樹頂 ‘that tree’. Example (69b) shows that khi 53 起 ‘to rise’ can also be followed by the deictic directional complement khɯ 213 去 ‘to go’, which indicates that the speaker is not at the destination toward which the subject i 33 伊 ‘he’ climbs.151 While example (69c) illustrates that a co-event verb can be immediately followed by a deictic directional complement such as khɯ 213 去 ‘to go’, example (69d) further shows that a locative object can appear after a deictic directional complement, i.e. khɯ 213 thau 55tsõi 55 去頭前 ‘to go to the front’. Table 33. Word orders of the simple directional complement and the locative object in ­­self-agentive sentences in modern Mǐn V + CND + LOC

V + CND + CD

V + CD

V + ‘to arrive’ + LOC + CD

V + CD + LOC

P

P

P

O

P

The same degree of freedom, i.e. the occurrence of a locative object after a nondeictic or a deictic directional complement, is observed in Cantonese. Cantonese (70) a. 就爬上棵樹嗰度呢。(V + CND + LOC) Zau6 paa4 soeng5 po1 syu6 go2dou6 le1. then climb ascend cl tree there sfp ‘(He) then climbed up the tree.’

b. 咁跟住再爬上去再摘過。(V + CND + CD) Gam 2 gan 1zyu6 zoi 3 paa4 soeng5 heoi 3 zaak6 gwo3. then follow again climb ascend go pick asp ‘Then (the farmer) climbed up again to pick (pears).’

151 While the combination of qǐlái 起來 ‘to rise and to come’ is widely observed in Chinese dialects, the combination of qǐqù 起去 ‘to rise and to go’ is not common among Chinese dialects. Nevertheless, both of them are possible in Mǐn (cf. (69b)).

Simple directional complements 



c. 咁行咗去啦。(V + CD) Gam 2 haang4 zo2 heoi 3 laa1. then walk asp go sfp ‘Then (the child) walked away.’



d. 跟住佢又爬去樹上面。(V + CD + LOC) Gan 1zyu6 keoi 5 jau6 paa4 heoi 3 syu6 soeng6 min6. follow he again climb go tree Localizer ‘Then he went up the tree again.’

 185

While the non-deictic directional complement soeng5 上 ‘to ascend’ in (70a) is followed by the locative object po1 syu6 go2dou6 棵樹嗰度 ‘the tree’, it is followed by the deictic directional complement heoi 3 去 ‘to go’ in (70b). In examples (70c) and (70d), the co-event verbs haang4 行 ‘to walk’ and paa4 爬 ‘to climb’ are followed by the deictic directional complement heoi 3 去 ‘to go’. While a locative object is not present in (70c), it follows heoi 3 去 ‘to go’ in (70d). The use of nondeictic and deictic directional complements in Cantonese resembles that of Mǐn in terms of the possibility for a locative object to appear after both types of directional complements. Table 34. Word orders of the simple directional complement and the locative object in ­­self-agentive sentences in modern Cantonese V + CND + LOC

V + CND + CD

V + CD

V + ‘to arrive’ + LOC + CD

V + CD + LOC

P

P

P

O

P

Table 35 summarizes the word orders of the simple directional complement and the locative object in sentences that denote self-agentive motion events in the five modern dialects. Table 35. Word orders of the simple directional complement and the locative object in ­self-agentive sentences in the five modern dialects

Mandarin

V + CND + LOC 騎上腳踏車

V + CND + CD 騎過去

V + CD 跑去

V + ‘to arrive’ + LOC + CD 爬到樹上去

V + CD + LOC 爬去樹上

ü

ü

ü

ü

û

Wú

?

ü

ü

ü

û

Hakka

ü

ü

ü

ü

ü

Mǐn

ü

ü

ü

û

ü

Cantonese

ü

ü

ü

û

ü

186 

 Chapter 3. Directional verbs in modern Chinese dialects

Table 35 shows that Mandarin and Wú display almost the same word orders except that the use of a non-deictic directional complement in the latter is more restricted than the former (indicated by light shading). Mǐn and Cantonese share identical word orders (indicated by heavy shading). As for Hakka, it exhibits the word orders of the other two groups (indicated by unshaded area).

3.4.2 Non-agentive motion events In sentences that denote non-agentive motion events, the co-event verb indicates the manner or the cause of the movement undergone by the theme subject while the simple directional complement specifies the direction of the movement. The subject is often an inanimate entity which is caused to move by some external force, whereas the locative object denotes the orientation point of the movement. Mandarin152 (71) a. 白色的蘆花，隨風飄上天空。(V + CND + LOC) Báisè de lúhuā, suí fēng piāo shàng tiānkōng. white mp reed catkin, follow wind flow ascend sky ‘The white reed catkins were blown up in the air by the wind.’

b. 帽子掉下來。(V + CND + CD) Màozi diào xià lai. hat fall descend come ‘The hat dropped.’



c. 整簍都可以拿去了。(V + CD) Zhéng lǒu dōu kéyǐ ná qù le. whole basket all can take go sfp ‘(The boy thought) the whole basket (of pears) can be taken away.’



d. 他的血似乎全流到四肢上去。(V + ‘to arrive’ + LOC + CD) Tā de xuě sìhū quán liú dào sìzhī shàng qu. his mp blood like all flow arrive four limbs ascend go ‘It looked as if his blood had all flowed to his arms and legs.’

In examples (71a)–(71d), the subject is an inanimate entity which is caused by some external force to undergo the movement denoted by the directional complement. While the external force, i.e. fēng 風 ‘the wind’, is specified in (71a), it 152 Examples (71a) and (71d) are taken from Liú (1998: 81, 417).

Simple directional complements 

 187

is not spelt out in (71b)–(71d). A co-event verb might denote the manner in which the movement is carried out, such as piāo 飄 ‘to float’ in (71a) and diào 掉 ‘to drop’ in (71b) and liú 流 ‘to flow’ in (71d), or the cause which gives rise to the movement such as ná 拿 ‘to carry’ in (71c). The non-deictic directional complement shàng 上 ‘to ascend’ is followed by the locative object tiānkōng 天空 ‘the sky’ in (71a) while the non-deictic directional complement xià 下 ‘to descend’ is followed by the deictic directional complement lái 來 ‘to come’ in (71b). In example (71c), the co-event verb ná 拿 ‘to carry’ is followed by the deictic directional complement qù 去 ‘to go’ and a locative object is not involved. Example (71d) shows that the locative object sìzhī shàng 四肢上 ‘four limbs’ is introduced by dào 到 ‘to arrive’ and appears before the deictic directional complement. Table 36. Word orders of the simple directional complement and the locative object in ­­non-agentive sentences in modern Mandarin V + CND + LOC

V + CND + CD

V + CD

V + ‘to arrive’ + LOC + CD

V + CD + LOC

P

P

P

P

O

The use of both V + CND + LOC and V + CD + LOC is restricted in Wú. Wú153 (72) a. 車子開進車庫裏。(V + CND + LOC) Tsho55tsɾ2 khɛ 55 tɕin 2 tsho55ku 2 li 2. car drive enter garage Localizer ‘The car was moved into the garage.’

b. ?車子開上山頂。(V + CND + LOC) Tsho55tsɾ2 khɛ 55 zã 2 sɛ 55 tin 2. car drive ascend hill top ‘The car moved up the hill.’



c. ?石頭滾下斜坡。(V + CND + LOC) Zǝʔ1dɤ24 kuǝn 33 ɦo44 tɕhia 33phu44. rock roll descend slope ‘The rock rolled down the slope.’



d. ?球滾出了球界。(V + CND + LOC) Dʑiɤ13 kuǝn 34 tshǝʔ55 lǝʔ 2 dʑiɤ11ka44. ball roll exit asp sideline ‘The ball rolled out of the playing field.’

153 Examples (72a)–(72g) were provided by our Wú informant.

188 

 Chapter 3. Directional verbs in modern Chinese dialects

e. ?車子開來了。(V + CD) Tsho55tsɾ2 khɛ 55 lɛ 2 lǝʔ 2. car drive come sfp ‘The car arrived.’

f. 車子開到門£來。(V + ‘to arrive’ + LOC + CD) Tsho55tsɾ2 khɛ 55 tɔ2 mǝn 11khɤ44 lɛ 34. car drive arrive entrance come ‘The car arrived at the doorway.’



g. 車子開過來了。(V + CND + CD) Tsho55tsɾ2 khɛ 55 ku 2 lɛ 2 lǝʔ55. car drive pass come sfp ‘The car moved over here.’

In example (72a), the co-event verb khɛ 53 開 ‘to drive’ is followed by the non-deictic directional complement tɕin 34 進 ‘to enter’ and the locative object tsho53ku 34 li13 車庫裏 ‘the garage’. However, examples which exhibit V + CND + LOC or V + CD are often considered unnatural according to our informant (cf. (72b)–(72e)).154 Alternatively, he would prefer the use of V + ‘to arrive’ + LOC + CD, as shown in (72f), or a co-event verb plus a compound directional complement, as illustrated in (72g). Table 37. Word orders of the simple directional complement and the locative object in ­­non-agentive sentences in modern Wú V + CND + LOC

V + CND + CD

V + CD

V + ‘to arrive’ + LOC + CD

V + CD + LOC

?

P

?

P

O

The restriction on the occurrence of a locative object after a non-deictic or a deictic directional complement disappears in Hakka, Mǐn and Cantonese.

154 The contrast in the acceptability between (72a) and (72b)–(72d) might be related to the specific non-deictic directional complement involved. See 3.4.1 for the relevant discussion on Wú.

Simple directional complements 

 189

Hakka155 (73) a. 成籮啤梨就£到該石頭就跌落地泥下。(V + CND + LOC) Saŋ11 lo11 pe35li11 tshiu 53 kit1 tau 31 e53 sak 5theu11 whole basket pear then tip prt that  rock tshiu 53 tiet1 lok 5 thi 55nai11ha44. then fall descend ground ‘The whole basket of pears fell onto the ground after (the bicycle) was tipped over by a stone.’

b. 所有介梨仔全部倒晒落去。(V + CND + CD) So31iu44 e53 li11 e tshien 11pu 53 tau 31 sai 31 lok 5 hi 53. all mp pear all drop prt descend go ‘All the pears fell onto the ground.’



c. 船開來。(V + CD) Son 11 khoi44 loi 11. ship sail come ‘The ship sails here.’



d. 船開來碼頭。(V + CD + LOC) Son 11 khoi44 loi 11 ma 35theu11. ship sail come pier ‘The ship is sailing to the pier.’

Examples (73a) and (73b) show that the non-deictic directional complement lok 5 落 ‘to descend’ is followed by the locative object thi 53nai11 ha44 地泥下 ‘the ground’ and by the deictic directional complement hi 53 去 ‘to go’. Example (73c) shows that the deictic directional complement loi11 來 ‘to come’ occurs after the co-event verb khoi44 開 ‘to sail’ without a locative object, while example (73d) illustrates that the locative object ma44theu11 碼頭 ‘the pier’ appears after the deictic directional complement loi11 來 ‘to come’.156

155 Examples (73c) and (73d) were provided by our Hakka informants. 156 Xiàng (1997: 329) also notes that in the variety of Hakka spoken in Liánchéng 連城, the deictic directional complements liu 55 來 ‘to come’ and ʂʯǝ33 去 ‘to go’ can be followed by a locative object, e.g. khøǝ33 liu 55 Seŋ33tshie55 開來新泉 drive-come-Xīnquán ‘X drives to Xīnquán’. However, since the subject is omitted from the example, it is possible that the sentence is used to express an agentive motion event or a non-agentive motion event. In the former, the omitted subject is an animate instigator who causes the car to move to Xīnquán whereas in the latter the omitted subject is an inanimate subject such as a car which is caused to move to Xīnquán.

190 

 Chapter 3. Directional verbs in modern Chinese dialects

Table 38. Word orders of the simple directional complement and the locative object in ­­non-agentive sentences in modern Hakka V + CND + LOC

V + CND + CD

V + CD

V + ‘to arrive’ + LOC + CD

V + CD + LOC

P

P

P

O

P

Similarly, a locative object can appear after a non-deictic or a deictic directional complement in Mǐn. Mǐn157 (74) a. 隻車開入車庫内。(V + CND + LOC) Tsiaʔ5 tshia 33 kui 33 dzik 2 tshia 33 khou 53 lai 35. cl car drive enter garage Localizer ‘The car was moved into the garage.’

b. 帽仔飛出来。(V + CND + CD) Bo22kiã 53 pue33 tshuk 5 lai 21. hat fly exit come ‘The hat was blown out here.’



c. 帽仔飛去。(V + CD) Bo22kiã 53 pue33 khɯ 21. hat fly go ‘The hat was blown away.’



d. 隻車開去車庫。(V + CD + LOC) Tsiaʔ5 tshia 33 kui 33 khɯ 53 tshia 33khou 213. cl car drive go garage ‘The car was moved into the garage.’

A non-deictic directional complement can be followed by a locative object such as tshia 33 khou 213 lai 35 車庫內 ‘the garage’ in (74a) or by a deictic directional complement such as lai 55 來 ‘to come’ in (74b). On the other hand, a deictic directional complement can be optionally followed by a locative object (cf. (74c)–(74d)). Table 39. Word orders of the simple directional complement and the locative object in ­­non-agentive sentences in modern Mǐn V + CND + LOC

V + CND + CD

V + CD

V + ‘to arrive’ + LOC + CD

V + CD + LOC

P

P

P

O

P

157 Examples (74a), (74c) and (74d) were provided by our Mǐn informant.

Simple directional complements 

 191

Both non-deictic and deictic directional complements in Cantonese enjoy the same degree of freedom as Mǐn in allowing the occurrence of a following locative object. Cantonese158 (75) a. 成籃生果跌晒落地下。(V + CND + LOC) Seng4 laam4 saang1gwo2 dit 3 saai 3 lok6 dei6haa 5. whole basket fruit fall prt descend ground ‘The whole basket of fruit fell onto the ground.’

b. 咁嗰個單車就衝落去。(V + CND + CD) Gam 2 go2 go3 daan 1ce1 zau6 cung1 lok6 heoi 3. then that cl bicycle then rush descend go ‘The bicycle then rushed down.’



c. 啫係成個籃扐咗去。(V + CD) Ze1 hai6 seng4 go3 laam 2 lik 1 zo2 heoi 3. that be whole cl basket carry asp go ‘That is the whole basket was carried away.’



d. 盆花搬咗去客廳。(V + CD + LOC) Pun4 faa1 bun 1 zo2 heoi 3 haak 3 teng1. cl flower move asp go living room ‘The pot of flowers was moved to the living room.’

The non-deictic directional complement lok6 落 ‘to descend’ is followed by the locative object dei6haa 5 地下 ‘the ground’ in (75a) and by the deictic directional complement heoi 3 去 ‘to go’ in (75b). In example (75c), the deictic directional complement heoi 3 去 ‘to go’ follows the co-event verb lik 1 扐 ‘to carry’. If a locative object and a deictic directional complement are involved, the locative object occurs after the deictic directional complement, as illustrated in (75d), in which heoi 3 去 ‘to go’ is followed by the locative object haak 3 teng1 客廳 ‘the living room’. Table 40. Word orders of the simple directional complement and the locative object in ­non-agentive sentences in modern Cantonese V + CND + LOC

V + CND + CD

V + CD

V + ‘to arrive’ + LOC + CD

V + CD + LOC

P

P

P

O

P

158 Example (75d) was provided by the author.

192 

 Chapter 3. Directional verbs in modern Chinese dialects

Table 41 summarizes the word orders of the simple directional complement and the locative object in sentences that denote non-agentive motion events in the five modern dialects. Table 41. Word orders of the simple directional complement and the locative object in ­non-agentive sentences in the five modern dialects V + CND + LOC 飄上天空

V + CND + CD 掉下來

V + CD 拿去

V + ‘to arrive’ + LOC + CD 流到四肢上去

V + CD + LOC 搬去客廳

ü

ü

ü

ü

û

Mandarin Wú

?

ü

?

ü

û

Hakka

ü

ü

ü

û

ü

Mǐn

ü

ü

ü

û

ü

Cantonese

ü

ü

ü

û

ü

In Table 41, ignoring the cases indicated by a question mark in Wú, Mandarin and Wú fall into the same group (indicated by light shading). Hakka, Mǐn and Cantonese, on the other hand, belong to another group (indicated by heavy shading).

3.4.3 Agentive motion events When expressing an agentive motion event, it is theoretically possible to represent the instigator (subject), the affected entity (object) and the orientation point of the movement (locative object) in the sentence. However, rarely do all of the above three elements appear in the sentence. As noted in 2.3.3, Chinese dialects, in general, cannot use a directional verb to express path in sentences that denote agentive motion events. As a result, a combination of a co-event verb and a directional complement is employed to indicate the cause and the direction of the movement. Mandarin159 (76) a. 他摘下這個水果以後… (V + CND + O) Tā zhāi xià zhè gè shuíguǒ yǐhòu… he pick descend this cl fruit after ‘After he picked this fruit…’ 159 Examples (76b) and (76c) are taken from Lǚ (1996 [1980]: 309) and (76d) is from Liú (1998: 205).

Simple directional complements 

 193



b. 他給我送來一部《希臘神話》。(V + CD + O) Tā géi wǒ sòng lai yí bù Xīlàshénhuà. he for me send come one cl Greek Mythology. ‘He sent a copy of Greek Mythology here.’



c. 我借了幾本小說來。(V + O + CD) Wǒ jiè le jí běn xiǎoshuō lai. I borrow asp few cl novel come ‘I borrowed a few novels.’



d. 車篷寬卻把劉亞叫進了自己的辦公室。(dm + O + V + CND + LOC) Chē Péngkuān què bǎ Liú Yà jiào jìn le zìjǐ de Chē Péngkuān then dm Liú Yà call enter asp oneself mp bàngōngshì. office ‘Chē Péngkuān asked Liú Yā to come into his office.’



e. 他就把摘過的放下來。(V + CND + CD) Tā jiù bǎ zhāi guò de fàng xià lai. he then dm pick asp mp put descend come ‘He brought down those that he picked.’



f. 他就把帽子拿去還他。(V + CD) Tā jiù bǎ màozi ná qù huán tā. he then dm hat take go return him ‘He then returned the hat to the boy.’



g. 把他袋子裏面的芭樂放到簍子裏面去。(V + ‘to arrive’ + LOC + CD) Bǎ tā dàizi lǐmian de bālè fàng dào lǒuzi lǐmian qu. dm his pocket Localizer mp guava put arrive basket Localizer go ‘(He) put the guavas in his pocket into the basket.’

In examples (76a)–(76g) above, the subject who causes the object to undergo the movement is tā 他 ‘he’ in (76a)–(76b) and (76e)–(76f), wǒ 我 ‘I’ in (76c) and Chē Péngkuān 車篷寬 in (76d), but is unspecified in (76g). In the above examples, the co-event verbs denote the causes which bring about the movements of the objects, i.e. zhāi 摘 ‘to pick’ in (76a), sòng 送 ‘to send’ in (76b), jiè 借 ‘to borrow’ in (76c), jiào 叫 ‘to ask’ in (76d), fàng 放 ‘to put’ in (76e) and (76g) and ná 拿 ‘to carry’ in (76f). The affected objects which are caused to undergo movements are zhè gè shuíguǒ 這個水果 ‘this fruit’ in (76a), yí bù Xīlàshénhuà 一部《希臘神話》‘a copy of Greek Mythology’ in (76b), jǐ běn xiǎoshuō 幾本小說 ‘a few novels’ in (76c), Liú Yà 劉亞 ‘Liú Yà’ in (76d), zhāi guò de 摘過的 ‘those that he picked’ in (76e),

194 

 Chapter 3. Directional verbs in modern Chinese dialects

màozi 帽子 ‘the hat’ in (76f) and tā dàizi lǐmiàn de bālè 他袋子裏面的芭樂 ‘the guavas in his pocket’ in (76g). In example (76a), the theme object zhè gè shuíguǒ 這個水果 ‘this fruit’ appears after the co-event verb and the non-deictic directional complement, i.e. zhāi xià 摘下 ‘to pick and to descend’. When a deictic directional complement is involved, two word order patterns are observed. In example (76b), the theme object yí bù Xīlàshénhuà 一部《希臘神話》‘a copy of Greek Mythology’ appears after the co-event verb sòng 送 ‘to send’ and the deictic directional complement lái 來 ‘to come’. Alternatively, example (76c) shows that it is also possible for the theme object jǐ běn xiǎoshuō 幾本小說 ‘a few novels’ to occur after the co-event verb jiè 借 ‘to borrow’ and before the deictic directional complement lái 來 ‘to come’. In example (76d), the theme object Liú Yà 劉 亞 ‘Liú Yà’ and the locative object zìjǐ de bàngōngshì 自己的辦公室 ‘his office’ are involved. Since there is a strong tendency in Mandarin to move an object to a preverbal position and mark it with the disposal marker bǎ 把, the theme object is preposed and marked by the disposal marker bǎ 把 in (76d), leaving only the locative object after the co-event verb and the non-deictic directional complement jiào jìn 叫進 ‘to call to enter’. In example (76e), a locative object is not present in the postverbal position and the co-event verb fàng 放 ‘to put’ is followed by the non-deictic and the deictic directional complements xià 下 ‘to descend’ and lái 來 ‘to come’. While the former indicates that it is a downward movement, the latter specifies that the movement is directed toward the speaker. Example (76f) illustrates that the deictic directional complement qù 去 ‘to go’ can immediately follow the co-event verb ná 拿 ‘to carry’ without the presence of a locative object. If a locative object is to be specified, it is introduced by dào 到 ‘to arrive’, as illustrated in (76g), and the pattern of V + ‘to arrive’ + LOC + C D is exemplified. Table 42. Word orders of the simple directional complement, the theme object and the locative object in agentive sentences in modern Mandarin V + CND + O

V + CD + O

V + O + CD

V + O + CND + LOC

V + CND + CD

V + CD

V + ‘to arrive’ + LOC + CD

V + CD + LOC

P

P

P

O

P

P

P

O

The use of non-deictic and deictic directional complements in Wú resembles that in Mandarin.

Simple directional complements 

Wú160 (77) a. 伊踢進兩隻球。(V + CND + O) I 34 thiǝʔ3 tɕin44 liã13 tsǝʔ55 dʑiɤ13. s/he kick enter two cl ball ‘S/he kicked in two balls.’

b. 伊寄來一封信。(V + CD + O) I 34 tɕi 33 lɛ44 iǝʔ3 foŋ44 ɕin 34. s/he send come one cl letter ‘S/he sent a letter here.’



c. 伊寄了一封信來。(V + O + CD) I 34 tɕi 33 lǝʔ4 iǝʔ3 foŋ44 ɕin 34 lɛ13. s/he send asp one cl letter come ‘S/he sent a letter here.’



d. 伊拿球踢進球門。(dm + O + V + CND + LOC) I 34 nɛ 53 dʑiɤ13 thiǝʔ3 tɕin44 dʑiɤ11mǝn44. s/he dm ball kick enter goal ‘S/he kicked a ball into the goal.’



e. 又撥圍兜拿下來。(dm + O + V + CND + CD) ɦiɤ13 pǝʔ55 ɦy11tɤ44 nɛ 55 ɦo2 lɛ 2. also dm sack take descend come ‘(He) brought down the sack.’



f. 拿生梨偷得去了。(V + CD) Nɛ 53 sã 55li 2 thɤ55 tǝʔ 2 tɕhi 34 lǝʔ55. dm pear steal mp go sfp ‘(He) stole the pears (from the farmer).’



g. 搬到自家腳踏車高頭去了。(V + ‘to arrive’ + LOC + CD) Pø55 tɔ2 zɾ11ka44 tɕiǝʔ55dǝʔ55tsho2 kɔ55dɤ2 tɕhi 34 lǝʔ55. move arrive one’s bicycle Localizer go sfp ‘(He) moved (the pears) to his bicycle.’



h. 放辣籃裏向去。(V + ‘at’ + LOC + CD) Fã 33 lǝʔ4 lɛ11 li44ɕiã44 tɕhi 34. put at basket Localizer go ‘(He) put (the pears) into the basket.’

160 Examples (77a)–(77d) were provided by our Wú informants.

 195

196 

 Chapter 3. Directional verbs in modern Chinese dialects

Similar to Mandarin, a theme object can appear after a co-event verb and a nondeictic directional complement, as in (77a). Moreover, in examples (77b) and (77c) the word orders of V + CD + O and V + O + CD are used when a theme object and a deictic directional complement are involved. Example (77d) shows that if an object and a locative object are both present in the sentence, the object often ends up occurring in the preverbal position and is marked by the disposal marker nɛ 53 拿, whereas the locative object follows the co-event verb and the nondeictic directional complement. Without the presence of a locative object, there is a strong tendency for a non-deictic directional complement to be followed by a deictic directional complement such as ɦo13 lɛ13 下來 ‘to descend and to come’ in (77e). Example (77f) shows that with a built-in speaker orientation point, a deictic directional complement can appear after a co-event verb without the presence of a locative object. Lastly, similar to Mandarin, a locative object cannot appear after a deictic directional complement. Instead, either tɔ34 到 ‘to arrive’ or lǝʔ55 辣 ‘at’ is used to introduce the locative object, and a deictic directional complement appears in the sentence-final position, as exemplified in (77g) and (77h). Table 43. Word orders of the simple directional complement, the theme object and the locative object in agentive sentences in modern Wú V + CND + O

V + CD + O

V + O + CD

P

P

P

V + O + CND V + CND + CD + LOC O

P

V + CD P

V + ‘to arrive’ V + CD + LOC + LOC + CD P

O

The use of non-deictic and deictic directional complements in Hakka is similar to that in Mandarin and Wú except that variations in word order exist when a locative object and a deictic directional complement are involved. Moreover, the co-occurrence of a theme object and a locative object in the postverbal position is tolerated more in Hakka than in Mandarin and Wú. Hakka161 (78) a. 佢射入兩隻球。(V + CND + O) Ki11 sa 53 ŋip5 lioŋ31 tsak 1 khiu11. s/he shoot enter two cl ball ‘S/he shot in two balls.’

161 Examples (78a), (78b) and (78d) were provided by our Hakka informants.

Simple directional complements 

 197



b. 佢寄來一封信。(V + CD + O) Ki11 ki 53 loi11 it1 fuŋ44 sin 53. s/he send come one cl letter ‘S/he sent a letter here.’



c. 撈佢送頂帽來呢。(V + O + CD) Lau44 ki11 soŋ53 taŋ31 mau 53 loi 11 e. for him send cl hat come sfp ‘(The boy) returned the hat to him.’



d. 佢退封信轉郵局。(V + O + CND + LOC) Ki11 thui 53 fuŋ44 sin 53 tson 31 iu11kiuk 5. s/he return cl letter return post office ‘(S/he) returned the letter to the post office.’



e. 佢明明摘嗨三籮落來介。(V + O + CND + CD) Ki11 min 11min 11 tsak 1 e sam 35 lo11 lok 5 loi 11 e. he indeed pick asp three cl descend come sfp ‘He did carry down three (baskets of pears).’



f. 放去籃介定。(V + CD + LOC) Foŋ53 hi 53 lam11 e55 thin 53. put go basket mp place ‘(He) put (the pears) into the basket.’



g. 就幫 該隻人撿返該梨放到該籃該笪位去。(V + ‘to arrive’ + LOC + CD) Tshiu 53 poŋ44 e53 tsak 1 ŋin 11 ŋiam44 fan44 e53 li11 foŋ53 then help that cl man pick return that pear  put tau 53 e53 lam11 e53 tap1 vi 53 hi 53. arrive that basket that cl place go ‘(The boy) helped him to pick up the pears and put them back into the basket.’

Example (78a) shows that the theme object lioŋ31 tsak 1 khiu11 兩隻球 ‘two balls’ appears after the co-event verb sa 53 射 ‘to shoot’ and the non-deictic directional complement ŋip5 入 ‘to enter’. When an object and a deictic directional complement are involved, two word order patterns are observed. While the theme object it1 fuŋ44 sin 53 一封信 ‘a letter’ in (78b) appears after the co-event verb ki 53 寄 ‘to send’ and the deictic directional complement loi11 來 ‘to come’, the theme object taŋ31 mau 53 頂帽 ‘the hat’ in (78c) immediately follows the co-event verb soŋ53 送 ‘to send’ and comes before the deictic directional complement loi11 來 ‘to come’. In example (78d), the object fuŋ44 sin 53 封信 ‘the letter’ occurs after the co-event

198 

 Chapter 3. Directional verbs in modern Chinese dialects

verb thui 53 退 ‘to return’ and is followed by the non-deictic directional complement tson 31 轉 ‘to return’ and the locative object iu11kiuk 5 郵局 ‘the post office’. In other words, a theme object and a locative object can co-occur in the postverbal position, an option that is in general not permitted in Mandarin and Wú. When a locative object is absent from the sentence, a non-deictic directional complement is followed by a deictic directional complement, as illustrated by lok 5 loi11 落 來 ‘to descend and to come’ in (78e). Unlike Mandarin and Wú in which a deictic directional complement cannot be followed by a locative object, example (78f) shows that the deictic directional complement hi 53 去 ‘to go’ is followed by the locative object lam11 e53 thin 53 籃介定 ‘the basket’. Alternatively, example (78g) illustrates that it is also possible for a locative object to appear before a deictic directional complement and to be introduced by tau 53 到 ‘to arrive’, a word order pattern which is used in Mandarin and Wú. Table 44. Word orders of the simple directional complement, the theme object and the locative object in agentive sentences in modern Hakka162 V + CND + O

V + CD + O

P

P

V + O + CD V + O + CND + LOC P

P

V + CND + CD

V + CD

V + ‘to arrive’ + LOC + CD

V + CD + LOC

P

P162

P

P

The use of non-deictic and deictic directional complements in Mǐn is similar to that in Hakka. Mǐn163 (79) a. 伊踢入三粒球。(V + CND + O) I 33 thak 5 dzik 2 sã 33 liak 2 kiu 55. s/he kick enter three cl ball ‘S/he kicked in three balls.’

b. 伊寄來蜀封信。(V + CD + O) I 33 kia 53 lai 213 tsek 2 hoŋ33 seŋ213. s/he send come one cl letter ‘S/he sent a letter here.’

162 Although no example of V + CD is found in the Hakka data, based on the observation that such use is possible in self-agentive and non-agentive motion events in Hakka, i.e. Tables 35 and 41, it is assumed that it is also available in agentive motion events. 163 Except for (79f), the rest of the examples were provided by our Mǐn informants.

Simple directional complements 

 199



c. 伊寄封信來。(V + O + CD) I 33 kia 53 hoŋ33 seŋ213 lai 55. s/he send cl letter come ‘S/he sent a letter here.’



d. 伊踢三粒球入球門。(V + O + CND + LOC) I 33 thak 5 sã 33 liak 2 kiu 55 dzik 2 kiu 213muŋ55. s/he kick three cl ball enter goal ‘S/he kicked three balls into the goal.’



e. 然後伊甲伊挽落來。(V + CND + CD) Dziaŋ213au 35 i 33 kaʔ5 i 33 maŋ53 loʔ5 lai 21. afterward s/he dm it pick descend come ‘Then s/he brought down the pears.’



f. 伊甲我挽來。(V + CD) I 33 kai 213 ua 35 maŋ53 lai 21. he for me pick come ‘He brought the pears here for me.’



g. 伊挽兩籃梨去樓下。(V + O + CD + LOC) I 33 maŋ35 nõ21 nã 213 lai 55 khɯ 53 lau 213 e35. s/he pick two cl pear go floor Localizer ‘S/he carried two baskets of pears downstairs.’



h. 許個人甲伊拖遘樓下去。(V + ‘to arrive’ + LOC + CD) Hɯ 35 kai213 naŋ55 kaʔ5 i33 tua33 kau 53 lau213 e35 khɯ 213. that cl person for him/her drag arrive floor Localizer go ‘That person dragged it downstairs for him/her.’

The word order of V + CND/D + O is observed when a non-deictic or a deictic directional complement and an object are involved, as demonstrated in (79a) and (79b). Example (79c) shows that the word order of V + O + CD is also possible. Similar to Hakka, example (79d) illustrates that it is possible in Mǐn for the coevent verb thak 2 踢 ‘to kick’ and the non-deictic directional complement dzik 5 入 ‘to enter’ to each have its own object, i.e. sã 33 liak 5 kiu 55 三粒球 ‘three balls’ and kiu 55muŋ55 球門 ‘the goal’. If a locative object is not present after a non-deictic directional complement, the use of a deictic directional complement is expected, as illustrated in (79e). In example (79f), the deictic directional complement lai 21 來 ‘to come’ follows immediately after the co-event verb maŋ53 挽 ‘to pick’. Examples (79g) and (79h) show that the word orders of V + O + CD + LOC and V + O + ‘to arrive’ + LOC + CD are observed when a locative object and a deictic directional complement are involved.

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 Chapter 3. Directional verbs in modern Chinese dialects

Table 45. Word orders of the simple directional complement, the theme object and the locative object in agentive sentences in modern Mǐn V + CND + O

V + CD + O

V + O + CD

V + O + CND + LOC

V + CND + CD

V + CD

V + ‘to arrive’ + LOC + CD

V + CD + LOC

P

P

P

P

P

P

P

P

The use of deictic directional complements in Cantonese is similar, yet different from the other dialects, whereas the use of non-deictic directional complements resembles that in the other four dialects. Cantonese164 (80) a. 佢踢入咗三個波。(V + CND + O) Keoi 5 tek 3 jap6 zo2 saam1 go3 bo1. s/he kick enter asp three cl ball ‘S/he kicked in three balls.’

b. 佢寄咗一封信嚟。(V + O + CD) Keoi 5 gei 3 zo2 jat1 fung1 seon 3 lai4. s/he send asp one cl letter come ‘S/he sent a letter to here.’



c. 咁跟住就攞一籮啤梨上架單車度囉。(V + O + CND + LOC) Gam 2 gan 1zyu6 zau6 lo2 jat1 lo4 be1lei 2 soeng5 gaa 3 then follow then take one cl pear ascend cl daan 1ce1 dou6 lo1. bicycle Localizer sfp ‘Then he put a basket of pears onto the bicycle.’



d. 佢放咗本書上嚟。(V + O + CND + CD) Keoi 5 fong3 zo2 bun 2 syu1 soeng5 lai4. s/he put asp cl book ascend come ‘S/he put the book up here.’



e. 或者問佢地邊度攞嚟囉。(V + CD) Waak6ze2 man6 keoi 5dei6 bin 1dou6 lo2 lai4 lo1. perhaps ask they where take come sfp ‘Perhaps ask them where they got them from.’

164 Examples (80a), (80b), (80d) and (80f) were provided by the author.

Simple directional complements 

 201

f. 佢放咗本書嚟張檯度。(V + O + CD + LOC) Keoi 5 fong3 zo2 bun 2 syu1 lai4 zoeng1 toi 2 dou6. s/he put asp cl book come cl table Localizer ‘S/he put the book on the table.’



A non-deictic directional complement can be followed by a theme object such as saam1 go3 bo1 三個波 ‘three balls’ in (80a) or by a locative object such as gaa 3 daan 1ce1 dou6 架單車度 ‘onto the bicycle’ in (80c). Furthermore, a deictic directional complement such as lai4 嚟 ‘to come’ can follow a non-deictic directional complement such as soeng5 上 ‘to ascend’ in (80d) or immediately follow a coevent verb, as in (80e). A theme object such as jat1 fung1 seon 3 一封信 ‘a letter’ in (80b) can occur after a co-event verb and before a deictic directional complement, i.e. gei 3 寄 ‘to send’ and lai4 嚟 ‘to come’. However, in contrast to the other four dialects, examples which display the word order of V + CD + O such as gei 3 lai4 jat1 fung1 seon 3 寄嚟一封信 ‘to send a letter here’ do not sound natural in Cantonese.165 Moreover, the word order of V + ‘to arrive’ + LOC + CD observed in the other four dialects is not employed in Cantonese. On the other hand, Cantonese resembles Hakka and Mǐn in allowing a deictic directional complement to be followed by a locative object such as zoeng1 toi4 dou6 張檯度 ‘the table’ in (80f), an option that is not available in Mandarin and Wú. Table 46. Word orders of the simple directional complement, the theme object and the locative object in agentive sentences in modern Cantonese V + CND + O

V + CD + O

V + O + CD

P

?

P

V + O + CND V + CND + CD + LOC P

P

V + CD

V + ‘to arrive’ + LOC + CD

V + CD + LOC

P

O

P

Table 47 summarizes the word orders of the simple directional complement, the theme object and the locative object in sentences that denote agentive motion events in the five modern dialects.

165 See 2.4.3 for a discussion on the contrast between V + CD + O and V + O + CD in Cantonese.

202 

 Chapter 3. Directional verbs in modern Chinese dialects

Table 47. Word orders of the simple directional complement, the theme object and the locative object in agentive sentences in the five modern dialects V + CND +O 摘下水果

V + CD V + O + CD V + O + CND + O 送小說來 + LOC 送來一 叫張三進 本書 教室

V + CND + CD 送進來

V + CD 送來

V + ‘to arrive’ V + CD + LOC + LOC + CD 送到教室來 放來檯上

Mandarin

ü

ü

ü

û

ü

ü

ü

û

Wú

ü

ü

ü

û

ü

ü

ü

û

Hakka

ü

ü

ü

ü

ü

ü

ü

ü

Mǐn

ü

ü

ü

ü

ü

ü

ü

ü

Cantonese

ü

?

ü

ü

ü

ü

û

ü

Table 47 shows that the five modern dialects differ in terms of the following features: (i) Whether the deictic directional complement immediately appears after the main verb and before the theme object. In this regard, examples of the use of V + CD + O are found in all modern dialects except for Cantonese in which such use is considered unnatural. (ii) Whether the co-occurrence of two objects, i.e. a theme object and a locative object, in the postverbal position is tolerated. Modern Mandarin and Wú are less tolerant than the other three dialects in allowing the co-occurrence of both the theme object and the locative object in the postverbal position. (iii) Whether a locative object is allowed after a deictic directional complement. Such use is not allowed in modern Mandarin and Wú but is allowed in modern Hakka, Mǐn and Cantonese. Table 47 further illustrates that while modern Mandarin and Wú fall into the same group (indicated by light shading), modern Hakka and Mǐn belong to a different group (indicated by unshaded area). Modern Cantonese constitutes a third group by itself (indicated by heavy shading). In sections 3.4.1–3.4.3, it has shown that modern Mandarin, Wú, Hakka, Mǐn and Cantonese exhibit the characteristic of satellite-framed languages in encoding path in a simple directional complement in self-agentive, non-agentive and agentive motion events. Furthermore, in terms of the word orders exemplified by the five modern dialects, it is found that unlike Tables 35 and 41 in which Mǐn and Cantonese fall into the same group, Table 47 illustrates that Cantonese constitutes a single group, while Mǐn and Hakka belong to a different group. Moreover, as always, Mandarin and Wú form yet a different group. It is noted in 3.3 and 3.4 that there is a strong tendency for a deictic directional complement to occur after a non-deictic directional verb or a non-deictic directional complement when a locative object is not present. A combination of a non-deictic and a deictic element (including path verbs and path satellites) is in fact widely observed in verb-framed languages (e.g. Japanese) as well as satellite-framed

Compound directional complements 

 203

languages (e.g. German).166 Section 3.5 below provides a systematic investigation on the characteristics of compound directional complements in modern Mandarin, Wú, Hakka, Mǐn and Cantonese, with special attention to the word orders used when expressing path in the three types of motion events.

3.5 Compound directional complements A compound directional complement is made up of a non-deictic and a deictic directional complement. In the case of Cantonese, a compound directional complement can be made up of two non-deictic directional complements and a deictic directional complement. The order in which the simple directional complements appear is fixed with the non-deictic directional complement(s) preceding the deictic one. Modern Mandarin, Wú, Hakka, Mǐn and Cantonese all make use of a compound directional complement to encode path in self-agentive, non-agentive and agentive motion events. Furthermore, it is observed that word order variations exist within a single dialect and across dialects when different types of motion events are being expressed. 3.5.1 Self-agentive motion events Since a compound directional complement consists of a non-deictic directional complement followed by a deictic directional complement, dialects that do not allow a deictic directional complement to be followed by a locative object in general also do not employ the pattern of V + CND + CD + LOC. Mandarin (81) a. 他又爬上去。(V + CND + CD) Tā yòu pá shàng qu. he again climb ascend go ‘He climbed up again.’

b. 從梯子爬下來。(V + CND + CD) Cóng tīzi pá xià lai. from ladder climb descend come ‘(He) climbed down from the ladder.’

166 Lamarre (2008) shows that the typological characteristic of a language, i.e. whether it is a verb-framed or a satellite-framed language, has no direct bearing on its choice of using a combination of a non-deictic and a deictic element to encode path.

204 

 Chapter 3. Directional verbs in modern Chinese dialects c. 他再爬上樹去。(V + CND + LOC + CD) Tā zài pá shàng shù qu. he again climb ascend tree go ‘He climbed up the tree again.’

Examples (81a) and (81b) show the use of the compound directional complements shàng qù 上去 ‘to ascend and to go’ and xià lái 下來 ‘to descend and to come’ after the co-event verb pá 爬 ‘to climb’, which specifies the manner in which the upward and the downward movements are carried out. When a locative object is present, it appears after the non-deictic directional complement and before the deictic one, as illustrated in (81c). Table 48. Word orders of the compound directional complement and the locative object in ­self-agentive sentences in modern Mandarin V + CND + CD

V + CND + LOC + CD

V + CND + CD + LOC

P

P

O

The use of compound directional complements in Wú is similar to that in Mandarin in having a compound directional complement after a co-event verb (cf. (82a) and (82b)). Moreover, the word order of V + CND + LOC + CD is observed when a locative object is present, as in (82c). Wú (82) a. 伊爬上去。(V + CND + CD) I 34 bo11 zã44 tɕhi44. he climb ascend go ‘He climbed up.’

b. 伊就樹上爬下來。(V + CND + CD) I 34 ʥiɤ13 zɾ11 lã44 bo11 ɦo44 lɛ 2. he then tree Localizer climb descend come ‘He then climbed down from the tree.’



c. 難末伊就爬下梯子來。(V + CND + LOC + CD) Nɛ11mǝʔ4 i 34 ʥiɤ13 bo11 ɦo44 thi 55tsɾ2 lɛ 2. then he then climb descend ladder come ‘Then he climbed down from the ladder.’

Compound directional complements 

 205

Although examples which illustrate V + CND + LOC + CD are found in the Wú Pear Stories, they are few. Also, as already pointed out in 3.4.1, the use of non-deictic directional complements to introduce a locative object in Wú is not productive according to Liú (2001c). Instead, the V + ‘to arrive/at’ + LOC + CD word order is more often used. Therefore, it is assumed that the use of V + CND + LOC + CD is marginal in Wú. Table 49. Word orders of the compound directional complement and the locative object in ­self-agentive sentences in modern Wú V + CND + CD

V + CND + LOC + CD

V + CND + CD + LOC

P

?

O

The use of compound directional complements in Hakka is the same as that in Mandarin and Wú in that a compound directional complement occurs immediately after a co-event verb (cf. (83a) and (83b)). However, when a locative object is involved, two word orders are exemplified. While (83c) exhibits the word order of V + CND + LOC + CD, a word order that is observed in Mandarin, (83d) displays the word order of V + CND + CD + LOC, a word order that is commonly used in Mǐn and Cantonese. Hakka167 (83) a. 佢擔樑梯爬上去摘。(V + CND + CD) Ki11 tam44 lioŋ11 toi44 pha11 soŋ35 hi 53 tsak 1. he carry cl ladder climb ascend go pick ‘(He) carried a ladder and climbed up the ladder to pick (pears).’

b. 摘摘下佢就走下來。(V + CND + CD) Tsak 1 tsak 1 ha 53 ki11 tshiu 53 tseu 31 ha44 loi 11. pick pick prt he then run descend come ‘(He) picked pears and then climbed down.’



c. 就撞球石頭跌落地下去。(V + CND + LOC + CD) Tshiu 53 tshoŋ55 tau 31 sak 5theu11 tiet1 lok 5 thi 53ha44 hi 53. then hit cl rock fall descend ground go ‘(He) then tripped over and fell onto the ground.’

167 Example (83d) was provided by our Hakka informants. Xiàng (1997: 330) notes that when a locative object and a compound directional complement are involved in a sentence, the only word order that is allowed in Liánchéng is V + CND + LOC + CD. Therefore, the use of V + CND + CD + LOC in (83d) might have been borrowed from Cantonese.

206 

 Chapter 3. Directional verbs in modern Chinese dialects d. 佢走下來樓下。(V + CND + CD + LOC) Ki11 tseu 31 ha44 loi 11 leu11 ha44. s/he run descend come floor Localizer ‘S/he ran downstairs.’

Table 50. Word orders of the compound directional complement and the locative object in ­self-agentive sentences in modern Hakka V + CND + CD

V + CND + LOC + CD

V + CND + CD + LOC

P

P

P

While the use of compound directional complements in Mǐn is the same as that in Mandarin, Wú and Hakka when a locative object is not present in the sentence, only the word order of V + CND + CD + LOC is observed in Mǐn when a locative object is present. Mǐn168 (84) a. 伊££蹳落來。(V + CND + CD) I 33 tu 35tu 35 puaʔ5 loʔ 2 lai 21. s/he just fall descend come ‘S/he just fell down.’

b. 伊邊頭行過去。(V + CND + CD) I 33 pĩ 33tau 21 kiã 55 kue21 khɯ 21. he side walk pass go ‘He passed by the side of the road.’



c. 爬起去樹頂。(V + CND + CD + LOC) Peʔ5 khi 35 khɯ 53 tshiu 22 teŋ53. climb rise go tree top ‘(He) climbed up the tree.’

In examples (84a) and (84b), the compound directional complements loʔ5 lai 55 落來 ‘to descend and to come’ and kue213 khɯ 213 過去 ‘to pass and to go’ follow the co-event verbs puaʔ5 蹳 ‘to fall’ and kiã 55 行 ‘to walk’, specifying the direction of the movements of the subjects. With the presence of a locative object in the sentence, the word order of V + CND + CD + LOC is exemplified in (84c).

168 Example (84a) was provided by our Mǐn informant.

Compound directional complements 

 207

Table 51. Word orders of the compound directional complement and the locative object in ­self-agentive sentences in modern Mǐn V + CND + CD

V + CND + LOC + CD

V + CND + CD + LOC

P

O

P

Similar to the other four dialects, Cantonese allows the use of a compound directional complement after a co-event verb, as illustrated by soeng5 heoi 3 上去 ‘to ascend and to go’ and lok6 lai4 落嚟 ‘to descend and to come’ in (85a) and (85b). Moreover, a locative object immediately appears after a compound directional complement, as shown in (85c). The pattern of V + CND + LOC + CD is not acceptable. Cantonese (85) a. 咁跟住再爬上去再摘過。(V + CND + CD) Gam 2 gan 1zyu6 zoi 3 paa4 soeng5 heoi 3 zoi 3 zaak6 gwo3. then follow again climb ascend go again pick asp ‘(He) then climbed up again to pick (the pears).’

b. 就佢自己跌咗落嚟啦。(V + CND + CD) Zau6 keoi 5 zi6gei 2 dit 3 zo2 lok6 lai4 laa1. then he himself fall asp descend come sfp ‘(He) then fell down.’



c. 就行翻去嗰條路。(V + CND + CD + LOC) Zau6 haang4 faan 1 heoi 3 go2 tiu4 lou6. then walk return go that cl road ‘(He) then walked back to that road.’

Table 52. Word orders of the compound directional complement and the locative object in ­self-agentive sentences in modern Cantonese V + CND + CD

V + CND + LOC + CD

V + CND + CD + LOC

P

O

P

Table 53 summarizes the word orders of the compound directional complement and the locative object in self-agentive sentences in the five modern dialects.

208 

 Chapter 3. Directional verbs in modern Chinese dialects

Table 53. Word orders of the compound directional complement and the locative object in ­self-agentive sentences in the five modern dialects V + CND + CD 爬上來

V + CND + LOC + CD 爬上山頂去

V + CND + CD + LOC 爬上去山頂 û

Mandarin

ü

ü

Wú

ü

?

û

Hakka

ü

ü

ü

Mǐn

ü

û

ü

Cantonese

ü

û

ü

If the case with a question mark in Wú is ignored, the dialectal groupings shown in Table 53 are: (i) Mandarin, Wú (indicated by light shading); (ii) Hakka (indicated by unshaded area); and (iii) Mǐn and Cantonese (indicated by heavy shading). 3.5.2 Non-agentive motion events The use of compound directional complements to express non-agentive motion events is basically the same as that observed in self-agentive motion events. Mandarin169 (86) a. 帽子掉下來。(V + CND + CD) Màozi diào xià lai. hat fall descend come ‘The hat dropped.’

b. 就全部東西倒下來。(V + CND + CD) Jiù quánbù dōngxi dǎo xià lai. then all thing fall descend come ‘Then everything fell.’



c. 一件棉袍、兩件長衫全送進當舖去了。(V + CND + LOC + CD) Yí jiàn miánpáo, liǎng jiàn chángshān quán sòng one cl cotton gown two cl long gown all send jìn dàngpù qu le. enter pawn shop go sfp ‘One cotton padded gown and two long gowns were sent to the pawn shop.’

169 Example (86c) is taken from Liú (1998: 214).

Compound directional complements 

 209

Examples (86a) and (86b) do not involve a locative object and the compound directional complement xià lái 下來 ‘to descend and to come’ immediately follows the co-event verbs diào 掉 ‘to fall’ and dǎo 倒 ‘to fall’. In example (86c), the word order V + CND + LOC + CD is observed when the locative object dàngpù 當 舖 ‘the pawn shop’ occurs in the sentence. Table 54. Word orders of the compound directional complement and the locative object in ­non-agentive sentences in modern Mandarin V + CND + CD

V + CND + LOC + CD

V + CND + CD + LOC

P

P

O

The use of compound directional complements in Wú to express non-agentive motion events is essentially the same as that in Mandarin except that the use of a non-deictic directional complement to introduce a locative object is restricted. Examples (87a) and (87b) show that the compound directional complement follows the co-event verb. When a locative object occurs in a sentence, the word order of V + CND + LOC + CD is exemplified, as shown in (87c). However, it is assumed that the use of V + CND + LOC + CD is marginal in Wú as such use is said to be not productive according to Liú (2001c). Wú (87) a. 伊隻籃落下來了。(V + CND + CD) I 34 tsǝʔ3 lɛ44 loʔ12 ɦo11 lɛ44 lǝʔ55. he cl basket drop descend come sfp ‘His basket fell.’

b. 一隻生梨落下去了。(V + CND + CD) Iǝʔ3 tsǝʔ44 sã 55li 2 loʔ1 ɦo24 tɕhi 34 lǝʔ55. one cl pear drop descend go sfp ‘There was a pear dropping onto the ground.’



c. 車子開進車庫裏去。 (V + CND + LOC + CD) Tsho55tsɾ2 khɛ 55 tɕin 2 tsho55ku 2 li 2 tɕhi 34. car drive enter garage Localizer go ‘The car was moved into the garage.’

210 

 Chapter 3. Directional verbs in modern Chinese dialects

Table 55. Word orders of the compound directional complement and the locative object in ­non-agentive sentences in modern Wú V + CND + CD

V + CND + LOC + CD

V + CND + CD + LOC

P

?

O

The use of compound directional complements in Hakka resembles that in Mandarin. When a locative object is absent, the compound directional complement follows the co-event verb (cf. (88a) and (88b)). When a locative object is present, the split pattern, i.e. V + CND + LOC + CD, is employed (cf. (88c)). Example (88) also shows that lexical variations exist in Hakka, in which both ha44 下and lok 5 落 are used to express the meaning of ‘to descend’. 170 Hakka (88) a. 又跌下來。(V + CND + CD) Iu 53 tiet1 ha44 loi 11. again fall descend come ‘(The basket) fell again.’

b. 所有介梨仔全部倒晒落去。(V + CND + CD) So31iu44 e53 li11e tshien 11pu 53 tau 31 sai 31 lok 5 hi 53. all mp pear all drop prt descend go ‘All the pears fell.’



c. 看到佢成架車撈該啤梨跌落地泥下去嗨。(V + CND + LOC + CD) Khon 53 tau 31 ki11 saŋ11 ka 53 tsha44 lau44 e53 pe35li11 tiet1 see prt his whole cl car and that pear fall lok 5 thi 55nai11ha44 hi 53 e. descend ground go sfp ‘(He) saw that his bicycle and the pears fell onto the ground.’

Table 56. Word orders of the compound directional complement, the theme object and the locative object in ­non-agentive sentences in modern Hakka171 V + CND + CD

V + CND + LOC + CD

P

P

V + CND + CD + LOC P171

170 See Table 22 for the lexical variations of the directional verbs in the five modern dialects. 171 Although no example of V + C ND + CD + LOC is found in Hakka, based on the fact that such use is observed in sentences thate denote self-agentive and agentive motion events, it is assumed that the use is also possible in non-agentive motion sentences (cf. Tables 53 and 65).

Compound directional complements 

 211

Differing from Mandarin, Wú and Hakka, Mǐn allows the occurrence of a locative object after a compound directional complement (cf. (89c)). Otherwise, the use of compound directional complements in Mǐn is the same as that in the three dialects in having the compound directional complement occur after the coevent verb (cf. (89a) and (89b)). Mǐn172 (89) a. 帽仔飛起來了。(V + CND + CD) Bo22kiã 53 pue33 khi 213 lai 21 liou 213. hat fly rise come sfp ‘The hat was blown up.’

b. 帽仔飛出來。(V + CND + CD) Bo22kiã 53 pue33 tshuk 5 lai 21. hat fly exit come ‘The hat was blown out here.’



c. 車頂撮水果£落去塗腳下。(V + CD + LOC) Tshia 33 teŋ53 tshoʔ5 tsui 35 kuẽ21 ka 33lauʔ 2 lo2 khɯ 53 thou 213 kha 33 car top cl fruit fall descend go ground 35 e Localizer ‘The fruit on the bicycle fell onto the ground.’

Table 57. Word orders of the compound directional complement and the locative object in ­non-agentive sentences in modern Mǐn V + CND + CD

V + CND + LOC + CD

V + CND + CD + LOC

P

O

P

Similarly, the word order V + CND + CD + LOC is the only order that is possible in Cantonese when a locative object is involved, as illustrated in (90c). When a locative object is not involved, the compound directional complement immediately follows the co-event verb (cf. (90a) and (90b)).

172 Example (89c) was provided by our Mǐn informant.

212 

 Chapter 3. Directional verbs in modern Chinese dialects

Cantonese173 (90) a. 咁嗰個單車就衝落去。(V + CND + CD) Gam 2 go2 go3 daan 1ce1 zau6 cung1 lok6 heoi 3. then that cl bicycle then rush descend go ‘Then the bicycle rushed down.’

b. 飛咗出去。(V + CND + CD) Fei1 zo2 ceot1 heoi 3. fly asp exit go ‘(The hat) was blown away.’



c. 盤花跌咗落去樓下。(V + CND + CD + LOC) Pun4 faa1 dit 3 zo2 lok6 heoi 3 lau4 haa6. cl flower fall asp descend go floor Localizer ‘The pot of flowers fell onto the ground.’

Table 58. Word orders of the compound directional complement and the locative object in ­non-agentive sentences in modern Cantonese V + CND + CD

V + CND + LOC + CD

V + CND + CD + LOC

P

O

P

Table 59 summarizes the word orders of the compound directional complement and the locative object in sentences that denote non-agentive motion events in the five modern dialects. Table 59. Word orders of the compound directional complement and the locative object in ­non-agentive sentences in the five modern dialects V + CND + CD 掉下來

V + CND + LOC + CD 送進教室去

V + CND + CD + LOC 送進去教室

Mandarin

ü

ü

û

Wú

ü

?

û

Hakka

ü

ü

ü

Mǐn

ü

û

ü

Cantonese

ü

û

ü

173 Example (90c) was provided by the author.

Compound directional complements 

 213

There are three groups in Table 59 if the question mark in Wú is excluded: (i) Mandarin and Wú (indicated by light shading); (ii) Mǐn and Cantonese (heavy shading); and (iii) Hakka (indicated by unshaded area).

3.5.3 Agentive motion events In sentences that denote agentive motion events, the position in which a locative object occurs in a dialect is the same as that observed in self-agentive and non-agentive motion events in 3.5.1–3.5.2. In particular, while Mandarin, Wú and Hakka exhibit V + CND/‘to arrive’ + LOC + CD, the basic word order employed in Mǐn and Cantonese is V + CND + CD + LOC. As for Hakka, it exhibits the word orders of the other two groups. On the other hand, the position of the theme object might vary within a dialect and across dialects. As noted in 3.1, Mandarin sentences which involve an indefinite theme object and a compound directional complement exhibit the following three word orders: (i) V + O + CND + CD (cf. (91a)); (ii) V + CND + O + CD (cf. (91b)); and (iii) V + CND + CD + O (cf. (91c)). Example (91d) shows that the split word order is used when a locative object is present. Moreover, the example further illustrates that when both the theme object and the locative object are present, only the locative object can stay in the postverbal position while the theme object is preposed and is marked by bǎ 把. Mandarin174 (91) a. 採了一些下來。(V + O + CND + CD) Cǎi le yì xiē xià lai. pick asp one cl descend come ‘(He) brought down some (pears).’

b. 他們從河裏拉上一個人來。(V + CND + O + CD) Tāmen cóng hé li lā shàng yí gè rén lai. they from river Localizer pull ascend one cl person come ‘They pulled a person out from the river.’



c. 掉下來一個。(V + CND + CD + O) Diào xià lai yí gè. drop descend come one cl ‘(He) dropped a pear.’

174 Examples (91b) and (91d) are taken from Liú (1998: 119, 209).

214 

 Chapter 3. Directional verbs in modern Chinese dialects d. 他剛把左腳跨進屋來… (dm + O + V + CND + LOC + CD) tā gāng bǎ zuó jiǎo kuà jìn wū lai. he just dm left foot stride enter house come ‘He just strode over the doorsill with his left foot…[As soon as he entered the house]…’

Table 60. Word orders of the compound directional complement, the theme object and the locative object in agentive sentences in modern Mandarin V + O+ CND + CD

V + CND + O + CD

V + CND + CD + O

V + CND + LOC + CD

V + CND + CD + LOC

P

P

P

P

O

Similarly, Wú also exhibits the three word orders observed in Mandarin when a theme object and a compound directional complement are involved (cf. (92a)– (92c)). Moreover, Wú also uses the split word order with the locative object, except that there is a strong tendency to use tɔ34 到 ‘to arrive’ to introduce the locative object (cf. (92d)). Another characteristic shared by Wú and Mandarin is that only one object, namely, the locative object, is allowed in the postverbal position. The theme object appears in the preverbal position and is marked by the disposal marker. (cf. (92d)). Wú175 (92) a. 伊牽一隻牛過來。(V + O + CND + CD) I 34 tɕhi 53 iǝʔ3 tsǝʔ44 ɳiɤ44 ku 33 lɛ44. s/he drag one cl cow pass come ‘He dragged a cow over here.’

b. 伊拿出兩本書來。(V + CND + O + CD) I 34 nɛ 55 tshǝʔ 2 liã11 pǝn44 sɾ53 lɛ13. s/he take exit two cl book come ‘S/he took out two books.’



c. 拿出來三隻。(V + CND + CD + O) Nɛ 55 tshǝʔ 2 lɛ13 sɛ 55 tsǝʔ 2. take exit come three cl ‘(He) took out three (pears).’

175 Except for (92c), the rest of the examples were provided by our Wú informants.

Compound directional complements 



 215

d. 伊拿隻球踢到球門裏廂去。(V + ‘to arrive’ + LOC + CD) I 34 nɛ 55 tsǝʔ 2 dʑiɤ2 thiǝʔ3 tɔ44 dʑiɤ11mǝn44 li11ɕiã44 tɕhi 34. s/he dm cl ball kick arrive goal Localizer go ‘S/he kicked the ball into the goal.’

Table 61. Word orders of the compound directional complement, the theme object and the locative object in agentive sentences in modern Wú V + O+ CND + CD

V + CND + O + CD

V + CND + CD + O

V + CND + LOC + CD

V + CND + CD + LOC

P

P

P

?

O

The three word orders observed in Mandarin and Wú are also found in Hakka. Hakka176 (93) a. 佢射兩個球入來(球門)。(V + O + CND + CD + (LOC)) Ki11 sa 53 lioŋ31 ke53 khiu11 ŋip5 loi 11 (khiu11 mun 11). s/he shoot two cl ball enter come goal ‘S/he shot in two balls.’

b. 佢就行過來幫佢撿轉該等啤梨去。(V + CND + O + CD) Ki11 tshiu 53 haŋ11 kuo53 loi11 poŋ44 ki11 ŋiam44 tson 31 he then walk pass come help him pick return e53 teu44 pe35li11 hi 53. that cl pear go ‘He then walked over to help him pick up those pears.’



c. 佢射入來兩個球。(V + CND + CD + O) Ki11 sa 53 ŋip5 loi11 lioŋ31 ke53 khiu11. s/he shoot enter come two cl ball ‘S/he shot in two balls.’



d. 跟尾佢成籮放落該單車去。(V + CND + O + CD) Ken44mi44 ki11 saŋ11 lo11 foŋ53 lok 5 e53 tan44 tsha44 hi 53. hen he whole cl put descend that bicycle go ‘He then put the whole basket on the bicycle.’

Examples (93a)–(93c) show that Hakka exhibits the same three word orders displayed in Mandarin and Wú, i.e. V + CND + CD + O, V + CND + O + CD and V + CND + 176 Examples (93a) and (93c) were provided by our Hakka informants. However, one of the informants pointed out that it sounds more natural without the locative object in (93a).

216 

 Chapter 3. Directional verbs in modern Chinese dialects

CD + O.177 In contrast, there are variations in the position of the locative object in Hakka, while only one word order is observed in Mandarin and Wú, i.e. V + CND/‘to arrive’ + LOC + CD. In particular, a locative object in Hakka can optionally follow a compound directional complement (cf. (93a)), or appear after a nondeictic directional complement and before a deictic directional complement (cf. (93d)).178 Another difference between Hakka on the one hand and Mandarin and Wú on the other hand is that the former allows both the theme object and the locative object to occur after the main verb (cf. (93a)), whereas the latter tends to allow only the locative object to appear in the postverbal position. Table 62. Word orders of the compound directional complement, the theme object and the locative object in agentive sentences in modern Hakka V + O+ CND + CD

V + CND + O + CD

V + CND + CD + O

V + CND + LOC + CD

V + CND + CD + LOC

P

P

P

P

P

A drastic difference is observed between Mandarin, Wú and Hakka on the one hand, and Mǐn and Cantonese on the other hand. Specifically, the basic word order used in Mǐn and Cantonese is V + O + CND + CD when a theme object and a compound directional complement are involved in a sentence (cf. (94a) and (95a)). Furthermore, Mǐn and Cantonese have greater flexibility in allowing a theme object and a locative object to appear after the main verb (cf. (94b) and (95b)), an option that is not possible in Mandarin and Wú but is allowed in Hakka. Mǐn179 (94) a. 甲伊挽兩粒梨過來。(V + O + CND + CD) Kaʔ5 i 33 maŋ35 nõ21 liak 2 lai 55 kue213 lai 21. for him/her pick two cl pear pass come ‘(S/he) picked up two pears and brought them over for him.’

b. 伊踢兩粒球入來(球門)。(V + O + CND + CD + (LOC)) I 33 thak 5 nõ21 liak 2 kiu 55 dzik 2 lai 21 (kiu 213muŋ55). s/he kick two cl ball enter come goal ‘S/he kicked two balls into here (the goal).’

177 The three word orders exemplified in the Mandarin and Wú examples involve an indefinite theme object while the word order of V + C ND + O + CD displayed in the Hakka example (93b) involves the definite theme object e 53 teu44 pe35li 11 該等啤梨 ‘those pears’. 178 See footnote 167 for Xiàng’s remark on the word order that is used in the Liánchéng variety of Hakka. 179 Examples (94a) and (94b) were provided by our Mǐn informants.

Compound directional complements 

 217

Table 63. Word orders of the compound directional complement, the theme object and the locative object in agentive sentences in modern Mǐn V + O+ CND + CD

V + CND + O + CD

V + CND + CD + O

V + CND + LOC + CD

V + CND + CD + LOC

P

O

O

O

P

Cantonese (95) a. 佢就摘啲梨落嚟。(V + O + CND + CD) Keoi 5 zau6 zaak6 di1 lei 2 lok6 lai4. he then pick cl pear descend come ‘He then brought down some pears.’

b. 搬翻好啲籃上去架車度。(V + O + CND + CD + LOC) Bun 1 faan 1 hou 2 di1 laam 2 soeng5 heoi 3 gaa 3 ce1 dou6. move return good cl basket descend go cl car Localizer ‘(He) moved the baskets back onto the bicycle.’

Table 64. Word orders of the compound directional complement, the theme object and the ­locative object in agentive sentences in modern Cantonese V + O+ CND + CD

V + CND + O + CD

V + CND + CD + O

V + CND + LOC + CD

V + CND + CD + LOC

P

O

O

O

P

Table 65 summarizes the word orders of the compound directional complement, the theme object and the locative object in sentences that denote agentive motion events in the five modern dialects. Table 65. Word orders of the compound directional complement, the theme object and the locative object in agentive sentences in the five modern dialects V + O + CND + CD 拿一本書出來

V + CND + O + CD 拿出一本書來

V + CND + CD + O 拿出來一本書

V + CND + LOC + CD V + CND + CD + LOC 踢進球門去 踢進去球門

Mandarin

ü

ü

ü

Wú

ü

ü

ü

?

û

Hakka

ü

ü

ü

ü

ü

Mǐn

ü

û

û

û

ü

Cantonese

ü

û

û

û

ü

ü

û

218 

 Chapter 3. Directional verbs in modern Chinese dialects

In Table 65, the three groups are: (i) Mandarin and Wú (indicated by light shading); (ii) Hakka (indicated by unshaded area); and (iii) Mǐn and Cantonese (indicated by heavy shading), if the question mark for Wú is ignored. For ease of reference, Tables 66–69 below summarize the word orders exhibited in self-agentive, non-agentive and agentive motion events in the five modern dialects. The four tables show that the five dialects can all make use of a directional verb and a directional complement to encode path, thus exhibiting characteristics of verb-framed and satellite-framed languages. Furthermore, the tables also demonstrate that there are a number of marginal word orders (indicated by question marks) observed in Wú, word orders which are sensitive to the lexical item involved, including the co-event verb and the directional complement. After a careful examination, it is noticed that in most cases the marginal word orders are related to the use of non-deictic directional verbs and non-deictic directional complements to introduce a locative object. According to our Wú informant, the word orders of VND + LOC, V + CND + LOC and V + CND + LOC + CD are acceptable. However, he would opt for the use of ‘to arrive’ + LOC + CD and V + ‘to arrive’ + LOC + CD. In fact, the intuition of our informant is confirmed by the fact that among the five dialects examined, Wú exhibits a very low percentage in using the word orders of VND + LOC and V + CND + LOC in the Chinese Pear Stories (cf. Table 74).180 If we ignore the marginal word orders, it is clear from Tables 66–69 that Mandarin and Wú fall into the same group in all four tables (indicated by light shading), while Mǐn and Cantonese cluster together (indicated by heavy shading) except in Table 68. As for Hakka, it sometimes shares the same word orders with Mǐn and Cantonese (cf. selfagentive and non-agentive motion in Table 66 and simple non-agentive motion in Table 67), sometimes with Mandarin and Wú (cf. agentive motion in Table 66) and sometimes only with Mǐn (indicated by unshaded area in Table 68). Moreover, Hakka often exhibits the characteristics of the other two groups (indicated by unshaded area in Tables 67 except for simple non-agentive motion, and in Table 69). The above dialectal groupings are obtained based on the word orders of the directional verb, directional complement, locative object and the theme object. In 3.6.2, we will compare our groupings with Liú’s (2001b), in which the dialectal classification is based on the relative position of verb and object.

180 See 3.6.2.2 for a further discussion on the use of dào 到 ‘to arrive’ to introduce a locative object in Chinese dialects.

Compound directional complements 

 219

Table 66. Word orders of the directional verb, the theme object and the locative object in ­­self-agentive, n ­ on-agentive and agentive sentences in the five modern dialects Directional verbs Self-agentive motion Non-deictic

Non-agentive motion

Agentive motion

Deictic

Non-deictic

VD 來

VND + O 下旗

Deictic

VND + LOC 上樓

‘to arrive’ + LOC+ VD 到教室來

VD + LOC 來教室

Mandarin

ü

ü

?

to arrive’ + LOC + VD

O

Wú

?

ü

?

‘to arrive’ + LOC + VD

O

Hakka

ü

O

ü

VD + LOC

O

Mǐn

ü

O

ü

VD + LOC

ü

Cantonese

ü

O

ü

VD + LOC

ü

Table 67. Word orders of the simple/compound directional complement and the locative object in ­self-agentive and n ­ on-agentive sentences in the five modern dialects Directional complements Self-agentive motion Simple V+ CND + LOC 騎上腳踏車

V+ CD 跑去

Compound

V+ ‘to arrive’ + LOC+ CD 爬到樹上去

V+ CD + LOC 爬去樹上

V+ CND + CD 爬上來

V+ CND V+ CND + LOC+ CD +CD + LOC 爬上山頂去 爬上去山頂

Mandarin

ü

ü

ü

û

ü

ü

û

Wú

?

ü

ü

û

ü

?

û

Hakka

ü

ü

ü

ü

ü

ü

ü

Mǐn

ü

ü

û

ü

ü

û

ü

Cantonese

ü

ü

û

ü

ü

û

ü

Non-agentive motion Simple

Mandarin

V + CND + LOC 飄上天空

V + CD

ü

Compound V + CND V + CND + LOC V + CND + CD + CD + CD + LOC 掉下來 送進教室去 送進去教室

拿去

V + ‘to arrive’ + LOC + CD 流到四肢上去

V + CD + LOC 搬去客廳

ü

ü

û

ü

ü

û

Wú

?

?

ü

û

ü

?

û

Hakka

ü

ü

û

ü

ü

ü

ü

Mǐn

ü

ü

û

ü

ü

û

ü

Cantonese

ü

ü

û

ü

ü

û

ü

220 

 Chapter 3. Directional verbs in modern Chinese dialects

Table 68. Word orders of the simple directional complement, the theme object and the locative object in agentive sentences in the five modern dialects Simple directional complements Agentive motion V + CD + O V + CND +O 送來一 摘下水果 本書

V + O + CD 送小說來

V+O+ CND + LOC 叫張三進 教室

V + CD 送來

V + ‘to arrive’ + LOC + CD 送到教室來

V + CD + LOC 放來檯上

û

ü

ü

û

Mandarin

ü

ü

ü

Wú

ü

ü

ü

û

ü

ü

û

Hakka

ü

ü

ü

ü

ü

ü

ü

Mǐn

ü

ü

ü

ü

ü

ü

ü

Cantonese

ü

?

ü

ü

ü

û

ü

Table 69. Word orders of the compound directional complement, the theme object and the ­locative object in agentive sentences in the five modern dialects Compound directional complements Agentive motion V+O+ CND + CD 拿一本書出來

V + CND + O + CD 拿出一本書來

V + CND + CD + O 拿出來一本書

V + CND + LOC + CD 踼進球門去

V + CND + CD + LOC 踢進去球門

Mandarin

ü

ü

ü

ü

û

Wú

ü

ü

ü

?

û

Hakka

ü

ü

ü

ü

ü

Mǐn

ü

û

û

û

ü

Cantonese

ü

û

û

û

ü

3.6 Discussion Sections 3.6.1 and 3.6.2 focus on the following two issues. The first issue addresses how the expression of path observed in modern Mandarin, Wú, Hakka, Mǐn and Cantonese relates to Talmy’s typology of motion events. The second issue concerns the classification of Chinese dialects. In particular, since this study and Liú’s (2001b) both examine the word order of Chinese dialects, the dialectal groupings of the two studies are to be compared.

Discussion 

 221

3.6.1 Modern Chinese dialects and Talmy’s typology of motion events While verb-framed languages express path in the verb, satellite-framed languages encode path in the satellite. The dialectal survey in sections 3.3–3.5 shows that modern Mandarin, Wú, Hakka, Mǐn and Cantonese can encode path in a directional verb or a directional complement, thus exhibiting characteristics of both types of languages. This section focuses on the use of directional verbs and directional complements181 in narratives. In particular, we count the number of tokens of the main verb use and the complement use of shàng 上 ‘to ascend’, xià 下 ‘to descend’, chū 出 ‘to exit’, jìn 進 ‘to enter’, lái 來 ‘to come’ and qù 去 ‘to go’ in Mandarin and their equivalents in Wú, Hakka, Mǐn and Cantonese in the Chinese Pear Stories. The statistical results from the Chinese Pear Stories will show us in actual usage whether the five modern dialects resemble verb-framed languages or satellite-framed languages.

3.6.1.1 Self-agentive motion events The dialectal survey shows that modern Mandarin, Wú, Hakka, Mǐn and Cantonese can use a directional verb or a directional complement (including both the non-deictic and the deictic ones) to express path in self-agentive motion events (cf. Tables 66–67), an observation which coincides with the following statistical result from the Chinese Pear Stories.

181 The complement use includes the use of simple directional complements and compound directional complements of these six directional verbs. Moreover, tokens of the above six directional verbs in the serial verb construction are excluded so as to avoid the controversy of whether a third type of languages, i.e. equipollently-framed languages, should be incorporated into Talmy’s binary classification of verb-framed and satellite-framed languages.

222 

 Chapter 3. Directional verbs in modern Chinese dialects

Table 70. Statistical results for the five modern dialects: s­ elf-agentive motion events

182183184

上

V+上

下

V+下

出

V+出

來

V+來

去

V+去

41.67 5/12183

58.33 7/12

80.77 21/26

19.23 5/26

100 2/2

0 0/2

14.81 12/81

85.19 69/81

2.13 1/47

97.87 46/47

Wú

24 6/25

76 19/25

39.06 25/64

60.94 39/64

0

0

9.83 90.17 4.65 17/173 156/173 4/86

95.35 82/86

Ha

0 0/9

100 9/9

50184 7/14

50 7/14

100 1/1

0 1/0

Mǐ

50 3/6

50 3/6

92 23/25

8 2/25

50 1/2

50 1/2

Ca

23.08 3/13

76.92 10/13

47.83 22/46

52.17 24/46

50 1/2

50 1/2

Ma

182

0 0/23

9.09 2/22

90.91 20/22

10.62 89.38 9.86 12/113 101/113 7/71

90.14 64/71

6.25 2/32

100 23/23

93.75 30/32

12.9 4/31

87.1 27/31

For self-agentive motion events, there is no token of rù 入 or jìn 進 ‘to enter’. Therefore, only the percentages of the main verb use and the complement use of the following five directional verbs in Mandarin and their equivalents in the other four dialects are given respectively in the above table: 上 ‘to ascend’, 下 ‘to descend, 出 ‘to exit’, 來 ‘to come’ and 去 ‘to go’. Table 70 shows that: (i) All five dialects exhibit the use of directional verbs to express path. (ii) The number of tokens of chū 出 ‘to exit’ observed in the five dialects is very few, i.e. from 0 to 2. (iii) There are four cases in which the percentage of the verb use and the complement use of a directional verb is equally divided (i.e. lok 5 落 ‘to descend’ in Hakka, and khi 53 起 ‘to rise’ and tshuk 2 出 ‘to exit’ in Mǐn and ceot1 出 ‘to exit’ in Cantonese, which are indicated by heavy shading). (iv) There are four cases in which the percentage of the verb use of a directional verb is higher than that of the corresponding complement use (i.e. xià 下 and chū 出 ‘to exit’ in Mandarin, tshut1 出 ‘to exit’ in Hakka and loʔ5 落 ‘to descend’ in Mǐn, which are indicated by light shading). (v) Excluding the cases in (iii) and (iv), the complement use of a directional verb in the five modern dialects is higher than its corresponding verb use (indicated by unshaded area, but exclude the zero use of tshǝʔ55 出 ‘to exit’ in

182 Ma, Ha, Mǐ and Ca are abbreviations for Mandarin, Hakka, Mǐn and Cantonese. 183 The number on the left-hand side of the slash represents the number of tokens for a particular use, i.e. the main verb use or the complement use. The number on the right-hand side of the slash represents the total number of tokens of a directional verb, including both the main verb use and the complement use of the directional verb. 184 Since both lok 5 落 and ha44 下 are used in Hakka to express the meaning of ‘to descend’, the percentage includes tokens of both.

Discussion 

 223

Wú). The above findings demonstrate that despite the strong tendency to express path in a complement, modern Mandarin, Wú, Hakka, Mǐn and Cantonese can also use a main verb to encode path. Therefore, none of them can be considered as purely verb-framed or purely satellite-framed languages.

3.6.1.2 Non-agentive motion events Similarly, Tables 66 and 67 illustrate that the five modern dialects can make use of a directional verb or a directional complement to encode path in non-agentive motion events. The above observation is consistent with the following statistical results from the Chinese Pear Stories. Table 71. Statistical results for the five modern dialects: n ­ on-agentive motion events 上

V+ 上

下

V+ 下

出

V+ 出

進

V+ 進

來

V+ 來

去

V+ 去

Ma

0

0

0 0/7

100 7/7

0

0

0

0

9.09 1/11

90.91 10/11

0 0/0

100 1/1

Wú

0

0

0 0/27

100 27/27

0 0/1

100 1/1

0 0/7

100 7/7

0 0/26

100 26/26

0 0/3

100 3/3

Ha

0

0

0 0/9

100 9/9

0

0

0

0

0 0/2

100 2/2

12.5 1/8

87.5 7/8

Mǐ

0 0/2

100 2/2

50 2/4

50 2/4

0 0/1

100 1/1

0

0

0 0/9

100 9/9

0 100 0/27 27/27

Ca

0 0/1

100 1/1

5 1/20

95 19/20

0 0/2

100 2/2

0

0

0 0/4

100 4/4

20 1/5

80 4/5

In Table 71, the percentages of the main verb use and the complement use of the following six directional verbs in Mandarin and their equivalents in the other four dialects are given respectively: 上 ‘to ascend’, 下 ‘to descend, 出 ‘to exit’, 進 ‘to enter’, 來 ‘to come’ and 去 ‘to go’. Table 71 illustrates that: (i) Comparing with the statistical results for self-agentive motion events in Table 70, the number of tokens in Table 71 is lower. (ii) Except for the case of loʔ5 落 ‘to descend’ in Mǐn in which the percentage of the verb use and the complement use is equally divided (indicated by heavy shading), in the rest of the cases the complement use of a directional verb is higher than its corresponding verb use (indicated by unshaded area, but exclude the cases which have zero use). (iii) Wú uses only a complement to express path. Again, the above findings suggest that, except for modern Wú, which exhibits only the characteristic of satellite-framed languages

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 Chapter 3. Directional verbs in modern Chinese dialects

in using a complement to express path, modern Mandarin, Hakka, Mǐn and Cantonese show both characteristics of verb-framed and satellite-framed languages in encoding path in a directional verb and a directional complement despite a strong preference for the use of the latter.

3.6.1.3 Agentive motion events As discussed in 2.3.3, Cantonese exhibits the agentive use of directional verbs, a use which has rarely been reported in other dialects. However, the statistical results from the Chinese Pear Stories show that modern Mandarin, Wú, Hakka, Mǐn and Cantonese use only a complement to express path in agentive motion events (indicated by light shading in Table 72), thus exhibiting the characteristic of satellite-framed languages. Table 72. Statistical results for the five modern dialects: Agentive motion events 上

V+上

下

V+下

出

V+出

進

V+進

來

V+來

去

V+去

Ma

0

100 1/1

0

100 7/7

0

100 1/1

0

100 2/2

0

100 43/43

0

100 11/11

Wú

0

0

0

100 19/19

0

100 5/5

0

0

0

100 95/95

0

100 34/34

Ha

0

100 4/4

0

100 6/6

0

0

0

0

0

100 10/10

0

100 16/16

Mǐ

0

100 34/34

0

100 1/1

0

100 3/3

0

0

0

100 51/51

0

100 30/30

Ca

0

100 7/7

0

100 25/25

0

100 1/1

0

0

0

100 11/11

0

100 10/10

In Table 72, the percentages of the main verb use and the complement use of the following six directional verbs in Mandarin and their equivalents in the other four dialects are given respectively: 上 ‘to ascend’, 下 ‘to descend, 出 ‘to exit’, 進 ‘to enter’, 來 ‘to come’ and 去 ‘to go’. As noted above, Cantonese is the only dialect which exhibits the characteristic of verb-framed languages in using a directional verb to express path in agentive motion events. A Cháo’ān speaker, a speaker of a variety of Southern Mǐn, however, claims that the agentive use is observed in her dialect as illustrated by the non-deictic directional verb loʔ5 落 ‘to descend’ in (96):

Discussion 

 225

Cháo’ān Mǐn (96) 落包糖在個杯 loʔ 2 pau 33 thɯŋ55 to21 kai 213 pue33 descend cl sugar at cl cup ‘to add one packet of sugar into the cup’ Moreover, example (97) is found in Dictionary of the Xiàmén Dialect《廈門方言 詞典》(cf. Zhōu 1998: 340, 410): Xiàmén Mǐn (97) a. 入滾水 dzik 2 kuŋ35 tsui 21 enter boiling water ‘to pour the hot water into X’

b. 鼎落淡薄油通炒菜 tiã 53 loʔ 2 tã 21poʔ 2 iu 55 thaŋ33 tsha 35 tshai 213 wok descend little oil can fry vegetables ‘to add a little cooking oil to the wok to fry the vegetables’

In examples (97a) and (97b), the directional verbs dzik 5 入 ‘to enter’ and loʔ5 落 ‘to descend’ are followed by the theme objects kuŋ53 tsui 53 滾水 ‘hot water’ and tã 35 poʔ5 iu 55 淡薄油 ‘a little cooking oil’ and they express the meanings of causing the following theme objects to move into a three-dimensional and a two-dimensional location respectively. In contrast, no comparable use seems available in the Sūzhōu dialect (cf. Yè 1993) or the Hángzhōu dialect of Wǔ (cf. Bào 1998), or the use is only found in fixed expressions such as 入味 ‘marinated’ in the Fúzhōu 福州 dialect of Eastern Mǐn (i.e. niʔ 212 ɛi 242) (cf. Féng 1998: 366) and the Méixiàn 梅縣 dialect of Hakka (i.e. ŋip5 mi 53) (cf. Huáng 1995: 245), and lɔʔ12 mɔ13 落錨 ‘to cast an anchor’ in the Shànghǎi dialect of Wú (cf. Xǔ and Táo 1997: 375). Section 2.7.1 notes that the agentive use of directional verbs is also observed in Classical Chinese, a use which is claimed to have disappeared from the language during the tenth century (cf. Peyraube 2009). The findings from the present study, however, show that the agentive use of directional verbs did not completely vanish from Chinese as claimed. Instead, it is preserved by modern dialects to different degrees, among which Cantonese and Mǐn still employ it productively. One point which surfaces prominently in Tables 70–72 is that there is a correlation between the use of a main verb or a complement to encode path and the type of motion events expressed. Kē (2003) points out that agentive motion

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 Chapter 3. Directional verbs in modern Chinese dialects

events can only be expressed by a co-event verb and a directional complement in Mandarin because directional complements are intransitive; they cannot have a theme object. As a result, a co-event verb is used to specify the cause of the movement of the theme object while the directional complement encodes path. Kē further notes that there is a tendency to use a co-event verb and a directional complement to express non-agentive motion events and it is equally possible to use a directional verb or a co-event verb and a directional complement to denote self-agentive motion events. Kē’s remark on the encoding of path in the three types of motion events is partially supported by our statistical results. In particular, her first two observations on the expression of path in agentive and nonagentive motion events are borne out (cf. Tables 71 and 72). Path is expressed only in a directional complement in agentive motion sentences, and it tends to be expressed in a directional complement in non-agentive motion sentences. In contrast, the last observation on the encoding of path in self-agentive motion events does not find support in our statistical results, which show a strong preference for the use of a directional complement to express path in this type of events (cf. Table 70). With the exception of the agentive use of directional verbs in Cantonese and Mǐn where a directional verb can denote the cause and the direction of a movement in our survey, directional verbs in general could only perform the task of specifying the direction of a movement. The task of indicating the cause of a movement rests on the co-event verb. As a result, an agentive motion event would have to be expressed by a co-event verb and a directional complement, i.e. a characteristic of satellite-framed languages. This also explains why our statistical results show that a complement is used across-the-board to express path in agentive motion events in the five modern dialects.185 Non-agentive motion events can be divided into two types. The first type, which will be referred to as “the caused type”, involves some external force which causes the movement, and the external force could be an animate entity (e.g. the boy in the Pear Stories who drops the basket of pears after he trips over a stone) or an inanimate entity (e.g. the hat of the boy in the Pear Stories which is blown away by the wind). The second type, “the non-caused type”, refers to natural phenomena like sunrise, sunset, etc., in which the movement involved cannot be triggered by any external force. The caused type closely resembles 185 The reason the agentive use is not observed in the Mǐn and the Cantonese Pear Stories might be related to the setting of the Pear Stories. Furthermore, the agentive use varies among the directional verbs. For example, the agentive use in Cantonese is particularly productive in the case of jap6 入 ‘to enter’. However, there is no token of jap6 入 ‘to enter’ used for the expression of agentive motion events in the Cantonese Pear Stories.

Discussion 

 227

agentive motion events in that they are both “caused” motion. The only difference between them is that the subject of the former is an affected entity whereas that of the latter is an instigator. As a result, it is expected that the path of both types would be expressed by the use of a co-event verb and a directional complement. Such a prediction is borne out by the fact that the non-agentive examples found in the Chinese Pear Stories all belong to the caused type of non-agentive motion events and over 96.6% of the examples employ a combination of a coevent verb and a directional complement to denote path.186 On the other hand, the non-caused type is similar to the self-agentive motion events in that they are both spontaneous motion. The only difference is that the subject of the former is a non-volitional entity whereas that of the latter is a volitional entity. Since the non-caused type does not involve any cause for the movement, it is possible that it expresses path in a directional verb (cf. (98a)), or in a directional complement (cf. (98b)) when the manner of the movement is to be emphasized, as illustrated in the following examples from Cantonese provided by the author: Cantonese (98) a. 個風嚟緊。 Go3 fung1 lai4 gan 2. cl typhoon come asp ‘The typhoon is coming.’

b. 個風正面咁吹嚟。 Go3 fung1 zing3min6 gam 2 ceoi1 lai4. cl wind front mp blow come ‘The typhoon blows toward the location of the speaker from the front.’

Similarly, since the notion of cause is not involved in self-agentive motion events, speakers would have a choice between using a directional verb or a coevent verb and a directional complement to express the event. In the former, only direction is expressed, whereas in the latter both manner and direction are encoded. The two choices of a speaker to express path in self-agentive motion events are reflected in the use of a directional verb or a directional complement to denote path in our dialectal survey as well as the statistical results. To sum up, the statistical results in Tables 70–72 suggest that modern Mandarin, Wú, Hakka, Mǐn and Cantonese do not exhibit just the characteristic of 186 The total number of examples of non-agentive motion events is 177 in Table 71. While 171 examples involve the use of a co-event verb and a directional complement to express path, only 6 examples express path by the use of a directional verb.

228 

 Chapter 3. Directional verbs in modern Chinese dialects

verb-framed languages in expressing path in a directional verb. Neither do they exhibit only the characteristic of satellite-framed languages in denoting path in a directional complement. Instead, there is a correlation between the use of a directional verb or a directional complement and the type of motion events encoded. In particular, when expressing agentive motion events, a directional complement is used across-the-board in the five modern dialects to express path. On the other hand, although there is a strong preference for the use of a directional complement to denote path when expressing self-agentive and non-agentive motion events, the option of using a directional verb is still available to the five dialects except for the case when a non-agentive motion event is expressed in Wú. As discussed in 2.7.1, some scholars suggest that Chinese underwent a typological shift from a verb-framed language to a satellite-framed language (cf. Li 1993, Xu 2006, Mǎ 2008, Peyraube 2009).187 Xu (2006: 188) notes that “This syntactic distribution (action + result or start point + end point) was fixed from the Han period during which this typological change took place”. Peyraube (2009) further suggests that “…around the 10th century, the shift from a V-language to a S-language was achieved…”. The statistical results above show that the typological change has not been completed as claimed by scholars. Furthermore, among the five modern dialects studied, Wú is the one that is the closest to the completion of the typological shift as it exhibits the characteristic of a satellite-framed language in using only a directional complement to express path in two of the three types of motion events, i.e. agentive and non-agentive motion events. As for Mandarin, Hakka, Mǐn and Cantonese, they use only a directional complement to express path in just one type of motion events, i.e. agentive motion events. On the other hand, Cantonese and Mǐn seem to be more verb-framed than the other dialects as they show the agentive use of directional verbs, a characteristic that is also observed in Classical Chinese. As discussed in 3.6.2.1 below, Liú (2001b) suggests that Wú is a weak VO dialect, whereas Cantonese is a strong VO dialect, a feature that is associated with Classical Chinese. The characteristics of word order and the encoding of path illustrated in modern dialects and Classical Chinese raise the question on a possible correlation between the two properties. In particular, if a language exhibits the word order of VO, would it tend to use a directional verb to encode path? In contrast, if a language shows the word order of OV, would it tend to use a directional complement to denote path? Georg Bossong (p.c.) points out that a parallel development is observed in Latin and its daughter languages. The word order in Latin was predominantly 187 See 2.7.1 for a discussion on the typological shift undergone by Chinese.

Discussion 

 229

SOV and Latin probably was a satellite-framed language. On the other hand, Romance languages display the SVO word order and are verb-framed languages. In other words, the developments of Classical Chinese into modern Chinese dialects and Latin into Romance languages suggest that there is some correlation between the basic word order of a language and the way in which path is encoded in the language. To put it differently, SOV languages express path in the satellite while SVO languages specify path in the verb. To further substantiate the hypothesis, we examine the information provided in the World Atlas of Language Structures Online regarding the order of verb and object (cf. Dryer and Haspelmath 2011), and the information regarding the way in which path is expressed in some languages in Talmy (2000a, 2000b). However, the result is ambiguous. On the one hand, the correlation seems to be confirmed by Romance languages such as Spanish, French, Italian, etc., which are VO and verb-framed languages. On the other hand, the correlation is disconfirmed by languages such as Japanese and Korean, which are OV and verb-framed languages. Therefore, before a solid conclusion can be reached, further investigation is needed.

3.6.2 Classification of modern Chinese dialects The classification of Chinese dialects has always been a major issue of study in Chinese dialectology. For a long time, the classification has been based essentially on phonological grounds such as the development of the Middle Chinese188 voiced initials, stop endings, nasal endings and tones into the modern dialects (cf. Li 1973, Ting 1982, Lǐ 1989, Chao et al. 1991, Zhāng 1997, Yuán 2001, Luó 2004). Since different combinations of criteria are used, the number of dialectal groups obtained varies. For example, Lǐ (1989) classifies Chinese into ten dialects, including Mandarin, Jìn, Wú, Huī 徽, Gàn 贛, Xiāng 湘, Mǐn, Cantonese, Hakka and Pínghuà 平話. Yuán (2001) proposes a seven-dialect scheme, covering ­Mandarin, Wú, Gàn, Xiāng, Mǐn, Cantonese and Hakka. There are two other classification schemes, including the one proposed by Chao et al. (1991), in which there are eight groups of dialects, i.e. Mandarin, Wú, Xiāng, Gàn, Hakka, Mǐnběi 閩北, Mǐnnán 閩南 and Cantonese, and the one put forward by Luó (2004), which includes Mandarin, Wú, Hakka-Gàn, Xiāng, Mǐn and Cantonese. Norman (1988: 182–183) proposes ten criteria which he uses to classify Chinese dialects into the northern, the central and the southern groups. The ten 188 Middle Chinese was reconstructed based on the rhyme dictionary Qièyùn 切韻, which was compiled in AD 601. It is commonly assumed that Qièyùn represents the Chinese language spoken between the seventh and the thirteenth centuries (cf. Yuán 2001).

230 

 Chapter 3. Directional verbs in modern Chinese dialects

criteria are listed below in the form of statements for which a positive (+) or a negative (–) reply can be made for a given dialect. In some cases, both a positive and a negative reply are possible. The criteria are related to the phonological, lexical and morphological characteristics of dialects. Results are shown in Table 73.189 (i) (ii) (iii) (iv) (v) (vi) (vii) (viii) (ix) (x)

the third-person pronoun is tā 他 or cognate to it the subordinate particle is de (di) 的 or cognate to it the ordinary negative is bù 不 or cognate to it the gender marker for animals is prefixed, as in the word for ‘hen’ mǔjī 母雞 there is a register distinction only in the píng 平 tonal category velars are palatalized before i zhàn 立 or words cognate to it are used for ‘to stand’ zǒu 走 or words cognate to it are used for ‘to walk’ érzi 兒子 or words cognate to it are used for ‘son’ fángzi 房子 or words cognate to it are used for ‘house’

Table 73. Norman’s northern, central and southern groups of Chinese dialects

i ii iii iv v vi vii viii ix x

Mandarin

Wú

Gàn

Xiāng

Hakka

Mǐn

Cantonese

+ + + + + + + + + +

– – + + – + – + + +/–

– – + – – + + + – –

+ – + – – + + + – +/–

– – – – – – – – – –

– – – – – – – – – –

– – – – – – – – – –

The northern group consists of Mandarin, which has plus values for all of the ten features. The central group includes Wú, Gàn and Xiāng, which show mixed values for the features, and the southern group is made up of Hakka, Mǐn and Cantonese, which have minus values for all of the ten features.

189 The original table in Norman (1988: 182) includes twelve sub-dialects from the three ­dialect groups he proposes. Table 73 is simplified, covering only seven of these twelve subdialects and they are Běijīng (Mandarin), Sūzhōu (Wú), Nánchāng 南昌 (Gàn), Chángshā 長沙 (Xiāng), ­Méixiàn (Hakka), Fúzhōu (Mǐn) and Guǎngzhōu 廣州 (Cantonese).

Discussion 

 231

Hashimoto (2008 [1985]) observes that Mandarin exhibits the regressive structure whereas the southern dialects, i.e. Mǐn, Hakka and Cantonese, show the progressive structure. Put simply, a regressive structure and a progressive structure are equivalent to the concepts of “head-final/OV” and “head-initial/ VO”.190 For example, Mandarin (99) a. 我先走。(Adverb + V) Wǒ xiān zǒu. I first leave ‘I leave first.’

b. 公雞 (Modifier + N) gōng jī male chicken ‘roosters’

Cantonese (100) a. 我走先。(V + Adverb) Ngo5 zau 2 sin1. I leave first ‘I leave first.’

b. 雞公 (N + Modifier) gai1 gung1 chicken male ‘roosters’

Hashimoto notes that in Mandarin the adverb xiān 先 ‘first’ appears before the verb zǒu 走 ‘to leave’ in (99a) and the modifier gōng 公 ‘male’ occurs before the head jī 雞 ‘chicken’ in (99b), word orders which would be expected to be found in head-final or OV languages. In contrast, in Cantonese the adverb sin 1 先 ‘first’ and the modifier gung1 公 both appear after their head, i.e. the verb zau 2 走 ‘to leave’ and the head gai1 雞 ‘chicken’ in (100a) and (100b), word orders which often are observed in head-initial or VO languages.191 In addition to the north-south contrast shown in syntactic and morphological structures, Hashimoto also observes the north-south distribution of the use 190 See 3.1 for a discussion on “head-final/OV” and “head-initial/VO” languages. 191 The modifiee-modifier word order is also observed in Mǐn, Hakka and Wú.

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 Chapter 3. Directional verbs in modern Chinese dialects

of the terms hé 河 vs. jiāng 江, both of which mean ‘a river’, and the use of an oral stop sound vs. a syllabic nasal sound to express a negative meaning. According to Hashimoto, the above contrasts also seem to exist in non-Han languages spoken to the north and to the south. Phonologically, he observes that the varieties of sounds that can appear in the coda position and the number of tones decrease from the south to the north, again coinciding with the characteristics exhibited in non-Han languages spoken to the north and to the south. Moreover, he attributes the north-south contrasts to the influence from non-Han languages spoken in the neighbouring areas. Specifically, the northern dialect illustrates features observed in Altaic languages such as Tungusic and Mongolian, which exhibit the OV word order, but the southern dialects show characteristics that are in congruency with Austroasiatic languages like Tai, which show the VO word order. Hashimoto further proposes that there is a continuum from the north to the south. The more northern part in which a dialect is spoken (e.g. Mandarin), the more it resembles the Altaic languages spoken to the north of China, and the more southern part in which a dialect is spoken (e.g. Cantonese), the more it behaves like the Austroasiatic languages spoken to the south of China. Liú (2001b) examines the relative word order of verb and object in Chinese dialects. In particular, Liú observes that there is a strong tendency in Wú dialects to topicalize a patient object (which is equivalent to the term “theme object” used in this study) to the position after the subject, a phenomenon which is referred to as subtopic prominence. The resulting sentence exhibits the verb-final or the OV word order. A similar remark is made in Qián (1997: 287), who notes that speakers of Shanghainese often move the object to the topic position (cf. (101a)) or the subtopic position (cf. (101b)). (101) a. 月曆我掛好辣牆頭浪。 ɦyǝʔ1liʔ 24 ŋu13 ko33 hɔ44 lǝʔ55 dʑiã11 dɤ44lã44. calendar I hang good at wall Localizer ‘I hung the calendar on the wall properly.’

b. 我月曆掛好辣牆頭浪。 ŋu13 yǝʔ1li 24 ko33 hɔ44 lǝʔ55 dʑiã11 dɤ44lã44. I calendar hang good at wall Localizer

Liú further quotes examples of Fúzhōu from Chén (1997, 1998) in showing that the use of subtopics is also observed in the Mǐn dialect. The following examples are from Fúqīng, a variety of Eastern Mǐn.

Discussion 

 233

(102) a. 我這蜀本書看了。 ŋua 5 tsie32 θyo44 muoŋ32 tsy53 kaŋ21 lau 32. I this one cl book read asp ‘I finished reading this book.’

b. 老王厝買了。 Lo21Uoŋ24 tshuɔ21 me32 lau 32. Wong house buy asp ‘Wong bought a house.’

The patient objects tsie32 θyo53 muoŋ32 tsy53 這蜀本書 ‘this book’ and tshuɔ21 厝 ‘a house’ in (102a) and (102b) appear after the subject and before the verb, exemplifying the same kind of subtopicalization process observed in Wú. Liú also quotes Lǐ (1997), who notes that in the Quánzhōu 泉州 variety of Southern Mǐn the object is often placed in the subtopic or the topic position, in suggesting that like Eastern Mǐn, Southern Mǐn is also subtopic prominent. For example,192 (103) a. 汝飼雞阿未？ Lɯ 53 tshi 22 koi 33 a 33 bue22? you feed chicken or not ‘Have you fed the chicken?’

b. 汝雞飼阿未？ Lɯ 53 koi 33 tshi 22 a 33 bue22? you chicken feed or not



c. 撮雞汝飼阿未？ Thoʔ5 koi 33 lɯ 53 tshi 22 a 33 bue22? cl chicken you feed or not

The object koi 33 雞 ‘chicken’ appears after the verb tshi 22 飼 ‘to feed’ in (103a), i.e. appearing in the typical postverbal position for an object, but before the verb tshi 22 飼 ‘to feed’ and after the subject lɯ 53 汝 ‘you’ in (103b), i.e. occupying the subtopic position. In (103c), tshoʔ 2 koi 33 撮雞 ‘the chicken’ occurs before the subject lɯ 53 汝 ‘you’, i.e. occupying the topic position.

192 Examples (103a)–(103c) are taken from Lǐ (1997) and they are modified by adding a 33 啊 ‘or’. For (103c), the classifier tshoʔ5 撮 is also added.

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 Chapter 3. Directional verbs in modern Chinese dialects

Based on the descriptions and the examples provided in various papers in Lǐ and Chang (1997), Liú further concludes that dialects such as Mandarin, Hakka, Gàn and Huī are not as subtopic prominent as Wú and Mǐn.193 As for Cantonese, Liú suggests that it is a strong VO dialect as it shows the following characteristics which are related to the relative word order of the head and the non-head: (i) Subtopicalization is not prominent (cf. (104a)). (ii) The use of the disposal construction is not productive (cf. (104b)).194 (iii) A locative object can appear after a deictic directional verb (cf. (104c)). (iv) Postverbal adverbs such as do1 多 ‘many’, siu 2 少 ‘less’, sin1 先 ‘first’, tim1 添 ‘also’ and saai 3 哂 ‘all’ are used (cf. (104d)). (v) The comparative construction exemplifies the pattern of Adjective + Marker + Standard (cf. (104e)). There is a strong tendency for the head, i.e. the verb, to precede the object in (104a)–(104c) and to appear in front of the adverb in (104d), and the head, i.e. the adjective, precedes the modifier, i.e. the marker and the standard, in (104e). In sum, Liú suggests that Wú and Mǐn are weak VO dialects, Mandarin, Hakka, Gàn and Huī are moderate VO dialects and Cantonese is a strong VO dialect. (104) a. ?佢飯食咗。 Keoi 5 faan6 sik6 zo2. s/he rice eat asp ‘S/he had a meal.’

b. ??嗰套戲將佢嚇親。 Go2 tou 3 hei 3 zoeng1 keoi 5 haak 3 can 1. that cl movie dm him/her scare prt ‘The movie scared him/her.’



c. 佢去咗美國。 Keoi 5 heoi 3 zo2 Mei 2gwok 3. s/he go asp US ‘S/he went to the US.’

193 Liú notes that subtopicalization represents a compromise between topicalizing the object and retaining the VO word order, especially in cases when the object is a numeral-classifier phrase, as illustrated by the following example from Wēnzhōu provided by Pān Wùyún ŋu 13 vɛ13 tɕhiǝʔ55 ? sɛ 53 ø34 我飯吃爻三碗 I-rice-eat-asp-three-cl ‘I ate three bowls of rice’. According to Liú, a bare noun can easily acquire a generic reading while a numeral-classifier phrase often gives an indefinite reading. By moving the bare noun to the subtopic position and leaving the numeral-classifier phrase in the postverbal position, the VO word order is kept. For a further discussion of the grouping of Mandarin in Liú (2001b), see 3.6.2.2. 194 In examples (104a) and (104b), the typical word order used is VO, i.e. keoi 5 sik6 zo2 faan6 佢 食咗飯 s/he-eat-asp-rice ‘S/he had a meal’ and go2 tou 3 hei 3 haak 3 can 1 keoi 5 嗰套戲嚇親佢 thatcl-movie-scare-prt-him ‘That movie scared him/her’.

Discussion 



d. 佢又唔去添。 Keoi 5 jau6 m4 heoi 3 tim1. s/he again not go also ‘S/he is also not going.’



e. 我高過你。 Ngo5 gou 1 gwo3 nei 5. I tall cm you ‘I am taller than you are.’

 235

An inadequacy of Hashimoto’s study as pointed out by Liú (2001b) is that it does not take into consideration the internal changes undergone by the dialects. Specifically, the characteristic of subtopic prominence that Liú has claimed to have observed in Wú and Mǐn is a result of subtopicalization rather than historical retention or language contact. However, it is believed that the factor of language or dialect contact should not be completely ignored when examining the characteristics or the development of a dialect especially since the influence of the standard language on other dialects is strongly felt. Furthermore, most of the dialectal data on which Liú bases his proposal of a continuum of strong VO and the weak VO Chinese dialects are second-hand, a weakness which gives rise to its failure to provide a complete picture on subtopicalization in other Chinese dialects, a discourse sensitive construction which requires closer scrutiny. For example, Liú suggests that Mǐn is as subtopic prominent as Wú. However, according to our Mǐn informants, i.e. informants of Huì’ān and Cháo’ān, while a patient object can be moved to the subtopic position, it can also stay in the postverbal position, thus suggesting that the tendency to move a patient object to a preverbal position in Mǐn is not as strong as that in Wú. In 3.2 above, it is shown how historical documents of various dialects help us identify the native form and the borrowed form of directional verbs. Section 3.6.2.1 below illustrates how historical documents help us reconstruct the early grammar of Mǐn. Both the present study and Liú’s are related to word order. While ours concerns the word orders exemplified by the directional verb, the directional complement, the locative object and the theme object, Liú’s examines the relative order of verb and object. In what follows, we compare the dialectal groupings of the two studies. According to our statistical results in Tables 70–72, Wú seems to stand out from the other four dialects as the most satellite-framed dialect as it uses only a directional complement to express path in two out of the three types of events, i.e. non-agentive and agentive motion events. The other four use solely a directional complement to encode path in only one type of events, i.e. agentive motion events. In contrast, no natural division emerges for the other four

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dialects. As already discussed in 3.5.3, a close examination of the word orders summarized in Tables 66–69 illustrates that the five dialects seem to fall into the following three groups: (i) Mandarin and Wú; (ii) Hakka; and (iii) Mǐn and Cantonese. However, there is some fluidity between group boundaries. Among the three groups, Hakka is the most fluid group as it is sometimes grouped with Mǐn (cf. Table 68), sometimes with Mǐn and Cantonese (cf. Tables 66 and 67) and sometimes with Mandarin and Wú (cf. Table 66), and it often displays characteristics of the other two groups (cf. Tables 67 and 69). In contrast, Mǐn always clusters with Cantonese, except for one count when it is grouped with Hakka (cf. Table 68), whereas Mandarin and Wú consistently fall into the same group. Moreover, the groupings of Mandarin with Wú and Mǐn with Cantonese never overlap. The similarity between our groupings and Liú’s (2001b) classification is that Cantonese and Wú occupy the two ends of the continuum. While Liú’s observation is based on subtopicalization, ours is based on the word orders associated with the directional verb, directional complement, the theme object and the locative object. Among these word order characteristics, one of them is related to the ability of a directional verb or a directional complement to have a locative object. As noted in 3.3–3.5, both Mandarin and Wú in general do not allow deictic directional verbs and deictic directional complements to be followed by a locative object.195 Moreover, the use of a non-deictic directional verb or a nondeictic directional complement in Wú to introduce a locative object is not productive according to Liú. The above restrictions, however, are not observed in Cantonese. Table 74. Transitivity of directional verbs and directional complements for the five modern dialects in Chinese Pear Stories VND + LOC

VD + LOC

V + CND + LOC

V + (CND) + CD + LOC

Cantonese

16.00% (4/25)

20.00% (3/15)

66.28% (57/86)

36.59% (15/41)

Hakka

21.43% (3/14)

 6.98% (3/43)

30.99% (22/71)

 6.41%

Mǐn

 3.45% (1/29)

10.53% (2/19)

 5.13% (2/39)

 5.33% (17/319)

Mandarin

12.90% (4/31)

—

 7.35% (5/68) 

—

Wú

 6.06% (2/33)

—

 1.27% (4/316) 

—

(5/78)

195 As noted above, a co-event verb in general cannot be followed by a locative object. Therefore, the transitivity of its following directional complement determines the occurrence of a locative object in the sentence.

Discussion 

 237

Table 74 shows that there is a natural division between the five dialects with Cantonese, Hakka and Mǐn on one side and Mandarin and Wú on the other side. The difference rests on whether deictic directional verbs and deictic directional complements can be followed by a locative object, characteristics which determine whether the verb would occupy the final position of a sentence. In other words, the natural division in the above table already classifies Cantonese, Hakka and Mǐn as more verb-initial than Mandarin and Wú, as deictic directional verbs and deictic directional complements in the former can be followed by a locative object whereas those in the latter cannot. According to the percentages in Table 74, within the strong VO group, the characteristic of VO in Cantonese is the most prominent,196 followed by Hakka and then Mǐn. Within the weak VO group, Mandarin is more VO than Wú. The five dialects form a continuum of strong VO and weak VO dialects with Cantonese occupying the strong end and Wú the weak end, coinciding with Liú’s classification. However, our results also differ from Liú’s on the classification of Mǐn, Mandarin and Hakka, differences which are to be addressed in 3.6.2.1–3.6.2.3.

3.6.2.1 Classification of Mǐn Based on the descriptions provided in Chén (1997, 1998) and Lǐ (1997) on subtopicalization in Eastern and Southern Mǐn, i.e. the Fúzhōu and the Quánzhōu 泉州 varieties, Liú (2001b) suggests that the word order of Mǐn resembles that of Wú and that both dialects are considered weak VO dialects. Our study, however, suggests differently. According to the dialectal survey above (cf. Tables 66–69), Mǐn and Cantonese very often exhibit the same word order patterns; therefore, they should be classified into the same group. However, Table 74 shows that among the three dialects in the strong VO group, the degree of transitivity of directional verbs and directional complements in Mǐn is the lowest. If we compare the word order patterns shared between Mǐn and the weak VO group, i.e. V ND + LOC and V + CND + LOC, we find that the percentages for Mǐn (i.e. 3.45% and 5.13% for VND + LOC and V + CND + LOC) are lower than those for Mandarin (i.e. 12.9% and 7.35% for VND + LOC and V + CND + LOC), but are similar to those of Wú (i.e. 6.06% and 1.27% for VND + LOC and V + CND + LOC). The question regarding the classification of Mǐn immediately arises: precisely, whether Mǐn is closer to Cantonese or to Wú. 196 While the percentage of V ND + LOC for Hakka is higher than that for Cantonese by less than 6%, the percentage of each of the other three categories for Cantonese is higher than that for Hakka by at least 13%. Therefore, the degree of transitivity of directional verbs and directional complements in Cantonese is considered the highest.

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Yuán (2001: 235) divides Mǐn into five groups: Eastern Mǐn (e.g. Fúzhōu 福 州), Púxiān 莆仙 (e.g. Púxiān), Southern Mǐn (e.g. Quánzhōu 泉州), Central Mǐn (e.g. Yǒngān 永安) and Northern Mǐn (e.g. Jiànōu 建甌). In what follows, we compare the core directional verbs and the word orders associated with them in three varieties of Mǐn, of which Fúqīng 福清 belongs to Eastern Mǐn spoken in Fújiàn 福建, Huì’ān 惠安 is a Southern Mǐn dialect spoken in Fújiàn and Cháo’ān 潮安 is a Southern Mǐn dialect spoken in Guǎngdōng 廣東. The result is further compared with the situation in Cantonese and Wú in order to find out whether Mǐn shares more characteristics with Cantonese or with Wú. On the other hand, as pointed out in footnote 134 above, the use of bua 55 埋 ‘to approach’ is observed in Cháo’ān but not in Huì’ān or Fúqīng. Moreover, Wú (2010) shows that the use of the comparative construction X + Adjective + ‘to surpass’ + Y is found only in the Mǐn dialects spoken in Guǎngdōng and Hǎinán but not in the Mǐn dialects spoken elsewhere. Both the use of maai4 埋 ‘to approach’ and the use of the comparative construction X + Adjective + ‘to surpass’ + Y are characteristics of Cantonese, the dominant dialect spoken in the Guǎngdōng province. The question thus arises concerning the possible influence of Cantonese on the Mǐn dialect spoken in Guǎngdōng. To answer this question, the Huì’ān variety of Southern Mǐn spoken in Fújiàn is chosen to compare with the Cháo’ān variety of Southern Mǐn spoken in Guǎngdōng in order to find out if Cantonese indeed exerts strong influence on the latter.

3.6.2.1.1 Directional verbs in three Mǐn dialects While the use of the deictic directional verbs is found in all three Mǐn dialects, Table 75 below illustrates variations in the members of five non-deictic directional verbs in the three dialects. Table 75. Five n ­ on-deictic directional verbs in Fúqīng, Huì’ān and Cháo’ān197

Fúqīng Huì’ān Cháo’ān

ascend

descend

enter

exit

pass

θyoŋ42 上 khi54 起 khi53 起

lo53 落 loʔ34 落 loʔ5 落

te32 底 liǝp34 入 ʣik5 入

tshoʔ2 出 tshɔk54 出 tshuk2 出

kuɔ21 過 kǝ31 過 kue213 過

197 According to our Huì’ān informant, the core members of directional verbs in Huì’ān include only the five non-deictic ones in Table 75 and the two deictic ones lai 24 來 ‘to come’ and khɯ 31 去 ‘to go’. Therefore, only five non-deictic directional verbs are discussed in Table 75.

Discussion 

 239

Table 75 shows that the five non-deictic directional verbs in Huì’ān and Cháo’ān are identical. In contrast, the non-deictic directional verbs which express the meanings of ‘to ascend’ and ‘to enter’ in Fúqīng are different from those used in the two Southern Mǐn dialects (indicated by light shading). In particular, Fúqīng uses θyoŋ42 上 and te32 底 to express the meanings of ‘to ascend’ and ‘to enter’, while the two Southern Mǐn dialects use khi 54/khi 53 起 ‘to rise’ and liǝp34/ʣik 5 入 ‘to enter’. The use of khi 33 起 ‘to rise’ and syoŋ42 上 ‘to ascend’ is noted in Féng (1993: 205, 206), a study of the Fúqīng dialect, as in pa 55 khi 33 爬起 climb-rise ‘to get up’ and thoʔ55 syoŋ42 托上 hold-rise ‘to hold up’. However, our Fúqīng informant finds the above khi 33 起 ‘to rise’ example unacceptable.198 Hiroyuki (2008) studies Shípí 石陂, Zhènqián 鎮前 and Díkǒu 廸口, three varieties of Mǐn spoken in Northern Fújiàn, and also reports the use of both qǐ 起 ‘to rise’ and shàng 上 ‘to ascend’ in the three dialects. The question is not about whether only khi 33 起 ‘to rise’ or only θyoŋ42 上 ‘to ascend’ or both are used in Fúqīng. What is more intriguing is that θyoŋ42 上 ‘to ascend’ is used by our Fúqīng informant when khi 54/khi 53 起 ‘to rise’ is employed by our Southern Mǐn informants. Moreover, tsiõ35 上, which is said to belong to the literary layer in Táiwān Southern Mǐn according to Lien (1997), is commonly used in the colloquial speech of Fúqīng. On the one hand, the use of θyoŋ42 上 ‘to ascend’ in Fúqīng might imply the influence from other dialects, especially the influence from the standard language, in which both qǐ 起 ‘to rise’ and shàng 上 ‘to ascend’ are used, assuming that at an earlier stage qǐ 起 ‘to rise’ was the colloquial form used in both Eastern and Southern Mǐn. On the other hand, it might be the case that the use of both has been inherited from Classical Chinese, or that θyoŋ42 上 ‘to ascend’, which was originally used in the reading pronunciation, has gradually crept into the colloquial speech. Another difference between Fúqīng on the one hand and the two Southern Mǐn dialects on the other hand refers to the use of the non-deictic directional verb with the meaning of ‘to enter’. While the former uses te32 底, the latter uses liǝp34/ʣik 5 入. Lín (2002: 93) suggests that the original meaning of te32 底 is ‘inside’. The concepts of ‘to enter’ and ‘inside’ are closely related such that ‘inside’ denotes the destination of an inward movement, i.e. from the outside to the inside of a location, and it is possible that the meaning of ‘inside’ has given rise to the meaning of ‘to enter’. The use of te32 底 to express the meaning of ‘to 198 Our Fúqīng informant is a research student who is in her twenties. It is not clear whether the contrast in the use of khi 33 起 ‘to rise’ and syoŋ42 上 ‘to ascend’ between our informant and Féng implies a generational difference. Specifically, a young speaker would more likely be influenced by Mandarin, and therefore opts for the use of syoŋ42 上 ‘to ascend’. In contrast, an older speaker would be less likely be influenced by Mandarin and therefore opts for the use of khi 33 起 ‘to rise’.

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 Chapter 3. Directional verbs in modern Chinese dialects

enter’ is widely found in the Eastern Mǐn dialects (cf. Lín 2002: 123) and it might be an innovation of Eastern Mǐn. The above differences in the core directional verbs exemplified in the three Mǐn dialects suggests a dividing line between Fúqīng, a variety of Eastern Mǐn, and Huì’ān and Cháo’ān, two varieties of Southern Mǐn. The following two sections examine the use of directional verbs to express path in self-agentive and agentive motion events in Fúqīng, Huì’ān and Cháo’ān.199

3.6.2.1.1.1 Self-agentive motion events In examples (105)–(107), the non-deictic and deictic directional verbs are used to express path in self-agentive motion events in the three Mǐn dialects. Fúqīng (105) a. 落了樓骹 (VND + LOC) lo53 lau 32 lau44 kha 53 descend asp floor Localizer ‘to descend downstairs’

b. 來學校 (VD + LOC) li44 hoʔ3hau42 come school ‘to come to school’



c. 遘學校來 (‘to arrive’ + LOC + VD) kau 21 hoʔ3hau42 li44 arrive school come ‘to come to school’

199 Since the expression of path in non-agentive motion events was not included when the interviews were conducted, the following discussion focuses on the expression of path in selfagentive and agentive motion events in the three varieties of Mǐn. Moreover, the discussion in 3.3–3.5 shows that the expression of path in self-agentive and non-agentive motion events is similar. Therefore, the conclusion reached here on the classification of Mǐn should not be affected although the expression of path in non-agentive motion events in the three Mǐn dialects is not addressed.

Discussion 

 241

Huì’ān (106) a. 落樓骹200 (VND + LOC) loʔ 22 lau 22 kha 33 descend floor Localizer ‘to descend downstairs’

b. 來學堂 (VD + LOC) lai 22 oʔ 22tŋ24 come school ‘to come to school’



c. 遘學堂來 (‘to arrive’ + LOC + VD) kau 22 oʔ 22tŋ24 lai 24 arrive school come ‘to come to school’

Cháo’ān (107) a. 落樓下 (VND + LOC) loʔ 2 lau 213 e35 descend floor Localizer ‘to descend downstairs’

b. 來學校 (VD + LOC) lai 213 hak 2hau 35 come school ‘to come to school’

Both non-deictic and deictic directional verbs can be followed by a locative object in the three Mǐn dialects. Furthermore, the pattern of ‘to arrive’ + LOC + VD is used in Fúqīng and Huì’ān but not in Cháo’ān, a pattern which is observed in Mandarin and Wú. 200 Our Huì’ān informant considers (106a) unnatural. However, the use of V ND + LOC is found in Dictionary of the Xiàmén Dialect, which represents a major variety of Southern Mǐn spoken in Fújiàn. The relevant examples are loʔ 2 suã 33 落山 descend-hill ‘to descend from the hill’ and loʔ 2 lau 213thui 33 落樓梯 descend-staircase ‘to descend from the staircase’ (cf. Zhōu 1998: 410). On the other hand, our Huì’ān speaker finds the use of V + CND + LOC (e.g. tsau 54 loʔ 22 lau 22 kha 33 走落樓骹 run-descend-downstairs ‘to run downstairs’) acceptable. We have not observed any cases in which a non-deictic directional verb is allowed to function as a complement but not a main verb in a dialect; therefore, we will treat V ND + LOC as an acceptable word order pattern in Huì’ān.

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 Chapter 3. Directional verbs in modern Chinese dialects

3.6.2.1.1.2 Agentive motion events As discussed in 3.6.1.3 above, a Cháo’ān informant points out that the nondeictic directional verbs ʣik 5 入 ‘to enter’ and loʔ5 落 ‘to descend’ can be used to express path in agentive motion events. Moreover, examples which show the agentive use of ʣik 5 入 ‘to enter’ and loʔ5 落 ‘to descend’ are found in Zhōu’s (1998) Dictionary of the Xiàmén Dialect. We therefore assume that the Southern Mǐn dialects spoken in Fújiàn also have such a use despite that such a use is said to be unavailable in Huì’ān according to the informant. As for Fúqīng, such a use does not exist according to the informant and is not mentioned in Féng (1993).

3.6.2.1.2 Simple directional complements in three Mǐn dialects The following two sections examine the use of simple directional complements in Fúqīng, Huì’ān and Cháo’ān for the expression of path in self-agentive and agentive motion events.

3.6.2.1.2.1 Self-agentive motion events When expressing self-agentive motion events, it is observed that the behaviour of deictic directional complements in Fúqīng and Huì’ān is different from that in Cháo’ān. Fúqīng (108) a. 行落樓骹 (V + CND + LOC) kiaŋ44 lo42 lau44 kha 53 walk descend floor Localizer ‘to walk downstairs’

b. 行來學校 (V + CD + LOC) kiaŋ44 li44 hoʔ3hau42 walk come school ‘to walk to school’



c. 行遘學校來 (V + ‘to arrive’ + LOC + CD) kiaŋ44 kau 21 hoʔ3hau42 li44 walk arrive school come ‘to walk to school’

Discussion 

 243

Huì’ān (109) a. 走落樓骹 (V + CND + LOC) tsau 54 loʔ 22 lau 22 kha 33 run descend floor Localizer ‘to run downstairs’

b. 走來學堂 (V + CD + LOC) tsau 54 lai 22 oʔ 22tŋ24 run come school ‘to run to school’



c. ?走遘學堂來 (V + ‘to arrive’ + LOC + CD) tsau 54 kau 22 oʔ 22tŋ24 lai 24 run arrive school come ‘to run to school’

Cháo’ān (110) a. 走落樓下 (V + CND + LOC) tau 35 loʔ 2 lau 213 e35 run descend floor Localizer ‘to run downstairs’

b. 走來學校 (V + CD + LOC) tsau 35 lai 213 hak 2hau 35 run come school ‘to run to school’

All three Mǐn dialects allow the occurrence of a locative object after both nondeictic and deictic directional complements. Moreover, Fúqīng and Huì’ān also exemplify the use of V + ‘to arrive’ + LOC + CD, a pattern which is found in Mandarin and Wú but not in Cháo’ān. However, between V + CD + LOC and V + ‘to arrive’ + LOC + CD, our Huì’ān informant prefers the use of the former to that of the latter.

3.6.2.1.2.2 Agentive motion events When expressing agentive motion events, identical word orders are reported in all three Mǐn dialects when a directional complement and a theme object are involved in a sentence.

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 Chapter 3. Directional verbs in modern Chinese dialects

Fúqīng (111) a. 伊踢底兩粒球。 (V + CND + O) I 5 theʔ 2 te32 laŋ44 laʔ5 kiu44. s/he kick enter two cl ball ‘S/he kicked two balls into the goal.’

b. ?伊寄來蜀張批。 (V + CD + O) I 5 kia 21 li44 θyo44 lyoŋ53 phie53. s/he send come one cl letter ‘S/he sent a letter here.’



c. 伊寄蜀張批來。 (V + O + CD) I 5 kia 21 θyo44 lyoŋ53 phie53 li44. s/he send one cl letter come ‘S/he sent a letter here.’

Huì’ān (112) a. 伊踢入兩個球。 (V + CND + O) I 33 that 54 liǝp lŋ22 e22 kiu 24. s/he kick enter two cl ball ‘S/he kicked two balls into the goal.’

b. ?伊寄來蜀張批。 (V + CD + O) I 33 kia 31 lai tsit 22 tiũ 33 phue33. s/he send come one cl letter ‘S/he sent a letter here.’



c. 伊寄張批來。 (V + O + CD) I 33 kia 22 tiũ 33 phue33 lai 24. s/he send cl letter come ‘S/he sent a letter here.’

Cháo’ān (113) a. 伊踢入兩粒球。 (V + CND + O) I 33 thak 5 dzik 2 nõ21 liak 2 kiu 55. s/he kick enter two cl ball ‘He kicked two balls into the goal.’

Discussion 



b. ?伊寄來封信。 (V + CD + O) I 33 kia 53 lai 213 hoŋ33 seŋ213. s/he send come cl letter ‘S/he sent a letter here.’



c. 伊寄封信來。 (V + O + CD) I 33 kia 53 hoŋ33 seŋ213 lai 55. s/he send cl letter come ‘S/he sent a letter here.’

 245

The examples (a) and (c) in (111)–(113) show that the patterns of V + CND + O and V + O + CD are used in all three dialects of Mǐn. On the other hand, although V + CD + O is reported to be possible, all of the informants note that the use of V + O + CD is more natural than V + CD + O (cf. (111b)–(113b)).201 3.6.2.1.3 Compound directional complements in three Mǐn dialects In Fúqīng, Huì’ān and Cháo’ān, two simple directional complements can be combined to form a compound directional complement in which the non-deictic one precedes the deictic one. The following two sections discuss the use of compound directional complements to denote path in self-agentive and agentive motion events in the three Mǐn dialects.

3.6.2.1.3.1 Self-agentive motion events In all three dialects, the compound directional complement appears after the verb and before the locative object. Moreover, the use of V + CND + LOC + CD is reported to be possible but not as natural as V + CND + CD + LOC in Huì’ān by our informant.

201 In this chapter as well as Chapter 2, it is observed that there is a strong tendency for a non-deictic directional complement to be followed by a locative object or a deictic directional complement. However, such a tendency seems to be less strong in Fúqīng, which allows a nondeictic directional complement to be left dangling in the sentence-final position, e.g. i 5 teŋ21 θyo21 ʒia 21 laŋ44 laŋ44 lo53 (lau44 kha 53) 伊£蜀隻籃籃落(樓骹) s/he-hang-one-cl-basket-descend(downstairs) ‘S/he hung a basket down’, and i 5 to44 laŋ44 muoŋ32 tsy53 tshoʔ 2 (kau 53 θeʔ) 伊掏兩本 書出(教室) s/he-take-two-cl-book-exit-(classroom) ‘S/he took two books out (from the classroom)’.

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 Chapter 3. Directional verbs in modern Chinese dialects

Fúqīng (114) 伊行上來三樓。(V + CND + CD + LOC) I 5 kiaŋ44 θyoŋ42 li θaŋ44 lau44. s/he walk ascend come third floor ‘S/he walks up to the third floor.’ Huì’ān (115) a. 伊爬起去山頂。(V + CND + CD + LOC) I 33 peʔ34 khi 24 khɯ 22 suã 33 tiŋ54. s/he climb rise go hill top ‘S/he climbs up to the top of the hill.’

b. ?伊爬起山頂去。(V + CND + LOC + CD) I 33 peʔ34 khi 24 suã 33 tiŋ54 khɯ 31. s/he climb rise hill top go ‘S/he climbs up to the top of the hill.’

Cháo’ān (116) 伊爬起去山頂。(V + CND + CD + LOC) I 33 peʔ5 khi 35 khɯ 53 suã 33 teŋ53. s/he climb rise go hill top ‘S/he climbs up to the top of the hill.’

3.6.2.1.3.2 Agentive motion events When a compound directional complement and a theme object are involved, Fúqīng and Huì’ān display two word orders while Cháo’ān shows only one. Examples (117)–(119) illustrate the pattern of V + O + CND + CD. Fúqīng (117) 踢兩粒球底來 (V + O + CND + CD) theʔ 2 laŋ44 laʔ5 kiu44 te32 li kick two cl ball enter come ‘to kick in two balls’

Discussion 

 247

Huì’ān (118) 踢兩個球入來 (V + O + CND + CD) that 34 lŋ22 e22 kiu 24 liǝp34 lai kick two cl ball enter come ‘to kick in two balls’ Cháo’ān (119) 踢兩粒球入來 (V + O + CND + CD) thak 5 nõ21 liak 2 kiu 55 dzik 5 lai 21 kick two cl ball enter come ‘to kick in two balls’ In addition to the pattern of V + O + CND + CD, Fúqīng and Huì’ān also employ the word order of V + CND + CD + O, as illustrated in (120) and (121). However, such a word order is not found in Cháo’ān. Fúqīng (120) 踢底來兩粒球 (V + CND + CD + O) theʔ 2 te32 li laŋ44 laʔ5 kiu44 kick enter come two cl b all ‘to kick two balls into the goal’ Huì’ān (121) 踢入來兩個球 (V + CND + CD + O) that 54 liǝp lai lŋ22 e22 kiu 24 kick enter come two cl ball ‘to kick two balls into the goal’ The relevant word orders of Wú and Cantonese are provided below for comparison with those of Fúqīng, Huì’ān and Cháo’ān.

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Table 76. Word orders of the directional verb, the directional complement, the theme object and the locative object in Wú, Fúqīng, Huì’ān, Cháo’ān and Cantonese202203 Wú

Fúqīng

Huì’ān

Cháo’ān

Cantonese

?

ü

ü

ü

ü

?

ü

ü

ü

ü

ü

ü

ü

û

û

û

û

ü

ü

ü

Directional verbs: Self-agentive motion events 1. VND + LOC

2. VD + LOC

3. ‘to arrive’ + LOC + VD Directional verbs: Agentive motion events 4. VND + O

Simple directional complements: Self-agentive motion events 5. V + CND + LOC 6. V + CD + LOC

7. V + ‘to arrive’ + LOC + CD

?

ü

ü

ü

ü

û

ü

ü

ü

ü

ü

ü

?

û

û

Simple directional complements: Agentive motion events 8. V + CND + O 9. V + CD + O

10. V + O + CD

ü

ü

ü

ü

ü

ü

? ü

? ü

? ü

? ü

ü

Compound directional complements: Self-agentive motion events 11. V + CND + CD + LOC

12. V + CND + LOC + CD202

û

ü

ü

ü

ü

?

û

?

û

û

ü

ü

ü

Compound directional complements: Agentive motion events 13. V + O + CND + CD

ü ü

û

û

û

û

15. V + CND + CD + O

ü

ü

ü

û

û

Number of shaded cells203

0

8

10

12

12

14. V + CND + O + CD

ü

202 As noted in 3.4.1 and 3.5.1, non-deictic directional complements in general are not used to introduce a locative object in Wú. Instead, the word order of V + ‘to arrive’ + LOC + C D is used. On the other hand, in the case of Huì’ān non-deictic directional complements can be used to introduce a locative object. The unnaturalness arises in having the locative object occurring between the non-deictic directional complement and the deictic one rather than following the two complements. The unnaturalness that arises from the use of V + CND + LOC + CD in Wú and Huì’ān is caused by different reasons. Therefore, the two dialects are still considered to be different with regard to the use of V + CND + LOC + CD. 203 Shaded cells represent the differences between Wú and a dialect concerned in terms of the fifteen word orders.

Discussion 

 249

Three points stand out prominently in Table 76. First, the word orders exhibited in the three Mǐn dialects differ substantially from those in Wú. One major difference is that directional verbs and directional complements, including both deictic and non-deictic ones, in the Mǐn dialects can be followed by a locative object, while in Wú they generally cannot or such use is not productive. The second point to note is that the closer the Mǐn dialect is to Wú geographically, the fewer differences exist between the two. Among the three Mǐn dialects, Fúqīng is geographically the closest to Wú, followed by Hùi’ān. The former differs from Wú in eight word orders while the latter differs from Wú in ten word orders. Cháo’ān, being the farthest from Wú in terms of geographical distance, differs from Wú in twelve word orders. The last point is that the word orders in Cháo’ān and Cantonese are identical, but there are four differences between the two Southern Mǐn dialects and three differences between Fúqīng and Hùi’ān. Table 76 shows that there are a number of differences between Wú and the three Mǐn dialects, i.e. from eight to twelve, thus casting serious doubt on the validity of classifying Wú and Mǐn in the same group, a proposal which is put forward in Liú (2001b). Moreover, the three Mǐn dialects seem to be pulled from two different directions, i.e. from Cantonese spoken to the south and from Mandarin and Wú spoken to the north.204 Specifically, the more northern the part in which a Mǐn dialect is spoken, the more northern features it exhibits (cf. Map 3 in Chapter 1). For example, the following features are found in Mandarin and Wú: ‘to arrive’ + LOC + VD, V + ‘to arrive’ + LOC + CD and V + CND + CD + O (cf. 3, 7 and 15 in Table 76). Among the three Mǐn dialects, Fúqīng displays all three features while Huì’ān shows two. Cháo’ān, which is the farthest from Mandarin and Wú, exhibits none of the three features. The presence of the above three word orders is highly likely to be a result of the strong influence from Mandarin. Chén (2003: 192) notes that the use of the word order of ‘to arrive’ + LOC + V D in Fúzhōu does not sound natural, therefore, it is not a native word order in Fúzhōu. Similarly, as noted by our Huì’ān informant, the use of V + ‘to arrive’ + LOC + CD is acceptable but is not as natural as V + CD + LOC. Both remarks suggest that the use of ‘to arrive’ + LOC + VD and V + ‘to arrive’ + LOC + CD might have been borrowed from other dialects, Mandarin in particular. On the other hand, the identical word orders observed in Cháo’ān and Cantonese raise again the question of the strong influence of the latter on the former. However, the speculation does not seem to be borne out by the facts observed in 204 Only the word orders of Wú are included in Table 76 for comparison as we are trying to determine whether Wú and Mǐn should be classified into the same group. However, it should be noted that the word orders of Mandarin are very similar to those of Wú, and we mention Mandarin here because it will be shown below that the variations within the three Mǐn dialects are caused by the influence from Mandarin rather than from Wú.

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the historical materials in Mǐn. In Doctrina Christiana《基督要理》, a theological text published in the seventeenth century,205 and the Jiājìng edition of Romance of the Litchi Mirror《荔鏡記》, a drama script composed in 1566, the dominant word orders used are VD + LOC and V + CD + LOC.206 Early Mǐn: Self-agentive motion events (122) a. 即來恁厝做奴婢。(VD + LOC) (Romance of the Litchi Mirror) Tsiak 5 lai 213 neŋ35 tshu 213 tso53 nou 213pi 35. immediately come your home do slave ‘(I) immediately came to your home to serve as a slave.’

b. 不免共安童返去厝。(V + CD + LOC) (Romance of the Litchi Mirror) Puk 5miaŋ35 kaŋ22 Aŋ33toŋ55 tɯŋ35 khɯ 53 tshu 213­­. inevitably and Āntóng return go home ‘(Master) should return home with Āntóng.’



c. 跟同陳三私奔走去泉州。(V + CD + LOC) (Romance of the Litchi Mirror) Kɯŋ33taŋ213 Taŋ213sã 33 sɿ 33puŋ33 tsau 35 khɯ 53 Tsuã 213tsiu 33. and Chénsān run away run go Quánzhōu ‘(She) ran away with Chénsān to Quánzhōu.’

In example (122a), the deictic directional verb lai 55 來 ‘to come’ is followed by the locative object neŋ53 tshu 213 恁厝 ‘your home’. In examples (122b) and (122c), the deictic directional complement khɯ 213 去 ‘to go’ is followed by the locative objects tshu 213 厝 ‘home’ and Tsuã 55tsiu 33 泉州 ‘Quánzhōu’, exhibiting the word order of V + CD + LOC. On the other hand, few examples of ‘to arrive’ + LOC + CD are found in Romance of the Litchi Mirror. For example, Early Mǐn (123) 請卜李公到厝來  (V + O + “to arrive” + LOC + CD) (Romance of the Litchi Mirror) tshiã 35 ? Li 35 koŋ33 kau 53 tshu 213 lai 55 invite want Lǐ master arrive house come ‘to invite Master Lǐ to come to our home’ 205 As noted in Yue (1999), Doctrina Christiana probably reflects the Hǎichéng 海澄 variety of Mǐn spoken in Fújiàn at the time based on van der Loon (1966). On the other hand, as noted in 1.4, Romance of the Litchi Mirror is believed to reflect the Quánzhōu and Cháozhōu dialects of Southern Mǐn spoken at the time. In other words, both Doctrina Christiana and Romance of the Litchi Mirror reflect the Southern Mǐn dialect spoken during the sixteenth and the seventeenth centuries. 206 It is found that only few examples of V + CND + LOC + CD are found in Romance of the Litchi Mirror and they all involve the non-deictic directional complement kue213 過 ‘to pass’. Therefore, it is not clear how widespread this word order was at that time.

Discussion 

 251

In example (123), the locative object tshu 213 厝 ‘home’ occurs between kau 213 到 ‘to arrive’ and lai 55 來 ‘to come’. However, examples like this are few. Instead, the dominant patterns used when a deictic directional verb or a deictic directional complement and a locative object are involved are V D + LOC and V + CD + LOC. Moreover, Samuel Cheung (p.c.) points out that example (123) could be a verse line in a song as it consists of seven syllables. As a result, the language reflected by the example is literary rather than colloquial, thus explaining why kau 213 到 ‘to arrive’ is employed to introduce a locative object, a use that is found in the standard language but is different from that in (122b) and (122c). The word orders of ‘to arrive’ + LOC + VD and V + ‘to arrive’ + LOC + CD used by our Huì’ān informant to express path in self-agentive motion events are not found in the historical documents and may have entered the dialect as a result of the influence from Mandarin. The following agentive examples of V + O + CND + CD are found in the historical documents. Early Mǐn: Agentive motion events (124) a. 贖汝子出來。(V + O + CND + CD) (Doctrina Christiana) Sok 2 lɯ 35 kiã 21 tshuk 5 lai 21. bail your son exit come ‘You bailed out your son.’

b. 待益春討一香案出來。(V + O + CND + CD) (Romance of the Litchi Mirror) T hai 21 Iaʔ5tshuŋ33 tho35 tsek 2 hiõ33 uã 213 tshuk 5 lai 21. wait Yìchūn bring one incense table exit come ‘Wait for Yìchūn to bring out an incense table.’

The two agentive examples show that whether the theme object is definite (e.g. lɯ 53 kiã 53 汝子 ‘your son’ in (124a)) or indefinite (e.g. tsek 5 hiõ33 u ã 213 一香案 ‘an incense table’ (124b)), the only word order used is V + O + CND + CD. Again, the word order of V + CND + CD + O observed in Huì’ān is not found in the historical materials.207 All in all, the findings from the Mǐn historical texts suggest that among the word orders exhibited by the two Southern Mǐn dialects, the word order patterns in Cháo’ān resemble closely those in the early Mǐn texts while the word orders of ‘to arrive’ + LOC + VD, V + ‘to arrive’ + LOC + CD and V + CND + CD + O might 207 Lien’s (1997) study points out that the pattern of V + CND + CD + O is not possible in the Southern Mǐn dialect spoken in Táiwān. In his study of Romance of the Litchi Mirror, Lien (2006b) observes the use of V + O + CND + CD but does not mention the use of V + CND + CD + O. All these seem to suggest that V + O + CND + CD is the native form used in Mǐn while V + CND + CD + O is not.

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 Chapter 3. Directional verbs in modern Chinese dialects

have come into use in Huì’ān at a later time. The findings from the Mǐn historical documents help dispel the doubt that the similarity in word orders exemplified in Cantonese and Cháo’ān is a result of the influence of the former on the latter. Moreover, they also help us reconstruct the grammar of Mǐn spoken a few centuries ago by differentiating the word orders native to the dialects from those that are foreign. The above discussion thus supports our proposal that Mǐn, at least Southern Mǐn, should be grouped with Cantonese. If the influence from Cantonese on Southern Mǐn were real, it would have come into effect at least four centuries ago. Such a possibility, however, is not likely as interaction between Mǐn speakers and Cantonese speakers at that time would not be frequent given that the communication and transportation systems were not as well developed at the time as they are now. As for the status of Fúqīng, it is possible that it originally behaved in the same way as the Southern Mǐn dialects but has been moving away from them and is moving in the direction of Mandarin.208 Qián (2003: 291, 355) notes that the word order of V + O + CND + CD exists in the Wú texts compiled in the nineteenth century (cf. (125a)), but is now being replaced by the Mandarin word order of V + CND + O + CD (cf. (125b)). Wú (125) a. 倒一碗茶出來 (V + O + CND + CD) tɔ34 iǝʔ3 ø44 zo13 tshǝʔ3 lɛ44 pour one cl tea exit come ‘to pour out a bowl of tea’

b. 通出一根管子來 (V + CND + O + CD) thoŋ55 tshǝʔ 2 iǝʔ3 kǝn44 kø33tsɾ44 lɛ13 pull exit one cl tube come ‘to pull out a tube’209

Since Wú is itself under the influence of Mandarin, it would be difficult to imagine how it is influenced by Mandarin on the one hand and influences Fúqīng on the 208 Phonologically, Fúqīng has also evolved faster than Huì’ān and Cháo’ān. In Middle Chinese, the coda for the directional verbs luò 落 ‘to descend’ and chū 出 ‘to exit’ was a stop consonant which is respectively weakened as a glottal stop and preserved in Huì’ān and Cháo’ān, but it has been dropped and weakened to a glottal stop in Fúqīng. 209 According to Xiǎonóng Zhū (p.c.), a Wú speaker, tɔ34 iǝʔ 3 ø44 zo13 tshǝʔ 3 lɛ44 倒一碗茶出來 pour-one-cl-tea-exit-come is ambiguous in meaning. In one meaning, it means ‘X poured a bowl of tea (in the kitchen) and brought it out (to the living room)’. In another meaning, it means ‘X poured out a bowl of tea (from a teapot)’. Of the two meanings, only the latter corresponds to the meaning expressed by the word order of V + C ND + O + CD, e.g. tɔ34 tshǝʔ 3 iǝʔ 3 ø44 zo13 lɛ44 倒出一碗茶來 pour-exit-one-cl-tea-come ‘to pour out a bowl of tea (from a teapot)’.

Discussion 

 253

other hand. As a result, it is more likely that the use of V + CND + CD + O in Mǐn and Wú is a result of the influence from Mandarin.210 With the help from historical documents in the Mǐn dialect, the above section has demonstrated convincingly that Mǐn and Cantonese exhibit essentially the same word orders when expressing path in self-agentive and agentive motion events and the similarity is not a result of the influence from Cantonese on Mǐn. The present study, therefore, suggests that the two dialects should be classified into the same group in contrast to the proposal put forward in Liú (2001b), according to which Mǐn and Wú belong to the same group. Another difference between the present study and Liú’s (2001b) regarding the groupings of Chinese dialects is on the classification of Mandarin. While Liú classifies Mandarin, Hakka, Gàn and Huī into the same group, the present study groups Mandarin with Wú, an issue to be addressed in the next section.

3.6.2.2 Classification of Mandarin Liú (2001b) argues that the use of the disposal construction cannot be used as evidence of the exhibition of the OV word order in a dialect, although the patient object is moved to the preverbal position, as illustrated by the Mandarin bǎ 把-construction in (126a) below: Mandarin (126) a. 把雞殺嘍 bǎ jī shā lou dm chicken kill sfp ‘to kill the chicken’ One of the reasons given by Liú is that the occurrence of a patient object in the postverbal position is possible in some cases, as shown in (126b): Mandarin (126) b. 把橘子剝了皮 bǎ júzi bō le pí dm tangerine peel asp skin ‘to peel the tangerine’ 210 See 3.2.4 for a discussion on lexical borrowing of Wú from Mandarin and 4.6.2 for a discussion on the influence of Mandarin on other dialects.

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 Chapter 3. Directional verbs in modern Chinese dialects

In example (126b), a part-whole relationship is held between júzi 橘子 ‘the tangerine’ and pí 皮 ‘the skin’ and the example displays the VO word order. Liú argues that although there is a strong tendency in Mandarin for the patient object to appear before the verb and to be marked by bǎ 把, Mandarin is not an OV language. On the other hand, Liú also notes that in VO languages, the patient object always appears after the verb. However, the bǎ 把-construction is always used in Mandarin to avoid the occurrence of the patient object in the postverbal position. Liú thus concludes that Mandarin is not a typical VO language and he classifies Mandarin into the same group as Hakka, Gàn and Huī as moderate VO dialects based on the fact that subtopicalization in Mandarin is not as prominent as in Wú and Mǐn (cf. 3.6.2). Although it might be true that Mandarin is not as subtopic prominent as Wú, the two dialects are indeed less tolerant of postverbal objects (cf. the use of V + O + CND + LOC in Table 68) than Hakka, Mǐn and Cantonese. While there is a strong tendency in Mandarin to use the disposal construction to remove the object from its postverbal position, subtopicalization is often used in Wú to move the postverbal object to the preverbal position. In contrast, whether the theme object is kept in the postverbal position or is moved to the preverbal position, our informants for Hakka, Mǐn and Cantonese find them equally acceptable. Therefore, the intolerance of postverbal objects in Mandarin and Wú further suggests that Wú and Mandarin belong to the same group. On the other hand, it is shown that the use of non-deictic directional complements to introduce a locative object is more restricted in Wú than in Mandarin (cf. Tables 67 and 69). Instead, there is a strong tendency in Wú to use lǝʔ55 勒 ‘at’ or tɔ34 到 ‘to arrive’ to introduce a locative object, i.e. V + ‘at/to arrive’ + LOC + CD. Kē (2004) and Tang and Lamarre (2007) observe that the above restriction illustrated in Wú is also found in varieties of Mandarin spoken in Shǎnxī 陕西 and Héběi 河北 (i.e. the Guānzhōng 關中, the Xī’ān and the Jìzhōu 冀州 dialects).211 The authors also point out that in the standard language it is possible for the locative object which denotes the source of a movement to occur after the directional verb or the directional complement, a characteristic which is inherited from Classical Chinese (cf. (127a) and (127b)). However, in the varieties of Mandarin mentioned above, the locative object which denotes the source of a movement is not allowed to occur in the postverbal position but is introduced by a preposition in the preverbal position (cf. (127c) and (127d)). 211 According to our Běijīng informant, dào 到 ‘to arrive’ is subject to fewer restrictions than non-deictic complements when introducing a locative object. See 3.1 for a discussion on the similar constraint on the use of non-deictic directional verb to introduce a source object in the Shénmù dialect of Jìn.

Discussion 

 255

Mandarin (127) a. 出了教室 chū le jiàoshì exit asp classroom ‘to exit from the classroom’

b. 跳下了車 tiaò xià le chē jump descend asp car ‘to jump down from the car’



c. 從教室裏出來 cóng jiàoshì li chū lai from classroom Localizer exit come ‘to exit from the classroom’



d. 從車上跳下來 cóng chē shang tiaò xià lai from car Localizer jump descend come ‘to descend from the car’

In these varieties of Mandarin, the element which denotes the source of a movement appears before the verb while the element which refers to the goal of a movement would occur after the verb, following closely the Principle of Temporal Sequence.212 Given the differences noted above, Tang and Lamarre (2007) suggest that Mandarin or the standard language is the product of koineization, mixing archaisms and dialectalisms borrowed from various dialects. The point made is that if the characteristics of the varieties of Mandarin noted above do indeed represent the use of directional verbs and directional complements in the colloquial speech of Mandarin, Mandarin would appear to be even closer to Wú than what Liú would expect, thus supporting our proposal that the two belong to the same group. Liú (2001c: 341) illustrates that the use of postpositions in Wú is always obligatory while in Mandarin it is not. For example, the use of both the preposition lǝʔ55 勒 ‘at’ and the postposition li13 里 ‘inside’ is necessary in (128a) whereas only the use of zài 在 ‘in’ but not the use of lǐ 里 ‘inside’ is required in Mandarin in (128b).

212 See 2.5.3 for a discussion on the Principle of Temporal Sequence.

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 Chapter 3. Directional verbs in modern Chinese dialects

Wú (128) a. 勒學堂裏 lǝʔ55 ɦoʔ1dã44 li13 at school Localizer ‘at school’ Mandarin (128) b. 在學校(裏) zài xuéxiào (lǐ) at school Localizer ‘at school’ The stronger requirement for the use of postpositions in Wú than in Mandarin is used by Liú to show that the former shows less VO characteristics than the latter. However, Liú’s observation is not supported by Kē (2009), who studies the various forms used in Chinese dialects to introduce a postverbal locative object. According to Kē, besides dào 到 ‘to arrive’ and its equivalents in other dialects, various forms are used in the dialects to introduce the postverbal locative object such as tǝ 的, lɔ 嘮 and tǝʔ4 得. Furthermore, she notes that in Pekingese the preposition before the locative object is often omitted in the colloquial speech, a tendency that is also found in old Pekingese. For example, Pekingese Mandarin (129) a. 擱桌上 gē zhuō shang put table Localizer ‘to put on the table’

b. 貼牆上 tiē qiáng shang stick wall Localizer ‘to stick X on the wall’

The tendency in Mandarin to drop the preposition after the verb and before the locative object suggests that its use of postpositions is as prominent as that in Wú or that Mandarin shows as few VO features as Wú. In contrast, the use of prepositions is always necessary in Cantonese while the use of postpositions can be optional.

Discussion 

 257

Cantonese (130) a. 掛一幅畫喺牆(度) gwaa 3 jat1 fuk 1 waa 2 hai 2 coeng4 (dou6) hang one cl picture at wall Localizer ‘to hang a picture on the wall’

b. 瞓喺地(度) fan 3 hai 2 dei 2 (dou6) sleep at floor Localizer ‘to sleep on the floor’



c. 放喺檯(度) fong3 hai 2 toi 2 (dou6) put at table Localizer ‘to put on the table’

Mandarin (131) a. 掛三幅畫在牆*(上) guà sān fú huà zài qiáng (shang) hang three cl picture at wall Localizer ‘to hang three pictures on the wall’

b. 睡在地*(上) shuì zài dì (shang) sleep at floor Localizer ‘to sleep on the floor’



c. 放在桌*(上) fàng zài zhuō (shang) put at table Localizer ‘to put on the table’

Examples (130)–(131) show that the use of postpositions such as dou6 度 in Cantonese is optional (cf. (130)), but is necessary in Mandarin, as illustrated by the use of the postposition shang 上 ‘above’ in (131). Similarly, both the use of a preposition and a postposition is required in the following Wú example according to Liú (2003: 202).

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 Chapter 3. Directional verbs in modern Chinese dialects

Wú (132) 爹爹睏勒床浪。 Tia 55tia 2 khuǝn 33 lǝʔ4 zã11 lã44. father sleep at bed Localizer ‘Father slept in bed.’ Our Cháo’ān informant also points out that a postposition can be omitted, as illustrated in (133): Cháo’ān Mǐn (133) a. 睡在沙發 ŋʔ 5 to21 sua 33huak 2 sleep at sofa ‘to sleep on the sofa’

b. 放在眠床 paŋ53 to21 meŋ213tshɯŋ55 put at bed ‘to put on the bed’

The above contrast in the use of prepositions and postpositions again lends support to our classification that Wú and Mandarin belong to the same group while Cantonese and Mǐn fall into another group. Three pieces of evidence have been provided in the above discussion to illustrate the classification of Mandarin and Wú in the same group, including the low tolerance of postverbal objects, the tendency to use dào 到 ‘to arrive’ to introduce a locative object and the stronger call for the use of postpositions. The last difference between the present study and Liú’s (2001b) to be discussed is the grouping of Hakka. Our results illustrate that Hakka often displays characteristics of the other two groups, i.e. Mǐn/Cantonese and Mandarin/Wú; therefore, it is difficult to classify it into either of the two groups, whereas Liú suggests that Hakka, Mandarin, Gàn and Huī belong to the same group.

3.6.2.3 Classification of Hakka When discussing the core directional verbs and word orders exemplified in selfagentive, non-agentive and agentive motion events, it is noted that Hakka often simultaneously displays the features of the other two groups, i.e. Mandarin/Wú

Discussion 

 259

and Mǐn/Cantonese. The mixed characteristics of Hakka are also observed in Hashimoto (2008 [1985]: 28), in which it is noted that the comparative construction in Hakka is a hybrid form of Marker + Standard + Adjective and Adjective + Marker + Standard, patterns which are respectively used in Mandarin and Cantonese. (134) 佢比你過大。 Ki11 pi 31 n 11̩ kuo52 thai 52. s/he cm you cm tall ‘S/he is bigger than you.’ The double object construction of Hakka also exhibits the characteristics of the northern and the southern dialects. (135) a. 佢分{亻厓}五塊錢。 Ki11 pun44 ŋai11 n 31̩ khuai 53 tshien 11. s/he give me five cl money ‘S/he gives me five dollars.’

b. 你分一枝筆{亻厓}。 N ̩i11 pun44 it 21 ki44 pit 2 ŋai11. you give one cl pen me ‘You give me a pen.’

While the word order in (135a) is the same as that in Mandarin, i.e. the indirect object ŋai11 {亻厓} ‘me’ appears before the direct object n 11̩ khuai 52 tshien 11 五塊錢 ‘five dollars’, the word order in (135b) is identical to that in Cantonese, i.e. the direct object it1 ki44 pit 2 一枝筆 ‘a pen’ occurs before the indirect object ŋai11 {亻 厓} ‘me’. The question that immediately arises is why Hakka shows such mixed characteristics. Zhou (1991) suggests that the present-day northern dialects have developed from the languages used by people who lived in the Central Plains area and their descendants, with continuous influence coming from the surrounding minorities. He further notes that the southern dialects emerged as a result of several major south-bound migrations and they emerged in the following chronological order:213

213 The chronological divisions of Chinese history follow Norman’s (1988).

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Table 77. Chronological order of the emergence of the southern dialects Southern dialect

Period

Wú Xiāng Cantonese Mǐn Gàn and Hakka

during the Western Zhōu dynasty 1100–771 BC during the Warring States period 475 to 221 BC during the Qín dynasty 221–207 BC during the Western Hàn dynasty 206 BC to AD 24 during the Western Jìn dynasty AD 265–316

There were three major southward migrations. The first one took place between the Yǒngjiā 永嘉 (AD 307–313) and Sòng Tàishǐ 宋太始 (AD 465–471) in the Southern dynasty, during which people migrated from Héběi 河北, Shānxī 山西, Shǎnxī 陝西, Hénán 河南, Jiāngsū 江蘇, Ānhuī 安徽 and Shāndōng 山東 to areas from the south of Huáihé 淮河 to Tàihú 太湖, Póyánghú 鄱陽湖 and Dòngtínghú 洞庭湖 and areas between the south of Qínlǐng 秦嶺 and Chéngdū 成都. The second migration was caused by the rebellion of Ānshǐ 安史 during the middle of the Táng dynasty (AD 755), with the migrants moving from Xiāng 襄, Dèng 鄧, Chángān 長安 and Luòyáng 洛陽 to Jiāng 江 and Xiāng 湘. The third migration took place from the Sòng dynasty (AD 960–1279) to the invasion of the Mongols (AD 1271), during which migrants travelled further down to Fújiàn, Guǎngdōng and Gǎngxī 廣西. Among these three major southward migrations, the second migration, according to Zhou, is important to the emergence of the Hakka dialect as it brought the ancestors of the Hakka people from Jiāngxī 江西 to western Fújiàn and the mountain areas of Jiāngxī. As a result, the language of those migrants became separated from the northern dialects because of the geographical barriers. On the other hand, having developed independently, the language of the migrants has also preserved some characteristics of the northern dialects that were spoken during the middle Táng dynasty. Lǐ (1994: 447) suggests that Hakka probably took its final shape during the Sòng dynasty, a claim which finds support in the word order patterns discussed in 3.5.1 and 3.5.3. Wáng (2005) examines the use of compound directional complements in A Classified Collection of Conversations of Master Zhu《朱子語類》, which is a collection of discussions between the Southern Sòng neo-Confucian philosopher Zhūxī 朱熹 and his disciples, and suggests that the use of compound directional complements emerged during the Táng dynasty (AD 618–907) and the Five Dynasties period (AD 907–960), and flourished during the Sòng dynasty (AD 960–1279).

Discussion 

 261

Classical Chinese (Wáng 2005: 65–66) (136) a. 豈是這影飛上天去歸那月裡去? (V + CND + LOC + CD) Qǐ shì zhè yǐng fēi shàng tiān qù guī nà how be this shadow fly ascend sky go return that yuè lǐ qu? moon Localizer go ‘Is it possible that the shadow flies up to the sky and returns to the moon?’

b. 扶起此心來 (V + CND + O + CD) fú qí cǐ xīn lai hold rise this heart come ‘to hold up this heart’

While example (136a) denotes a self-agentive motion event, example (136b) expresses an agentive motion event. In both examples, the locative object tiān 天 ‘the sky’ and the theme object xīn 心 ‘the heart’ occur after the non-deictic directional complement and before the deictic one, exhibiting the word order of V + CND + LOC/O + CD. Such a word order is also observed in Hakka. Examples (83c) and (93b) are repeated below for comparison. Hakka (137) a. 就撞球石頭跌落地下去。(V + CND + LOC + CD) (= (83c)) Tshiu 53 tshoŋ55 tau 31 sak 5theu11 tiet1 lok 5 thi 53ha44 hi 53. then hit cl rock fall descend ground go ‘(He) then tripped over and fell onto the ground.’ b. 佢就行過來幫佢撿轉該等啤梨去。(V + CND + O + CD) (= (93b)) Ki11 tshiu 53 haŋ11 kuo53 loi11 poŋ44 ki11 ŋiam44 tson 31 he then walk pass come help he pick return e53 teu44 pe35li11 hi 53. that cl pear go ‘He then walked over to help him pick up those pears.’ The above two word orders are found in Mandarin but not in Mǐn and Cantonese. In Wú, they are marginal. On the other hand, having been in contact with the local dialects and the non-Han languages spoken in the neighbouring areas, Hakka also shares a number of characteristics with these dialects and languages. For example,

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Hakka (Yuán 2001: 173, 170) (138) a. 等下添 (V + Adverb) ten 31 ha 52 thiam44 wait awhile also ‘to wait for another while’

b. 豬嫲 (Modifiee + Modifier) tsu44 ma 11 pig female ‘sows’

In 3.6.2 above, it is shown that Cantonese exhibits the use of postverbal adverbs and the order of Modifiee + Modifier, VO features which are not available in Mandarin and which are argued by some scholars to have been borrowed from the surrounding non-Han languages (cf. Peyraube 1997). Examples (138a) and (138b) show that those VO features are also exemplified in Hakka. Example (139) shows that the disposal marker in Hakka, i.e. tsioŋ44 將, is the same as that in Cantonese (cf. Xiè 1994: 303). Hakka (139) 貓公將煎魚子食撇哩。 Miau 53kuŋ44 tsioŋ44 tsien44 n 11̩ e sət 5 phek 1 e. tomcat dm fried fish eat finish sfp ‘The tomcat ate the fried fish.’ Moreover, similar to the situation in Mǐn and Cantonese, the use of the disposal construction is not productive in Hakka (cf. Hé 1993, Wēn 2006, Xiàng 1997). The low productivity of the disposal construction in Hakka is supported by the data in Lǐ and Chang (1992: 441). The authors have found that given the disposal sentence bǎ fàn chī le 把飯吃了 dm-rice-eat-sfp ‘Eat the rice’, most Hakka speakers provided an equivalent that exemplifies a VO word order. For example, Méixiàn Hakka (140) a. 食£ (£碗)飯£。(V + O) Sǝt 5 phek 1 (e31 von 31) fan 53 ti 33. eat finish one cl rice sfp ‘X ate a bowl of rice.’

Summary 

 263

Héyuán Hakka 河源 (140) b. 食£一碗飯去！(V + O) Sit 2 pau (it 5 vuan 24) fan 55 khi! sit full one cl rice go ‘Eat a bowl of rice!’ Examples (140a) and (140b) show that Hakka is more tolerant of postverbal objects than Mandarin, thus further suggesting that the two should belong to different groups rather than being classified in the same group as Liú proposes. The present study further suggests that since Hakka displays characteristics of the other two groups, i.e. Mandarin/Wú and Mǐn/Cantonese, it constitutes a single group by itself.

3.7 Summary This chapter has shown that there is a correlation between the way in which path is encoded, i.e. in a directional verb or in a directional complement, and the type of motion events expressed in modern Mandarin, Wú, Hakka, Mǐn and Cantonese. In particular, our statistical results show the following correlations: Table 78. Correlations between path encoding and motion events expressed in the five modern Chinese dialects214 Mandarin Motion event

V

Wú

C

V

Hakka C

V

C

Mǐn V

Cantonese C

V

C

Self-agentive

P

P

P

P

P

P

P

P

P

P

Non-agentive

P

P

O

P

P

P

P

P

P

P

Agentive

O

P

O

P

O

P

O

P

O

P

It is clear in Table 78 that all five modern dialects exhibit both characteristics of verb-framed and satellite-framed languages in using a directional verb and a directional complement to denote path. Therefore, none of the five dialects fits into only one of the binary categories of verb-framed and satellite-framed 214 ‘P’ indicates that a specific path encoding device, i.e. a directional verb (V) or a directional complement (C), is available, while ‘O’ indicates that a specific path encoding device is not available.

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languages proposed by Talmy (2000a, 2000b). Table 78 further highlights that among the five dialects, Wú displays more characteristics of a satellite-framed language than the other four dialects. In particular, all five dialects behave in the same way in expressing path in self-agentive motion events (by the use of a directional verb or a directional complement) and agentive motion events (by the use of a directional complement). Wú, however, differs from the other four dialects in the encoding of path in non-agentive motion events (indicated by light shading). In particular, only the use of directional complements is observed in Wú, while the use of both directional verbs and directional complements is found in the other four. The statistical results, by and large, coincide with the findings of our cross-dialectal survey in terms of the way path is expressed in the five dialects, except for the agentive use of directional verbs. It is found that directional verbs in Mǐn, and Southern Mǐn in particular, exhibit the agentive use found in Cantonese, a characteristic which is observed in verb-framed languages and Classical Chinese and which has never been studied. Scholars suggest that the Chinese language has undergone a typological shift from a verb-framed language to a satellite-framed language and that the process was completed during the tenth century. The present study shows, however, that the change is still on-going. This study also illustrates that modern Mandarin, Wú, Hakka, Mǐn and Cantonese constitute a continuum of strong VO dialects and weak VO dialects, as exemplified below: Strong VO Cantonese/Mǐn

Moderate VO Hakka

Weak VO Mandarin/Wú

Figure 7. Continuum of strong VO dialects and weak VO dialects

Cantonese and Mǐn are strong VO dialects, Hakka a moderate VO dialect, and Mandarin and Wú weak VO dialects. The above groupings are based primarily on the word orders exhibited by the five dialects when denoting the three types of motion events. The groupings are further supported by other facts observed in the dialects such as the tolerance of postverbal objects, the use of dào 到 ‘to arrive’ to introduce a locative object, and the use of postpositions, postverbal adverbs and the Modifiee + Modifier structure.

Chapter 4

. Directional verbs in early Chinese dialects

Directional verbs in early Chinese dialects A diachronic perspective 4.0 Introduction This chapter conducts a cross-dialectal survey on the use of directional verbs and directional complements in Mandarin, Wú, Hakka, Mǐn and Cantonese spoken in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The discussion focuses on the expression of path in self-agentive, non-agentive and agentive motion events in the historical documents of the five dialects. Moreover, variations shown in word order when expressing the three types of motion events are examined. Section 4.1 reviews works on the use of directional verbs and directional complements in the historical materials of the five dialects. Section 4.2 compares the core directional verbs in the five dialects. Sections 4.3–4.5 examine the use of directional verbs, simple directional complements and compound directional complements in self-agentive, non-agentive and agentive motion events in the dialects. Section 4.6 discusses two issues. The first issue tries to relate the expression of path as reflected in the historical materials of the five Chinese dialects to Talmy’s typology of motion events. The second issue concerns the univerbation process observed between the co-event verb and the satellite. Section 4.7 is a summary.

4.1 Previous works Since the 1990s, much effort has been made to study the historical materials compiled for various Chinese dialects.215 Among these studies, a fair number of them investigate the grammatical properties of Cantonese and Mǐn (cf. Cheung 1997, 2001, Chin 2009, Kataoka 2010, Leung 2006, Takekoshi 2005, Yáng 2006, Yiu 2007, 2008, Yue 1997, 2000, 2001 for Cantonese studies; Yue-Hashimoto 1991, Chappell 2000, Cáo and Peyraube 2007, Chén 2010, Lien 2005a, 2005b, 2006a, 2006b, 2009, 2011 for Mǐn studies). There are also some which examine the grammar of Hakka and Wú (cf. Chappell and Lamarre 2005, Kē 2006, Zhuāng 215 See 1.4 for a discussion on the nature of the historical materials for the five dialects studied.

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and Huáng 2008 for Hakka studies, and Qián 2003 for Wú studies). However, most of them only concentrate on the grammatical properties of a single dialect or at best compare the phenomenon concerned with that in the standard language. Yue-Hashimoto (1993) is probably the only exception, who compares the use of the neutral question forms in the historical materials for Mandarin, Southern Mǐn and Cantonese. In a neutral question, the affirmative form of a verbal predicate (Affirmative form: chī fàn 吃飯 eat-rice) and the corresponding negative form (Negative form: bù chī fàn 不吃飯 not-eat-rice) are juxtaposed (Full form: chī fàn bù chī fàn 吃飯不吃飯? ‘(Are you) eating rice or not’). The resulting form is referred to as the full form or the VP-not-VP form in Yue-Hashimoto. Besides the full form, a neutral question may have other variant forms. For example, when the object in the affirmative and the negative forms is identical, deletion can be applied to remove the first object (V-not-VP: chī bù chī fàn 吃不吃飯?) or the second one (VP-not-V: chī fàn bù chī 吃飯不吃?). The finding of her study shows that in all three dialects, the V-not-VP form is replacing the old form(s) used in the dialects. What is more striking is that the new form is first used with high frequency verbs such as the copula shì 是 and the existential/possessive verb yǒu 有. It then gradually spreads to optative verbs and finally to other types of verbs, displaying a diffusion pattern based on lexical items. The study also illustrates that high frequency verbs were the first ones to take part in the change, but they were also the last ones to give up the use of the old form. Regarding the emergence of the V-not-VP form in the three dialects, Yue-Hashimoto suggests that the change was triggered by dialect contact. The study of Yue-Hashimoto not only provides us a comprehensive view on the development of neutral questions in Mandarin, Southern Mǐn and Cantonese. Her study also draws our attention to some universal process behind syntactic change. In the same spirit as Yue-Hashimoto (1993), this chapter conducts a comparison of dialectal materials published in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, focusing on the use of directional verbs and directional complements with reference to Talmy’s binary classification of verb-framed and satelliteframed languages. Moreover, this chapter broadens the scope of comparison by including five dialects, namely, Mandarin, Wú, Hakka, Mǐn and Cantonese (hereafter the five dialects spoken in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries are referred to as the “early dialects” to differentiate them from their modern counterparts). As noted in 3.1, directional verbs are multifarious in meaning (e.g. expressing the meanings of direction, result, state and aspect) as well as in function (e.g. functioning as a main verb as well as a complement). Attempts have also

Previous works 

 267

been made to describe the use of directional verbs in the early dialectal texts. Kē (2006) examines the use of directional complements in First Book of Reading《啟 蒙淺學》, a Hakka text compiled in 1879. The use of the following nine directional complements is observed in the text: soŋ44 上 ‘to ascend’, ha44 下 ‘to descend’, lok 5 落 ‘to descend/to enter’216, tshut1 出 ‘to exit’, tson 31 轉 ‘to return’, kuo53 過 ‘to pass’, hi 31 起 ‘to rise’, loi11 來 ‘to come’ and hi 53 去 ‘to go’. She further notes that the elements occurring between the main verb and the complement such as ha 53 吓, kin 31 竟 and tau 31 倒 are related to aspect, and that the juxtaposition of a verb and one of the nine directional verbs might be structurally different from the verb complement construction in Mandarin.217 Another difference pointed out by Kē between Hakka on the one hand and Mandarin and Wú on the other hand is that non-deictic directional complements in the former are often used to introduce a locative object (cf. (1)) whereas the use of dào 到 ‘at’ is preferred in the latter (cf. (2)–(3)). Early Hakka218 (1)

…走落箇大樹山裡去。 …tseu 31 lok 5 ke53 thai 55 su 53san44 li 31 hi 53. run descend cl big forest Localizer go ‘(The prince) ran into the big forest.’

Early Mandarin219 (2)

又跑到西房去。 Yòu pǎo dao xī fáng qu. again run arrive west wing room go ‘(She) then ran back to the room in the west wing.’

216 In First Book of Reading, no example of ŋip5 入 ‘to enter’ or tsin 53 進 ‘to enter’ is found. Instead, both of the meanings of ‘to enter’ and ‘to descend’ are expressed by lok 5 落. 217 Kē notes that a VV structure can represent a serial verb construction (e.g. zuò chē qù 坐車 去 ride-car-go ‘to go by car’), in which the second verb is the main verb, or a verb complement construction (e.g. pǎo qu 跑去 run-go ‘to run there’), in which the first verb is the main verb. This means that when a directional verb occurs as the second verb in a VV structure, it can be a main verb or a complement. 218 The example is taken from Kē (2006: 280). 219 The example is taken from The Murder Case of Chūn’āshì《春阿氏謀夫案》 .

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 Chapter 4. Directional verbs in early Chinese dialects

Early Wú220 (3)

耐啥一干子跑到該搭來嗄？ Nɛ13 sa 34 iǝʔ55kø34tsɾ34 bɔ13 tɔ34 kɛ 53tǝʔ55 lɛ13 kǝʔ55 ? you why alone run arrive here come sfp ‘Why do you come here alone?’

The above contrast shows that the non-deictic directional complements in early Hakka display more characteristics of verbs than those in early Mandarin and Wú, in which the preposition dào 到 ‘at’ is used to introduce a locative object. Kē’s study focuses on a single text and only on the complement use of directional verbs, limitations that restrict the discovery of important findings such as the use of the directional complement ŋip5 入 ‘to enter’ and the agentive or causative use of directional verbs. These are discussed below in sections 4.3–4.5. While Lien (2006b) tries to capture the semantic shifts of a set of directional verbs in Southern Mǐn as reflected in the (1566) version of Romance of the Litchi Mirror《荔鏡記》, Lien (2011) examines the development of directional verbs in Southern Mǐn since the sixteenth century based on a larger pool of data including drama scripts and folktales. Lien (2006b) points out that directional verbs can function as a main verb (cf. (4a)) or a complement (cf. (4b)), denoting the path of the movement in the (1566) version of Romance of the Litchi Mirror. In other words, early Mǐn exhibits the characteristics of both verb-framed and satelliteframed languages. Early Mǐn221 (4)

a. 水珠滿身落。 Tsui 35tsu 33 muã 35 seŋ33 loʔ5 . water full body descend ‘The water drops all over the body.’



b. 目滓流落不敢做聲。 Mak 2tsak 2 lau 55 loʔ 2 puk 5 kã 35 tso53 siã 33. tears flow descend not dare make noise ‘The tears fall and X dares not make any noise by weeping.’

220 The example is taken from Sing-song Girls of Shànghǎi《海上花列傳》 . 221 The early Mǐn examples are taken from Lien (2006b: 775–776).

Previous works 

 269

Lien further notes that when functioning as a main verb, the directional verb expresses the direction of a movement, and when functioning as a complement, some of the directional complements express a non-spatial meaning. For example, tshuk 2 出 ‘to exit’ conveys a meaning of creation, khi 53 起 ‘to rise’ a meaning of beginning, and kue213 過 ‘to pass’ a meaning of having an experience. Lien (2011) concentrates on both spatial and non-spatial meanings associated with the following three types of structure: (I) VND + lai 55 來/khɯ 213 去; (II) V + DC + lai 55 來/khɯ 213 去; and (III) V + DC. Early Mǐn222 (I)

VND + lai 55 來/khɯ 213 去

(5)

a. 我打值處入來？(spatial) Ua 53 ta 35 ti 21tshu 53 dzik 5 lai 21? I from where enter come ‘Where do I enter from?’

(II) V + DC + lai 55 來/khɯ 213 去 (5)

b. 幹得血都流出來了 (spatial) kaŋ53 tek 5 hueʔ 2 tou 33 lau 55 tshuk 2 lai 21 liou 213 work mp blood also flow exit come sfp ‘to work so hard that one bleeds’

(III) V + DC (5)

c. 那是柳絮隨風滾起。(spatial) Na 53 si 21 liu 35su 213 sui 213 huaŋ33 kuŋ53 khi 213. that be willow follow wind roll rise ‘That is the willows whirling in the wind.’



d. 吉得我心頭火發起。(non-spatial) Kek 5 tek 5 ua 35 siŋ33thau 213 hue53 huak 2 khi 213. anxious mp my heart fire grow rise ‘The anxiety has made me angry.’

222 The early Mǐn examples are taken from Lien (2011: 435, 437, 458).

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Modern Mǐn223 (II) V + DC + lai 55 來/khɯ 213 去 (6)

予這個阿芳仔認出來。(non-spatial) Khɯʔ5 tsi 35 kai 213 a 33Huaŋ33kiã 53 dzeŋ22 tshuk 2 lai 21. give this cl Fāng recognize exit come ‘X was recognized by Fāng.’

Lien compares the meanings conveyed by the three types of structure in early Mǐn with those in modern Mǐn. Results of the study show the following: (i) Structure (I) has primarily expressed the spatial meaning since the sixteenth century (cf. (5a)). (ii) Structure (II) has been increasingly used to express non-spatial meanings, a change that was triggered by the preceding non-movement verb (cf. (5b) and (6)). (iii) Structure (III) has conveyed both spatial and non-spatial meanings since the sixteenth century (cf. (5c) and (5d)). The primary interest of Lien (2006b, 2011) is on the spatial and non-spatial meanings expressed by directional verbs and directional complements in early and modern Mǐn. There is little discussion on the different word orders exhibited by directional verbs and directional complements. This issue is explored in 4.3–4.5. As for early Cantonese, Yiu (2007, 2008) studies the multiple usages associated with faan 1 翻 ‘to return’ and the emergence of the inchoative marker hei2 soeng5lai4 起上嚟 from both synchronic and diachronic perspectives in Cantonese. Originally, a verb with the meaning of ‘to return’ (cf. (7a)), faan 1 翻 has been grammaticalized to a resumptive particle which expresses the resumption of an action or a state (cf. (7b)). Modern Cantonese (7)

a. 佢翻屋企。(verb) Keoi 5 faan 1 uk 1kei 2. s/he return home ‘S/he returns home.’



b. 佢教翻書。(resumptive particle) Keoi 5 gaau 3 faan 1 syu1. s/he teach return book ‘S/he resumes teaching.’

223 The modern Mǐn example is taken from Lien (2011: 463).

Previous works 

 271

The above change has been made possible by dropping the theme object, as shown in the following examples from early Cantonese. Specifically, when the theme object is present in the sentence, faan 1 翻 functions as a directional complement if occurring after the theme object (cf. (7c)), and is a resumptive particle if occurring before the theme object (cf. (7d)). Ambiguity arises when the theme object is not present in the sentence and faan 1 翻 can be analyzed as a directional complement or a resumptive particle. (cf. (7e)). Early Cantonese (7)

c. 洗衣服佬擰衫翻嚟唔曾呢？ (directional complement) (Ball 1902) Sai 2ji1fuk6lou 5 ning1 saam 1 faan 1 lai4 m4 cang4 ne1? washerman bring clothes return come not yet sfp ‘Has the waherman brought the clothes in yet?’



d. 帶番封信入嚟 (resumptive particle) (Fulton 1931) daai 3 faan 1 fung1 seon 3 jap6 lai4 take back cl book enter come ‘to take the letter in again’



e. 做乜冇擰翻嚟呢？(directional complement/resumptive particle) (Ball 1902) zou6mɐt1 mou 5 ning1 faan 1 lai4 ne1? why not bring return/back come sfp ‘Why was it not brought back?’

Yiu (2008) observes that the inchoative aspect marker hei 2lai4 起嚟 has already existed in the nineteenth century materials. Early Cantonese224 (8)

兩個食起醋嚟。 Leong5 go3 sik6 hei 2 cou 3 lai4 two cl eat asp vinegar asp ‘They both have been drinking vinegar.’

Furthermore, the first occurrence of hei 2soeng5lai4 起上嚟 is found in a text published in 1930s.

224 The example is taken from Bridgman (1841).

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 Chapter 4. Directional verbs in early Chinese dialects

Early Cantonese (9)

呢隻麻鷹聽見呢翻說話，就驚起上嚟。225 Nei1 zek 3 maa4jing1 teng1gin 3 nei1 faan 1 syut 3waa6, zau6 geng1 this cl eagle hear this cl word then fear hei 2soeng5lai4. asp ‘When this eagle heard these words, it started to be frightened.’

The study suggests that the inchoative marker hei 2soeng5lai4 起上嚟 is formed as a result of the grammaticalization of the directional form: V + hei 2 起 + O + soeng5 上 + lai4 嚟, a form that arises from combining V + hei 2 起 + O and V + O + soeng5 上 + lai4 嚟. However, Yiu’s studies address the syntactic and semantic characteristics of a small set of directional verbs, failing to provide a comprehensive picture on the properties of directional verbs in general. It is generally assumed that the modern Chinese dialects split from their ancestral language at different times. The study of the history of the modern dialects, therefore, cannot rely on the same set of textual materials used in the study of the history of the standard language. On the other hand, the excavation of the early dialectal materials makes it possible for us to reconstruct the history of modern dialects, a new research direction explored by scholars. The above review shows that most of the studies on early dialectal materials focus on a single dialect except for Yue-Hashimoto (1993), who compares the historical materials of three different dialects. In the same spirit as Yue-Hashimoto, this chapter describes the use of directional verbs and directional complements in historical materials for early Mandarin, Wú, Hakka, Mǐn and Cantonese in both qualitative and quantitative terms.

4.2 Lexical variations in directional verbs The eleven directional verbs examined in 3.2 consist of the following in modern Mandarin: shàng上 ‘to ascend’, qǐ 起 ‘to rise’, xià 下 ‘to descend’, jìn 進 ‘to enter’, chū 出 ‘to exit’, huí 回 ‘to return’, guò 過 ‘to pass’, kāi 開 ‘to depart’, dào 到 ‘to arrive’, lái 來 ‘to come’ and qù 去 ‘to go’, and their equivalents in modern Wú, Hakka, Mǐn and Cantonese. Table 79 below lists both non-deictic and deictic directional verbs used in early Mandarin, Wú, Hakka, Mǐn and Cantonese.

225 The example is taken from (1930s) New Canton Colloquial《新編廣東省城白話》 .

Lexical variations in directional verbs 

 273

Table 79. Directional verbs in the five early Chinese dialects

226

Cantonese226

Mandarin

Wú

Hakka

Mǐn

ascend

shàng 上

zã 上

soŋ 上

k i 起 / tsiõ 上

soeng5 上

rise

qǐ 起

tɕhi34 起

hi31 起

khi53 起

hei2 起

descend

xià 下 / luò 落 ɦo13 下 / lɔʔ12 落 lok5 落 /ha44 下 loʔ5 落

lok6 落

enter

jìn 進 / rù 入

tsin34 進

ŋip5 入

dzik5 入

jap6 入

exit

chū 出

tshǝʔ55 出

tshut1 出

tshuk2 出

ceot1 出

return

huí 回

ɦuɛ13 回/ tson31 轉 34 34 227 tsø 轉 / fɛ 返

tɯŋ53 轉 / to213 倒/ faan1 翻 tɯŋ53 返228/ hue55 回

pass

guò 過

ku34 過

kuo53 過

kue213 過

gwo3 過

depart

kāi 開

khɛ53 開

khoi44 開

khui33 開

hoi1 開

arrive

dào 到

tɔ34 到

tau31 到

kau213 到

dou3 到

come

lái 來

lɛ13 來

loi11 來

lai55 來

lai4 嚟

go

qù 去

tɕhi34 去

hi53 去

khɯ213 去

heoi3 去

13

44

h 53

35

227 228 It is shown in 3.2 that cross-dialectal variations are found in non-deictic directional verbs with the meanings of ‘to descend’, ‘to enter’ and ‘to return’. Moreover, lexical variations are observed within a single dialect in non-deictic directional verbs with the meanings of ‘to ascend’ (Mǐn),229 ‘to descend’ (Wú and Hakka) and ‘to return’ (Wú, Hakka and Mǐn). Table 79 above illustrates that lexical variations are also exemplified across the five early dialects and within a single early dialect in non-deictic directional verbs with the meanings of ‘to descend’, ‘to enter’ and ‘to return’ (indicated by light shading). However, the dialects show

226 The non-deictic directional verb maai4 埋 ‘to approach’ in Cantonese is excluded from Table 79 as it does not have any equivalent in the other four early dialects. However, see footnote 134 in Chapter 3 for a similar use reported by our Cháo’ān informant. 227 The use of kuɛ 53 歸 in the compound forms kuɛ 53lɛ13 歸來 ‘to return and to come’ and kuɛ 53tɕhi 34 歸去 ‘to return and to go’ is mentioned in Pott (1913). However, in Sing-song Girls of Shànghǎi《海上花列傳》, such use is not observed except in the lines of quoted poems. 228 See footnote 231 for a discussion on the use of 返 ‘to return’ in Mǐn. 229 It is noted in 3.2.1 that tsiõ35 上 ‘to ascend’ and khi 53 起 ‘to rise’ represent forms used in reading pronunciations and colloquial speech in Táiwān Southern Mǐn according to Lien (1997). It is further pointed out in 3.2.1 that since the literary and colloquial languages are involved in Romance of the Litchi Mirror, the use of both tsiõ35 上 ‘to ascend’ and khi 53 起 ‘to rise’ is observed. See 3.2.1 for the relevant discussion and examples for the use of tsiõ35 上 ‘to ascend’ and khi 53 起 ‘to rise’ in Mǐn.

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 Chapter 4. Directional verbs in early Chinese dialects

a preference for one form over another when more than one form is available to express the same meaning (the dominant or the preferred form is indicated by framing with a rectangle in Table 79).

4.2.1 Forms expressing ‘to descend’ In section 3.2.2, it is shown that the use of xià 下 and luò 落 ‘to descend’ is found in modern Wú and Hakka. Table 79 shows that the use of both is not only observed in early Wú and Hakka but it is also found in early Mandarin. While the dominant form in early Mandarin and Wú is xià/ɦo13 下 ‘to descend’, the one in Hakka is lok 5 落 ‘to descend’. Furthermore, the use of luò 落 ‘to descend’ in early Mandarin is often found in fixed expressions and it is not used as a complement. For example, Early Mandarin (10) a. 水落石出。 Shuǐ luò shí chū. water descend rock exit ‘Doubts will clear up when facts become known.’

b. 太陽落了。 Tàiyang luò le. sun descend sfp ‘The sun set.’



c. 落淚 luò lèi descend tears ‘to shed tears’

As for lɔʔ 12 落 ‘to descend’ in early Wú, only a few examples are found in the conversation parts of Sing-song Girls of Shànghǎi《海上花列傳》and the rest are found in the non-conversation parts. (cf. (11a)–(11c)). Early Wú (11) a. 落台 loʔ12 dɛ13 descend stage ‘to step down’

Lexical variations in directional verbs 



b. 落雨 loʔ12 ɦy13 descend rain ‘to rain’



c. 吃勿落 tɕhiǝʔ55 vǝʔ55 loʔ55 eat not descend ‘cannot eat’

 275

The unproductive use of luò/loʔ12 落 ‘to descend’ in early Mandarin and Wú suggests that it is not the dominant form used in the dialects. In contrast, lok 5 落 ‘to descend’ is the dominant form in early Hakka as the number of tokens of lok 5 落 ‘to descend’ is more than that of ha44 下 ‘to descend’.230

4.2.2 Forms expressing ‘to enter’ In 3.2.3, it is pointed out that rù 入 ‘to enter’ is used in modern Hakka, Mǐn and Cantonese, whereas jìn 進 ‘to enter’ is used in modern Mandarin and Wú. Table 79 illustrates that the situation for the early dialects is essentially the same as that for the modern dialects except that the use of rù 入 ‘to enter’ is also found in early Mandarin (cf. (12a)–(12b)). Early Mandarin (12) a. 退入休息室中 tuì rù xiūxishì zhōng recede enter common room Localizer ‘to go back to the common room’

b. 把張氏攙入 bǎ Zhāngshì chān rù dm Madam Zhāng hold enter ‘to assist Madam Zhāng in entering by holding her arm’

However, the number of tokens of jìn 進 ‘to enter’ is higher than rù 入 ‘to enter’ in early Mandarin. The use of rù 入 ‘to enter’ in early Mandarin is probably a 230 See 3.6.2.3 for a discussion on the exemplification of features of both southern and northern dialects in modern Hakka.

276 

 Chapter 4. Directional verbs in early Chinese dialects

result of the author’s use of expressions and words from Classical Chinese in literary work although the novel The Murder Case of Chūn’āshì 《春阿氏謀夫案》 is believed to reflect Pekingese spoken at the time.

4.2.3 Forms expressing ‘to return’ Section 3.2.4 shows that there are a number of forms with the meaning of ‘to return’ in use in modern Mandarin, Wú, Hakka, Mǐn and Cantonese. These forms include huí 回, zhuǎn 轉, fǎn 返 and dào 倒 as represented in Mandarin. It is further illustrated that in Wú tsø34 轉 is likely to be the native form while ɦuɛ13 回 is borrowed from Mandarin. For example, tsø34 轉 is used more frequently than ɦuɛ13 回 in Sing-song Girls of Shànghǎi. Moreover, it is found that tsø34 轉 is the dominant form used in the conversation parts of the novel (cf. (13a)). In contrast, only a few examples of ɦuɛ13 回 are found in the conversation parts (cf. (13b)). Early Wú (13) a. 看完仔一淘轉來 khø33 uø44 tsɾ34 iǝʔ55dɔ13 tsø33 lɛ44 see finish asp together return come ‘to return together after seeing them’

b. 姚奶奶故歇請回府。 ɦiɔ11 na44 na44 ku 55ɕiǝʔ 21 tɕhiŋ34 ɦuɛ13 fu 34. Yáo madam latter request return home ‘Madam Yáo, please leave.’

Furthermore, the use of fɛ 34 返 ‘to return’ in fixed expressions is also observed (cf. (13c)). Early Wú (13) c. 連浣芳也一去不返。 Li13 ɦuɛ13fã 55 ɦa13 iǝʔ55 tɕhi 34 vǝʔ12 fɛ 34. also Huànfāng also one go not return ‘Even Huànfāng didn’t come back.’ In other words, among the various forms for ‘to return’, the dominant one in early Wú is tsø34 轉.

Lexical variations in directional verbs 

 277

As for Hakka, two forms are observed in the modern dialect, i.e. tson 31 轉 and fan 31 返, but only tson 31 轉 is used in early Hakka (cf. (14)). Therefore, it is suspected that the use of fan 31 返 in modern Hakka might have been borrowed from Cantonese, in which faan 1 翻 is the only form for the meaning of ‘to return’. Early Hakka (14) 主人婆轉來… tsu 31ŋin 11pho11 tson 31 loi11… madam return come ‘Madam returned…’ There are four different forms used in early Mǐn to express the meaning of ‘to return’ and they represent different strata. The four forms are tɯŋ53 轉 (cf. (15a)), to213 倒 (cf. (15b)), tɯŋ53 返 (cf. (15c)) and hue55 回 (cf. (15d)). Early Mǐn (15) a. 轉鄉里 tɯŋ35 hiõ33 li 53 return home Localizer ‘to return to the home town’

b. 一叢柳隨風吹來倒去。 Tsek 2 tsaŋ213 liu 53 sui 213 huaŋ33 tshue33 lai 21 to35 khɯ 213. one cl willow follow wind blow come return go ‘Willows whirled in the wind.’



c. 返去厝 tɯŋ35 khɯ 53 tshu 213 return go home ‘to return home’



d. 不免待小弟先回 puk 5miaŋ35 thai 21 siou 35ti 35 sõi 33 hue55 inevitably wait I first return ‘to inevitably wait for me to return first’

278 

 Chapter 4. Directional verbs in early Chinese dialects

According to Lien (2006b), the use of hue55 回 is borrowed from Mandarin, while tɯŋ53 返 is taken from Classical Chinese and is assigned a Mǐn pronunciation.231 Moreover, both tɯŋ53 轉 and to213 倒 are native forms of Southern Mǐn and the latter represents a prominent feature of the Quánzhōu variety of Mǐn. It is observed that tɯŋ53 轉 is not used in the (1884) edition of Romance of the Litchi Mirror but its use is observed in the (1566) edition (cf. (15a)). A close examination of the two versions of Romance of the Litchi Mirror shows that 返 is the dominant form for the meaning of ‘to return’. However, it is pointed out in Lien (2006b: 782) that the rhyming pattern in Romance of the Litchi Mirror suggests that 返 is pronounced as tɯŋ53 轉. Moreover, when presented with 返, our Cháo’ān informant pronounced and transcribed it as tɯŋ53 轉. In other words, tɯŋ53 轉 is the dominant form used in Romance of the Litchi Mirror for the meaning of ‘to return’. Although most of the written sources used are believed to reflect the specific dialect spoken at the time, the use of elements from the classical language or the standard language is occasionally observed. For example, the use of rù 入 ‘to enter’ in early Mandarin represents the preservation of a form from Classical Chinese, while the use of huí 回 in early Wú and Mǐn reflects the infiltration of an element from the standard language. Nevertheless, whether a specific form is frequently used and whether a form is used in fixed expressions or conversation parts of the written source help us determine the origin of the form, i.e. a native form vs. a foreign form.

4.3 Directional verbs This section examines the use of directional verbs in early Mandarin, Wú, Hakka, Mǐn and Cantonese. In particular, the use of directional verbs to encode path in self-agentive, non-agentive and agentive motion events is studied. Again, because of the controversy over the status of some directional verbs, the following discussion concentrates on the same six directional verbs examined in 3.3, including the non-deictic ones represented by the following Mandarin equivalents: shàng 上 ‘to ascend’, xià 下 ‘to descend’, chū 出 ‘to exit’, jìn 進 ‘to enter’, and the deictic ones: lái 來 ‘to come’ and qù 去 ‘to go’. Unless otherwise specified, the examples are taken from the following early materials:232 231 Examples of tɯŋ53 返 in Mǐn are referred to as xùn dú zì 訓讀字, whose pronunciation represents the mapping of the pronunciation of a target morphosyllable, i.e. tɯŋ53 in Mǐn, onto an existing semantically related character, i.e. 返. See Kurpaska (2010) for a discussion on “Borrowing the pronunciation of a synonym (xùn dú 訓讀)”. 232 See 1.4 for a discussion on the sources of the diachronic data.

Directional verbs 

Mandarin: Wú: Hakka: Mǐn: Cantonese:

 279

(1914 [1996]) The Murder Case of Chūn’āshì《春阿氏謀夫案》 (1894 [1982]) Sing-song Girls of Shànghǎi《海上花列傳》 (1879) First Book of Reading《啟蒙淺學》 (1884 [1978]) Romance of the Litchi Mirror《荔鏡記》 (1863) A Summary of the Life of Jesus in Canton Colloquial 《耶穌言行撮要俗話》

4.3.1 Self-agentive motion events In sentences that denote self-agentive motion events, the directional verb specifies the direction of the movement undergone voluntarily by the subject while the locative object indicates the orientation point of the movement, i.e. the source, the path or the goal of the movement. It is illustrated in 3.3 that directional verbs vary in their ability to have a locative object. Moreover, the above variation is further complicated by cross-dialectal differences. For example, young speakers of Mandarin might find both VD + LOC (cf. (16a)) and ‘to arrive’ + LOC + VD (cf. (16b)) acceptable, but old speakers of Mandarin might find only the latter acceptable. Modern Mandarin (16)

a. 去北京 qù Běijīng go Běijīng ‘to go to Běijīng’



b. 到北京去 dào Běijīng qù arrive Běijīng go

In contrast, it is only possible for speakers of modern Hakka, Mǐn and Cantonese to use VD + LOC to express the same meaning (cf. (17)–(19)). Modern Hakka (17) 去樹該定摘該等梨。(VD + LOC) (= (55c) in Ch. 3) Hi 53 su 53 e55thin 53 tsak 1 e53 teu44 li11. go tree there pick those cl pear ‘(He) went up the tree to pick those pears.’

280 

 Chapter 4. Directional verbs in early Chinese dialects

Modern Mǐn (18) 伊去樹頂挽蜀撮梨。(VD + LOC) (= (56c) in Ch. 3) I 33 khɯ 53 tshiu 22 teŋ53 maŋ35 tseʔ 2 tshoʔ5 lai 55. he go tree top pick one cl pear ‘He climbed up the tree to pick pears.’ Modern Cantonese (19) 去翻經過嗰棵樹。(VD + LOC) (= (57c) in Ch. 3) Heoi 3 faan 1 ging1gwo3 go2 po1 syu6. go return pass that cl tree ‘(Those three boys) went back to the tree which they passed by.’ Complexities observed in word order also exist in early Mandarin, Wú, Hakka, Mǐn and Cantonese. Early Mandarin (20) a. 烏公上馬。(VND + LOC) Wūgōng shàng mǎ. Duke Wū ascend horse ‘Duke Wū mounted the horse.’

b. 皂役惡狠狠的上來。(VND + CD) Zàoyì èhénhěn de shàng lai. guard ferociously mp ascend come ‘The guard ferociously ascended here.’



c. 來到我家，倒不必拘泥。(VD + ‘to arrive’ + LOC) Lái dào wǒ jiā, dào bú bì jū’nì. come arrive my home, rather not necessary formal ‘(Duke said to Fúshòu) make yourself at home.’



d. 大人到這里來… (‘to arrive’ + LOC + VD) dàren dào zhèli lái… magistrate arrive here come ‘The magistrate came here…’

While the main verb in (20a) and (20b) involve the non-deictic directional verb shàng 上 ‘to ascend’, the deictic directional verb lái 來 ‘to come’ functions as the main verb in (20c) and (20d). In examples (20a) and (20b), the locative object mǎ 馬 ‘a horse’ and the deictic directional complement lái 來 ‘to come’ immediately

Directional verbs 

 281

follow the non-deictic directional verb shàng 上 ‘to ascend’. When a deictic directional verb and a locative object are involved, the locative object is introduced by dào 到 ‘to arrive’.233 While ‘to arrive’ + LOC, i.e. dào wǒ jiā 到我家 ‘to my home’, appears after the deictic directional verb lái 來 ‘to come’ in (20c), it, i.e. dào zhèli 到這里 ‘to here’, occurs before the deictic directional verb lái 來 ‘to come’ in (20d). The locative object in (20a) represents the goal of the movement whereas the deictic directional complement lái 來 ‘to come’ in (20b) indicates that the subject moves toward where the speaker is. The dào 到 ‘to arrive’ phrase in (20c) and (20d) refer to the goal of the movement. Table 80. Word orders of the directional verb and the locative object in s­ elf-agentive sentences in early Mandarin VND + LOC

VND + CD

‘to arrive’ + LOC + VD

VD + LOC

ü

ü

ü

û

In early Wú, the use of VND/D + LOC is basically the same as early Mandarin. Early Wú (21) a. 新衙門里出來就下船。(VND + LOC) ɕin 53 ŋa13mǝn 13 li13 tshǝʔ55 lɛ13 ʥiɤ13 ɦo13 zø13. new magistrate office Localizer exit come then descend ship ‘After leaving the new magistrate office, (he) boarded the ship.’

b. 客人上來。 (VND + CD) Kǝʔ55nin 13 zã13 lɛ13. guest ascend come ‘The guests ascended here.’



c. 來到尚仁里弄口。 (VD + ‘to arrive’ + LOC) Lɛ13 tɔ34 Zã13zǝŋ13 li13loŋ13 khɤ34. come arrive Shàngrén alleyway entrance ‘(They) arrived at the entrance of the Shàngrén alleyway.’

233 There are examples in which a deictic directional verb can be followed by a locative object, such as cháng lái běi yámen sòng àn 常來北衙門送案 often-come-North magistrate officesend-case ‘(He) often brings cases to the North magistrate office’ and yě méiyǒu lái cǐ tànjiān de rén 也没有來此探監的人 also-not-come-here-visit-prison-mp-people ‘No one visits the prisoner here’. However, in these examples, the sequence of V D + LOC occurs as the first part of a serial verb sentence, differing from (20c) and (20d), in which the deictic directional verb and the locative object appear in a simple sentence. See 3.3.1 for the observation of Liú (2001a), regarding the co-occurrence of a deictic directional verb and a locative object in My Memoirs《我的自傳》 .

282 

 Chapter 4. Directional verbs in early Chinese dialects d. 故歇到上海來… (‘to arrive’ + LOC + VD) ku 34ɕiǝʔ55 tɔ34 Zã13hɛ13 lɛ13 … later arrive Shànghǎi come ‘I later came to Shànghǎi…’

While the non-deictic directional verb ɦo13 下 ‘to descend’ in (21a) is immediately followed by the locative object zø13 船 ‘the ship’, which indicates the goal of the movement, the non-deictic directional verb zã13 上 ‘to ascend’ in (21b) is followed by the deictic directional complement lɛ13 來 ‘to come’, which specifies that the speaker is at the destination of the movement. Examples (21c) and (21d) show that early Wú resembles early Mandarin in using tɔ34 到 ‘to arrive’ to introduce a locative object. While the sequence of ‘to arrive’ + LOC appears after the deictic directional verb lɛ13 來 ‘to come’ in (21c), it occurs before lɛ13 來 ‘to come’ in (21d).234 Table 81. Word orders of the directional verb and the locative object in s­ elf-agentive sentences in early Wú VND + LOC

VND + CD

‘to arrive’ + LOC + VD

VD + LOC

ü

ü

ü

û

The use of non-deictic directional verbs in early Hakka is identical to that in early Mandarin and Wú, while the use of deictic directional verbs differs. Early Hakka (22) a. 我上棚上尋。(VND + LOC) (Drought 1926) ŋai11 soŋ44 phaŋ11 hoŋ53 tshim11. I ascend floor Localizer search ‘I went upstairs to look for it.’

b. …再上去尋。(VND + CD) (Drought 1926) tsai 53 soŋ44 hi 53 tshim11. again ascend go search ‘… go up and look again.’

234 In early Wú, there are examples in which a locative object follows a deictic directional verb which serves as the first verb in the serial verb construction, such as nɛ13 tɕhi 34 zo13 kø34 li13 nɛ13 sɤ34tɕin 53 lɛ13 ka 53 ka 53 耐去茶館里拿手巾來揩揩 you-go-teahouse-Localizer-take-hand towel-come-wipe-wipe ‘You go to a teahouse to clean up your clothes’. The situation is similar to that observed in early Mandarin. See footnote 233 for examples in early Mandarin.

Directional verbs 



 283

c. 你唔去聖堂係唔係？(VD + LOC) (Drought 1926) N 11̩ m 11̩ hi 53 sən 53thoŋ11, he53 m 11̩ he53? you not go church, be not be ‘You are not going to church, is that so?’

The non-deictic directional verb soŋ44 上 ‘to ascend’ is followed by the locative object phaŋ11 hoŋ53 棚上 ‘upstairs’ in (22a), which represents the goal of the movement, and by the deictic directional complement hi 53 去 ‘to go’ in (22b), which specifies that the movement is directed away from where the speaker is. These uses are identical to those in early Mandarin and Wú. In contrast, (22c) illustrates that the deictic directional verb hi 53 去 ‘to go’ is followed by the locative object sən 53thoŋ11 聖堂 ‘church’, which indicates the goal of the movement. Such use, however, is not found in early Mandarin and Wú. Table 82. Word orders of the directional verb and the locative object in s­ elf-agentive sentences in early Hakka VND + LOC

VND + CD

‘to arrive’ + LOC + VD

VD + LOC

ü

ü

û

ü

Similarly, both non-deictic and deictic directional verbs in early Mǐn can be followed by a locative object. Early Mǐn (23) a. 我落驢亞公落馬。(VND + LOC) Ua 53 loʔ 2 lɯ 55 a 33koŋ33 loʔ 2 be53. I descend donkey, Sir descend horse ‘I dismounted from the donkey; sir dismounted from the horse.’

b. 阮亞娘出來勞。(VND + CD) Uaŋ35 a 33niõ55 tshuk 2 lai 21 lau 213. my mother exit come sfp ‘My mother exited.’



c. 來這處乜事。(VD + LOC) Lai 213 tsi 35 tshu 213 miʔ 2 sɿ 22. come here what ‘What is (he) doing here?’

284 

 Chapter 4. Directional verbs in early Chinese dialects

The non-deictic directional verb loʔ5 落 ‘to descend’ and the deictic directional verb lai 55 來 ‘to come’ are followed by the locative objects lɯ 55 驢 ‘a donkey’ and be53 馬 ‘a horse’ in (23a), which indicate the source of the movement, and by the locative object tsi 53 tshu 213 這處 ‘here’ in (23c), which refers to the goal of the movement. In example (23b), the non-deictic directional verb tshuk 2 出 ‘to exit’ is followed by the deictic directional complement lai 55 來 ‘to come’, signaling that the subject moves toward where the speaker is. Table 83. Word orders of the directional verb and the locative object in s­ elf-agentive sentences in early Mǐn VND + LOC

VND + CD

‘to arrive’ + LOC + VD

VD + LOC

ü

ü

û

ü

The use of non-deictic and deictic directional verbs in early Cantonese is the same as early Hakka and Mǐn. Early Cantonese (24) a. 耶穌睇見成羣人、就上山。(VND + LOC) Je4sou1 tai 2gin 3 seng4 kwan4 jan4, zau6 soeng5 saan 1. Jesus see whole cl person, then ascend hill ‘Jesus saw the crowd and ascended the hill.’

b. 耶穌落去。(VND + VD) Je4sou1 lok6 heoi 3 . Jesus descend go ‘Jesus descended.’



c. 佢當夜晚嚟耶穌嗻。(VD + LOC) Keoi 5 dong1 je6maan 5 lai4 Je4sou1 syu 3. he that night come Jesus Localizer ‘He came to Jesus that night.’

The non-deictic directional verb soeng5 上 ‘to ascend’ and deictic directional verb and lai4 嚟 ‘to come’ are followed by the locative objects saan 1 山 ‘the hill’ in (24a) and Je4sou1 syu 3 耶穌嗻 ‘Jesus’ in (24c). Both of the locative objects indicate the goal of the movement. The non-deictic directional verb lok6 落 ‘to descend’ is followed by the deictic directional complement heoi 3 去 ‘to go’ in (25b), which specifies that the subject moves away from where the speaker is.

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Table 84. Word orders of the directional verb and the locative object in s­ elf-agentive sentences in early Cantonese VND + LOC

VND + CD

‘to arrive’ + LOC + VD

VD + LOC

ü

ü

û

ü

Table 85 below summarizes the word orders of the directional verb and the locative object in sentences that denote self-agentive motion events in the five early dialects. Table 85. Word orders of the directional verb and the locative object in s­ elf-agentive sentences in the five early dialects VND + LOC 上樓

VND + CD 下來

‘to arrive’ + LOC + VD 到教室來

VD + LOC 來教室

Mandarin

ü

ü

ü

û

Wú

ü

ü

ü

û

Hakka

ü

ü

û

ü

Mǐn

ü

ü

û

ü

Cantonese

ü

ü

û

ü

Table 85 shows that all five early dialects use both non-deictic and deictic directional verbs to express path in self-agentive motion events. Moreover, they can be divided into two groups. While the word orders exhibited in early Mandarin and Wú are identical (indicated by light shading), those shown by early Hakka, Mǐn and Cantonese are the same (indicated by heavy shading).

4.3.2 Non-agentive motion events In sentences that denote non-agentive motion events, the subject is often an inanimate entity. In cases when the event refers to a natural phenomenon, the movement of the subject cannot be caused by any external force. Otherwise, the inanimate subject is often caused by some external force to undergo the movement denoted by the directional verb. Moreover, a locative object which indicates the orientation point of the movement may or may not be present in the sentence.

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 Chapter 4. Directional verbs in early Chinese dialects

Early Mandarin (25) a. 直鬧至日出。(VND) Zhí nào zhì rì chū. continuously quarrel until sun exit ‘(They) quarreled until the sun rose.’

b. 嚷說車已來齊。(VD) Rǎng shuō chē yǐ lái qí. call out car already come all ‘(He) called out loudly that all the cars had arrived.’



c. 案到這里來。(‘to arrive’ + LOC + VD) Àn dào zhèli lái. case arrive here come ‘The case arrived here.’

While the non-deictic directional verb chū 出 ‘to exit’ is used in (25a), the deictic directional verb lái 來 ‘to come’ is used in (25b) and (25c). The non-agentive motion event in (25a) refers to a natural phenomenon, i.e. sunrise, and the movement is not caused by any external force. In contrast, the movement of the subjects chē 車 ‘cars’ in (25b) and àn 案 ‘the case’ in (25c) is caused by some human agent unspecified in the sentences. A locative object is not present in (25b) but there is one in (25c), i.e. zhèli 這里 ‘here’, and it is introduced by dào 到 ‘to arrive’. The remark of Lamarre (2009) provided in footnote 51 in Chapter 2 points out that there is a strong tendency in modern Mandarin for a non-deictic directional verb to be followed by a deictic directional complement or a locative object. However, example (25a) shows that such a tendency in early Mandarin is not as strong as it is in the modern counterpart.235 The use of non-deictic and deictic directional verbs in early Wú to express path in non-agentive motion events is similar to that in early Mandarin. Early Wú (26) a. 早晨頭日頭出來夜快落山。(VND + CD; VND + LOC) (Pott 1913) Tsɔ34zã13dɤ13 niǝʔ12 dɤ13 tshǝʔ55 lɛ13, ɦia13 kua 34 loʔ12 sɛ 53. morning sun exit come, evening soon descend hill ‘In the morning the sun comes out; in the evening it sets.’

235 The absence of a locative object or a deictic directional complement after a non-deictic directional complement is also observed in non-agentive sentences in early Hakka and Mǐn.

Directional verbs 



b. 馬車來哉。(VD) Mo13tsho53 lɛ13 tsɛ 53. carriage come sfp ‘The carriages arrived.’



c. 勿曉得洋錢才到仔陸里去哉。(‘to arrive’ + LOC + VD) Vǝʔ12 ɕiɔ34tǝʔ55 ɦiã13di13 zɛ13 tɔ34 tsɾ34 loʔ12li13 tɕhi 34 tsɛ 53. not know money just arrive asp where go sfp ‘Don’t know where the money is.’

 287

In example (26a), the non-deictic directional verbs tshǝʔ55 出 ‘to exit’ and loʔ12 落 ‘to descend’ are followed by the deictic directional complement lɛ13來 ‘to come’ and the locative object sɛ 53 山 ‘the hill’. Examples (26b) and (26c) involve the deictic directional verbs lɛ13 來 ‘to come’ and tɕhi 34 去 ‘to go’. While a locative object is not present in the former, it appears in the latter. In example (26c), the locative object loʔ1li13 陸里 ‘where’ is introduced by tɔ34 到 ‘to arrive’ and the deictic directional verb tɕhi 34 去 ‘to go’ occurs in the sentence-final position. The following examples from early Hakka denote natural phenomena, i.e. the sunrise and the wind-blowing. The non-deictic and deictic directional verbs tshut1 出 ‘to exit’ and loi11 來 ‘to come’ in (27a) and (27b) are used to express path, and a locative object is not present. Early Hakka (27) a. 無日頭出就晒唔燥。(VND) (Drought 1926) Mo11 ŋit1 theu11 tshut1 tshiu 53 sai 53 m 11̩ tsau44. not sun exit then shine not dry ‘If the sun does not come out, they will not dry.’

b. 南風來箇時… (VD) nam11 fuŋ44 loi11 e53 sɿ 11… south wind come mp time ‘When the south wind comes…’

In the examples of early Mǐn, the non-deictic directional verb khi 53 起 ‘to rise’ in (28a) and the deictic directional verb khɯ 53 去 ‘to go’ in (28b) are used to denote path. A locative object is not present in either example.

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Early Mǐn (28) a. 月下霜風起勞！(VND) Gueʔ 2 e35 sɯŋ22 huaŋ33 khi 53 lau 213! moon Localizer frost wind rise sfp ‘In the moonlight, there came the frost and wind!’

b. 風送爐香馨去遠。(VD) Huaŋ33 saŋ53 lou 213 hiaŋ33 heŋ33 khɯ 53 iaŋ53… wind send censer incense fragrance go far ‘The wind sent off the incense from the censer and the fragrance went afar.’

In the following examples from early Cantonese, the non-deictic directional verb soeng5 上 ‘to ascend’ is followed by the locative object tin1 deng2 天頂 ‘the sky’ in (29a). The deictic directional verb heoi 3 去 ‘to go’ is followed by the locative object Jing1gwok 3 英國 ‘England’ in (29b). Early Cantonese (29) a. 日上天頂。(VND + LOC) (O’Melia 1941) Jat6 soeng5 tin 1 deng2. sun ascend sky top ‘The sun ascends to the zenith (the top of the heavens).’

b. 呢隻船去過英國四水。(VD + LOC) (Bruce 1877) Nei1 zek 3 syun4 heoi 3 gwo3 Jing1gwok 3 sei 3 seoi 2. this cl ship go asp England four voyage ‘This ship has been on four voyages to England.’

Table 86 below summarizes the word orders of the directional verb and the locative object in non-agentive sentences in the five early dialects. Table 86. Word orders of the directional verb and the locative object in n ­ on-agentive sentences in the five early dialects VND + (LOC)

VD

Mandarin

ü

ü / ‘to arrive’ + LOC + VD

Wú

ü + LOC

ü / ‘to arrive’ + LOC + VD

Hakka

ü

ü

Mǐn

ü

ü

Cantonese

ü + LOC

ü + LOC

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 289

Table 86 illustrates that all five early dialects can make use of a directional verb to express path in non-agentive motion events. Although no relevant example of VND/D + LOC is found for early Hakka and Mǐn, we assume that the above word order is possible because it is found in self-agentive sentences for these two early dialects. As a result, the word orders of the five early dialects fall into two groups with early Mandarin and Wú belonging to the same group (indicated by light shading) and early Hakka, Mǐn and Cantonese constituting another group (indicated by heavy shading). 4.3.3 Agentive motion events In an agentive motion event, the subject is an agent who causes the theme object to move in a certain direction. It is demonstrated in 2.3.3 and 3.6.1.3 that modern Cantonese and Mǐn exhibit the agentive use of directional verbs. When examining the historical texts of the early dialects, it can be observed that in addition to early Mǐn and Cantonese, the agentive use of directional verbs is also found in early Hakka. Early Hakka (30) 落旗 (VND + O) (Ball 1913) lok 5 khi11 descend flag ‘to haul down the flag’ In example (30), the non-deictic directional verb lok 5 落 ‘to descend’ is followed by the theme object khi11 旗 ‘the flag’ and it expresses the meaning of causing the following object to undergo a downward movement. A similar use is observed in the non-deictic directional verb loʔ5 落 ‘to descend’ in early Mǐn. Early Mǐn (31) a. 纔落米煮飯。(VND + O) (Macgowan 1869) Tshai 213 loʔ 2 bi 53 tsɯ 35 puŋ22. then descend rice cook rice ‘Then put in the rice and boil it.’

b. 雞湯落些須芹菜就香。(VND + O) (Lim 1886) Koi 33 thɯŋ33 loʔ 2 se33 su 33khɯŋ213tshai 213 tsu 22 phaŋ33. chicken soup descend some celery then nice ‘A little celery put in the soup will make it nice.’

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 Chapter 4. Directional verbs in early Chinese dialects

The non-deictic directional verb loʔ5 落 ‘to descend’ in (31a) and (31b) encodes both cause and path. The theme objects bi 53 米 ‘rice’ and se33 su 33khɯŋ213tshai 213 些 須芹菜 ‘a little celery’ are caused to undergo a downward movement. Two additional agentive examples are found in early Mǐn, as illustrated in (31c) and (31d). Early Mǐn (31) c. 茶心着入在茶罐。 (Macgowan 1869) Te213siŋ33 tioʔ 2 dzik 2 to21 te213kuaŋ213. tea should enter at teapot ‘Put the tea in the teapot.’

d. 糖下若干？ (Macgowan 1869) T hɯŋ55 hia 21 dziak 2kaŋ33? sugar descend how much ‘How much sugar have you put in?’

Although the theme objects te55siŋ33 茶心 ‘tea’ and thɯŋ55 糖 ‘sugar’ are topicalized to the sentence-initial subject position instead of occupying the postverbal object position, there is still evidence which shows that they are indeed the objects of the directional verbs dzik 5 入 ‘to enter’ and hia 35 下 ‘to descend’. In particular, in example (31c) the locative object te55kuaŋ213 茶罐 ‘the teapot’, which indicates the destination of the movement, is introduced by the preposition to35 在 ‘at’. Therefore, the object of the non-deictic directional verb dzik 5 入 ‘to enter’ cannot be te55kuaŋ213 茶罐 ‘the teapot’ but te55siŋ33 茶心 ‘tea’. In other words, if topicalization is not applied to move the theme object te55siŋ33 茶心 ‘tea’ to the sentence-initial position, it will occur after dzik 5 入 ‘to enter’ and before the prepositional phrase, resulting in the following sequence: dzik 2 te213siŋ33 to21 te213kuaŋ213 入茶心在茶罐 ‘to put the tea in the teapot’. Similarly, in (31d) topicalization is applied to move the theme object thɯŋ55 糖 ‘sugar’ to the sentenceinitial position, leaving its modifier dziak 5kaŋ33 若干 ‘how much’ at the end of the sentence. If the theme object appears in its typical postverbal object position, the following would result: hia 21 dziak 2kaŋ33 thɯŋ55 下若干糖 ‘How much sugar have you put in’. That the agentive use of directional verbs is productive in early Min can also be seen from the fact that such use has been applied to a foreign form. Specifically, the native form for the meaning of ‘to descend’ in early Mǐn is loʔ5 落 rather than hia 35 下, a form which probably has been borrowed from the standard language. While the agentive use is observed in loʔ5 落 in early Mǐn, no comparable use is found in xià 下 in early Mandarin. Therefore, the agentive use of hia 35 下 exhibited in early Mǐn shows that the productive use of the direc-

Directional verbs 

 291

tional verb to express path in agentive motion events in early Mǐn has also been applied to a form borrowed from early Mandarin.236 In terms of the number of directional verbs which exhibit the agentive use, early Cantonese has the highest number among the five early dialects. Early Cantonese (32) a. 落細旗咯。 (Ball 1902) Lok6 sai 3 kei4 lok 3 descend small flag sfp ‘The small flag is down.’

b. 亞靈、叫咕喱出轎。 (Ball 1902) Aa 3 ling4, giu 3 gu1lei1 ceot1 kiu 2. Aa Ling4, call coolie exit sedan chair ‘A Ling, tell the coolie to get out the [sedan] chair.’



c. 揾漏斗嚟入酒 (Bridgman 1841) wan 2 lau6tau 2 lai4 jap6 zau 2 find funnel in order enter wine ‘to find a funnel to put in the wine’



d. 幾點鐘起轎呢？ (Wisner 1927) Gei 2 dim 2 zung1 hei 2 kiu 2 ne1? what time rise sedan chair sfp ‘What time should we leave by (taking) a sedan chair?’

Examples (32a)–(32d) illustrate the agentive use of the non-deictic directional verbs lok6 落 ‘to descend’, ceot1 出 ‘to exit’, jap6 入 ‘to enter’ and hei 2 起 ‘to rise’. In each example, the theme object, which is caused to move in a certain direction, follows the directional verb, i.e. sai 3 gei4 細旗 ‘a small flag’, kiu 2 轎 ‘a sedan chair’ and zau 2 酒 ‘wine’. Among the above directional verbs, the agentive use of lok6 落 ‘to descend’ and jap6 入 ‘to enter’ is particularly productive.

236 Lien (2006b) notes that the agentive use is observed in some directional verbs in Romance of the Litchi Mirror, e.g. dzik 5 入 ‘to enter’ as in ʣik 2 naŋ213 tsue35 入人罪 enter-person-sin ‘to accuse someone of X’. However, an abstract movement rather than a physical movement is involved in most of the cases suggested by Lien, differing from the physical movement illustrated in the early Mǐn examples above (cf. (31a)–(31d)). Nevertheless, he does point out in footnote 47 of his paper that dzik 5 入 ‘to enter’ in modern Mǐn exhibits the agentive use.

292 

 Chapter 4. Directional verbs in early Chinese dialects

Early Cantonese (33) a. 落低個度簾咪俾熱頭晒。(Fulton 1931) Lok6 dai1 go2 dou6 lim 2 mai 5 bei 2 jit6tau 2 saai 3. descend low that cl curtain not give sun shine ‘Put down that curtain; don’t let the sun shine in.’

b. 第二時整麵飽要落多的鹽至得呀。 (Wisner 1927) Dai6ji6si4 zing2 min6baau1 jiu 3 lok6 do1 di1 jim4 next time make bread need descend more cl salt 3 1 3 zi dak aa . then alright sfp ‘Next time, more salt is needed when making bread.’



c. 船落滿貨未？(Fulton 1931) Syun4 lok6 mun 5 fo3 mei6? ship descend full goods not ‘Is the boat loaded with goods?’

(34) a. 入藥落鎗 (1877) Forty Lessons on Canton Colloquial《散語四十章》 jap6 joek6 lok6 coeng1 enter powder descend gun ‘to load the gun’

b. 噉就入番把劍。(Piercy 1913 [1871]) Gam 2 zau6 jap6 faan 1 baa 2 gim 3. so then enter prt cl sword ‘(He) then put the sword back in the case.’

Examples (33) and (34) illustrate the agentive use of lok6 落 ‘to descend’ and jap6 入 ‘to enter’. In examples (33a)–(33c), lok6 落 ‘to descend’ is followed by a complement which indicates the resultant state of the theme object after the movement. In particular, dai1 低 ‘low’ in (33a) indicates that the theme object go2 dou6 lim4 個 度簾 ‘that curtain’ is situated in a lower position, do1 多 ‘more’ in (33b) specifies that there is more salt, and mun 5 滿 ‘full’ in (33c) denotes that the ship is fully loaded with goods. The pattern of VND + C + O is thus displayed in (33a)–(33c). In example (34a), the theme object and the destination are both specified. Specifically, jap6 入 ‘to enter’ is followed by the theme object joek6 藥 ‘powder’ while the locative object coeng1 鎗 ‘the gun’ is introduced by the non-deictic directional complement lok6 落 ‘to descend’, exemplifying the word order of V ND + O + CND + LOC. In example (34b), the non-deictic directional verb jap6 入 ‘to enter’ is followed by the resumptive particle faan 1 番, which indicates the return of the

Directional verbs 

 293

theme object to its previous location, and the theme object baa 2 gim 3 把劍 ‘the sword’. The above examples show that when used to express path in agentive motion events, a directional verb closely resembles a transitive verb in having a complement and a theme object. For example, Early Cantonese (35) a. 整爛脚鐐。 Zing2 laan6 geok 3liu4. make break fetter ‘(He) broke the fetters.’ (1872) The Gospel of Mark in Canton Colloquial《馬可傳福音書》

b. 放個啲菜落水洗。(O’Melia 1941) Fong3 go2 di1 coi 3 lok6 seoi 2 sai 2. put that cl vegetables descend water wash ‘Put those vegetables into the water and wash them.’

Example (35a) shows that the transitive verb zing2 整 ‘to make’ is followed by the complement laan6 爛 ‘to break’, which specifies the resultant state of the theme object, and the theme object geok 3liu4 脚鐐 ‘fetters’. In example (35b), the theme object go2 di1 coi 3 個啲菜 ‘those vegetables’ and the locative object seoi 2 水 ‘the water’ follow the transitive verb fong3 放 ‘to put’ and the non-deictic directional complement lok6 落 ‘to descend’ respectively. The word orders, i.e. V + C + O and V + O + CND + LOC, displayed in (35) are identical to those in (33) and (34a).237 In section 2.6, it is illustrated that similar to Japanese, intransitive verbs (cf. (36)) and adjectives (cf. (37)) also exhibit the agentive use in modern Cantonese, as shown in the following examples.

237 The following example is found in the early Wú text Sing-song Girls of Shànghǎi: zã13 ɕi 55sã 53 tsɛ 53 上先生哉 ascend-prostitute-SFP ‘Let the prostitute ascend upstairs’. The object ɕi 55sã 53 先生 ‘the prostitute’ is an animate entity, differing from the inanimate objects involved in the agentive examples in early Hakka, Mǐn and Cantonese. Although the object ɕi 55sã 53 先 生 ‘the prostitute’ occurs in the same postverbal object position as the inanimate object in the other three early dialects, it is not caused to undergo the movement as the inanimate one is. Instead, ɕi 55sã 53 先生 ‘the prostitute’ moves upward voluntarily. Therefore, the above use of zã13 上 ‘to ascend’ in early Wú is considered different from the agentive use observed in early Hakka, Mǐn and Cantonese.

294 

 Chapter 4. Directional verbs in early Chinese dialects

Modern Cantonese (36) a. 佢完咗個project。(= (66a) in Ch. 2) Keoi 5 jyun4 zo2 go3 project. s/he finish asp cl project ‘S/he ended the project.’

b. 佢郁咗張紙。(= (66c) in Ch. 2) Keoi 5 juk 1 zo2 zoeng1 zi 2. s/he move asp cl paper ‘S/he moved the paper.’



c. 佢熄咗枝蠟燭。(= 66f) in Ch. 2) Keoi 5 sik 1 zo2 zi1 laap6zuk 1. s/he out asp cl candle ‘S/he blew out the candle.’



d. 佢傷咗嗰個人。(= (66g) in Ch. 2) Keoi 5 soeng1 zo2 go2 go3 jan4. s/he hurt asp that cl person ‘S/he injured that person.’

(37) a. 佢鬆咗啲肌肉。(= (67c) in Ch.2) Keoi 5 sung1 zo2 di1 gei1juk6. s/he loose asp cl muscle ‘S/he relaxed the muscles.’

b. 佢濕咗隻手。(= (67d) in Ch. 2) Keoi 5 sap1 zo2 zek 3 sau 2. s/he wet asp cl hand ‘S/he wet his/her hand.’

Such an agentive use is also observed in early Cantonese. Example (38) shows the agentive use of the intransitive verbs jyun4 完 ‘to finish’, juk 1 郁 ‘to move’, sik 1 熄 ‘to extinguish’, soeng1 傷 ‘to hurt’ and mit6 滅 ‘to exterminate’, while example (39) illustrates the agentive use of the adjectives baau 2 飽 ‘full’, sap1 濕 ‘wet’, waai6 壞 ‘bad’, nyun 5煖 ‘warm’ and mun 5 滿 ‘full’. Early Cantonese (38) a. 我趕鬼施醫、到第三日、我完事咯。 Ngo5 gon2 gwai2 si1ji1, dou3 dai6 saam1 jat6, ngo5 jyun4 si6 lok 3. I cast out spirit heal, arrive third day, I finish affair sfp ‘I cast out spirits and heal people. When the third day comes, I finish with the business.’

Directional verbs 

 295



b. 叫聲個大力士郁一吓手。 giu 3 seng1 go3 daai6lik6si6 juk 1 jat1 haa 5 sau 2. call cl cl strong man move one cl hand ‘To ask the strong man moves his hand.’ (1930s) New Canton Colloquial《新編廣東省城白話》



c. 熄火、係熄風爐嘅火。(1877) Forty Lessons on Canton Colloquial Sik 1 fo2, hai6 sik 1 fung1lou 2 ge3 fo2. extinguish fire, be extinguish stove mp fire ‘To extinguish fire is to turn off the stove.’



d. …又用石嚟傷自己。(1872) The Gospel of Mark in Canton Colloquial …jau6 jung6 sek6 lai4 soeng1 zi6gei 2. also use stone come hurt himself ‘… (he) also used stone to hurt himself.’



e. 是必嚟滅個的農夫。(1872) The Gospel of Mark in Canton Colloquial Si6 bit1 lai4 mit6 go2 di1 nung4fu1.. must come exterminate that cl farmer ‘(The estate owner) must come to exterminate the farmers.’

(39) a. 想{扌戒}猪所食嘅豆{口莢}飽肚。 Soeng2 kaai 5 zyu1 so2 sik6 ge3 dau6haap3 baau 2 tou 5. want take swine mp eat mp husk full belly ‘(The son) wanted to fill his belly with the husk for the swine.’

b. 因眼淚濕親佢腳… jan 1 ngaan 5leoi6 sap1 can 1 keoi 5 geok 3… because tear wet prt His feet ‘because her tears wet His feet…’



c. 佢食熟烟壞自己身子。(Bruce 1877) Keoi 5 sik6 suk6 jin1 waai6 zi6gei 2 san 1zi 2. he eat tobacco bad his body ‘He injures himself by chewing tobacco.’



d. 你快快{扌戒}呢啲水倒落鍋煖吓佢。 wo1 nyun 5 Nei 5 faai 3faai 3 kaai 5 nei1 di1 seoi 2 dou 2 lok6 you quickly take this cl water pour descend pot warm haa 5 keoi 5. cl it ‘You quickly pour water into the pot to warm it.’ (1877) Forty Lessons on Canton Colloquial

296 

 Chapter 4. Directional verbs in early Chinese dialects

(39) e. 執起個的餅碎，及食剩嘅魚，足滿十二籃。 Zap1 hei 2 go2 di1 beng2 seoi 3, kap6 sik6 zing6 ge3 jyu 2, take rise that cl biscuit crumb, and eat leftover mp fish, mun 5 sap6ji6 laam4. zuk 1 enough full twelve basket ‘They took up twelve baskets full of the fragments of the bread and of the fishes.’ (1872) The Gospel of Mark in Canton Colloquial The agentive use of intransitive verbs and adjectives in early Cantonese further shows that such use has existed in Cantonese for more than a century and that Cantonese, both early and modern, exhibits more characteristics of verb-framed languages than the other four early and modern dialects. Sections 4.3.1–4.3.3 have shown that similar to their modern counterparts, early Mandarin, Wú, Hakka, Mǐn and Cantonese all use a directional verb to encode path in self-agentive and non-agentive motion events, a characteristic that is observed in verb-framed languages. With regard to the encoding of path in agentive motion events, it has been found that directional verbs have been productively used in the Mǐn and the Cantonese dialects to serve the above purpose since the nineteenth century (cf. 2.3.3 and 3.6.1.3). In contrast, while the agentive use of directional verbs is also exhibited in early Hakka, such use, however, does not seem to exist in the modern dialect anymore according to our Hakka informants. Another observation is that the tendency for a non-deictic directional verb to be followed by a locative object or a deictic directional complement in the early dialects is not as strong as it is in the modern dialects. Section 4.4 below shows that early Mandarin, Wú, Hakka, Mǐn and Cantonese also exemplify the characteristic of satellite-framed languages in encoding path in a satellite, i.e. a directional complement.

4.4 Simple directional complements In addition to serving as a main verb in a sentence, a directional verb can function as a complement of another verb, indicating the direction of the movement denoted by the preceding verb. This section examines how early Mandarin, Wú, Hakka, Mǐn and Cantonese make use of a simple directional complement to denote path in self-agentive, non-agentive and agentive motion events.

Simple directional complements 

 297

4.4.1 Self-agentive motion events In sentences that denote self-agentive motion events, the main verb indicates the manner in which the movement is carried out, while the simple directional complement specifies the direction of the movement. Without the simple directional complement, the sentence becomes unacceptable because a manner verb in general cannot have a locative object. Early Mandarin (40) a. 嘻眉笑眼的走出。(V + CND) Xīméixiàoyǎn de zǒu chū. happily mp walk exit ‘(He) walked out happily.’

b. 同着德樹堂走出茶館。(V + CND + LOC) Tóng zhe Déshùtáng zǒu chū cháguǎn. with asp Déshùtáng walk exit teahouse ‘(He) walked out from the teahouse with Déshùtáng.’



c. 轉身走了出來。(V + CND + CD) Zhuǎnshēn zǒu le chū lai. turn around walk asp exit come ‘(She) turned around and walked out here.’



d. 忽見春英走來。(V + CD) Hū jiàn Chūnyīng zǒu lái. suddenly see Chūnyīng walk come ‘(He) suddenly saw Chūnyīng come.’



e. 又跑到西房去。(V + ‘to arrive’ + LOC + CD) Yòu pǎo dao xīfáng qu. again run arrive west wing room go ‘(She) then ran back to the room in the west wing.’

It is shown in Chapters 2 and 3 that there is a strong tendency in the modern dialects for a non-deictic directional verb or a non-deictic directional complement to be followed by a locative object or a deictic directional complement, without which the sentence sounds very unnatural. Example (40a), on the contrary, shows that such a tendency in early Mandarin is not as strong as that in the modern counterpart. In particular, the non-deictic directional complement chū 出 ‘to exit’ in (40a) is followed by neither a locative object nor a deictic direc-

298 

 Chapter 4. Directional verbs in early Chinese dialects

tional complement. In contrast, the orientation point is provided by the locative object cháguǎn 茶館 ‘the teahouse’ in (40b) and by the deictic directional complement lái 來 ‘to come’ in (40c) and (40d). In example (40e), when the locative object xīfáng 西房 ‘the room in the west wing’ and the deictic directional complement qù 去 ‘to go’ are involved, dào 到 ‘to arrive’ is used to introduce the locative object, thus exhibiting the word order of V + ‘to arrive’ + LOC + CD. Table 87. Word orders of the simple directional complement and the locative object in ­­self-agentive sentences in early Mandarin V + CND + LOC

V + CND + CD

V + CD

V + ‘to arrive’ + LOC + CD

V + CD + LOC

ü

ü

ü

ü

û

The use of non-deictic and deictic directional complements in early Wú is similar to that in early Mandarin. Early Wú (41) a. 耶穌走過麥田。 (V + CND + LOC) Ia 53su 53 tsɤ34 ku 34 mǝʔ12 di13. Jesus walk pass wheat field ‘Jesus walked past the wheat field.’ (1922) The Gospel of Mark in Sūzhōu Colloquial

b. 跌下來個倒勿曾死。 (V + CND + CD) Tiǝʔ55 ɦo13 lɛ13 gǝʔ12 tɔ34 vǝʔ12 zǝn 13 ɕi 34. fall descend come cl contrary not yet die ‘The one who fell on the contrary did not die.’



c. 幾花人跑得去，算啥嗄？ (V + CD) ɕi 34ho53 nin13 bɔ13 tǝʔ55 tɕhi 34, sø34 sa 34 kǝʔ55? so many person run asp go, count what sfp ‘What is the purpose of having so many people rushing to there?’



d. 耐啥一干子跑到該搭來嗄？ (V + ‘to arrive’ + LOC + CD) Nɛ13 sa 34 iǝʔ55kø34tsɾ34 bɔ13 tɔ34 kɛ 53 tǝʔ55 lɛ13 kǝʔ55? you why alone run arrive here come sfp ‘Why do you come here alone?’

An orientation point is provided by the locative object mǝʔ12 di13 麥田 ‘the wheat field’ in (41a) and by the deictic directional complements lɛ13 來 ‘to come’ and

Simple directional complements 

 299

tɕhi 34 去 ‘to go’ in (41b) and (41c). The word order of V + ‘to arrive’ + LOC + CD is exhibited in (41d) when a locative object and a deictic directional are used. Table 88. Word orders of the simple directional complement and the locative object in ­­self-agentive sentences in early Wú V + CND + LOC

V + CND + CD

V + CD

V + ‘to arrive’ + LOC + CD

V + CD + LOC

ü

ü

ü

ü

û

The use of non-deictic directional complements in early Hakka is identical to early Mandarin and Wú. However, when a deictic directional complement and a locative object are used in a sentence, two word orders are observed in early Hakka but only one is employed in early Mandarin and Wú.238 Early Hakka (42) a. 箇老鼠竟久竟蹲竟落地坭。 (V + CND + LOC)  (Kē 2006: 271) E 53 lau 31tshu 31 kin 31 kiu 31 kin 31 tshun 11 kin 31 lok 5 thi 55nai11. cl mice ? fall asp descend ground ‘The mice fell onto the ground.’

b. 僅僅行過去。 (V + CND + CD)  (Ball 1913) Kiun 31kiun 31 haŋ11 kuo53 hi 53 . just walk pass go ‘We have just passed it.’



c. 做乜走去？ (V + CD)  (Ball 1913) Tso53mak 1 tseu 31 hi 53? why run go ‘Why do you run away?’



d. 也有隻狐狸走到樹頭下來。 (V + ‘to arrive’ + LOC + CD) Ia44 iu44 tsak 1 fu11li11 tseu 31 tau 53 su 55theu11 ha44 loi 11. also have cl fox run arrive tree Localizer come ‘There was a fox which ran toward the tree.’



e. 唔知佢走去£裡。 (V + CD + LOC)  (Drought 1926) M 11̩ ti44 ki11 tseu 31 hi 53 nai 53 e. not know he run go where sfp ‘I don’t know where he has gone to.’

238 The use of the two word orders is also exemplified in modern Hakka (cf. 3.4.1).

300 

 Chapter 4. Directional verbs in early Chinese dialects

While the non-deictic directional complement lok 5 落 ‘to descend’ is followed by the locative object thi 53nai11 地坭 ‘the ground’ in (42a), the non-deictic directional complement kuo53 過 ‘to pass’ is followed by the deictic directional complement hi 53 去 ‘to go’ in (42b). In example (42c), the main verb tseu 31 走 ‘to run’ is immediately followed by the deictic directional complement hi 53 去 ‘to go’. When the sentence consists of a deictic directional complement and a locative object, the word orders of V + ‘to arrive’ + LOC + CD and V + CD + LOC are displayed in (42d) and (42e) respectively, of which the former is observed in early Mandarin and Wú and the latter is used in early Mǐn and Cantonese.239 Table 89. Word orders of the simple directional complement and the locative object in ­­ ­self-agentive sentences in early Hakka V + CND + LOC

V + CND + CD

V + CD

V + ‘to arrive’ + LOC + CD

V + CD + LOC

ü

ü

ü

ü

ü

Similar to early Mandarin, Wú and Hakka, non-deictic directional complements in early Mǐn can be followed by a locative object. In contrast, the word order of V + ‘to arrive’ + CD observed in early Mandarin, Wú and Hakka is not found in early Mǐn. Instead, the word order of V + CD + LOC is employed in early Mǐn when a deictic directional complement and a locative object are used. Early Mǐn (43) a. 老身行出這廳堂。 (V + CND + LOC) Lau 21seŋ33 kiã 213 tshuk 5 tsi 35 thiã 33tɯŋ55. I walk exit this hall ‘I walked out from this hall.’

b. 踏入去了  (V + CND + CD) tak 5 dzik 2 khɯ 21 liou 213 step enter go sfp ‘to step into there’

239 Kē (2006) also mentions the use of these two word orders in early Hakka. Moreover, she notes that when a locative object is not followed by a localizer, it is the object of the directional complement and can denote the source, the path or the goal of the movement. When a locative object is followed by a localizer, it refers to the goal of the movement in most cases.

Simple directional complements 



c. 不是益春趕來… (V + CD) puk 5si 21 Iaʔ5tshuŋ33 kuã 53 lai 21… if not Yìchūn rush come ‘Had Yìchūn not come…’



d. 走去泉州。 (V + CD + LOC) Tsau 35 khɯ 53 Tsuã 213tsiu 33. run go Quánzhōu ‘(Let’s) go to Quánzhōu.’

 301

The non-deictic directional complements tshuk 2 出 ‘to exit’ and ʣik 5 入 ‘to enter’ are followed by the locative object tsi 53 thiã 33tɯŋ55 這廳堂 ‘this hall’ in (43a) and by the deictic directional complement khɯ 213 去 ‘to go’ in (43b) respectively. While the main verb kuã 53 趕 ‘to rush’ is followed by the deictic directional complement lai 55 來 ‘to come’ in (43c) without the presence of a locative object, the main verb tsau 53 走 ‘to run’ in (43d) is followed by both the deictic directional complement khɯ 213 去 ‘to go’ and the locative object Tsuã 55tsiu 33 泉州 ‘Quánzhōu’. Table 90. Word orders of the simple directional complement and the locative object in ­self-agentive sentences in early Mǐn V + CND + LOC

V + CND + CD

V + CD

V + ‘to arrive’ + LOC + CD

V + CD + LOC

ü

ü

ü

û

ü

The word orders shown in early Cantonese are the same as those in early Mǐn. Early Cantonese (44) a. 咪摩我，因為我重未升上我父嗻。 (V + CND + LOC) Mai 5 mo1 ngo5, jan 1wei6 ngo5 zung6 mei6 sing1 soeng5 don’t touch I, because I still not rise ascend ngo5 fu6 syu 3. my Father Localizer ‘Don’t touch me because I have not risen to my Father’s place.’

b. 耶穌行入去坐席上嗻。 (V + CND + CD) Je4sou1 haang4 jap6 heoi 3 zo6 zik6 soeng6 syu 3. Jesus walk enter go seat table Localizer ‘Jesus walked in and took a seat at the dinner table.’

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 Chapter 4. Directional verbs in early Chinese dialects



c. 佢將來先過主行去。(V + CD) Keoi 5 zoeng1loi4 sin 1 gwo3 Zyu 2 haang4 heoi 3 . he future first cm Lord walk go ‘He will get there earlier than the Lord.’



d. 帶住細蚊仔共佢母親、走去埃及。(V + CD + LOC) Daai 3 zyu6 sai 3man 1zai 2 gung6 keoi 5 mou 5can 1, zau 2 heoi 3 Aai1kap6. bring asp child and His mother, run go Egypt ‘(You) bring the child and the mother to Egypt.’

Examples (44a) and (44b) illustrate that the non-deictic directional complement soeng5 上 ‘to ascend’ is followed by the locative object ngo5 fu6 syu 3 我父嗻 ‘my Father’s place’, whereas the non-deictic directional verb jap6 入 ‘to enter’ is followed by the deictic directional complement heoi 3 去 ‘to go’. Both examples (44c) and (44d) involve the deictic directional complement heoi 3 去 ‘to go’. In the former, the deictic directional complement immediately follows the main verb haang4­ 行 ‘to walk’ without the presence of a following locative object. In the latter, the main verb zau 2 走 ‘to run’ is followed by the deictic directional complement heoi 3 去 ‘to go’ and the locative object Aai1kap6 埃及 ‘Egypt’. Table 91. Word orders of the simple directional complement and the locative object in ­self-agentive sentences in early Cantonese V + CND + LOC

V + CND + CD

V + CD

V + ‘to arrive’ + LOC + CD

V + CD + LOC

ü

ü

ü

û

ü

Table 92 summarizes the word orders of the simple directional complement and the locative object in sentences that denote self-agentive motion events in the five early dialects. Table 92. Word orders of the simple directional complement and the locative object in ­self-agentive sentences in the five early dialects V + CND + LOC 騎上腳踏車

V + CND + CD 騎過去

V + CD 跑去

V + ‘to arrive’ + LOC + CD 爬到樹上去

V + CD + LOC 爬去樹上

Mandarin

ü

ü

ü

ü

û

Wú

ü

ü

ü

ü

û

Hakka

ü

ü

ü

ü

ü

Mǐn

ü

ü

ü

û

ü

Cantonese

ü

ü

ü

û

ü

Simple directional complements 

 303

Table 92 shows that early Mandarin and Wú share the same word orders (indicated by light shading), while early Cantonese and Mǐn display identical word orders (indicated by heavy shading). Moreover, Hakka exhibits word orders of the other two groups (indicated by unshaded area).

4.4.2 Non-agentive motion events In sentences that denote non-agentive motion events, the main verb indicates the manner in which the movement is carried out or the cause that triggers the movement, while the simple directional complement specifies the direction of the movement. A non-agentive motion event sometimes refers to natural phenomena such as sunrise and sunset. In such a case, the subject cannot be caused by some external force to undergo the movement. Instead, the movement takes place spontaneously. In some cases, the theme subject may be caused to undergo movement by some external force, especially when an inanimate entity is involved. The orientation point of the movement may be provided by a locative object or by a deictic directional complement. In the former, the locative object has to be introduced by a directional complement since the main verb, in general, cannot be followed by a locative object. In the latter, the presence of a locative object is not necessary. The following examples show the expression of path in a directional complement in non-agentive motion events in early Mandarin. Early Mandarin (45) a. 眼淚滴滴掉下。(V + CND) Yǎnlèi dīdī diào xià. tear cl drop descend ‘Tears dropped.’

b. 雖有一腔血淚滴不出來。(V + CND + CD) Suī yǒu yì qiāng xuè lèi dī bù chū lái. despite have one cl blood tear drop not exit come ‘Although (she) was distressed, she held back the tears.’



c. 那水缸的水，都得下去三分。(VND + CD) Nà shuǐgāng de shuǐ, dōu děi xià qu sān fēn. that water tank mp water also should descend go three cl ‘The water in the water tank will be lowered by 1/3 of an inch.’

304 

 Chapter 4. Directional verbs in early Chinese dialects

The non-deictic directional complement xià 下 ‘to descend’ is left dangling in the sentence-final position in (45a), a situation that is also observed in self-agentive motion events in early Mandarin.240 The co-event verb dī 滴 ‘to drop’ is followed by the compound directional complement chū lái 出來 ‘to exit and to come’ in (45b), whereas the non-deictic directional verb xià 下 ‘to descend’ is followed by the deictic directional complement qù 去 ‘to go’ in (45c). Table 93. Word orders of the simple directional complement and the locative object in ­non-agentive sentences in early Mandarin 241 242

V + CND + LOC ü241

V + CND + CD

V + CD

ü

ü

V + ‘to arrive’ + LOC + CD ü242

V + CD + LOC û

The following examples illustrate the use of non-deictic and deictic directional complements in early Wú to express path in non-agentive motion events. Early Wú (46) a. 浪頭潑進船里。(V + CND + LOC) Lã13 dɤ13 phoʔ55 tɕin 34 zø13 li13. tide splash enter ship Localizer ‘The tide splashed into the ship.’ (1922) The Gospel of Mark in Sūzhōu Colloquial

b. 雅片煙是印度國載進來個。(V + CND + CD) (Macgowan 1862) A 53pʰi 34 i13 zɾ13 Iǝn 34du13 koʔ55 tsɛ 34 tɕin 34 lɛ13 kǝʔ55. opium be India country ship enter come sfp ‘Opium is imported from India.’

240 See 4.4.1 for relevant examples and a discussion on the absence of a locative object after a non-deictic directional verb in early Mandarin. Also, the absence of a locative object or a deictic directional complement after a non-deictic directional complement is also observed in early Cantonese when a non-agentive motion event is expressed. 241 There are only a few examples of non-agentive motion events observed in early ­Mandarin. Among them, there is no example of V + CND + LOC. However, since a locative object can appear after a non-deictic directional complement in sentences that denote self-agentive and agentive­ motion events, we assume that the use of V + CND + LOC in non-agentive motion exists (cf. Tables 92 and 99). 242 Although no relevant example of V + ‘to arrive’ + LOC + CD is found in early Mandarin, we assume that such use exists because it is found in self-agentive and agentive motion events (cf. Tables 92 and 99).

Simple directional complements 

 305



c. 一陣一陣風吹來哚玻璃窗浪。(V + CD) Iǝʔ55 zǝn 13 iǝʔ55 zǝn 13 foŋ53 tsh ɾ53 lɛ13 toʔ55 pu 53li13tshã 53 lã13. one cl one cl wind blow come at window Localizer ‘Breezes blow at the window.’



d. 勿曉得齷齪物事為啥弄到面孔浪去。(V + ‘to arrive’ + LOC + CD) Vǝʔ12 ɕiɔ34tǝʔ55 oʔ55tshoʔ55 mǝʔ12zɾ13 ɦuɛ13sa 34 loŋ13 tɔ34 not know filth thing why make arrive 13 h 34 13 h 34 mi k oŋ lã tɕ i . face Localizer go ‘Don’t know how the filthy things got onto the face.’

The non-deictic directional complement tɕin 34 進 ‘to enter’ is followed by the locative object zø13 li13 船里 ‘the ship’ in (46a), and by the deictic directional complement lɛ13 來 ‘to come’ in (46b). Example (46c) shows that it is also possible for a deictic directional complement to immediately follow a main verb such as tsh ɾ53 lɛ13 吹來 ‘to blow here’. The word order of V + ‘to arrive’ + LOC + CD is exhibited in (46d) when the locative object mi13 khoŋ34 lã13 面孔浪 ‘the face’ and the deictic directional complement tɕhi 34 去 ‘to go’ both occur in the sentence. Table 94. Word orders of the simple directional complement and the locative object in ­non-agentive sentences in early Wú V + CND + LOC

V + CND + CD

V + CD

V + ‘to arrive’ + LOC + CD

V + CD + LOC

ü

ü

ü

ü

û

The expression of path in non-agentive motion events in early Hakka is identical to that in early Wú. Early Hakka (47) a. 小河流落大河。(V + CND + LOC) Se55 ho11 liu11 lok 5 thai 55 ho11. small river flow descend big river ‘Small tributaries flow to the main stream.’

b. 手裡箇張刀也跌下來。(V + CND + CD) Su 31 teu 53 e53 tsoŋ44 tau44 ia44 tiet1 ha44 loi 11. hand Localizer that cl knife also fall descend come ‘The knife in his hand also dropped.’

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 Chapter 4. Directional verbs in early Chinese dialects



c. 咁生個菓子摘來做£個? (V + CD) (Drought 1926) An 31 saŋ44 e53 kuo31e tsak 1 loi 11 tso53 mak 1 ke53? so unripe mp fruit pick come do what mp ‘To what purpose is it to pick such unripe fruit?’



d. 因爲人做倒大水涵，透到河甽裡去 (V + ‘to arrive’ + LOC + CD) In44vi 53 ŋin 11 tso53 tau 31 thai 53 sui 31 ham11, theu 55 because man make asp big water pipe, connect tau 53 ho22 tsun 53 e hi 53 . arrive river drainage Localizer go ‘Because men made big water pipes connecting the drainage to the river.’

The lexical variations exhibited by the use of lok 5 落and ha44 下 in early Hakka are shown in (47a) and (47b), in which lok 5 落 ‘to descend’ is followed by the locative object thai 53 ho11 大河 ‘the main stream’, while ha44 下 ‘to descend’ is followed by the deictic directional complement loi11 來 ‘to come’ (cf. Table 79). In example (47c), the deictic directional complement loi11 來 ‘to come’ is immediately preceded by the main verb tsak 1 摘 ‘to pick’. In example (47d), the word order of V + ‘to arrive’ + LOC + CD is exemplified. Table 95. Word orders of the simple directional complement and the locative object in ­non-agentive sentences in early Hakka 243

V + CND + LOC

V + CND + CD

V + CD

V + ‘to arrive’ + LOC + CD

V + CD + LOC

ü

ü

ü

ü

ü243

In early Mǐn, both non-deictic and deictic directional complements can be followed by a locative object. Early Mǐn (48) a. 不覺春風透入紗窗。(V + CND + LOC) Puk 5 kak 5 tshuŋ33 huaŋ33 thau 53 dzik 2 se33 theŋ33. not feel spring breeze pass enter screen window ‘(I am) unaware that the wind blew through the screen window.’ 243 Although no relevant example of V + CD + LOC is found in early Hakka, we assume that such a word order is in use because it is found in self-agentive and agentive motion events (cf. Tables 92 and 104).

Simple directional complements 



b. 見無外客，酒進過來。(V + CND + CD) Kĩ 53 bo213 ɡua 22 kheʔ 2, tsiu 53 tseŋ213 kue21 lai 21. see no guest wine enter pass come ‘Seeing no guest, he toasted him.’



c. 禮聘送來。 (V + CD) Loi 35pheŋ213 saŋ213 lai 21. gift send come ‘The gifts from the groom’s family were sent here.’



d. 短鎗攑來這處排陣後。(V + CD + LOC) To35 tshiõ33 kɯ 53 lai 21 tsi 35tshu 213 pai 213 teŋ22 au 35. spear take come here arrange line Localizer ‘The spears were taken here to fall in line.’

 307

Examples (48a) and (48d) involve the locative objects se33 theŋ33 紗窗 ‘the screen window’ and tsi 53tshu 213 這處 ‘here’, occurring after the non-deictic directional complement dzik 5 入 ‘to enter’ and the deictic directional complement lai 55 來 ‘to come’. In example (48b), the non-deictic directional complement kue213 過 ‘to pass’ and the deictic directional complement lai 55 來 ‘to come’ are combined to form a compound directional complement, appearing after the non-deictic directional verb tseŋ213 進 ‘to enter’.244 In example (48c), the deictic directional complement lai 55 來 ‘to come’ follows the main verb saŋ213 送 ‘to send’. Table 96. Word orders of the simple directional complement and the locative object in ­non-agentive sentences in early Mǐn V + CND + LOC

V + CND + CD

V + CD

V + ‘to arrive’ + LOC + CD

V + CD + LOC

ü

ü

ü

û

ü

The word orders observed in early Cantonese are identical to those in early Mǐn. Early Cantonese (49) a. 就有血共水流出。(V + CND) Zau6 jau 5 hyut 3 gung6 seoi 2 lau4 ceot1. then have blood and water flow exit ‘Then there are blood and water coming out.’ 244 The verb tseŋ213 進 ‘to enter’ probably signals a use that is borrowed from the standard language.

308 

 Chapter 4. Directional verbs in early Chinese dialects



b. 如今斧頭擠落樹根。(V + CND + LOC) Jyu4gam1 fu 2tau4 zai1 lok6 syu6 gan 1. now axe put descend tree root ‘Now the axe is put down on the tree root.’



c. 呢的係由天降落嚟嘅餅。(V + CND + CD) Nei1 di1 hai6 jau4 tin 1 gong3 lok6 lai4 ge3 beng2. this cl be from sky fall descend come mp bread ‘The bread comes from heaven.’



d. 風隨意吹嚟。(V + CD) Fung1 ceoi4ji 3 ceoi1 lai4 . wind voluntarily blow come ‘The wind blows gently.’



e. 所有貨物在洋船裝嚟中國要過海關。(V + CD + LOC) (Ball 1902) Sou 2jau 5 fo3mat6 zoi6 joeng4 syun4 zong1 lai4 Zung1gwok 3 all goods at foreign ship load come China jiu 3 gwo3 hoi 2gwaan 1. have pass Customs ‘All goods which arrive in China in the foreign ships have to pass through the Custom Houses.’

Similar to the self-agentive and non-agentive examples in early Mandarin discussed in 4.4.1 and in this section, example (49a) shows that it is possible for a non-deictic directional complement in early Cantonese to be left dangling in the sentence-final position. Otherwise, an orientation point provided by a locative object or a deictic directional complement is often expected, as illustrated respectively by syu6 gan 1 樹根 ‘the tree root’ in (49b) and lai4 嚟 ‘to come’ in (49c). Both examples (49d) and (49e) involve the occurrence of the deictic directional complement lai4 嚟 ‘to come’ after the main verb, i.e. ceoi1 吹 ‘to blow’ in (49d) and zong1 裝 ‘to load’ in (49e). A locative object is absent in the former, but is present in the latter appearing after lai4 嚟 ‘to come’. Table 97. Word orders of the simple directional complement and the locative object in ­­non-agentive sentences in early Cantonese V + CND + LOC

V + CND + CD

V + CD

V + ‘to arrive’ + LOC + CD

V + CD + LOC

ü

ü

ü

û

ü

Simple directional complements 

 309

Table 98 summarizes the word orders of the simple directional complement and the locative object in sentences that denote non-agentive motion events in the five early dialects. Table 98. Word orders of the simple directional complement and the locative object in ­­non-agentive sentences in the five early dialects V + CND + LOC 飄上天空

V + CND + CD 掉下來

V + CD 拿去

V + ‘to arrive’ + LOC + CD 流到四肢上去

V + CD + LOC 搬去客廳

Mandarin

ü

ü

ü

ü

û

Wú

ü

ü

ü

ü

û

Hakka

ü

ü

ü

ü

ü

Mǐn

ü

ü

ü

û

ü

Cantonese

ü

ü

ü

û

ü

Table 98 shows that the five early dialects can be divided into three groups with early Mandarin and Wú belonging to one group (indicated by light shading), and early Mǐn and Cantonese belonging to another group (indicated by heavy shading). As for early Hakka, it constitutes one group by itself because it exhibits word orders of the other two groups (indicated by unshaded area).

4.4.3 Agentive motion events In section 4.3.3, it is shown that the agentive use of directional verbs is observed in early Hakka, Mǐn and Cantonese. However, it is more common for the five early dialects to denote an agentive motion event by using a combination of a co-event verb and a directional complement. Early Mandarin (50) a. 取出纸煙。(V + CND + O) Qǔ chū zhǐyān. take exit cigarette ‘(He) took out a cigarette.’

b. 烏大人送來一信。(V + CD + O) Wū dàren sòng lai yí xìn. Wū magistrate send come one letter ‘Magistrate Wū sent a letter here.’

310 

 Chapter 4. Directional verbs in early Chinese dialects



c. 聞大老爺遣人送了一封信來。(V + O + CD) Wén dàlǎoye qiǎn rén sòng le yì fēng xìn lai. heard magistrate appoint person send asp one cl letter come ‘(I) heard that your Honour appointed a person to bring a letter here.’



d. 情願叫本地公差，把我解押進京。(dm + O + V + CND + LOC) Qíngyuàn jiào běndì gōngchāi, bá wǒ jièyā jìn jīng. wish let local guard, dm me escort enter capital ‘I’d rather be escorted to the capital by local guards.’



e. 把春阿氏带出來。(V + CND + CD) Bǎ Chūn’āshì dài chū lai. dm Chūn’āshì bring exit come ‘Chūn’āshì was brought out here.’



f. 又把鏡子挪來。(V + CD) Yòu bǎ jìngzi nuó lai. also dm mirror move come ‘(She) also brought out the mirror.’



g. 把我带到這裡來。(V + ‘to arrive’ + LOC + CD) Bá wǒ dài dao zhèli lai. dm me bring arrive here come ‘I was brought here.’

In example (50a), the object zhǐyān 纸煙 ‘a cigarette’ appears after the main verb and the non-deictic directional complement, i.e. qǔ chū 取出 ‘to take out’. Alternative word orders are observed when a deictic directional complement and a theme object are involved. While the deictic directional complement lái 來 ‘to come’ occurs after the main verb sòng 送 ‘to send’ and before the object yí xìn 一信 ‘a letter’ in (50b), it appears after the main verb sòng 送 and the object yì fēng xìn 一封信 in (50c). Example (50d) illustrates that when a theme object and a locative object such as wǒ 我 ‘I’ and jīng 京 ‘the capital’ are involved in a sentence, the theme object appears before the verb and marked by the disposal marker bǎ 把, leaving the locative object after the non-deictic directional complement. Examples (50e)–(50g) further show the strong tendency in early Mandarin to place the theme object in the preverbal position and to mark it with bǎ 把. In example (50e), the main verb dài 带 ‘to bring’ is followed by the compound directional complement chū lái 出來 ‘to exit and to come’, whereas in example (50f) the main verb nuó 挪 ‘to move’ is followed by the deictic directional complement lái 來 ‘to come’. Example (50g) shows that the word order of V + ‘to arrive’ + LOC + CD is exemplified with the presence of the locative object zhèlǐ 這裡 ‘here’.

Simple directional complements 

 311

Table 99. Word orders of the simple directional complement, the theme object and the locative object in agentive sentences in early Mandarin V + CND +O

V + CD +O

V+O + CD

V + O + CND + LOC

V + CND + CD

V + CD

V + ‘to arrive’ + LOC + CD

V + CD + LOC

ü

ü

ü

û

ü

ü

ü

û

The word orders exhibited in early Wú are essentially the same as those observed in early Mandarin except that the former seems to be more tolerant of the occurrence of a theme object and a locative object in the postverbal position than the latter. Early Wú (51) a. 又趕出多化鬼。(V + CND + O) ɦiɤ13 kø34 tshǝʔ55 tu 53 ho34 tɕy34. also cast out exit many spirit ‘(Jesus) also cast out many spirits.’ (1922) The Gospel of Mark in Sūzhōu Colloquial

b. 教俚拿會錢來。(V + O + CD) Tɕiɔ34 li13 nɛ13 ɦuɛ13di13 lɛ13 . ask you bring money come ‘(I) ask you to bring me money.’



c. 俚就懇求耶穌勿要趕俚篤出個搭場化。(V + O + CND + LOC) Li13 ʥiɤ13 khǝn 34 ʥiɤ13 Ia 53 su 53 vǝʔ12 iɔ34 kø34 li13 toʔ55 he then beg Jesus not want cast out them tshǝʔ55 kǝʔ55 tǝʔ55zã13hɔ34. exit this place ‘He then begged Jesus not to cast them out.’ (1922) The Gospel of Mark in Sūzhōu Colloquial



d. 耐自家送轉去好。(V + CND + CD) Nɛ13 zɾ13ka13 soŋ34 tsø34 tɕhi 34 hɔ34. you yourself send return go good ‘You’d better send her back yourself.’



e. 辦得來一淘送去。(V + CD) Pɛ 34 tǝʔ55 lɛ13 iǝʔ55dɔ13 soŋ34 tɕhi 34. do asp come together send go ‘After finishing all the tasks, you send all of them over.’

312 

 Chapter 4. Directional verbs in early Chinese dialects f. 後來我送伊到伊屋裏去。(V + O + ‘to arrive’ + LOC + CD) (Pott 1913) ɦɤ13lɛ13 ŋu13 soŋ34 ɦi13 tɔ34 ɦi13 oʔ55 li13 tɕhi 34. then I send him arrive his house go ‘Then I escorted him to his home.’

The object tu 53 ho34 tɕy34 多化鬼 ‘many spirits’ occurs after the main verb and the non-deictic directional complement kø34 tshǝʔ55 趕出 ‘to cast out’ in (51a) while the object ɦuɛ13 di13 會錢 ‘money’ appears after the main verb nɛ13 拿 ‘to bring’ and before the deictic directional complement lɛ13 來 ‘to come’ in (51b). Example (51c) shows that in contrast to early Mandarin in which there is a strong tendency for the object to appear in the preverbal position and to be marked by bǎ 把, early Wú allows the main verb and the non-deictic directional complement to each have its own object. While the main verb kø34 趕 ‘to cast out’ is followed by the theme object li13toʔ55 俚篤 ‘them’, the non-deictic directional complement tshǝʔ55 出 ‘to exit’ introduces the locative object kǝʔ55 tǝʔ55zã13hɔ34 個搭場化 ‘this place’. The non-deictic directional complement tsø34 轉 ‘to return’ and the deictic directional complement tɕhi 34 去 ‘to go’ are combined to form a compound directional complement in (51d). Moreover, it is also possible for the deictic directional complement tɕhi 34 去 ‘to go’ to immediately follow a main verb, as in the case of soŋ34 tɕhi 34 送去 ‘to send there’ in (51e). When a locative object and a deictic directional complement are used in a sentence, the word order of V + ‘to arrive’ + LOC + CD is exhibited, as shown in (51f), in which the locative object ɦi13 oʔ55 li13 伊屋裏 ‘his house’ is introduced by tɔ34 到 ‘to arrive’, and the deictic directional complement tɕhi 34 去 ‘to go’ occupies the sentence-final position. Table 100. Word orders of the simple directional complement, the theme object and the ­locative object in agentive sentences in early Wú V + CND + O

V + CD + O V + O + CD V + O + CND + LOC

ü

—

ü

ü

V + CND + CD

V + CD

V + ‘to arrive’ + LOC + CD

V + CD + LOC

ü

ü

ü

û

The possibility for a locative object to occur after a deictic directional complement distinguishes early Hakka from early Mandarin and Wú. Early Hakka (52) a. 佢拔出£刀… (V + CND + O) (Kē 2006: 269) ki11 phat 5 tshut1 ? tau44… he draw exit cl knife ‘He took out a knife…’

Simple directional complements 



b. 搾麵包來！(V + O + CD) (Ball 1913) Tsa 53 mien 53pau44 loi 11! bring bread come ‘Bring some bread!’



c. 放青菜入我間房裡 (V + O + CND + LOC) (Drought 1926) pioŋ53 tshiang35tshoi 53 ŋip5 ŋa44 kian44 foŋ11 e31 put vegetables enter my cl room Localizer ‘to bring the vegetables into my room’



d. 人打隻井就落去挖出來。(V + CND + CD) ŋin 11 ta 31 tsak 1 tsiaŋ31 tshiu 53 lok 5 hi 53 iat1 tshut1 loi 11. man hit cl well then descend go dig exit come ‘Men dig a well under the ground.’



e. 落船箇時都冇乜東西帶去。(V + CD) Lok 5 son 11 e53 sɿ 11 tu11 mo11 mak 1 tuŋ44si44 tai 53 hi 53 . escend ship mp time also not what thing bring go ‘When boarding the ship, he did not bring much with him.’



f. 拿信去郵局 (V + O + CD + LOC) (Drought 1926) na44 sin 53 hi 53 iu11kiuk 5 bring letter go post office ‘to bring the letters to the post office’

 313

In example (52a), the non-deictic directional complement tshut1 出 ‘to exit’ immediately follows the main verb phat 5 拔 ‘to draw’ and precedes the object ? tau44 ­ £刀 ‘a knife’. In contrast, the deictic directional complement loi11 來 ‘to come’ in (52b) appears after the main verb and the object tsa 53 mien 53 pau44 搾麵包 ‘to bring bread’. Similar to early Wú, a main verb and a non-deictic directional complement can each have their own object. In example (52c), the main verb pioŋ53 放 ‘to put’ is followed by the theme object tshiang35 tshoi 53 青菜 ‘vegetables’, and the non-deictic directional complement ŋip5 入 ‘to enter’ precedes its locative object ŋa44 kian44 foŋ¹¹ e31 我間房裡 ‘my room’. The main verb iat1 挖 ‘to dig’ in (52d) is followed by the compound directional complement tshut1 loi11 出來 ‘to exit and to come’, while the main verb tai 53 帶 ‘to bring’ is followed by the deictic directional complement hi 53 去 ‘to go’ in (52e). In example (52f), the theme object sin 53 信 ‘letters’ and the locative object iu11 kiuk 5 郵局 ‘the post office’ are present. While the former follows the main verb na44 拿 ‘to bring’, the latter is introduced by the deictic directional complement hi 53 去 ‘to go’.

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 Chapter 4. Directional verbs in early Chinese dialects

Table 101. Word orders of the simple directional complement, the theme object and the locative object in agentive sentences in early Hakka 245

V + CND + O

V + CD + O

V + O + CD

V + O + CND + LOC

V + CND + CD

V + CD

ü

–

ü

ü

ü

ü

V + ‘to arrive’ + LOC + CD ü245

V + CD + LOC ü

Early Mǐn exhibits the same word orders as those in early Hakka. Early Mǐn246 (53) a. 掞落手帕荔枝 (V + CND + O) tã 21 loʔ 2 tshiu 35phe213 li 21ki 33 drop descend handkerchief litchi ‘to drop a handkerchief and litchi’

b. £有寄信來。247 (V + O + CD) (Macgowan 1869) In 33 u 21 kia 53 seŋ213 lai 55 . they have send letter come ‘They have sent us a letter.’



c. 手捧寶鏡出外廳(V + O + CND + LOC) tshiu 53 phoŋ35 po35 kiã 213 tshuk 5 ɡua 22 thiã 33 hand hold precious mirror exit outer living room ‘to bring the precious mirror out by hand to the formal living room’



d. 樓上掞落來是乜物？(V + CND + CD) Lau 55 tsiõ21 tã 21 loʔ 2 lai 21 si 21 miʔ5mueʔ5? floor Localizer drop descend come be what ‘What was being dropped down from upstairs?’



e. 汝肯共我送去… (V + CD) Lɯ 53 keŋ35 kaŋ22 ua 35 saŋ213 khɯ 21… you will for me send go ‘If you will send it for me…’

245 No relevant example of V + ‘to arrive’ + LOC + CD is found in early Hakka. We assume that it is in use because it is found in self-agentive and non-agentive motion events (cf. Tables 92 and 98). 246 Example (53c) is taken from the (1566) version of Romance of the Litchi Mirror. 247 In the original example, 批 is used for the meaning of ‘a letter’. But in Cháo’ān seŋ213 信 ‘a letter’ is used instead. Since the transliteration is based on Cháo’ān, we have changed 批 to 信 for the meaning of ‘a letter’.

Simple directional complements 

 315

f. 抱伊去頂面 (V + O + CD + LOC) (Macgowan 1869) pho21 i 33 khɯ 53 teŋ213meŋ22 hold him go upstairs ‘to carry the child upstairs’



While the object tshiu 35phe213li 21ki 33 手帕荔枝 ‘the handkerchief and litchi’ in (53a) occurs after the main verb and the non-deictic directional complement tã 35 loʔ5 掞落 ‘to drop’, the object seŋ213 信 ‘a letter’ follows the main verb kia 53 寄 ‘to send’ and precedes the deictic directional complement lai 55 來 ‘to come’ in (53b). In example (53c), the theme object po53kiã 213 寶鏡 ‘a precious mirror’ and the locative object ɡua 22 thiã 33 外廳 ‘the formal living room’ follow the main verb phoŋ53 捧 ‘to hold’ and the non-deictic directional complement tshuk 2 出 ‘to exit’ respectively. The main verb tã 35 掞 ‘to drop’ in (53d) is followed by the compound directional complement loʔ5 lai 55 落來 ‘to descend and to come’ while the main verb saŋ213 送 ‘to send’ in (53e) is followed by the deictic directional complement khɯ 213 去 ‘to go’. Example (53f) illustrates that the main verb pho21 抱 ‘to hold’ and the deictic directional complement khɯ 213 去 ‘to go’ can each have their own object, i.e. the theme object i 33 伊 ‘him’ and the locative object teŋ213meŋ22 頂面 ‘upstairs’. Table 102. Word orders of the simple directional complement, the theme object and the locative object in agentive sentences in early Mǐn V + CND + O

V + CD + O

V + O + CD

V + O + CND + LOC

V + CND + CD

V + CD

V + ‘to arrive’ + LOC + CD

V + CD + LOC

ü

—

ü

ü

ü

ü

û

ü

The word orders displayed in early Cantonese are identical to those in early Mǐn except that the word order of V + CD + O is found in early Cantonese but not in early Mǐn. Early Cantonese (54) a. 扯埋的衽 (V + CND + O) (Bruce 1877) ce2 maai4 di1 jam6 pull approach cl curtain ‘to close the curtains’

b. 掃去個啲蠄蟧絲網 (V + CD + O) (Kerr 1888) sou 3 heoi 3 go2 di1 kam4lo4si1mong5 sweep go that cl cobweb ‘to sweep the cobwebs away’

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 Chapter 4. Directional verbs in early Chinese dialects



c. 又帶五千嚟 (V + O + CD) jau6 daai 3 ng5 cin 1 lai4 again bring five thousand come ‘to bring another five thousand’



d. 收的麥入倉 (V + O + CND + LOC) sau1 di1 mak6 jap6 cong1 put cl wheat enter warehouse ‘to put the wheat into the warehouse’



e. 有個抬死人出嚟。(V + O + CND + CD) Jau 5 go3 toi4 sei 2 jan4 ceot1 lai4 . have cl carry dead person exit come ‘Someone has carried the dead body out.’



f. 搬去{扌永}落海 (V + CD) bun 1 heoi 3 wing1 lok6 hoi 2 move go throw descend sea ‘to move it away in order to throw it into the sea’



g. 有人帶一個瘋癱嘅嚟佢嗻。(V + O + CD + LOC) Jau 5 jan4 daai4 jat1 go3 fung1taan 2 ge3 lai4 Keoi 5 syu 3. have person bring one cl paralyze mp come His Localizer ‘Someone has brought a paralyzed man to Him.’

The main verbs ce2 扯 ‘to pull’ in (54a) and sou 3 掃 ‘to sweep’ in (54b) are followed, respectively, by the non-deictic directional complement maai4 埋 ‘to approach’ and the object di1 jam6 的衽 ‘the curtains’, and the deictic directional complement heoi 3 去 ‘to go’ and the object go2 di1 kam4lo4si1mong5 個啲蠄蟧絲網 ‘those cobwebs’. The object ng5cin 1 五千 ‘five thousand’, in contrast, occurs after the main verb daai 3 帶 ‘to bring’ and before the deictic directional complement lai4 嚟 ‘to come’ in (54c). Example (54d) involves both the theme object di1 mak6 的麥 ‘the wheat’ and the locative object cong1 倉 ‘the warehouse’, and they follow the main verb sau1 收 ‘to put’ and the non-deictic directional complement jap6 入 ‘to enter’ respectively. While example (54e) consists of the compound directional complement ceot1 lai4 出嚟 ‘to exit and to come’, example (54f) involves the deictic directional complement heoi 3 去 ‘to go’. In example (54g), the deictic directional complement lai4 嚟 ‘to come’ is followed by the locative object Keoi 5 syu 3 佢嗻 ‘his place’.

Simple directional complements 

 317

Table 103. Word orders of the simple directional complement, the theme object and the locative object in agentive sentences in early Cantonese V + CND +O

V + CD + O

V+O + CD

V + O + CND + LOC

V + CND + CD

V + CD

V + ‘to arrive’ + LOC + CD

V + CD + LOC

ü

ü

ü

ü

ü

ü

û

ü

Table 104 summarizes the word orders of the simple directional complement, the theme object and the locative object in sentences that denote agentive motion events in the five early dialects. Table 104. Word orders of the simple directional complement, the theme object and the locative object in agentive sentences in the five early dialects V + CND + O V + CD + O V+O V + O + CND V + CND + CD V + CD V + ‘to  arrive’ V + CD 摘下水果 送來一 + CD + LOC 送進來 + LOC + CD + LOC 本書 送小說來 叫張三進 送來 送到教室來 放來檯上 教室 Mandarin

ü

ü

ü

û

ü

ü

ü

Wú

ü

–

ü

ü

ü

ü

ü

û

Hakka

ü

–

ü

ü

ü

ü

ü

ü

Mǐn

ü

–

ü

ü

ü

ü

û

ü

Cantonese

ü

ü

ü

ü

ü

ü

û

ü

û

Table 104 shows that the five early dialects differ in terms of the following features: (i) Whether the deictic directional complement immediately appears after the main verb and before the theme object. In this regard, examples of the use of V + CD + O are found in early Mandarin and Cantonese, but no relevant examples are observed in early Wú, Hakka and Mǐn. (ii) Whether the co-occurrence of two objects, i.e. a theme object and a locative object, in the postverbal position is tolerated. Early Mandarin is the dialect that shows the least degree of tolerance, while the other four early dialects display a higher degree of tolerance. (iii) Whether a locative object is allowed after a deictic directional complement. Such use is not observed in early Mandarin and Wú, but is allowed in early Hakka, Mǐn and Cantonese. Table 104 further illustrates that if (i) and (ii) are excluded, early Mandarin and Wú fall into the same group (indicated by light shading), early Mǐn and Cantonese belong to a different group (indicated by heavy shading). Early Hakka exhibits the word orders of the other two groups (indicated by unshaded area).

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 Chapter 4. Directional verbs in early Chinese dialects

In sections 4.4.1–4.4.3, it has been shown that early Mandarin, Wú, Hakka, Mǐn and Cantonese exhibit the characteristic of satellite-framed languages in encoding path in a simple directional complement in self-agentive, non-agentive and agentive motion events. It has also been illustrated that early Mandarin and Wú form a single group while early Mǐn and Cantonese fall into another group. Early Hakka forms yet another group by itself. Moreover, it has been observed that the tendency for a non-deictic directional complement to be followed by a locative object or a deictic directional complement in the early dialects is not as strong as their modern counterparts. Section 4.5 below discusses the use of compound directional complements in early Mandarin, Wú, Hakka, Mǐn and Cantonese in the three types of motion events.

4.5 Compound directional complements This section examines the use of compound directional complements in early Mandarin, Wú, Hakka, Mǐn and Cantonese to encode path in self-agentive, nonagentive and agentive motion events. Furthermore, it shows that word order variations exist within a single dialect and across dialects when different types of motion events are being expressed. 4.5.1 Self-agentive motion events While the main verb denotes the manner in which the movement is carried out, the compound directional complement encodes path. Since the last element in a compound directional complement is necessarily a deictic directional complement, dialects that do not allow a deictic directional complement to be followed by a locative object also do not allow the occurrence of a locative object after a compound directional complement. Early Mandarin (55) a. 轉身走了出來。(V + CND + CD) Zhuǎnshēn zǒu le chū lai. turn around walk asp exit come ‘(She) turned around and walked out.’

b. 走進屋去。(V + CND + LOC + CD) Zǒu jìn wū qu. walk enter house go ‘(She) then walked into the house.’

Compound directional complements 

 319

Example (55a) shows the use of the compound directional complement chū lái 出 來 ‘to exit and to come’ after the co-event verb zǒu 走 ‘to walk’. While chū 出 indicates that the movement is directed from the inside to the outside of a location, lái 來 ‘to come’ denotes that the movement is carried out toward where the speaker is. Example (55b) illustrates the word order of V + CND + LOC + CD. The non-deictic directional complement jìn 進 ‘to enter’ is followed by the locative object wū 屋 ‘the house’, which is followed by the deictic directional complement qù 去 ‘to go’. Table 105. Word orders of the compound directional complement and the locative object in ­­self-agentive sentences in early Mandarin V + CND + CD

V + CND + LOC + CD

V + CND + CD + LOC

ü

ü

û

The following examples demonstrate that early Wú employs the same word orders as early Mandarin. Early Wú (56) a. 我連忙爬起來。(V + CND + CD) ŋu13 li13mã13 bo13 tɕhi 34 lɛ13 . I immediately climb rise come ‘I get up immediately.’

b. 有啥要緊事體，要連夜趕出城去？(V + CND + LOC + CD) ɦiɤ13 sa 34 iɔ34tɕin 34 zɾ13 thi 34, iɔ34 li13 ɦia13 kø34 tshǝʔ55 have what urgent matter, need overnight rush exit zǝn 13 tɕhi 34? city go ‘Why do you have to leave right away?’

While example (56a) shows the use of the compound directional complement tɕhi 34 lɛ13 起來 ‘to rise and to come’ after the co-event verb bo13 爬 ‘to climb’, example (56b) displays the word order of V + CND + LOC + CD when a locative object is involved. Table 106. Word orders of the compound directional complement and the locative object in ­self-agentive sentences in early Wú V + CND + CD

V + CND + LOC + CD

V + CND + CD + LOC

ü

ü

û

320 

 Chapter 4. Directional verbs in early Chinese dialects

When a locative object is not involved, the use of a compound directional complement in early Hakka is the same as early Mandarin and Wú. With the presence of a locative object, two word orders are observed. Early Hakka (57) a. 佢就££走下去。(V + CND + CD) Ki11 tshiu 53 ?? tseu 31 ha44 hi 53. he then ?? run descend go ‘He then ran down there.’

b. 狗走入間房肚裡去。(V + CND + LOC + CD) (Drought 1926) Keu 31e tseu 31 ŋip5 kian44 foŋ11 tu 31 e hi 53 . dog run enter cl room inside Localizer go ‘The dog scampered into a room in the house.’



c. 我今日轉到來梅縣。(V + CND + CD + LOC) (Drought 1926) ŋai11 kin44ŋit1 tson 31 tau 53 loi 11 Moi11ian 53. I today return arrive come Méixiàn ‘Today I returned to Méixiàn.’

In example (57a), the compound directional complement ha44 hi 53 下去 ‘to descend and to go’ follows the co-event verb tseu 31 走 ‘to run’. While the word order V + CND + LOC + CD is displayed in (57b) with the presence of the locative object kian44 foŋ11 tu 31 e 間房肚裡 ‘in the room’, the word order of V + CND + CD + LOC is exhibited in (57c), in which the locative object Moi11ian 53 梅縣 ‘Méixiàn’ follows the compound directional complement tau 53 loi11 到來 ‘to arrive and to come’.248 Table 107. Word orders of the compound directional complement and the locative object in ­­self-agentive sentences in early Hakka V + CND + CD

V + CND + LOC + CD

V + CND + CD + LOC

ü

ü

ü

Similar to early Hakka, early Mǐn also exhibits the use of a locative object after a compound directional complement.

248 See 4.4.1 for the use of V + ‘to arrive’ + LOC + CD and V + CD + LOC in self-agentive sentences in early Hakka.

Compound directional complements 

 321

Early Mǐn (58) a. 跪落去  (V + CND + CD) (Dean 1841) kui 35 loʔ 2 khɯ 21 kneel descend go ‘to kneel down’

b. 泉州磨落來潮州城。(V + CND + CD + LOC) Tsuã 213 tsiu 33 bua 213 loʔ 2 lai 213 Tio213tsiu 33 siã 55. Quánzhōu polish descend come Cháozhōu city ‘(I) came to Cháozhōu from Quánzhōu and polished mirrors all the way.’

While example (58a) does not involve a locative object, example (58b) does, in which the locative object Tio55tsiu 33 siã 55 潮州城 ‘the city of Cháozhōu’ appears after the compound directional complement loʔ5 lai 55 落來 ‘to descend and to come’. Table 108. Word orders of the compound directional complement and the locative object in ­self-agentive sentences in early Mǐn V + CND + CD

V + CND + LOC + CD

V + CND + CD + LOC

ü

û

ü

Early Cantonese shows the same word orders as early Mǐn. Early Cantonese (59) a. 若係冇欄杆我就跌落去。(V + CND + CD) (Bridgman 1841) Joek6 hai6 mou 5 laan4gon 1, ngo5 zau6 dit 3 lok6 heoi 3 . if be not balustrade, I then fall descend go ‘If there had been no balustrade, I should have fallen down.’

b. 扒唨上去佢個背脊處。(V + CND + CD + LOC) Paa4 zo2 soeng5 heoi 3 keoi 5 go3 bui 3zek 3 cyu 3. climb asp ascend go his cl back Localizer ‘(The cripple) climbed up onto his back.’ (1930s) New Canton Colloquial



c. 個個都跳番落去塘裏。(V + CND + CND + CD + LOC) Go3 go3 dou1 tiu 3 faan 1 lok6 heoi 3 tong4 leoi 5. cl cl also jump return descend go pond Localizer ‘Everyone jumped back down into the pond.’ (1930s) New Canton Colloquial

322 

 Chapter 4. Directional verbs in early Chinese dialects

In example (59a), the main verb dit 3 跌 ‘to fall’ is followed by the compound directional complement lok6 heoi 3 落去 ‘to descend and to go’. Example (59b) shows that the locative object keoi 5 go3 bui 3zek 3 cyu 3 佢個背脊處 ‘his back’ appears after the compound directional complement soeng5 heoi 3 上去 ‘to ascend and to go’. The use of triple directional complements is also found in early Cantonese, as illustrated in (59c), in which the triple directional complement faan 1 lok6 heoi 3 番 落去 ‘to return, to descend and to go’ follows the co-event verb tiu 3 跳 ‘to jump’ and precedes the locative object tong4 leoi 5 塘裏 ‘the pond’. However, it should be noted that examples that involve a triple directional complement in early Cantonese are very few. Table 109. Word orders of the compound directional complement and the locative object in ­­self-agentive sentences in early Cantonese V + CND + CD

V + CND + LOC + CD

V + CND + CD + LOC

ü

û

ü

Table 110 summarizes the word orders of the compound directional complement and the locative object in sentences that denote self-agentive motion events in the five early dialects. Table 110. Word orders of the compound directional complement and the locative object in ­­self-agentive sentences in the five early dialects

Mandarin

V + CND + CD 爬上來

V + CND + LOC + CD 爬上山頂去

V + CND + CD + LOC 爬上去山頂

ü

ü

û

Wú

ü

ü

û

Hakka

ü

ü

ü

Mǐn

ü

û

ü

Cantonese

ü

û

ü

Table 110 shows that the word orders displayed in early Mandarin and Wú are the same (indicated by light shading), while those shown in early Mǐn and Cantonese are identical (indicated by heavy shading). Early Hakka, on the other hand, exhibits word orders of both groups (indicated by unshaded area).

Compound directional complements 

 323

4.5.2 Non-agentive motion events The word orders exhibited in non-agentive sentences in the five early dialects are basically the same as those in self-agentive sentences. The following examples show that all five early dialects express path in non-agentive motion events in a compound directional complement. Examples in early Hakka and Cantonese involve a locative object (cf. (62b) and (64b)), while examples in early Mandarin, Wú and Mǐn do not. The word order of V + CND + LOC + CD is used in early Hakka but the word order of V + CND + CD + LOC is employed in early Cantonese. Early Mandarin (60) 難道那把切菜刀，是從門隙中，飛進去的不成？(V + CND + CD) Nándào nà bǎ qiēcàidāo shì cóng ménxì zhōng fēi it couldn’t be that cl knife be from door opening Localizer fly jìn qu de bùchéng? enter go mp not do ‘It couldn’t be possible that the knife slipped into the room through the crack of the door, could it? Early Wú (61) 水從山頂上流下來。(V + CND + CD) (Pott 1913) Sɾ34 zoŋ13 sɛ 55 tin 2 zã13 liɤ11 ɦo4 lɛ13 . water from hill top Localizer flow descend come ‘The water flows down from the top of the hill.’ Early Hakka (62) a. 禺有看介兜火蛇在東邊攝出來？(V + CND + CD) (Ball 1913) N 11̩ iu44 khon 53 e53 teu44 fo31sa11 tshoi44 tuŋ44 pien44 you have see that cl lightning at east side iap1 tshut1 loi 11? flash exit come ‘Did you look at the lightning flashing in the East?’

b. £兜貨抬落貨倉去 (V + CND + LOC + CD) (Ball 1913) ŋia44 teu44 fo53 thoi11 lok 5 fo53tshoŋ44 hi 53 these cl goods carry descend godown go ‘to carry these goods to the godown’

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 Chapter 4. Directional verbs in early Chinese dialects

Early Mǐn (63) 這物挈轉去 (V + CND + CD) (Dean 1841) tsi 35 mueʔ5 khioʔ 2 tɯŋ53 khɯ 21 this thing take return go ‘to carry this back’ Early Cantonese (64) a. 酒噲漏出嚟。(V + CND + CD) Zau 2 wui 5 lau6 ceot1 lai4 . wine will leak exit come ‘The wine will leak.’ (1872) The Gospel of Mark in Canton Colloquial

b. 江河嘅水就流入去洋海咯。(V + CND + CD + LOC) Gong1 hoi4 ge3 seoi 2 zau6 lau4 jap6 heoi 3 joeng4hoi 2 lok 3. river mp water then flow enter go ocean sfp ‘The water in the river flows into the ocean.’ (1930s) New Canton Colloquial

Table 111. Word orders of the compound directional complement and the locative object in ­­non-agentive sentences in the five early dialects249 V + CND + CD 掉下來

V + CND + LOC + CD 送進教室去

V + CND + CD + LOC 送進去教室

Mandarin

ü

ü

û

Wú

ü

ü

û

Hakka

ü

ü

ü

Mǐn

ü

û

ü

Cantonese

ü

û

ü

Table 111 shows that early Mandarin and Wú belong to one group (indicated by light shading), while early Mǐn and Cantonese constitute a separate group (indicated by heavy shading). Early Hakka shows the word orders of the other two groups (indicated by unshaded area). 249 Although a number of word orders in non-agentive sentences are not found for the early dialects, based on the pattern of usage in self-agentive and agentive motion events, we assume that the following word orders are in use: V + CND + LOC + CD in early Mandarin and Wú, V + CND + CD + LOC in early Hakka and Mǐn (cf. Tables 110 and 117).

Compound directional complements 

 325

4.5.3 Agentive motion events In agentive sentences, the position of the locative object in the dialect is identical to that observed for self-agentive sentences. In particular, early Mandarin and Wú use the word order of V + CND + LOC + CD while early Mǐn and Cantonese display the word order of V + CND + CD + LOC. As for early Hakka, it employs the word orders of the other two groups. As shown in 3.5.3, when an indefinite object is involved, variations exist within a single dialect and across dialects, with regard to the position in which the object appears. A similar situation is observed in agentive sentences in the five early dialects. Early Mandarin (65) a. 文光領屍出去。(V + O + CND + CD) Wénguāng lǐng shī chū qu. Wénguāng collect body exit go ‘Wénguāng collected the body (from the prison).’

b. 拿出手帕來 (V + CND + O + CD) ná chū shǒupà lai take exit handkerchief come ‘to take a handkerchief out’



c. 送過來兩碗糖水 (V + CND + CD + O) sòng guò lai liáng wǎn tángshuǐ send pass come two cl dessert ‘to pass over two bowls of dessert’



d. 隨有官兵把阿氏攙上車去。(dm + O + V + CND + LOC + CD) Suí yǒu guānbīng bǎ Āshì chān shàng chē qù. follow have guard dm Āshì hold ascend car go ‘Then a guard helped Āshì into the car by holding her arm.’

Three word orders are exemplified in (65a)–(65c) in terms of the relative position of an indefinite object and a compound directional complement. An indefinite object can immediately appear after the co-event verb and before the compound directional complement (cf. (65a)), or it can occur after the non-deictic directional complement and before the deictic one (cf. (65b)). The indefinite object can also appear after the compound directional complement (cf. (65c)). In example (65d), the theme object Āshì 阿氏 ‘Āshì’ occurs in the preverbal position and is marked by bǎ 把, while the locative object chē 車 ‘the car’ and the compound

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 Chapter 4. Directional verbs in early Chinese dialects

directional complement shàng qù 上去 ‘to ascend and to go’ exhibit the word order of CND + LOC + CD. Table 112. Word orders of the compound directional complement, the theme object and the locative object in agentive sentences in early Mandarin V + O+ CND + CD

V + CND + O + CD

V + CND + CD + O

V + CND + LOC + CD

V + CND + CD + LOC

ü

ü

ü

ü

û

The word orders exhibited in early Wú are identical to those shown in early Mandarin. Early Wú (66) a. 今朝倒放耐出來哉！ (V + O+ CND + CD) Tɕin 53 zɔ13 tɔ34 fã 34 nɛ13 tshǝʔ55 lɛ13 tsɛ 53! this morning contrary release you exit come sfp ‘(They) unexpectedly released you this morning!’

b. 常恐倪要耐拿出四十塊洋錢來… (V + CND + O + CD) Zã 34 khoŋ13 ni13 iɔ34 nɛ13 nɛ13 tshǝʔ55 sɾ34sǝʔ55 khuɛ13 always fear I need you take exit forty cl ɦiã13di13 lɛ13 … dollar come ‘Always fearing that I would ask you for forty dollars…’



c. 就屋里带出來幾塊洋錢。(V + CND + CD + O) ʥiɤ13 oʔ55 li13 ta 34 tshǝʔ55 lɛ13 tɕi 34 khuɛ13 ɦiã13di13. then house Localizer bring exit come few cl dollar ‘(You) have only brought a few dollars from home.’



d. 伸進秀寶袖子里去。(V + CND + LOC + CD) Sǝn 13 tɕin 34 ɕiɤ34 pɔ34 ʑiɤ13 tsɾ34 li13 tɕhi 34 . stretch enter Xiùbǎo sleeve Localizer go ‘(He) stretched his hand into the sleeve of Xiùbǎo.’

Examples (66a)–(66c) illustrate the three word orders observed in early Mandarin when an object and a compound directional complement are involved. In example (66a), the object nɛ13 耐 ‘you’ occurs after the verb fã 34 放 ‘to release’ and before the compound directional complement tshǝʔ55 lɛ13 出來 ‘to exit and to come’. The object sɾ34sǝʔ55 khuɛ13 ɦiã13di13 四十塊洋錢 ‘forty dollars’ splits up the compound directional complement tshǝʔ55 lɛ13 出來 ‘to exit and to come’ in (66b),

Compound directional complements 

 327

and the object tɕi 34 khuɛ13 ɦiã13di13 幾塊洋錢 ‘a few dollars’ follows the compound directional complement tshǝʔ55 lɛ13 出來 ‘to exit and to come’ in (66c). Example (66d) uses the word order of CND + LOC + CD when the locative object ɕiɤ34 pɔ34 ʑiɤ13 tsɾ34 li13 秀寶袖子里 ‘the sleeve of Xiùbǎo’ is involved. Table 113. Word orders of the compound directional complement, the theme object and the locative object in agentive sentences in early Wú V + O+ CND + CD

V + CND + O + CD

V + CND + CD + O

V + CND + LOC + CD

V + CND + CD + LOC

ü

ü

ü

ü

û

The word orders observed in early Hakka are different from those in early Mandarin and Wú in two aspects. First, the word order of V + CND + CD + O is not found. Second, the word orders of V + CND + LOC + CD and V + CND + CD + LOC are both displayed. Early Hakka (67) a. 放雞出去  (V + O + CND + CD) (Drought 1926) fong53 ke44 tshut1 hi 53 release chickens exit go ‘to let the chickens go (away from me)’

b. 在隔離嘅屋拉出佢來  (V + CND + O + CD) (Ball 1913) tsoi44 kak 1li11 e53 vuk 1 la44 tshut1 ki11 loi11 at neighbouring mp house pull exit him come ‘to drag him out from the neighbouring house’



c. 拿轉店肚裡去  (V + CND + LOC + CD) (Drought 1926) na44 tson 31 tiam 53 tu 31 ve hi 53 bring return shop inside Localizer go ‘to bring back to the shop’



d. …拿轉去屋下£你£  (V + CND + CD + LOC) (Drought 1926) …na44 tson 31 hi 53 vuk 1 ha44 pun44 ŋia44 me44. bring return go home Localizer give your mother ‘to bring it (the Holy Water) home and give it to your mother’

While the object ke44 雞 ‘chickens’ in (67a) appears after the main verb fong53 放 ‘to release’ and before the compound directional complement tshut1 hi 53 出去 ‘to exit and to go’, the object ki11 佢 ‘him’ in (67b) occurs between tshut1 出 ‘to exit’ and loi11 來 ‘to come’. The word order of V + CND + CD + O observed in early Manda-

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 Chapter 4. Directional verbs in early Chinese dialects

rin and Wú is not found. Examples (67c) and (67d) illustrate that when a locative object is involved, the use of the word orders of V + CND + LOC + CD and V + CND + CD + LOC is allowed. Specifically, in example (67c) the locative object tiam 53tu 31 ve 店肚裡 ‘the shop’ appears after the non-deictic directional complement tson 31 轉 ‘to return’ and before the deictic directional complement hi 53 去 ‘to go’. In example (67d), vuk 1 ha44 屋下 ‘home’ occurs after the compound directional complement tson 31 hi 53 轉去 ‘to return and to go’. Table 114. Word orders of the compound directional complement, the theme object and the locative object in agentive sentences in early Hakka V + O+ CND + CD

V + CND + O + CD

V + CND + CD + O

V + CND + LOC + CD

V + CND + CD + LOC

ü

ü

–

ü

ü

The word orders displayed in early Mǐn are different from those found in early Mandarin, Wú and Hakka. Early Mǐn (68) a. 討紙筆過來 (V + O+ CND + CD) tho35 tsua 35 pek 2 kue213 lai 21 take paper pen pass come ‘to take a pen and paper over here’

b. 因前年送老爺返來潮州… (V + O+ CND + CD + LOC) eŋ33 tsõi 55 nĩ 21 saŋ53 lau 21ia 55 tɯŋ35 lai 213 Tio213tiu 33… because previous year send master return come Chāozhōu ‘Because I accompanied my dad to return to Chāozhōu the year before last year…’

Among the three word orders exhibited in early Mandarin and Wú, only the word order of V + O + CND + CD is used in early Mǐn. Moreover, example (68b) shows that the theme object lau 35ia 55 老爺 ‘my dad’ and the locative object Tio55tsiu 33 潮 州 ‘Chāozhōu’ can both co-occur in the postverbal position. While the former follows the co-event verb saŋ213 送 ‘to accompany’, the latter appears after the compound directional complement tɯŋ53 lai 55 返來 ‘to return and to come’. Table 115. Word orders of the compound directional complement, the theme object and the locative object in agentive sentences in early Mǐn V + O+ CND + CD

V + CND + O + CD

V + CND + CD + O

V + CND + LOC + CD

V + CND + CD + LOC

ü

û

û

û

ü

Compound directional complements 

 329

The word orders used in early Cantonese are the same as early Mǐn. Early Cantonese (69) a. 擠的茶葉落去 (V + O+ CND + CD) (Bridgman 1841) zai1 di1 caa4 jip6 lok6 heoi 3 put cl tea leave descend go ‘to put the tea into it’

b. 就起身趕佢出去邑外。(V + O + CND + CD + LOC) Zau6 hei 2 san 1 gon 2 keoi 5 ceot1 heoi 3 jap1 ngoi6. then rise body cast out him exit go town outside ‘(The people) then rose and cast him out from the town.’



c. 抬我翻上嚟(V + O + CND + CND + CD) (Ball 1902) toi4 ngo5 faan 1 soeng5 lai4 carry me return ascend come ‘to carry me up (from the office)’

In example (69a), the theme object di1 caa4 jip6 的茶葉 ‘some tea’ occurs after the co-event verb zai1 擠 ‘to put’ and before the compound directional complement lok6 heoi 3 落去 ‘to descend and to go’. Example (69b) shows that the theme object keoi 5 佢 ‘him’ follows the co-event verb gon 2 趕 ‘to cast out’, while the locative object jap1 ngoi6 邑外 ‘outside of the town’ appears after the compound directional complement ceot1 heoi 3 出去 ‘to exit and to go’. Example (69c) illustrates that the triple directional complement faan 1 soeng5 lai4 翻上嚟 ‘to return, to ascend and to come’ occurs after the co-event verb toi4 抬 ‘to carry’ and the theme object ngo5 我 ‘me’. Table 116. Word orders of the compound directional complement, the theme object and the locative object in agentive sentences in early Cantonese V + O+ CND + CD

V + CND + O + CD

V + CND + CD + O

V + CND + LOC + CD

V + CND + CD + LOC

ü

û

û

û

ü

Table 117 summarizes the word orders of the compound directional complement, the theme object and the locative object in sentences that denote agentive motion events in the five early dialects.

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 Chapter 4. Directional verbs in early Chinese dialects

Table 117. Word orders of the compound directional complement, the theme object and the locative object in agentive sentences in the five early dialects V + O + CND + CD 拿一本書出來

V + CND + O + CD 拿出一本書來

V + CND + CD + O 拿出來一本書

V + CND + LOC + CD 踢進球門去

V + CND + CD + LOC 踢進去球門

Mandarin

ü

ü

ü

ü

û

Wú

ü

ü

ü

ü

û

Hakka

ü

ü

–

ü

ü

Mǐn

ü

û

û

û

ü

Cantonese

ü

û

û

û

ü

In Table 117, if the absence of V + CND + CD + O is ignored in early Hakka, the five dialects can be divided into three groups: (i) early Mandarin and Wú; (ii) early Hakka; and (iii) early Mǐn and Cantonese. Tables 118–121 below summarize the word orders exhibited in sentences that denote self-agentive, non-agentive and agentive motion events in the five early dialects. It is clear from the tables that all five early dialects make use of directional verbs and directional complements to encode path, illustrating the characteristics of both verb-framed and satellite-framed languages. Table 118. Word orders of the directional verb, the theme object and the locative object in ­self-agentive, n ­ on-agentive and agentive sentences in the five early dialects Directional verbs Self-agentive motion Non-deictic VND + LOC

Non-agentive motion

Deictic

Agentive motion

Non-deictic

Deictic

Non-deictic

VD + LOC

VND + (LOC)

VD

VND + O

上樓

‘to arrive’ + LOC + VD 到教室來

來教室

上

來

落/下旗

ü

ü

ü

ü / ‘to arrive’ + LOC + VD

û

{ü}

ü

ü + LOC

ü / ‘to arrive’ + LOC + VD

û

Hakka

ü

û

ü

ü

[ü]

[ü]

Mǐn

ü

û

ü

ü

[ü]

ü

Cantonese

ü

û

ü

ü + LOC

ü + LOC

ü

Mandarin Wú

Compound directional complements 

 331

Table 119. Word orders of the simple/compound directional complement and the locative object in s­ elf-agentive and n ­ on-agentive sentences in the five early dialects Directional complements Self-agentive motion Simple

Mandarin Wú Hakka

V + CND + LOC 騎上腳 踏車

V + CD

Compound

跑去

V + ‘to arrive’ + LOC + CD 爬到樹上去

V + CD + LOC 爬去樹上

V + CND V + CND V + CND + CD + LOC + CD + CD + LOC 爬上去 爬上山頂去 爬上去山頂

ü

ü

ü

û

ü

ü

{ü}

ü

ü

û

ü

{ü}

û

ü

ü

ü

ü

ü

ü

ü

û

Mǐn

ü

ü

û

ü

ü

û

ü

Cantonese

ü

ü

û

ü

ü

û

ü

Non-agentive motion Simple

Mandarin Wú Hakka

Compound

V + CND + LOC 飄上天空

V + CD 拿去

V + ‘to arrive’ + LOC + CD 流到四肢上去

V + CD + LOC 搬去客廳

V + CND V + CND V + CND + CD + LOC + CD + CD + LOC 掉下去 送進教室去 送進去教室

ü

ü

ü

û

ü

ü

{ü}

ü

ü

û

ü

{ü}

û

ü

ü

(ü)

ü

ü

ü

ü

û

Mǐn

ü

ü

û

ü

ü

û

ü

Cantonese

ü

ü

û

ü

ü

û

ü

Table 120. Word orders of the simple directional complement, the theme object and the locative object in agentive sentences in the five early dialects Simple directional complements Agentive motion V + CND V + CD V + O + CD V+O V + CD V + ‘to arrive’ V + CD + LOC +O +O + CND + LOC + LOC + CD 摘下水果 送來一本書 送小說來 叫張三進教室 送來 送到教室來 放來檯上 Mandarin

ü

ü

ü

û

ü

ü

û

Wú

ü

[–]

ü

[ü]

ü

ü

û

Hakka

ü

[–]

ü

ü

ü

ü

ü

Mǐn

ü

[–]

ü

ü

ü

(û)

ü

Cantonese

ü

[ü]

ü

ü

ü

û

ü

332 

 Chapter 4. Directional verbs in early Chinese dialects

Table 121. Word orders of the compound directional complement, the theme object and the locative object in agentive sentences in the five early dialects Compound directional complements Agentive motion

Mandarin

V+O + CND + CD 拿一本書出來

V + CND + O + CD 拿出一本書來

V + CND + CD + O 拿出來一本書

V + CND + LOC + CD 踼進球門去

V + CND + CD + LOC 踢進去球門

ü

ü

ü

ü

û

Wú

ü

ü

ü

{ü}

û

Hakka

ü

ü

–

ü

ü

Mǐn

ü

û

û

û

ü

Cantonese

ü

û

û

û

ü

Tables 118–121 illustrate that early Mandarin and Wú basically display identical word orders in all four tables (indicated by light shading). Similarly, early Mǐn and Cantonese show essentially the same word orders in all four tables (indicated by heavy shading). The word orders exemplified in early Hakka are diverse. It often shows the word orders of the other two groups (indicated by unshaded area) except in Table 118, in which it displays the same word orders as early Mǐn and Cantonese. The dialectal groupings of the five early dialects shown in Tables 118–121 above and those of the corresponding modern dialects shown in Chapter 3.5.3 are essentially identical in that Mandarin and Wú belong to one group while Mǐn and Cantonese fall into a different group. Hakka, on the other hand, exhibits the word order characteristics of the above two groups. After comparing the above four tables for the five early dialects with the corresponding tables for their modern counterparts (cf. Tables 66–69 in 3.5.3), a number of remarkable differences become apparent. First, the use of non-deictic directional verbs and non-deictic directional complements to introduce a locative object in modern Wú was reported to be marginal (indicated by a question mark in Tables 66, 67 and 69 in 3.5.3), but such use is observed in early Wú (indicated by curly brackets). However, a close examination of the elements that are used to introduce locative objects in Singsong Girls of Shànghǎi shows that the number of tokens of tɔ34 到 ‘to arrive’ is higher than the total number of tokens of zã13 上 ‘to ascend’, ɦo13 下 ‘to descend’, tshǝʔ55 出 ‘to exit’ and tsin 34 進 ‘to enter’. The difference in the frequency of use thus suggests that the preference for the use of tɔ34 到 ‘to arrive’ to introduce a locative object has existed in the Wú dialect since the nineteenth century. The second difference between the early dialects and their modern counterparts is the use of deictic directional verbs in modern Mandarin and Wú to

Compound directional complements 

 333

introduce a locative object (indicated by angle brackets in Table 118). It is noted in 3.3.1 that the use of VD + LOC has been increasingly accepted by young speakers of modern Mandarin and Wú (indicated by a question mark in Table 66 in 3.5.3). However, in early Mandarin and Wú ‘to arrive + LOC + VD is the dominant word order used while V D + LOC is not found except for the few cases in which it appears in the first part of the serial verb construction. The third difference concerns the use of the split pattern in Hakka and Mǐn, i.e. the pattern in which the locative object occurs after a non-deictic directional complement or dào 到 ‘to arrive’ and before a deictic directional complement (indicated by brackets in Tables 119 and 120). While the word order patterns exhibited in early Mǐn in the above tables suggest that the split pattern is probably a later development which has arisen because of the influence from Mandarin, the split pattern in Hakka seems be a native pattern. In particular, the split pattern is not observed in early Mǐn in any of the sentences for the three types of motion events. Moreover, as noted in 3.6.2.1, although the use of dào 到 ‘to arrive’ to introduce a locative object is acceptable to some Mǐn speakers, they find the occurrence of the locative object after a complement more natural, i.e. V + CD + LOC and V + CND + CD + LOC. In contrast, Tables 119–121 show that early Hakka exhibits the split pattern in all three types of motion events. The last difference is related to a number of word orders that are exemplified in only one of the two periods of the five dialects, i.e. the early period or the modern period (indicated by square brackets in Tables 118–120). Some of these differences are likely to be accidental gaps such as the absence of the locative object after the deictic directional verbs in non-agentive motion events in early Hakka and Mǐn (indicated by square brackets in Table 118), because the occurrence of a locative object after a deictic directional verb or a deictic directional complement is found in all other instances. As for the use of V + CD + O, it is not observed in early Wú, Hakka and Mǐn but is found in their modern counterparts. In contrast, examples of V + CD + O are found in early Cantonese but are said to be marginal by our informants. However, after examining the texts of the five early dialects, i.e. The Murder Case of Chūn’āshì (early Mandarin), Sing-song Girls of Shànghǎi (early Wú), First Book of Reading (early Hakka), Romance of the Litchi Mirror (early Mǐn), and A Summary of the Life of Jesus in Canton Colloquial (early Cantonese), it is found that the word order of V + CD + O is more frequently used in early Mandarin than in any of the other four early dialects, in which the dominant pattern is V + O + CD. Such a contrast in the frequency of use suggests that the use of V + CD + O might have spread from Mandarin to the other dialects.250 250 It is noted in 2.4.3 that when comparing the use of V + CD + O and that of V + O + CD in modern Cantonese, the latter sounds more natural than the former. Moreover, only a limited

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 Chapter 4. Directional verbs in early Chinese dialects

It is shown in Tables 68 in 3.5.3 that modern Mandarin and Wú are less tolerant of the co-occurrence of the theme object and the locative object in the postverbal position. However, Table 120 illustrates that the tendency in early Wú to remove the theme object from the postverbal position is weak compared to the modern counterpart, and this same tolerance is also observed in early Hakka, Mǐn and Cantonese. Furthermore, as noted in 3.6.2.1.3.2, the use of V + O + CND + CD is observed in early Wú but is gradually being replaced by V + CND + O + CD from Mandarin. The word order of V + O + CND + CD is also a common word order used in early Mǐn and Cantonese. The above two similarities displayed in early Wú, Mǐn and Cantonese suggest that these three southern dialects were once closer to each other than they are now. Over time, most likely because of the various degrees of influence exerted on them by Mandarin, they have developed in different directions. Modern Mǐn and Cantonese are still close to each other as they often employ identical word orders in the three types of motion events, and their directional verbs exhibit the agentive use. Modern Wú, however, differs significantly from modern Mǐn and Cantonese in that it is less tolerant of the co-occurrence of a theme object and a locative object in the postverbal position than the latter. Moreover, it exhibits the use of V + CND + O + CD whereas modern Mǐn and Cantonese do not. Regarding the word orders displayed, the ones shown in modern Wú are essentially identical to those in modern Mandarin. Moreover, similar to modern Mandarin, directional verbs in modern Wú lack the agentive use exhibited in modern Mǐn and Cantonese. It is very likely that some of the word order characteristics shown in modern Wú have resulted from the influence of Mandarin, such as the use of V + CND + O + CD and V + CND + CD + O. On the other hand, it seems equally possible that some of the above changes in Wú are internally motivated. According to Liú (2001b), subtopicalization is often observed in modern Wú, a process which moves the postverbal object to the position after the topic/ subject and before the verb, leaving the verb in the sentence-final position. This process is also found in early Wú. number of verbs can be used in the former, while no such constraint exists in the latter. As for the situation in early Cantonese, only a few examples of V + CD + O are observed and they all involve the deictic directional complement heoi 3去 ‘to go’. The above constraints on the use of V + CD + O, in terms of its low frequency of use and the involvement of only heoi 3去 ‘to go’ seem to suggest that the use of V + C D + O in Cantonese is a later development which might have resulted from the influence of Mandarin. In the case of Mǐn or Southern Mǐn, while some speakers accept V + CD + O, some find it not as natural as V + O + CD. The variations suggest that some kind of change is going on. Specifically, the native form V + O + CD and the foreign form V + CD + O are in competition. The above speaker variations in Mǐn also explain the difference shown in Table 68 and Table 76, i.e. the use of V + CD + O is available in the former but is said to be marginal in the latter.

Compound directional complements 

 335

Early Wú (70) a. 耐有啥事體，帳房里去？ li13 tɕhi 34? Nɛ13 ɦiɤ34 sa 34 zɾ13 thi 34, tsã 34vã13 you have what matter, cashier’s office Localizer go ‘Why are you going to the cashier’s office?’

b. 快點攙先生房間里去罷。 Khua 34ti 34 tshɛ 53 ɕi 55sã 33 vã13kɛ 53 li13 tɕhi 34 pa. quickly hold master room Localizer go sfp ‘(You) quickly assist the master in entering the room by holding his arm.’

While example (70a) denotes a self-agentive motion event, (70b) refers to an agentive motion event. In both examples, the locative objects tsã 34 vã13 li13 帳房 里 ‘the cashier’s office’ and vã13kɛ 53 li13 房間里 ‘the room’ are not introduced by tɔ34 到 ‘to arrive’ and they precede the deictic directional verb tɕhi 34 去 ‘to go’ and the directional complement tɕhi 34 去 ‘to go’, thus exhibiting the OV word order. As noted in 3.6.2, in sentences which involve subtopicalization, the object no longer occurs in the postverbal position while the verb is left in the sentence-final position. The word order characteristics associated with subtopicalized sentences are in direct conflict with the co-occurrence of both the theme object and the locative object in the postverbal position. Therefore, it is possible that the productive use of subtopicalization in Wú might have caused the decline or even the obsolescence of two objects in the postverbal position. The same dialectal groupings found in the early dialects and their modern counterparts suggest that the word order characteristics of the five dialects have been quite stable since the nineteenth century. The only change that may have taken place is the obsolesce of the agentive use of directional verbs in modern Hakka (indicated by square brackets in Table 118). Nevetheless, dialects are still open to change. Some changes are likely to be internally motivated such as the obsolescence of two postverbal objects in Wú, while some may reflect cross-dialectal influence. The use of V + CD + O in modern dialects other than Mandarin and the use of dào 到 ‘to arrive’ to introduce a locative object in modern Mǐn are likely due to the influence of the standard language, whereas the use of VD + LOC in modern Mandarin and Wú is probably borrowed from Cantonese, as suggested in Liú (2001a).

336 

 Chapter 4. Directional verbs in early Chinese dialects

4.6 Discussion Sections 4.6.1 and 4.6.2 will address two issues. The first issue concerns how the expression of path exemplified in early Mandarin, Wú, Hakka, Mǐn and Cantonese relates to Talmy’s typology of motion events. The expression of path in the early dialects will also be compared with their modern counterparts. The second issue addresses how the univerbation of the main verb and the path satellite is achieved.

4.6.1 Early Chinese dialects and Talmy’s typology of motion events The dialectal survey and the statistical results for modern Mandarin, Wú, Hakka, Mǐn and Cantonese in Chapter 3 demonstrate that the five modern dialects exhibit characteristics of verb-framed and satellite-framed languages in expressing path in a directional verb and in a directional complement. Furthermore, the statistical results display a correlation between the use of a directional verb or a directional complement and the type of motion events encoded. In particular, when expressing agentive motion events, a directional complement is used across-the-board in the five modern dialects to express path. On the other hand, although there is a strong preference for the use of a directional complement to denote path when expressing self-agentive and non-agentive motion events, the option of using a directional verb is still available in the modern dialects except for the case when a non-agentive motion event is expressed in Wú. The dialectal survey in sections 4.3–4.5 provides a detailed description of the verb-framed and satellite-framed characteristics of early Mandarin, Wú, Hakka, Mǐn and Cantonese. This section focuses on the actual usage of directional verbs and directional complements in narratives. In section 3.6.1, we have counted the number of tokens of the main verb use and the complement use of shàng 上 ‘to ascend’/qǐ 起 ‘to rise’, xià 下/luò 落 ‘to descend’, chū 出 ‘to exit’, jìn 進/rù 入 ‘to enter’, lái 來 ‘to come’ and qù 去 ‘to go’ in the Chinese Pear Stories. A similar counting is conducted in the following historical texts: Mandarin: (1914 [1996]) The Murder Case of Chūn’āshì《春阿氏謀夫案》 Wú: (1894 [1982]) Sing-song Girls of Shànghǎi《海上花列傳》 Hakka: (1879) First Book of Reading《啟蒙淺學》 Mǐn: (1884 [1978]) Romance of the Litchi Mirror《荔鏡記》 Cantonese: (1863) A Summary of the Life of Jesus in Canton Colloquial《耶穌言行 撮要俗話》

Discussion 

 337

The statistical results obtained from the above texts will show us in actual usage whether the five early dialects resemble verb-framed or satellite-framed languages in encoding path respectively in the verb and in the complement. The statistical results from the early texts will then be compared with those from the Chinese Pear Stores. The comparison of the results will inform us of any change that has taken place since the nineteenth century.

4.6.1.1 Self-agentive motion events The dialectal survey shows that early Mandarin, Wú, Hakka, Mǐn and Cantonese can use a directional verb or a directional complement (including both the nondeictic and the deictic ones) to express path in self-agentive motion events (cf. Tables 118–119), coinciding with the following statistical results from the early dialectal texts. Table 122. Statistical results for the five early dialects: s­ elf-agentive motion events251 上

V+上

下

V+下

Ma

75 6/8

25 2/8

23.81 5/21

Wú

100 12/12

0

50 4/8

Ha

37.5 9/24

62.5 32.89251 67.11 39.58 60.42 15/24 25/76 51/76 19/48 29/48

Mǐ

86.96 20/23

13.04 3/23

100 13/13

Ca

56.25 9/16

43.75 7/16

54.55 45.45 53.49 46.51 79.25 20.75 78.43 18/33 15/33 23/43 20/43 42/53 11/53 120/153

出

V+出

進

V+進

76.19 47.5 52.5 75 25 16/21 19/40 21/40 33/44 11/44 50 4/8

0

84.62 11/13

78.38 29/37

15.38 2/13

21.62 8/37

來

V+來

去

V+去

31.79 55/173

68.21 118/173

53.33 56/105

46.67 49/105

66.67 4/6

33.33 2/6

74.86 265/354

25.14 89/354

77.47 22.53 337/435 98/435

0

0

22.94 25/109

77.06 84/109

19.67 24/122

94.03 63/67

5.97 4/67

80.33 98/122

60.29 39.71 47.06 52.94 167/277 110/277 136/289 153/289 21.57 33/153

50.59 86/170

49.41 84/170

251 In the early Hakka text (1879) First Book of Reading, there is no token for ŋip5 入 or tsin 53 進 ‘to enter’. Instead, the meaning of ‘to enter’ is expressed by lok 5 落 ‘to descend’ and ha44 下. For example, lioŋ31 tsak 1 ŋin 11 tshiu 53 lok 5 tshoi11tsu 31 e53 soi 55 foŋ11 兩隻人就落財主箇睡房 two-clpeople-then-descend-rich man-MP-bedroom ‘Two men then entered the bedroom of the rich man’ and …ha44 fa44ian 11 e 下花園裡 descend-yard-Localizer ‘…entered the yard’. Nevertheless, the use of ŋip5 入 ‘to enter’ is found in Drought (1926). See 4.4.3 and 4.5.1 for relevant examples of ŋip5 入 ‘to enter’ in Drought (1926). Since the purpose of the statistical count is to find out the percentage of the main verb use and the complement use of a directional verb, we only count the number of tokens of lok 5 落 and ha44 下 without attempting to differentiate whether they mean ‘to descend’ or ‘to enter’. The percentage of their verb use and complement use thus includes tokens of both.

338 

 Chapter 4. Directional verbs in early Chinese dialects

In Table 122, the percentages of the main verb use and the complement use of the following six directional verbs in early Mandarin and their equivalents in the other four early dialects are given respectively: 上 ‘to ascend’, 下 ‘to descend, 出 ‘to exit’, 進 ‘to enter’, 來 ‘to come’ and去 ‘to go’. Table 122 shows the following: (i) All five early dialects display the use of directional verbs to express path. (ii) The percentage of the verb use and the complement use of lɔʔ12 落/ɦo13 下 ‘to descend’ in early Wú is equally divided (indicated by heavy shading). (iii) Except for early Hakka, the percentage of the verb use for half or more than half of the six directional verbs examined is higher than that of the corresponding complement use in early Mandarin, Wú, Mǐn and Cantonese (indicated by light shading). The above findings illustrate that the five early dialects exhibit characteristics of both verb-framed and satellite-framed languages in expressing path in a directional verb as well as in a directional complement. While the preference for the use of a directional complement is stronger in early Hakka, the use of a directional verb is favoured in early Mandarin, Wú, Hakka and Cantonese. If we compare the statistical results of self-agentive motion events for the early dialects (cf. Table 122) with those for the modern dialects (cf. Table 70 in Chapter 3), it becomes quite apparent that the early dialects show more characteristics of verb-framed languages than their modern counterparts. In particular, there are more verbs in the early dialects than in the modern dialects, whose percentage of main verb use is higher than the corresponding complement use (indicated by light shading).

4.6.1.2 Non-agentive motion events The dialectal survey shows that early Mandarin, Wú, Hakka, Mǐn and Cantonese can express path in a directional verb or a directional complement, exhibiting the characteristics of verb-framed and satellite-framed languages (including both the non-deictic and the deictic ones) (cf. Tables 118–119). This observation is supported by the statistical results from the early dialectal texts. Table 123 provides respectively the percentages of the main verb use and the complement use of the following six directional verbs in early Mandarin and their equivalents in the other four early dialects: 上 ‘to ascend’, 下 ‘to descend, 出 ‘to exit’, 進 ‘to enter’, 來 ‘to come’ and 去 ‘to go’. The following have been observed in Table 123. (i) Compared with the statistical results for self-agentive motion events in Table 122, the number of tokens in Table 123 is lower. (ii) Except for the cases of tshǝʔ55 出 ‘to exit’ in early Wú and soŋ44 上 ‘to ascend’ in early Hakka, in which the percentage of the verb use and the complement use is equally divided (indicated by heavy shading), the preference for the use of a directional verb or a directional

Discussion 

 339

complement to express path is mixed among the five early dialects. There are more cases in early Mandarin in which the percentage of the verb use of a directional verb is higher than the corresponding complement use (indicated by light shading). However, the opposite situation is observed in early Hakka, Mǐn and Cantonese, i.e. there are more cases in which the percentage of the complement use of a directional verb is higher than the corresponding verb use (indicated by unshaded area but exclude the cases of zero use). In early Wú, the number of cases for a higher percentage of verb use and that for a higher percentage of complement use of a directional verb are equally divided. Despite the different tendencies observed in the five early dialects with regard to the use of a directional verb or a directional complement to express path, early Mandarin, Wú, Hakka, Mǐn and Cantonese all exhibit the characteristics of both verb-framed and satellite-framed languages in encoding path in a main verb or in a satellite. Again, if we compare the statistical results of non-agentive motion events for the early dialects (cf. Table 123) with those for the modern dialects (cf. Table 71 in Chapter 3), we find that all the early dialects are more verb-framed than their modern counterparts. Specifically, there are more verbs in the five early dialects than in their modern counterparts, whose percentage of main verb use is higher than the corresponding complement use (indicated by light shading). Table 123. Statistical results for the five early dialects: n ­ on-agentive motion events 上

V+ 上

下

V+ 下

出

V+ 出

進

V+ 進

來

V+ 來

去

V+ 去

Ma

0

0

80 4/5

20 1/5

100 3/3

0 0/3

0

0

80 4/5

20 1/5

0

100 1/1

Wú

0

0

100 4/4

0

50 1/2

50 1/2

0

100 1/1

77.78 7/9

22.22 2/9

40 2/5

60 3/5

Ha

50 4/8

50 4/8

51.47 35/68

48.53 33/68

47.37 9/19

52.63 10/19

0

0

5.56 2/36

94.44 34/36

5 1/20

95 19/20

Mǐ

14.29 2/14

85.71 12/14

35.29 6/17

64.71 11/17

100 3/3

0

0

100 1/1

41.94 13/31

58.06 18/31

28.57 2/7

71.43 5/7

Ca

0

0

14.29 3/21

85.71 18/21

25 2/8

75 6/8

100 5/5

0

33.33 6/18

66.67 12/18

0

100 2/2

4.6.1.3 Agentive motion events As discussed in 4.2.3, early Hakka, Mǐn and Cantonese all exhibit the agentive use of directional verbs, among which the agentive use in early Cantonese is the most productive. However, the statistical results from the early dialectal texts

340 

 Chapter 4. Directional verbs in early Chinese dialects

show that agentive examples of directional verbs are only found in early Hakka. The reason that no example of such is observed in early Mǐn and Cantonese may be related to the difference in the nature of the materials examined. The early Hakka material, First Book of Reading, is a pedagogical text, material which is found representative of the respective dialect spoken at the time. In contrast, A Summary of the Life of Jesus in Canton Colloquial and Romance of the Litchi Mirror are a religious narrative and a drama script respectively, the compilation of which illustrates the influence of the standard written language. Since the agentive use of directional verbs is not observed in the standard language, it is possible that such use is only found in texts which reflect the colloquial language and not in texts compiled under the influence of the standard language. Table 124. Statistical results for the five early dialects: Agentive motion events 上

V+ 上

下

V+ 下

出

V+ 出

進

V+ 進

來

V+ 來

去

V+ 去

Ma

0

100 16/16

0

100 45/45

0

100 41/41

0

100 5/5

0

100 94/94

0

100 48/48

Wú

0

100 4/4

0

0

0

100 17/17

0

100 1/1

0

100 149/149

0

100 96/96

Ha

0

0

6.25 2/32

93.75 30/32

0

100 57/57

0

0

0

100 89/89

0

100 91/91

Mǐ

0

100 3/3

0

100 11/11

0

100 30/30

0

100 17/17

0

100 141/141

0

100 82/82

Ca

0

100 4/4

0

100 41/41

0

100 16/16

0

100 7/7

0

100 30/30

0

100 33/33

In Table 124, the percentages of the main verb use and the complement use of the following six directional verbs in early Mandarin and their equivalents in the other four early dialects are given respectively: 上 ‘to ascend’, 下 ‘to descend, 出 ‘to exit’, 進 ‘to enter’, 來 ‘to come’ and 去 ‘to go’. It is found that a small percentage of examples is found in early Hakka (indicated by heavy shading), in which a directional verb is used to express path in agentive motion events. Otherwise, the use of a directional complement predominates (indicated by light shading). Comparing the statistical results of agentive motion events for the early dialects (cf. Table 124) with those for the modern counterparts (Table 72 in Chapter 3), we find that a strong tendency to encode path in a directional complement has existed in Mandarin, Wú, Hakka, Mǐn and Cantonese for more than a century. The dialectal surveys and the statistical results of the early dialects and their modern counterparts show that early Mandarin, Wú, Hakka, Mǐn and Cantonese exhibit more characteristics of verb-framed languages, while their modern

Discussion 

 341

counter­parts display more characteristics of satellite-framed languages. The question immediately arises as to why all the dialects examined have moved in the direction to becoming more satellite-framed, an issue which is to be addressed in 4.6.2.

4.6.2 From verb framing to satellite framing As mentioned in 2.7.1, scholars suggest that Classical Chinese was a verb-framed language because path was expressed in the verb. However, with the disuse of the phonological or morphological devices to mark causation,252 the expression of causation has come to rely on the employment of syntactic devices. One such syntactic device is the use of a causative verb (cf. (71a)), and another is a combination of two verbs (cf. (71b)).253 For example, Classical Chinese (71) a. 不如因而厚遇之，使歸趙。 Bù rú yīn ér hòu yù zhī, shǐ guī Zhào. not like thus and generous treat him, make return Zhào ‘It would be better to treat him well and let him go back to the state of Zhào.’ (The Records of the Grand Historian《史記》)254

b. …逐出之 (The Records of the Grand Historian《史記》)255 …zhú chū zhī expel exit him ‘to expel in order to cause him to move out [to expel him out]’.

252 The phonological device can be an alternation of voiced and non-voiced initials, a change of vowels or a change of tones, while the morphological device can be the use of affixes (cf. Xu 2006). 253 The relationship between the two verbs has been a controversial issue. A relationship of coordination or subordination could be held between the two verbs. The conjunction ér 而 can be inserted between the two verbs in the former, but it cannot be inserted in the latter. The relationship between the two verbs, however, is not the focus of the present discussion and will not be taken up. Instead, the point is that the expression of causation has changed from the use of phonological and morphological devices to syntactic devices. Accompanying the above change is the change in the number of syllables from monosyllables to disyllables. 254 The example is taken from Xu (2006: 122). 255 Example (71b) is taken from the “Academia Sinica Tagged Corpus of Old Chinese”.

342 

 Chapter 4. Directional verbs in early Chinese dialects

As a result, the expression of causation has changed from a monosyllabic verb in which both cause and direction are conveyed (e.g. guī zhī 歸之 return-him ‘to cause X to return’) to a combination of two verbs in which the first verb denotes cause while the second verb specifies direction (e.g. shǐ guī 使歸 cause-return ‘to cause X to return’ or chí guī 持歸 carry-return ‘to carry X to cause it to return’/‘to carry X back’). The above change thus signals a typological shift in the Chinese language from a verb-framed language to a satellite-framed language. Much attention has been given to the change in the way causation is encoded, i.e. from the use of a verb to the use of a complement or a satellite, and when this change took place (cf. Yú 1957, Ôta 2003 [1958], Wú 1998, Mei 2000 [1981], Wáng 2001 [1980]). The disuse of phonological and morphological devices to mark causation certainly is one of the major causes for the typological shift in the Chinese language, and it could account for the encoding of path in a complement in agentive motion events and the caused type of non-agentive motion events,256 both of which involve the expression of causation. However, self-agentive motion events and the non-caused type of non-agentive motion events are motion events which do not involve causation. The disuse of phonological and morphological devices to mark causation fails to explain why the same shift, i.e. from the use of a verb to the use of a complement to express path, has been observed in these two types of motion events, and why the five dialects have moved closer and closer to becoming satellite-framed languages in the last two centuries. On the other hand, there is another change which has been going on ever since Classical Chinese, namely, the process of disyllabicization. Its effect is more pervasive, and it has probably given additional impetus to the typological shift of the Chinese language. According to Wáng (2001 [1980]: 341), Classical Chinese was primarily monosyllabic and the language has moved toward becoming disyllabic. The process started in response to the simplification of the phonological system of Chinese and to the impact of loanwords borrowed into the language. Wáng also notes that the system of initials and finals in the southern dialects such as Cantonese is richer than that in Mandarin. As a result, the number of disyllabic words in these dialects is lower. Xiàng (2010: 775) points out that in the (1982) version of The Contemporary Chinese Dictionary《現代漢語詞典》, 19% of the entries are monosyllabic words and 81% are polysyllabic words (77% of which are disyllabic words and 23% are trisyllabic words). A similar remark is made in Masini (1993: 121), according to whom the ratio between monosyllables and polysyllables has increased significantly in the literary works written after 1949 with a ratio of 14.2% of monosyllables to 85.8% of polysyllables. Given that modern 256 See 3.6.1.2 for the two types of non-agentive motion events.

Discussion 

 343

Cantonese and Hakka are rich in monosyllables (cf. Lǐ 1994), disyllabic words found in the two dialects are likely to have been borrowed from modern Mandarin. To find out if there is any sign of influence from modern Mandarin to modern Cantonese and Hakka on disyllabicization, we compare Chapter 1 of the following versions of The Gospel of Mark translated into early and modern Cantonese, Hakka and Mandarin. There are about a thousand characters in the chapter. Table 125. Versions of The Gospel of Mark for comparison

Early Modern

Cantonese

Hakka

Mandarin

1872 2006 [1997]

1923 2012

1867 2002 [1999]

Table 126a lists the items for comparison in early and modern Cantonese. The items are selected according to the criterion that in each pair the disyllabic item also contains the monosyllabic item (hereafter referred to as the criterion of inclusiveness), a criterion which ensures that the same concept is being compared. The first column indicates the specific verse in which the item concerned is found. The second and the third columns provide the items concerned found in early Cantonese and modern Cantonese. The fourth column shows the corresponding items used in modern Mandarin. Table 126a. Comparison of the early and modern Cantonese versions of The Gospel of Mark with the criterion of inclusiveness Verse

(1872) Cantonese

(2006 [1997]) Cantonese (2002 [1999]) Mandarin

2：‘according’ 2：‘to write down’ 4： ‘to remit’ 5：‘to confess’ 5：‘sins’ 7：‘after’ 10：‘to see’ 10：‘to descend’ 12：‘to urge’ 18：‘nets’ 20：‘to follow’ 21：‘to teach’ 22：‘because’ 23：‘an unclean spirits’ 24：‘to know’ 34：‘to cast out’

ziu ji 照依 zoi3 載 se3 赦 jing6 認 zeoi6 罪 hau6 後 gin3 見 gong3 lam4 降臨 ceoi1 催 mong5 網 gan1 跟 gaau3 教 jan1 因257 ce4 gwai2 邪鬼 zi1 知 gon2 趕

ziu3 照 gei3 zoi3 記載 se3 min5 赦免 sing4 jing6 承認 zeoi6 ok3 罪惡 ji5 hau6 以後 tai2 gin3 睇見 gong3 降 ceoi1 zuk1 催促 jyu4 mong5 魚網 gan1 cung4 跟從 gaau3 fan3 教訓 jan1 wai6 因為 gwai2 鬼 zi1 dou3 知道 gon2 zau2 趕走

3

1

zhèngrú 正如 jìzhe 記着 shè 赦 chéngrèn 承認 zuì 罪 yǐhòu 以後 kànjian 看見 jiàng 降 cuī 催 wǎng 網 gēncóng 跟從 jiàoxùn 教訓 yīnwèi 因為 wūguǐ 污鬼 zhīdao 知道 gǎnchū 趕出

344 

 Chapter 4. Directional verbs in early Chinese dialects

Verse

(1872) Cantonese

(2006 [1997]) Cantonese (2002 [1999]) Mandarin

40：‘one’ 40：‘a person’ 40：‘to kneel down’

go3 個 jan4 人 gwai6 跪

jat1 go3 一個 beng6 jan4 病人 gwai6 dai1 跪低

yígè 一個 – guìxia 跪下

Total (monosyllables : disyllables)

16：3258 84%：16%

3：16 16%：84%

5：13 28%：72%

257 258

In Table 126a, the ratios between monosyllables and polysyllables in early and modern Cantonese show that most of the items compared in early Cantonese are monosyllabic, but they have become disyllabic in modern Cantonese. Moreover, seven of the disyllabic items found in modern Cantonese are identical to modern Mandarin (indicated by light shading), thus suggesting that those disyllabic items might have entered Cantonese as a result of the influence from Mandarin.259 Table 127a lists the items for comparison in early and modern Hakka. The items are selected according to the criterion of inclusiveness. The first column indicates the specific verse in which the item concerned is found. The second and the third columns provide the items concerned found in early Hakka and modern Hakka. The fourth column shows the corresponding items used in modern Mandarin.

257 Initially, the use of jan 1 因 ‘because’ seems to be a usage in Classical Chinese that is embedded in the text and should be excluded as jan 1 wai6 rather than jan 1 因 is the form used in colloquial speech for the meaning of ‘because’. However, 95 tokens of jan 1 因 and 138 tokens of jan 1 wai6 因為 are found in the “Early Cantonese Tagged Database”, a database which consists of ten early Cantonese texts compiled in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries and which has about 160,000 characters. In view of the fact that jan 1 因 constitutes more than 40% of the combined number of tokens of jan 1 因 and jan 1 wai6 因為, it is thus included in Table 126a. 258 The number on the left side of the colon refers to the total number of monosyllabic items whereas the number on the right side of the colon indicates the total number of disyllabic items. 259 Cases in which a meaning is expressed by different disyllables in early and modern Cantonese and Hakka are excluded, even though the one used in the modern dialects is identical to that used in modern Mandarin. For example, zing2 zik6 整直 ‘to straighten’ and sau 1 zik6 修直 ‘to straighten’ are used in early and modern Cantonese respectively, of which the latter is identical to the modern Mandarin equivalent. Examples like this are excluded because the comparison here only concerns the difference in the use of monosyllables and disyllables in the early and the modern dialects. If different disyllables are used in both the early and modern dialect, they would be considered to be a case of zero difference.

Discussion 

 345

Table 127a. Comparison of the early and modern Hakka versions of The Gospel of Mark with the criterion of inclusiveness Verse

(1923) Hakka

(2012) Hakka

(2002 [1999]) Mandarin

5：‘to confess’ 9：‘the river’ 9：‘to ascend’ 10：‘to open’ 11：‘sound’ 14： ‘to go’ 14：‘to preach’ 15：‘to believe’ 18：‘nets’ 19：‘(fish) nets’ 21：‘to enter’ 22：‘to teach’ 24：‘that is’ 25：‘to exit’ 26：‘to exit’ 27：‘a matter’ 34：‘to speak’ 41：‘to stretch out’ 45：‘people’

ŋin 認 ho11e 河裏 soŋ44 上 khoi44 loi11 開來 saŋ44 聲 hi53 去 tshon11 傳 sin53 信 mioŋ31 網 mioŋ31 網 ŋip5 入 kau53 教 tsit1 he53 即係 tshut1 出 tshut1 出 sɿ53 事 kong31 講 sen44 tshut1 伸出 ŋin11 人

sǝn ŋin 承認 ho11 河 soŋ35 loi11 上來 khoi44 開 saŋ44 im44 聲音 hi55 tau53 去到 sien35 tshon11 宣傳 sin55 tshiuŋ11 信從 mioŋ31e 網仔 n̩11 mioŋ31 魚網 ŋip5 hi53 入去 kau55 hiun53 教訓 he53 係 tshut1 loi11 出來 tshut1 loi11 出來 sɿ55 tshin11 事情 kong31 fa53 講話 sen44 伸 tsung53 ŋin11 眾人

chéngrèn 承認 héli 河裏 shànglai 上來 lièkāi 裂開 shēngyīn 聲音 láidào 來到 xuānchuán 宣傳 xìn 信 wǎng 網 wǎng 網 jìn 進 jiàoxùn 教訓 shì 是 chūlai 出來 chūlai 出來 shì 事 shuōhuà 說話 shēn 伸 rén 人

Total (monosyllables : disyllables)

15：4 79%：21%

4：15 21%：79%

8：11 42%：58%

53

11

53

In Table 127a, the ratios between monosyllables and polysyllables in early and modern Hakka show that monosyllables outnumber disyllables in early Hakka. However, the percentage of disyllables in modern Hakka is higher than that of monosyllables. Furthermore, seven of the disyllabic items used in modern Hakka and Mandarin are the same (indicated by light shading), of which three involve a directional verb (Verses 9, 25 and 26). In the early Hakka version, a single nondeictic directional verb is used. In the modern Hakka version, the single nondeictic directional verb is followed by a deictic directional complement. The situation in Hakka not only shows that disyllabic words have been borrowed from Mandarin into Hakka. The situation further illustrates that among these borrowed items from Mandarin, directional verbs represent a group that is particularly influenced. The tendency to have a deictic directional complement following a non-deictic directional verb or a non-deictic directional complement is also found to be stronger in the cross-dialectal survey for the five modern dialects than their early counterparts.

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 Chapter 4. Directional verbs in early Chinese dialects

Table 126b illustrates that if the criterion of inclusiveness is not applied, again there is a tendency for the same meaning to be expressed by a monosyllable in early Cantonese and by a disyllable in modern Cantonese. Furthermore, two of the nine disyllabic items used in modern Cantonese and Mandarin are the same (indicated by light shading; items 6 and 42). Table 126b. Comparison of the early and modern Cantonese versions of The Gospel of Mark without the criterion of inclusiveness 260

Verse

(1872) Cantonese

(2006 [1997]) Cantonese

(2002 [1999]) Mandarin

5：‘people’ 6：‘to put on’ 6：‘clothes’ 14：‘to approach’ 20：‘to call’ 25：‘to rebuke’ 29：‘to exit’ 36：‘to pursue’ 42：‘to fall off’

jan 人 zoek3 着 saam1 衫 gan6 近 giu3 叫 zak3 責 ceot1 出 zeoi1 cam4 追尋 lat1 甩

kwan zung 羣眾 cyun1 zoek6 穿着260 ji1 fuk6 衣服 sat6 jin6 實現 fu1 ziu6 呼召 ming6 ling6命令 lei4 hoi1 離開 wan2 搵 lei4 hoi1 離開

rén 人 chuān 穿 yīfu 衣服 mǎn 滿 zhāohu 招呼 zébèi 責備 chū 出 zhuī 追 líkāi 離開

Total (monosyllables : disyllables)

8：1 89%：11%

1：8 11%：89%

5：4 56%：44%

4

4

3

Similarly, Table 127b shows that if the criterion of inclusiveness is not applied, there is also a tendency for the same meaning to be expressed by a monosyllable in early Hakka and by a disyllable in modern Hakka.

260 着, when functioning as a durative aspect marker, is pronounced as zoek6 , a use that exists in modern Mandarin but not in modern Cantonese. When it is used as a verb with the meaning of ‘to put on’, it is pronounced as zoek 3 . According to the context in which 着 is used, i.e. referring to John the Baptist, who was in the state of having the clothes made of camel’s hair on, it is a durative aspect marker, thus further supporting our hypothesis that the modern dialects are significantly influenced by modern Mandarin.

Discussion 

 347

Table 127b. Comparison of the early and modern Hakka versions of The Gospel of Mark without the criterion of inclusiveness 261

Verse

(1923) Hakka

(2012) Hakka

(2002 [1999]) Mandarin

5：‘there’ 7：‘mighty’ 17：‘to follow’ 20：‘to call’ 20：‘to follow’ 25：‘to rebuke’ 27：‘to obey’ 27：‘to command’ 29：‘to exit’ 32：‘there’ 34：‘to know’ 43：‘to leave’ 44：‘to examine’

e 噔261 kiong11 強 ken35 sui11 跟隨 ham44 喊 ken35 tshiuŋ11 跟從 ma53 罵 thaŋ44 聽 va53 話 tshut1 出 e53 噔 sǝt1tet1 識得 tseu31 走 ŋaim53 驗

mien ts ien 面前 vi31 thai53 偉大 then11 跈 fu11 seu53 呼召 then11 跈 min55 lin53 命令 fuk5 tshiuŋ11 服從 min55 lin53 命令 li11 khoi44 離開 mien55 tshien11 面前 ti44 知 li11khoi44 離開 kiam31 tsha11 檢查

nàli那裏 dà 大 gēncóng 跟從 zhāohu 招呼 gēncóng 跟從 zébèi 責備 tīngcóng 聽從 –– chū 出 gēnqián 跟前 rènshi 認識 zǒu 走 chákàn 察看

Total (monosyllables : disyllables)

10：3 77%：23%

3：10 23%：77%

3：9 25%：75%

53

55

h

11

To ascertain that the degree of disyllabicization in early Mandarin is indeed higher than early Cantonese and Hakka, so that the former could exert influence on the latter, we also compare Chapter 1 of the early and modern Mandarin versions of The Gospel of Mark. The results are shown in Tables 128a and 128b below. The criterion of inclusiveness is applied in Table 128a but not in 128b. Table 128a. Comparison of the early and modern Mandarin versions of The Gospel of Mark with the criterion of inclusiveness Verse

(1867) Mandarin

(2002 [1999]) Mandarin

3：‘the path’ 5：‘to baptize’ 6：‘to put on’ 6：‘around the waist’ 7：‘after’ 7：‘also’ 8：‘to use’

lù 路 xílǐ 洗禮 chuānzhe 穿着 yāoli 腰裏 hòu 後 yě 也 yòng 用

lùjìng 路徑 xǐ 洗 chuān 穿 yāo 腰 yǐhòu 以後 yěshì 也是 yào yòng 要用

261 According to the context in which e53 瞪 occurs, i.e. after the demonstrative ki 11 其 ‘there’ in tshut1 loi11 ki11 e53 出來其瞪 exit-come-his-there ‘…come out to Him’, 瞪 is probably a noun or a localizer, serving the same function as lǐ 裏/er 兒 as in nàli 那裏/nàr 那兒 in modern Mandarin.

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 Chapter 4. Directional verbs in early Chinese dialects

Verse

(1867) Mandarin

(2002 [1999]) Mandarin

9：‘when’ 9：‘to baptize’ 10：‘to open’ 13：‘also’ 14：‘to arrive’ 14：‘to preach’ 15：‘to say’ 15：‘should’ 16：‘to walk’ 17：‘to follow’ 18：‘to follow’ 19：‘to see’ 20：‘to follow’ 22：‘to resemble’ 23：‘to cry out’ 26：‘to cry out’ 27：‘unclean spirits’ 29：‘the house’ 31：‘a fever’ 32：‘to arrive’ 33：‘to gather’ 34：‘diseases’ 35：‘to arrive’ 38：‘because’ 40：‘to kneel down’ 42：‘to leave’ 44：‘to examine’ 45：‘to tell’

shíhou 時候 xílǐ 洗禮 kāi 開 bìngqiě 並且 dào 到 chuán 傳 shuōdào 說道 yīngdāng 應當 xíngzǒu 行走 gēn 跟 gēn 跟 kànjian 看見 gēn 跟 xiàng 像 hǎn 喊 hǎn 喊 guǐ 鬼 jiāli 家裏 rèbìng 熱病 dào 到 jù 聚 bìngzhèng 病症 dào 到 yīn 因 guì 跪 lí 離 kàn 看 shuōchū 說出

shí 時 xǐ 洗 lièkai 裂開 qiě 且 láidào 來到 xuānchuán 宣傳 shuō 說 dāng 當 zǒu 走 gēncóng 跟從 gēncóng 跟從 jiàn 見 gēncóng 跟從 zhèngxiàng 正像 hǎnjiào 喊叫 hǎnjiào 喊叫 wūguǐ 污鬼 jiā 家 rè 熱 láidào 來到 jùjí 聚集 bìng 病 láidào 來到 yīnwèi 因為 guìxia 跪下 líkāi 離開 chákàn 察看 shuō 說

Total (monosyllables : disyllables)

21：14 60%：40%

14：21 40%：60%

Table 128b. Comparison of the early and modern Mandarin versions of The Gospel of Mark without the criterion of inclusiveness Verse

(1867) Mandarin

(2002 [1999]) Mandarin

7：‘mighty’ 10：‘like’ 13：‘and’ 18：‘to leave’ 20：‘to call’

yǒu nénggàn 有能幹 xiàng 像 hé 和 diūkāi 丟開 jiào 叫

dà 大 fǎngfú 彷彿 bìngyǔ 並與 shě 捨 zhāohu 招呼

Total (monosyllables : disyllables)

3：2 60%：40%

2：3 40%：60%

Discussion 

 349

Tables 128a and 128b illustrate that the percentages of monosyllables in early Mandarin are higher than those in modern Mandarin, a situation that is also observed in early and modern Cantonese and Hakka. However, a close examination shows that the percentages of disyllables in early Mandarin, i.e. 40% and 40%,262 are much higher than the percentages of disyllables in early Cantonese, i.e. 16% and 11%, and in early Hakka, i.e. 21% and 23%. The higher degree of disyllabicization in early Mandarin makes it possible for its influence to spread to other dialects. Furthermore, a number of disyllabic items found in modern Cantonese and Hakka are identical to the ones in modern Mandarin, items which are likely to have been borrowed into the former from the latter.263 In other words, the process of disyllabicization which started in Classical Chinese first affected the lexicon of the standard language, and then its influence has spread to the other dialects. More important, the timeframe during which Cantonese, Hakka and Mandarin have displayed more characteristics of satellite-framed languages and the timeframe during which they have become more disyllabic overlap. The two processes have gone hand-in-hand in the last century. Such a finding lends further support to our hypothesis that the process of disyllabicization serves as an additional force for the typological shift in Chinese dialects from verb-framed languages to satellite-framed languages, a change that is still on-going.264 Further evidence of the influence of modern Mandarin on other dialects can also be observed in the grammar in Chapter 1 of The Gospel of Mark. For example, the comparative marker bǐ/pi 34 比 is used in the early Mandarin (1867) and the early Wu (1922) versions of The Gospel of Mark (cf. (72a) and (73)), and it continues to be used in the modern Mandarin version (cf. (72b)).265 In contrast, the comparative markers kuo53/kue21/gwo3 過 are used in the early Hakka (1923) (cf. (74a)), the early Mǐn (1892) (cf. (75a)) and the early Cantonese (1872) versions 262 The first percentage is obtained when the criterion of inclusiveness is applied whereas the second percentage is obtained when the criterion is not applied. 263 While the percentages of disyllables in early Mandarin are higher than those in early Cantonese and Hakka, it seems puzzling that the opposite situation is observed in the modern dialects with higher percentages of disyllables in modern Cantonese and Hakka than in modern Mandarin. The phenomenon may be related to the remark made in Tang and Lamarre (2007), who suggest that Mandarin or the standard language is the product of koineization, mixing archaisms and dialectalisms borrowed from various dialects. In other words, modern Mandarin or the standard language may not truly reflect the degree of disyllabicization in the colloquial speech whose degree of disyllabicization may be higher. 264 See 2.7.1 for a discussion on the correlation between the number of syllables and the agentive use of directional verbs and adjectives in Classical Chinese and Cantonese. 265 The Wú variety reflected in the (1922) version of The Gospel of Mark is the Sūzhōu dialect. However, the modern Wú version is not available for comparison. Nevertheless, as noted in Wú (2010), pi 34 比 is the marker used in the comparative construction in the modern Wú dialect.

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 Chapter 4. Directional verbs in early Chinese dialects

(cf. (76a)) of the The Gospel of Mark, and they have been replaced by the equivalent of bǐ 比 in the corresponding modern versions (cf. (74b)–(76b)). Compare the comparative marker used in Verse 7, Chapter 1 of the early and modern versions of The Gospel of Mark for the five dialects: Mandarin (72) a. 有一位在我後來的人，比我更有能幹。(1867) Yǒu yí wèi zài wǒ hòu lái de rén, bí wǒ gèng have one cl at me after come mp person, cm me more yǒu nénggàn. have ability

b. 有一位在我以後的，能力比我更大。(2002 [1999]) Yǒu yí wèi zài wǒ yǐhòu de, nénglì bí wǒ gèng dà. have one cl at me after mp, ability cm me more great ‘…there cometh one mightier than I after me.’

Wú (73) 有一個人拉我以後來個，比我更有能力。(1922) ɦiɤ13 iǝʔ55 kǝʔ55 nin 13 la 34 ŋo13 i 55 ɦɤ33 lɛ13 kǝʔ55, pi 34 ŋo13 have one cl person at me after come mp cm me kǝn 53 ɦiɤ13 nǝn 53liǝʔ55. more have ability Hakka (74) a. 有強過吾儕跟我尾來。(1923) Iu44 khioŋ11 kuo53 n 11̩ sa11 ken44 ŋai44 mi44 loi11. have strong cm us follow me after come

b. 比£較晚來個，佢比£偉大盡多。(2012) Pi 31 ŋai11 kau 31 van 31 loi11 ke53, ki11 pi 31 ŋai11 vi 31thai 53 cm me relatively late come mp, He cm me great tshin 53 to44. utmost much

Discussion 

 351

Mǐn266 (75) a. 有蜀個£我後£來，能力大過我。(1892) U21 tsek 2 kai 213 to21 ua 35 au 21ko53 lai 55, leŋ213lak 5 tua 22 kue21 ua 21. have one cl　 at me after come, ability great cm me

b. 有蜀個比我卡有權能的，隨尾我來。(1996) U21 tsek 2 kai 213 pi 35 ua 35 khaʔ5 u 21 khuaŋ213neŋ55 ti 22, have one cl cm me ? have power mp, tue53 bue35 ua 35 lai 55. follow after me come

Cantonese (76) a. 有一個後過我嚟嘅，佢能力勝過我。(1872) Jau 5 jat1 go3 hau6 gwo3 ngo5 lai4 ge3, keoi 5 nang4lik6 have one cl after cm me come mp, His ability sing3 gwo3 ngo5. excel cm me

b. 喺我以後嚟嘅嗰一位比我偉大得多。(2006 [1997]) Hai 2 ngo5 ji 5hau6 lai4 ge3 go2 jat1 wai 2 bei 2 ngo5 be me after come mp that one cl cm me wai 5daai6 dak 1 do1. great mp more

The bǐ 比-comparative construction is the dominant form used in early and modern Mandarin and Wú. While the use of the guò 過-comparative construction is found in the early Hakka, Mǐn and Cantonese versions of the Gospel,267 the bǐ 比-comparative construction is adopted in the modern versions of these three dialects, reflecting the influence of Mandarin on them. Moreover, the use of the bǐ 比-comparative construction in modern Hakka, Mǐn and Cantonese is likely related to the rise of the education level of the dialect speakers who are taught in school how to use this new pattern in writing. Gradually, the use of the

266 The variety of the Mǐn dialect reflected in the (1892) version of The Gospel of Mark is the Cháozhōu dialect whereas that reflected in the (1996) version is Southern Mǐn spoken in Táiwān. 267 Wú (2010) argues that the use of the guò 過-comparative construction in Mǐn spoken in Guǎngdōng and Hǎinán is borrowed from Cantonese. Based on the study of texts compiled in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, Yue (1999) notices the use of the guò 過-comparative construction in the texts and suggests that the construction was actively used in the language at the time.

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 Chapter 4. Directional verbs in early Chinese dialects

new pattern is no longer confined to writing but also makes its way into the daily speech of the speakers.268 Yue (1997) suggests that social factors such as age, education level and occupation play important roles in the use of the bǐ 比-comparative construction in modern Cantonese. According to Yue (1997: 371), “the younger in age, the more educated, the closer to educational/literary circle in occupation, the more likely will the speaker use the new pattern”. A close examination of the early and modern Cantonese versions of The Gospel of Mark shows that there are twelve tokens of the bǐ 比-comparative construction found in the modern Cantonese version but none in the early Cantonese version. Such a contrast coincides with the difference in the education level between Cantonese speakers in the modern times and those who lived more than one hundred years ago. In particular, the education level of modern Cantonese speakers is higher than that of early Cantonese speakers, with the former having a better command of the standard written language than the latter. As a result, modern Cantonese speakers might unconsciously let the standard language slip into their daily speech without their notice, and therefore, the use of both the bǐ 比- and guò 過-comparative constructions is found in the modern version of The Gospel of Mark. In contrast, with little knowledge of the standard written language, it is unlikely that early Cantonese speakers would have used the bǐ 比- comparative construction. Therefore, only the native pattern, i.e. the guò 過-comparative construction, is found in the early version of The Gospel of Mark. Another question that can be posed is whether the five dialects have moved closer to being satellite-framed languages in the last century as a result of the external influence of the non-Han languages spoken in neighbouring areas. The answer is that such an influence seems unlikely. As these languages were spoken in the surrounding areas long before the arrival of the Han people, it would be difficult to explain why all of a sudden their influence became so strong in the last one hundred years that it triggered the dialects to move closer to becoming satellite-framed languages. However, a close examination of the way path is encoded in the non-Han languages shows that they reflect the different stages of evolution that the Chinese language has undergone during the typological shift. As shown by the statistical results in Tables 72 and 124, the predominant device employed in early and modern Chinese dialects for the expression of causation is the use of the VV construction. The first verb denotes cause while the second one specifies result/direction, as in pǎo lèi 跑累 run-tired ‘to run and as a result to become tired’ and pǎo jìn 跑進 run-enter ‘to run and to enter’. The 268 See 3.6.2.1.1 for a discussion of the use of θyoŋ42 上 ‘to ascend’ in Fúqīng, a form which is used only in reading pronunciation in Southern Mǐn.

Discussion 

 353

phonological or morphological devices used in Classical Chinese to mark causation, while obsolete in modern Chinese dialects, are still available in its close relatives, the Tibeto-Burman languages. For example, written Tibetan uses the sibilant causative prefix s- to express causation, as illustrated in the following examples: Written Tibetan (cf. Matisoff 1976: 415) (77) ‘gril-ba ‘be twisted, sgril-ba wrapped around’ ‘khor-ba ‘turn around’ skor-ba riŋ-ba ‘be long’ sriŋ-ba

‘wind or wrap something around’ ‘surround something’ ‘extend, stretch, postpone something’

Tonal changes and the devoicing of the initial consonants are used to mark causation in Lahu, a member of the Lolo-Burmese subgroup of Tibeto-Burman languages. Lahu (cf. Matisoff 1976: 417) (78) câ ‘eat’ cā ‘feed’ nɔ̂ ‘be awake’ nɔ̄ ‘awaken, rouse’ dû ‘dig’ tū ‘bury (as a corpse)’ dɔ̀ ‘drink’ tɔ ‘give to drink’ dɛ ̀ ‘come to rest’ tɛ ‘put down’ Lahu has also developed quite productive syntactic ways of forming causative VPs by means of auxiliary verbs such as cɨ ‘to make’ in Johnny thàʔ qay cɨ ve ‘make Johnny run’ (cf. Matisoff 1976: 418). Moreover, Lahu has a rich set of the socalled post-head versatile verbs which have concrete meanings related to modes of motion or directionality. They can function as a head as well as a modifier of the preceding verb, closely resembling directional verbs and directional complements in Chinese dialects. Lahu (cf. Matisoff 1991: 405) (79) Head

Post-head versatile verb



mə ˀ̂ kə tú bà pu yàˀ

kə bà yàˀ

‘put into, insert’ ‘throw, discard’ ‘descend’

‘blow into’ ‘burn away’ ‘roll down’

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 Chapter 4. Directional verbs in early Chinese dialects

On the other hand, Tibeto-Burman languages allow the chaining of several clauses in which there is only one finite verb while the rest of the verbs are marked by a non-final marker, as illustrated by the non-final marker –byas in (80) below: Tibeto-Burman (DeLancey 1991: 4). (80) khos kha=lags zas-byas phyin-pa red he:erg meal ate nf went pfv ‘He ate and left.’ When the argument in the second clause is present in the first one, zero anaphor is employed and the non-final marker –byas can be omitted, thus making the juxtaposition of two verbs possible. The dropping of –byas illustrates the grammaticalization process of serialization. Tibeto-Burman (DeLancey 1991: 6) (81) kho bros(-byas) yongs-pa red. he flee (nf) came pfv ‘He fled hither (or toward the deictic centre).’ If the grammatical status of two juxtaposed verbs is asymmetrical, insertion of the non-final marker is not allowed. This is illustrated in the following example from Lahu, in which the use of the non-final marker lɛ between the verb câ ‘to kill’ and pə̀ ‘to finish’ gives rise to ungrammaticality as the former is a lexical verb while the latter serves as an aspect marker. Lahu (cf. Matisoff 1969 quoted in DeLancey 1991: 4) (82) *Lâ pɔ ˀ̂ (-lɛ) chèˀ (-lɛ) câ lɛ pə̀ sě ve cê. tiger jump (nf) bite (nf) kill nf finish ‘The tiger jumped on, bit, and killed [it/them].’ As mentioned in 2.7.2, Croft et al. (2010) suggest that the different strategies adopted by languages for the expression of motion events and change of state appear to represent a grammaticalization path of morphosyntactic integration which reflects event integration. The following two grammaticalization paths which end in univerbation of the event and the frame morphemes have been observed in their study.

Discussion 

 355

(83) a. Coordination > Serialization > Satellite framing > Verb satellite fusion (= (110a) in Ch. 2) b. Coordination > Verb framing > Verb adverb fusion (= (110b) in Ch. 2) While the first path is claimed to have been exemplified in Dutch, the second path is said to have been observed in Japanese. The first path is also found to have occurred in Tibeto-Burman languages and Chinese. In particular, the use and the dropping of the non-final marker in Tibetan and Lahu and that of the conjunction ér 而 ‘and’ in Classical Chinese represent the stages of Coordination > Serialization. The use of the non-final marker and ér 而 ‘and’ marks that a symmetrical relationship is held between the verbs. In contrast, when the nonfinal marker and ér 而 ‘and’ cannot be inserted between the verbs, it signals that one verb is subordinate to another. The emergence of the versatile verbs and the directional complements represents the stage of Satellite framing at which path is not expressed in the main verb but in the versatile verb and the directional complement. The next section further discusses how the verb and the satellite have been fused together, with evidence from early Cantonese.

4.6.3 From satellite framing to compounding Section 2.7.2 shows that modern Mandarin exemplifies characteristics of compounding while modern Cantonese displays properties of both the serial verb strategy and compounding when encoding path. Modern Mandarin (84) a. 他走進了教室。(= (18b) in Ch. 1) Tā zǒu jìn le jiàoshì. he walk enter asp classroom ‘He walked into the classroom.’

b. 球滾進了球門。(= (133b) in Ch. 2) Qiú gǔn jìn le qiúmén. ball roll enter asp goal ‘The ball rolled into the goal.’



c. 他踢進了三個球。(= (18a) in Ch.1) Tā tī jìn le sān gè qiú. he kick enter asp three cl ball ‘He kicked in three balls.’

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The above examples from modern Mandarin show that the aspect marker le 了 occurs after the verb and the directional complement in sentences that denote self-agentive (cf. (84a)), non-agentive (cf. (84b)) and agentive motion events (cf. (84c)), thus demonstrating that the verb and the directional complement form a compound. The following examples from modern Cantonese, in contrast, illustrate that the aspect marker zo2 咗 appears after the verb and before the directional complement in self-agentive (cf. (85a)) and non-agentive motion events (cf. (85b)), but after both in agentive motion events (cf. (85c)). Examples (85a) and (85b) represent the use of the serial verb strategy, and (85c) illustrates the use of compounding to encode path. Modern Cantonese (85) a. 佢行咗入課室。(= (68b) in Ch. 2) Keoi 5 haang4 zo2 jap6 fo3sat1. s/he walk asp enter classroom ‘S/he walked into the classroom.’

b. 個波碌咗入龍門。(= (131a) in Ch. 2) Go3 bo1 luk 1 zo2 jap6 lung4mun4. cl ball roll asp enter goal ‘The ball rolled into the goal.’



c. 佢射入咗一個波。(= (129a) in Ch. 2) Keoi 5 se6 jap6 zo2 jat1 go3 bo1. s/he shoot enter asp one cl ball ‘S/he shot in one ball.’

Table 129. Fusion of the verb and the directional complement in the three types of motion events in modern Mandarin and Cantonese

Simple directional complement – Self-agentive – Non-agentive – Agentive

Mandarin

Cantonese

P P P

O O P

A search for the co-occurrence of a directional complement and an aspect marker in the “Early Cantonese Tagged Database” finds only the following self-agentive sentence. In example (86), the perfective aspect marker hiu1 嘵 269 immediately 269 See Cheung (1997) for a discussion on the aspect marker hiu 1 嘵 in early Cantonese.

Discussion 

 357

appears after the main verb zau 2 走 ‘to run’ and before the directional complement jap6 入 ‘to enter’, a word order which is identical to that in modern Cantonese and which shows the use of the serial verb strategy to encode path. Early Cantonese (86) 個隻狗走嘵入廚房。(Fulton 1931) Go2 zek 3 gau 2 zau 2 hiu1 jap6 cyu4fong2. that cl dog run asp enter kitchen ‘That dog ran into the kitchen.’ In agentive motion events involving a theme object and a locative object, the word order used in early Cantonese is V + O + CND/D + LOC. Early Cantonese (87) a. …截住佢、拉佢上大館。(Ball 1902) …zit6 zyu6 keoi 5, laai 1 keoi 5 soeng5 Daai6gun 2. stop asp him, arrest him ascend Central Police Station ‘…stopped him, and took him under arrest up to the Central Police Station.’

b. 撒網落海 (1872) The Gospel of Mark in Canton Colloquial saat 3 mong5 lok6 hoi 2 cast net descend sea ‘to cast the net into the sea’



c. 我保了佢出監。(Condit 1882) Ngo5 bou 2 liu 5 keoi 5 ceot1 gaam1. I bail asp him exit jail ‘I bailed him out of jail.’



d. 你捉番隻雞入籠喇。(Fulton 1931) Nei 5 zuk 1 faan 1 zek 3 gai1 jap6 lung4 laa1. you catch return cl chicken enter coop sfp ‘Catch the chicken and put it into the coop.’



e. 眾人就拉艇埋岸。 Zung3 jan4 zau6 laai1 teng2 maai4 ngon6. crowd person then pull boat approach shore ‘The men then pulled the boat ashore.’

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f. 的新人過年要擔茶番男家嘅。(Wisner 1927) Di1 san 1jan4 gwo3 nin4 jiu 3 daam 1 caa4 faan 1 cl newlywed couple pass new year need carry tea return naam4 gaa1 ge3. groom family sfp ‘The newlywed couple has to bring tea back to the groom’s family.’



g. 我帶你去佢間屋。(Bruce 1877) Ngo5 daai 3 nei 5 heoi 3 keoi 5 gaan 1 uk 1. I bring you go his cl house ‘I will take you to his house.’

If the sentence involves only a theme object, a different word order pattern is observed, namely, V + CND/D + O.270 Early Cantonese (88) a. 冇耐、擺上飯菜。(Piercy 1870) Mou 5 noi6, baai 2 soeng5 faan6coi 3. not long, put ascend food ‘Before long, the food was put on the table.’

b. 放落啲野 (O’Melia 1941) fong 3 lok6 di1 je5 put descend cl thing ‘to put down the stuff’



c. 拔出把劍 (1872) The Gospel of Mark in Canton Colloquial bat6 ceot1 baa 2 gim 3 draw exit cl sword ‘to draw out the sword’



d. 你有放入嗰啲落個本書嚟冇呢? (Dennys 1874) Nei 5 jau 5 fong3 jap6 ko2 di1 lok6 ko2 bun 2 syu1 lai4 mou 5 ne1? you have put enter that cl descend that cl book come have sfp ‘Did you insert that in the book?’

270 Hei 2 起 ‘to rise’ and hoi 1 開 ‘to depart’ are excluded because they in general do not exhibit the V + O + CND + LOC pattern. As for gwo3 過 ‘to pass’, dou 3 到 ‘to arrive’ and lai4 嚟 ‘to come’, no example of V + CND/D + O is found, a phenomenon which may be related to their multiple functions. For example, in addition to a directional verb, gwo3 過 also serves as a comparative marker, a dative marker and an aspect marker. See Wu (2003) for a discussion on the grammaticalization of guò 過 in Mandarin.

Discussion 



e. 擠埋啲書喇 (Wisner 1906) zai1 maai4 di1 syu1 laa1 put approach cl book sfp ‘to put the book away’



f. 政府又要佢擰番的銀。(1930s) New Canton Colloquial Zing3fu 2 jau6 jiu 3 keoi 5 ning1 faan 1 di1 ngan 2. government also need him take return cl money ‘The government wanted him to take the money back.’



g. 掃去個啲蠄蟧絲網。(Kerr 1888) sou 3 heoi 3 go2 di1 kam4lou4si1mong5 sweep go that cl cobweb ‘to sweep the cobwebs away’

 359

In the above examples, the orientation point is implied but not explicitly specified. The co-event verbs that precede the directional complements denote actions. If the orientation point is to be specified in the sentence, the co-event verb and the directional complement can be restructured using the serial verb strategy, and each can take its own object. The alternation between V + CND/D + O and V + O + CND/D + LOC, as illustrated by (89a)–(91a) and (89b)–(91b) below, suggests that the relationship between the co-event verb and the directional complement is rather loose. Early Cantonese (89) a. 放落啲嘢 (O’Melia 1941) fong 3 lok6 di1 je5 put descend cl thing ‘to put down the stuff’

b. 放個的雞蛋落個隻籮處喇 (Wisner 1927) fong4 go2 di1 gai1daan 2 lok6 go2 zek 3 lo4 cyu 3 laa1 put that cl eggs descend that cl basket Localizer sfp ‘to put the eggs into the basket’

(90) a. 故此為你地寫落呢的誡命。 Gu 3 ci 2 wai6 nei 5dei6 se2 lok6 nei1 di1 gaai 3ming6. because of this for you write descend this cl precept ‘(For the hardness of your heart) he wrote you this precept.’ (1872) The Gospel of Mark in Canton Colloquial

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 Chapter 4. Directional verbs in early Chinese dialects b. 順便寫多幾個字落個封信內喇 (Wisner 1927) seon6bin 2 se2 to1 gei 2 go3 zi6 lok6 go2 fung1 also write more few cl character descend that cl seon 3 noi6 laa1 letter inside sfp ‘to write a few words in the letter as well’

(91) a. 我有拈去个的花。(Dennys 1874) Ngo5 jau 5 nim 1 heoi 3 go2 di1 faa1. I have move go that cl flower ‘I have moved away those flowers.’

b. 你拈個把遮去邊處呢？(Dennys 1874) Nei 5 nim 1 go2 baa 2 ze1 heoi 3 bin 1cyu 3 ne1? you move that cl umbrella go where sfp ‘Where are you taking that umbrella to?’

It is further observed that there are examples in which the same co-event verb and the directional complement can be followed by a theme object or a locative object. This reflects a stage in which the co-event verb and the directional complement are fused to form a compound, taking only one object. The object could be a theme object (cf. (92a)–(95a)), or a locative object (cf. (92b)–(95b)). Early Cantonese (92) a. 唔好跌落一粒米呀。(Wisner 1927) M4hou 2 dit 3 lok6 jat1 nap1 mai 2 aa 3. don’t drop descend one cl rice sfp ‘Don’t drop even one grain of rice.’

b. 有的跌落路邊。(1872) The Gospel of Mark in Canton Colloquial Jau 5 di1 dit 3 lok6 lou6 bin 1. have cl drop descend road side ‘Some dropped on the side of the road.’

(93) a. 耶穌流出寶血得贖人嘅罪。 (Kerr 1888) Je4sou1 lau4 ceot1 bou 2 hyut 3 dak 1 suk6 jan4 ge3 zeoi6. Jesus flow exit precious blood can redeem man mp sin ‘The precious blood of Jesus can redeem the sins of men.’

Discussion 



 361

b. 會埋來流出大海 (Mài 1893)271 loi4 lau4 ceot1 daai6 hoi 2. Wui6 maai4 gather approach come flow exit sea ‘(The tributaries) gather and flow into the sea.’

(94) a. 收埋個的野喇。(Bruce 1877) Sau 1 maai4 go2 di1 je5 laa 3. collect approach that cl thing sfp ‘You might take away the things.’

b. 呢三條手巾收埋櫃處。(Fulton 1931) Nei1 saam1 tiu4 sau 2gan 1 sau 1 maai4 gwai6 cyu 3. this three cl handkerchief put approach wardrobe Localizer ‘Put these three handkerchiefs in the wardrobe.’

(95) a. 我有拈去個的花。(Dennys 1874) Ngo5 jau 5 nim 1 heoi 3 go2 di1 faa1. I have move go that cl flower ‘I have moved away those flowers.’

b. 我拈去裁縫佬處。(Dennys 1874) Ngo5 nim 1 heoi 3 coi4fung4lo2 cyu 3. I take go tailor Localizer ‘I am taking it to the tailors.’

The co-event verbs fong3 放 ‘to put’ and zai 2 擠 ‘to put’ and the directional complement lok6 落 ‘to descend’ in the following examples show step-by-step how they are fused together to form a compound. Early Cantonese (96) a. 放個吊桶落井。(Bridgman 1841) Fong 3 go3 diu 3tung2 lok6 zeng2. put cl bucket descend well ‘Let the bucket down into the well.’

b. 放落啲嘢 (O’Melia 1941) (= (89a)) fong 3 lok6 di1 je5 put descend cl thing ‘to put the things down’

271 Yue (2000) notes that the year of publication of Mài may be 1833 or 1893.

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c. 個啲野放落檯上 (O’Melia 1941) go2 di1 je5 fong 3 lok6 toi 2 soeng6 that cl thing put descend table Localizer ‘to drop those things down on the table’



d. 我放落啲嘢喺你處。(O’Melia 1941) Ngo5 fong 3 lok6 di1 je5 hai 2 nei 5 cyu 3. I put descend cl thing at your Localizer ‘I put some things in your place.’

(97) a. 有人擠樹枝落地。(Wisner 1927) Jau 5 jan4 zai 1 syu6 zi1 lok6 dei6. have person put tree branch descend ground ‘Someone put the tree branches on the ground.’

b. 可以擠得落六噸咁重嘅炸彈嘅。(Chao 1947) Ho2ji 5 zai1 dak1 lok6 luk6 deon1 gam 3 cung5 ge3 zaa 3daan 2 ge3. can put mp descend six ton mp heavy mp bomb sfp ‘(Large bombers) can hold as much as six tons of bombs.’



c. 人擰燈嚟，豈係擠落斗下？ Jan4 ning1 dang1 lai4, hei2 hai6 zai1 lok6 dau2 haa6? person bring candle come, why be put descend bushel Localizer ‘Is a candle brought to be put under a bushel?’ (1872) The Gospel of Mark in Canton Colloquial



d. 個的野係嗰個買賣嘅人擠落喺處嘅。(Wisner 1927) Go2 di1 je5 hai6 go2 go3 maai 5 maai6 ge3 jan4 zai 1 that cl thing be that cl buy sell mp person put lok6 hai 2 cyu 3 ge3. descend at here sfp ‘Those things were put down here by the person who brought them.’

Examples (96a) and (97a) show the first stage at which the verb and the directional complement appear in a serial verb sentence, each taking its own object. At the second stage, the verb and the directional complement are juxtaposed, taking only a theme object (cf. (96b)–(97b)), or a locative object (cf. (96c)–(97c)). Examples (96d)–(97d) represent the final stage at which the verb and the directional complement are fused together as one unit, subcategorizing for a theme object, and the locative object is introduced by hai 2 喺 ‘at’. During the univerbation process, the meaning of the directional complement has changed. Lok6 落 in (96d) and (97d), for instance, does not express the meaning of ‘to descend’ but

Discussion 

 363

‘to settle’.272 Since a transitive verb is involved in the fusion process in the above examples, it is necessary for the theme object to be omitted or to occur elsewhere in the sentence other than between the verb and the directional complement. Otherwise, the juxtaposition between the verb and the directional complement is not possible. The omission of the theme object is shown in (97c) in which the object dang1 燈 ‘the candle’ is omitted between zai1 擠 ‘to put’ and lok6 落 ‘to descend’ and can be identified by inference from the preceding clause. Similarly, the theme object go2 di1 je5 個的野 ‘those things’ in (96c) and (97d) appears in the sentence-initial position, allowing the verbs and the directional complements to occur side-by-side. Additional examples are provided below, illustrating that the fusion of the co-event verb and the directional complement requires the use of hai 2 喺 ‘at’ (cf. (98a)–(98c)), lok6 落 ‘to descend’ (cf. (98d)), and jap6 入 ‘to enter’ (cf. (98e)–(98g)) to introduce the locative objects.273 Early Cantonese (98) a. 你留落個兩個朋友喺邊處呢？ (Fulton 1931) Nei 5 lau4 lok6 go2 leong5 go3 pang4jau 5 hai 2 bin 1cyu 3 ne1? you leave descend that two cl friend at where sfp ‘Where did you leave those two friends?’

b. 你要縮埋呢個裙喺個裙帶嗰嗻。 (Ball 1902) Nei 5 jiu 3 suk 1 maai4 nei1 go3 kwan4 hai 2 go3 kwan4 you must gather approach this cl skirt at cl skirt daai 2 go2syu 3. band there ‘You must gather this skirt into the skirt band.’



c. 你開把鎖要擠番條鎖匙喺個處{口播}。 (Fulton 1931) Nei 5   hoi1  baa 2  so2  jiu 3  zai1  faan 1  tiu4  so2si4  hai 2  go2cyu 3  bo3. you  open  cl  lock  need  put  return  cl   key  at  there  sfp ‘When you open the lock, put the key back there.’

272 Lien (2011) points out that in early Mǐn the non-spatial meanings of directional verbs are derived through metaphorical extension when a directional complement is preceded by a non-locomotive verb. However, in the case of early Cantonese, a different set of verbs, namely, transitive verbs which denote actions, seem to have first undergone the univerbation process. 273 The influence of Mandarin cannot be entirely ruled out. For example, Matthews and Yip (1994: 219) note that soeng5 上 appears as a complement in a few verbs borrowed from Mandarin such as oi 3 soeng 5 愛上 ‘to fall in love’ and jim 2 soeng 5 染上 ‘to get infected’.

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d. 你有放入嗰啲落個本書嚟冇呢？ (Dennys 1874) Nei 5 jau 5 fong 3 jap6 go2 di1 lok6 go2 bun 2 syu1 you have put enter that cl descend that cl book lai4 mou 5 ne1? sfp not sfp ‘Did you insert that in the book?’



e. 收埋個銀箱入房喇  (Wisner 1927) sau 1 maai4 go3 ngan4 soeng1 jap6 fong2 laa1 put approach cl silver box enter room sfp ‘to put the silver box into the room’



f. 個枝筆擠番入箱處  (Fulton 1931) go2 zi1 bat1 zai 1 faan 1 jap6 soeng1 cyu 3 that cl pen put return enter box Localizer ‘to put the pen back in the box’



g. 抱番個細蚊仔入屋  (Fulton 1931) pou 5 faan 1 sai 3man 1zai 2 jap6 uk 1 hold return child enter house ‘to carry the child back into the house’

As noted above, since the verbs that occur before the directional complements are transitive verbs, the juxtaposition of the verb and the directional complement is possible only if the theme object between them is absent (cf. (96c) and (97c)). In other words, the transformation from V + O + DC + LOC to V + DC + LOC is possible with the omission of the object. Such an observation is supported by the following statistics. Table 130. Number of tokens of presence and absence of the theme object between the ­co-event verb and the directional complement

with a theme object without a theme object

soeng5 上 ‘to ascend’

lok6 落 ‘to descend’

ceot1 出 ‘to exit’

3 3

12 36

0 1

jap6 入 maai4 埋 heoi3 去 ‘to enter’ ‘to approach’ ‘to go’ 6 9

0 9

29 27

We examine the use of the directional complements in agentive motion events in the “Early Cantonese Tagged Database”. Cases in which they are part of a compound directional complement (e.g. bun1 soeng5 lai4 搬上嚟 ‘to move up here’) are excluded for the following reasons. First, compound directional complements do

Summary 

 365

not exhibit fusion with the preceding verb. Second, the fusion process for simple directional complements might be different from that of compound directional complements. Table 130 shows that for soeng5 上 ‘to ascend’ and heoi 3 去 ‘to go’, the number of tokens of the presence and the absence of a theme object for the former is identical (3), whereas the number of tokens of the presence of a theme object for the latter is slightly higher than that of the absence of the theme object (29 vs. 27). In the remaining cases, the number of tokens of the absence of the theme object is higher than that of the presence of the theme object, especially in the cases of lok6 落 ‘to descend’ and maai4 埋 ‘to approach’. Table 130 illustrates that except for the cases of soeng5 上 ‘to ascend’ and heoi 3 去 ‘to go’, the theme object often does not appear between the co-event verb and the directional complement. As a result, the co-event verb and the directional complement can be juxtaposed, a prerequisite which allows them to be further fused together.

4.7 Summary This chapter has shown that early Mandarin, Wú, Hakka, Mǐn and Cantonese all exhibit characteristics of both verb-framed and satellite-framed languages in using a directional verb and a directional complement to encode path. Therefore, similar to their modern counterparts, none of the five early dialects fits into the binary categories of verb-framed and satellite-framed languages proposed by Talmy (2000a, 2000b). Moreover, when comparing the statistical results for the five early dialects with those for their modern counterparts, it is found that the five early dialects display more characteristics of verb-framed languages than their modern counterparts. In particular, early dialects tend to use directional verbs to express path whereas their modern counterparts tend to use directional complements for the expression of path. The statistical results also show that among the five early dialects, a small percentage of the agentive use of directional verbs is observed in early Hakka, a usage that is also found in the dialectal survey (cf. 4.3.3). The dialectal survey further demonstrates that in addition to early Hakka, early Mǐn and early Cantonese can also encode path in a directional verb when expressing agentive motion events. Among these three early dialects, the agentive use of directional verbs in early Cantonese is the most productive in terms of the number of directional verbs which exhibit the agentive use. This chapter has further suggested that the process of disyllabicization has served as additional impetus to drive the dialects to move closer to becoming satellite-framed languages. In particular, the comparison of Chapter 1 of the early and the modern versions of The Gospel of Mark for Mandarin, Hakka and

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 Chapter 4. Directional verbs in early Chinese dialects

Cantonese show that during the last two centuries, Chinese dialects have not only become more satellite-framed, but their degree of disyllabicization has also increased. In other words, disyllabicization and the disuse of phonological and morphological devices to mark causation together triggered the typological shift of the Chinese language and the Chinese dialects from verb-framed to satelliteframed languages. Disyllabicization first started in the standard language, from which it has spread to the other dialects through the promotion of the standard language. The influence of the standard language is not only manifested in the lexicon. It is also observed in grammar such as the use of dào 到 ‘to arrive’ to introduce a locative object, the use of the word orders V + CND + CD + O and V + CND + O + CD, and the use of the bǐ 比-comparative construction. On the other hand, phonological and morphological devices to mark causation, though no longer in use in Chinese dialects, are still employed in TibetoBurman languages, which are genetically related to Chinese. Another issue which has been explored concerns the fusion of the co-event verb and the directional complement in agentive motion events. Based on the substantial set of materials for early Cantonese, this chapter has tried to reconstruct the process through which the co-event verb and the directional complement have been combined together to form a compound. Data from early Cantonese show that the univerbation process is likely to have first involved transitive verbs which denote actions. Moreover, it is observed that the theme object is often removed from the position after the co-event verb and before the directional complement, a prerequisite which paves the way to the juxtaposition of the co-event verb and the directional complement, and then the fusion of the two.

Chapter 5

. Conclusion

Conclusion Scholars argue that Classical Chinese was a verb-framed language, expressing path in a verb. The language later underwent a typological shift to becoming a satellite-framed language, specifying path in a satellite or a directional complement. It is further claimed that the shift was completed at around the tenth century. Based on a substantial set of data both synchronic and diachronic, the present study examines systematically the way in which path is expressed in five modern Chinese dialects, including Mandarin, Wú, Hakka, Mǐn and Cantonese, and their counterparts spoken in the nineteenth and the early twentieth centuries. Findings of the present study suggest that the typological change that the Chinese language has undergone in tranforming itself from a verb-framed language to a satellite-framed language is not complete. Instead, each of the five dialects examined, i.e. Mandarin, Wú, Hakka, Mǐn and Cantonese, has proceeded at its own pace. In particular, the statistical results illustrate that the modern Wú dialect has moved closer to becoming a satellite-framed language than the other four modern dialects, whereas the dialectal survey shows that modern Mǐn and Cantonese have exhibited more features of verb-framed languages than modern Mandarin, Wú and Hakka, features such as the agentive use of directional verbs which are exemplified in Classical Chinese. One of the major issues explored in Chapters 2–4 is how the five dialects studied fit into Talmy’s dichotomy of verb-framed and satellite-framed languages. To address the above issue, three different perspectives have been adopted – typological, synchronic and diachronic. Chapter 2 focuses on the use of directional verbs in modern Cantonese from a typological perspective. In particular, the agentive use is observed in directional verbs as well as state change verbs in modern Cantonese. Such use has not been given much attention and has rarely been reported in other dialects, a use which nevertheless is exhibited in Japanese and Classical Chinese, languages which are considered verb-framed languages by scholars. On the other hand, although they are both descendants of Classical Chinese, modern Cantonese displays the agentive use of directional verbs and state change verbs but modern Mandarin does not, a contrast which reflects the different stages of grammaticalization the two dialects have undergone. In particular, the degree of integration of the verb and the complement in modern Mandarin is higher than that in modern Cantonese. While the fusion of the verb and the complement is observed

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 Chapter 5. Conclusion

in modern Mandarin in all three types of motion events, i.e. self-agentive, nonagentive and agentive motion events, involving both simple and compound directional complements, it is shown only in agentive motion events in modern Cantonese when a simple directional complement is involved. The contrast in the causative use between Cantonese and Mandarin thus coincides with the different stages of grammaticalization the two dialects have undergone in the univerbation process. In other words, modern Mandarin is ahead of modern Cantonese in moving toward becoming a satellite-framed language. Chapter 3 provides a qualitative and quantitative study on the expression of path in modern Mandarin, Wú, Hakka, Mǐn and Cantonese. Both cross-dialectal survey and the statistical results show that the five modern dialects exhibit characteristics of verb-framed and satellite-framed languages in expressing path in the verb or in the directional complement. Moreover, the statistical results illustrate that there is a correlation between the use of directional verbs or directional complements and the type of motion events denoted. In particular, both directional verbs and directional complements can be used to express self-agentive and non-agentive motion events except for modern Wú, in which the above option is available only in self-agentive motion events but not in non-agentive motion events. However, it should also be noted that the five modern dialects tend to express path in a directional complement in the above two types of motion events according to the statistical results. In the case of agentive motion events, the statistical results show that all five modern dialects employ the directional complement to denote path. All in all, the statistical results show that modern Wú has gone farther than the other four dialects in transforming itself into a satellite-framed language. While modern Wú uses only a directional complement to express path in both non-agentive and agentive motion events, modern Mandarin, Hakka, Mǐn and Cantonese use soley a directional complement to specify path only in agentive motion events. On the other hand, the cross-dialectal survey illustrates that in addition to modern Cantonese, modern Mǐn also exhibits the agentive use of directional verbs, a coincidence which might cast doubt on the influence of Cantonese on Mǐn. With the use of historical materials compiled in as early as the sixteenth century, it is demonstrated that some of the word orders shown in the modern Mǐn dialects are likely to have been borrowed from modern Mandarin such as the use of ‘to arrive’ + LOC + V D, V + ‘to arrive’ + LOC + CD and V + CND + CD + O. Moreover, the historical documents also help dispel the doubt that the similarity in word orders exemplified in modern Cantonese and Mǐn is a result of the influence of the former on the latter. Based on the word orders exhibited in the five modern dialects when encoding path in the three types of motion events, it is further illustrated that modern Cantonese and Mǐn are strong VO dialects, modern Hakka a moderate VO dialect, and modern

Conclusion 

 369

Mandarin and Wú weak VO dialects, a dialectal grouping which is different from that proposed in Liú (2001b). Chapter 4 conducts a systematic investigation of the expression of path in the same five dialects spoken in the last two centuries based on the dialectal materials compiled in the nineteenth and the early twentieth centuries. Furthermore, the percentages of verb use and complement use of directional verbs are computed. Again, both cross-dialectal survey and the statistical results show that the five early dialects display characteristics of verb-framed and satelliteframed languages in encoding path in a verb or in a directional complement. Moreover, when comparing the statistical results for the five early dialects with those for their modern counterparts, it is found that the five early dialects display more characteristics of verb-framed languages than their modern counterparts. In particular, the tendency to express path in a verb is stronger in the early dialects than in their modern counterparts. This study suggests that disyllabicization, which first started in the standard language from which it has spread to other dialects through the promotion of the standard language, has served as additional impetus to drive the dialects to move closer to becoming satelliteframed languages as the dialects have become more satellite-framed and more disyllabic during the same timeframe, i.e. in the last two centuries. This chapter also attempts to reconstruct, with a substantial set of materials for early Cantonese, the process through which the co-event verb and the directional complement have been combined together to form a compound. Findings suggest that the univerbation process is likely to have first involved transitive verbs which denote actions. Moreover, it is observed that the theme object is often removed from the position after the co-event verb and before the directional complement, a prerequisite which paves the way to the juxtaposition of the co-event verb and the directional complement and then the fusion of the two. As mentioned in Chapter 1, some scholars propose to extend Talmy’s typology to include a third type of equipollently-framed languages in which path and manner are both expressed by equivalent grammatical forms such as the serial verb construction. However, the following statistics show that among the six directional verbs examined, including shàng 上 ‘to ascend’, xià 下 ‘to descend’, chū 出 ‘to exit’, jìn 進 ‘to enter’, lái 來 ‘to come’ and qù 去 ‘to go’ in modern and early Mandarin and their equivalents in the other four modern and early dialects, their use in serial verb sentences to encode path predominates in neither the five early dialects (cf. Table 131) nor their modern counterparts (cf. Table 132).274 274 For the five early dialects, the statistics are based on the number of tokens of each of the six verbs found in the following texts: The Murder Case of Chūn’āshì《春阿氏謀夫案》(early Man­­darin), Sing-songs Girls of Shànghǎi《海上花列傳》(early Wú), First Book of Reading《啟蒙

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 Chapter 5. Conclusion

Table 131. Percentage of use of the serial verb construction to encode path in the five early dialects

Mandarin Wú Hakka Mǐn Cantonese

shàng 上 ‘to ascend’

xià 下 ‘to descend’

chū 出 ‘to exit’

jìn 進 ‘to enter’

lái 來 ‘to come’

qù 去 ‘to go’

7.69 0 15.79 16.67 20

6.58 14.29 8.33 0 4.04

18.45 8.57 5.34 23.08 14.10

24.62 27.27 0 27.97 16.67

9.63 20.62 10.34 25.66 25.56

29.36 45.03 26.96 32.62 19.61

Table 132. Percentage of use of the serial verb construction to encode path in the five modern dialects275

Mandarin Wú Hakka Mǐn Cantonese

shàng 上 ‘to ascend’

xià 下 ‘to descend’

lái 來 ‘to come’

qù 去 ‘to go’

13.33 10.71 27.78 2.33 8.7

6.98 6.78 17.14 11.76 2.15

4.26 2 16.6 3.89 16.07

1.67 13.99 19.3 8.57 17.86

In sum, similar to the suggestion made in Croft et al. (2010), the present study shows that none of the five Chinese dialects examined employs exclusively one way to encode path. Instead, there is a correlation between the use of directional verbs and directional complements and the type of motion events expressed. On the other hand, the present study perhaps has raised more questions than it has answered. For example, with the availability of a substantial set of historical materials from Cantonese, we have come to understand more about the conditions which would create a favourable environment for the univerbation process to take place. However, are there any other conditions that are present in Mandarin but absent in Cantonese which have made it possible for the univerbation process to further operate in self-agentive and non-agentive 淺學》(early Hakka), the (1884) version of Romance of the Litchi Mirror《荔鏡記》(early Mǐn) and A Summary of the Life of Jesus in Cantonese Colloquial《耶穌言行撮要俗話》(early Cantonese). As for the modern counterparts of the five early dialects, the statistics are based on the number of tokens of each of the six verbs found in the Chinese Pear Stories. The percentage for each verb is obtained by dividing the total number of tokens of each verb found in serial sentences by the total number of tokens of each verb. 275 There is no token of chū 出 ‘to exit’ and jìn 進 ‘to enter’ in the Chinese Pear Stories for the five dialects. Therefore, only the percentages of the other four directional verbs are provided.

Conclusion 

 371

motion events in Mandarin but not in Cantonese? Moreover, why were transitive verbs that denote actions the first ones to have been involved in the univerbation process? If the process is to first involve intransitive verbs, the prerequisite of the omission of a theme object between the transitive verb and the directional complement would become unnecessary and the process would be more economical. But why is a more costly process being favoured in Cantonese? As in all types of historical studies, the lack of materials for close scrutiny is a major obstacle. Even with the availability of historical materials, the nature of the materials is often being questioned. For example, do the materials truly reflect the dialect spoken at the time? Which specific dialect do they represent? Questions similar to these have also been encountered by the present study. For example, the nature of the synchronic and diachronic data used in this study is quite different. While the synchronic data represent the spoken language, the diachronic data represent the written language. If the data from the spoken narratives of the Chinese Pear Stories were being replaced by a new set of textual data, would a different result be obtained? Precisely, it is generally assumed that change reflected in the written language is slower than that in the spoken language. As a result, would the use of modern textual data reflect a slower typological shift? The comparison of the early and modern versions of The Gospel of Mark for Cantonese, Hakka and Mandarin shows that the degree of disyllabicization of early Mandarin is higher than the other two early dialects, but an opposite situation is observed with modern Cantonese and Hakka showing a higher degree of disyllabicization than modern Mandarin. Why is it so? On the other hand, Wú seems to have undergone some drastic changes. For example, Chapter 3 has shown that Wú is more satellite-framed than the other four dialects. Furthermore, Liú (2001b) illustrates that the degree of subtopicalization in Wú is higher than other Chinese dialects. What is going on in Wú? Are these changes internally or externally motivated? Another question that has arisen during the investigation is that a number of word orders cannot be found in the early texts. However, their unavailability in the texts does not necessarily mean that they do not exist, a question that cannot be resolved by the present study but can perhaps by the excavation of more historical documents. The present study has proposed to use the word orders exhibited in the three types of motion events for the classification of Chinese dialects. As mentioned in Chapter 3, the use of different classification criteria gives rise to different dialectal groupings. How are these different groupings accounted for? It has also been mentioned in Chapter 3 that there seems to be some weak correlation between the word order of a language and the way the language encodes path, i.e. in a verb or in a satellite. In particular, the correlation seems to be the following: VO languages tend to encode path in the verb, i.e. characteristics associated with

372 

 Chapter 5. Conclusion

verb-framed language, while OV languages tend to encode path in the satellite, i.e. characteristics associated with satellite-framed languages. However, further investigation is called for before a conclusion can be reached. The questions raised above are all intriguing and are worth further exploration.

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Sources of Examples Mandarin Anonymous. 2002 [1999]. Shèngjīng Héhéběn《聖經和合本》[Bible: Chinese Union Version]. Hong Kong International Bible Society (H.K.) Ltd 香港：國際聖經協會. Lěng, Fó [冷佛]. 1914 [1996]. Chūn’āshì Móufū Àn《春阿氏謀夫案》[The Murder Case of Chūn’āshì]. Běijīng: Zhōngguó Wénlián Chūbǎnshè 北京：中國文聯出版公司. Medhurst, H. Walter and John Stronach. 1867. Mǎkě Chuán Fúyīnshū (Báihuà Quānhuà)《馬可傳 福音書》(白話官話) [The Gospel of Mark in Mandarin Colloquial]. Shànghǎi: The American Presbyterian Mission Press 上海：美華書館.

References 

 385

Wú Anonymous. 1922. Mǎkě Chuán Fúyīnshū (Sūzhōu Tǔbái)《馬可傳福音書》(蘇州土白) [The Gospel of Mark in Sūzhōu Colloquial]. Shànghǎi: The American Bible Society 上海：上海 大美國聖經會. Hán, Bāngqìng [韓邦慶]. 1894 [1982]. Hǎishànghuā Lièzhuàn《海上花列傳》[Sing-song Girls of Shànghǎi]. Běijīng: Rénmín wénxué chūbǎnshè 北京：人民文學出版社. Macgowan, John. 1862. A Collection of Phrases in the Shanghai Dialect (Revised edn). Shanghai: Presbyterian Mission Press. Pott, Hawks F. L.  1913. Lessons in the Shanghai Dialect. Shanghai: The American Presbyterian Mission Press. Hakka Anonymous. 1879. Qǐméng Qiǎnxué《啟蒙淺學》[First Book of Reading]. No publication detail. Anonymous. 1923. Mǎkě Fúyīnshū (Kèjiā)《馬可福音書》(客家) [The Gospel of Mark in Hakka]. Shànghǎi: British and Foreign Bible Society 上海：上海大英聖書公會. Anonymous. 2012. Kèyǔ Shèngjīng: Xiàndài Táiwān Kèyǔ Yìběn《客語聖經》(現代台灣客語譯 本) The Hakka Bible: Today’s Taiwan Hakka Version. Taipei: The Bible Society in Taiwan 台北：台灣聖經公會. Ball, J. Dyer. 1913. Hakka Made Easy. Hong Kong-Shanghai-Yokohama and Singapore: Kelly & Walsh Limited. Drought, M. James. 1926. Introduction to Hakka. Hong Kong: Nazareth Press. Mǐn Anonymous. 1884 [1978]. Lì Jìng Jì《荔鏡記》[Romance of the Litchi Mirror]. In Shǒulǐ Wú [吳守 禮] (annot.). Míng Qīng Mǐnnán Xìqǔ Sì Zhǒng《明清閩南戲曲四種》[Four Mǐn Dramas in the Mǐng and Qīng Dynasties]. Taipei: Student Book 台北市：台灣學生書局. Anonymous. 1892. Mǎkě Fúyīnshū (Cháozhōu Tǔbái)《馬可福音書》(潮州土白) [The Gospel of Mark in Cháozhōu Colloquial]. Scotland: British and Foreign Bible Society. Anonymous. 1996. Táiyǔ Hànzìběn Shèngjīng《台語漢字本聖經》[The Taiwanese Bible with Chinese Characters]. Taipei: The Bible Society in Taiwan 台北：台灣聖經公會. Dean, William. 1841. First Lessons in the Tie-Chiw Dialect. Bangkok: Siam. Macgowan, John. 1869. A Manual of the Amoy Colloquial. Hong Kong: De Souza & Co. Lim, Hiong seng. 1886. Handbook of the Swatow Vernacular. Singapore: Koh Yew Hean Press. Cantonese Anonymous. 1863. Yēsū Yánxíng Cuōyào Súhuà《耶穌言行撮要俗話》[A Summary of the Life of Jesus in Canton Colloquial]. 雙門底福音堂 Shuāngméndǐ Fúyīntáng. Anonymous. 1872. Mǎkě Chuán Fúyīnshū (Guǎngdōng Tǔbái)《馬可傳福音書》(廣東土白) [The Gospel of Mark in Canton Colloquial]. Shànghǎi: The American Presbyterian Mission Press 上海：上海美華書館. Anonymous. 1877. Sǎnyǔ Sìshí Zhāng《散語四十章》[Forty Lessons on Canton Colloquial]. Hong Kong: St. Paul College 香港：聖保羅書院. Anonymous. 1930s. Xīnbiān Guǎngdōng Shěngchéng Báihuà《新編廣東省城白話》[New Canton Colloquial]. No publication detail. Anonymous. 2006 [1997]. Shèngjīng: Xīn Guǎngdōnghuà《聖經—新廣東話》The Holy Bible: New Cantonese Bible. Hong Kong: Hong Kong Bible Society 香港：香港聖經公會.

386 

 References

Bridgman, C. Elijah. 1841. Chinese Chrestomathy in the Canton Dialect. Macao: Wells Williams. Ball, J. Dyer. 1902. How to Speak Cantonese: Fifty conversations in Cantonese Colloquial. Second edn. Hong Kong: Kelly & Walsh. Bruce, E. Donald. 1877. Easy Phrases in the Canton Dialect of the Chinese Language. Second edn. San Francisco: Bruce’s Printing House. Chao, Yuen Ren. 1947. Cantonese Primer. New York: Greenwood Press Publisher. Condit, M. Ira. 1882. English and Chinese Reader with a Dictionary. Shànghǎi: The American Presbyterian Mission Press 上海：美華書館. Dennys, Nicholas Belfield. 1874. A Handbook of the Canton Vernacular of the Chinese Language. Hong Kong: The China Mail Office. Fulton, Albert Andrew. 1931. Progressive and Idiomatic Sentences in Cantonese Colloquial. Fifth edn. Hong Kong: Kelly & Walsh. Kerr, John Glasgow. 1888. Select Phrases in the Canton Dialect. Seventh edn. Hong Kong/ Shanghai/Yokohama/Singapore: Kelly & Walsh Limited. Mài, Shìzhì [麥仕治]. 1833/1893. Guǎngzhōu Súhuà Shūjīng Jiěyì 《廣州俗話〈書經〉解義》[The Book of Documents translated into Colloquial Cantonese]. No publication detail Morrison, Robert. 1828. A Vocabulary of the Canton Dialect. Macao: The East India Company’s Press. O’Melia, Thomas A.  1941. First Year Cantonese. Second edn. Hong Kong: Maryknoll House. Piercy, George. 1870. Xù Tiānlù Lìchéng Tǔhuà《續天路歷程土話》[The Pilgrim’s Progress]. Guǎngzhōu: Huìshīlǐtáng 廣州：惠師禮堂. Piercy, George. 1913 [1871]. Tiānlù Lìchéng Tǔhuà《天路歷程土話》[The Pilgrim’s Progress]. Guǎngzhōu: Huìshīlǐtáng 廣州：惠師禮堂. Stedman, Thomas and Kuei-pan Li. 1888. A Chinese and English Phrase Book in the Canton Dialect. New York: William R. Jenkins. Wisner, F. Oscar. 1906. Beginning Cantonese. Canton: China Baptist Publication Society. Wisner, F. Oscar. 1927. Beginning Cantonese: Part One. Second edn. No publication detail.

Appendix 1

Major chronological divisions of Chinese history (Norman 1988)

Xià dynasty

Twenty-first to sixteenth centuries BC

Shāng dynasty

Sixteenth to eleventh centuries BC

Western Zhōu dynasty

Eleventh century to 771 BC

Spring and Autumn period (Chūnqiū)

770 to 476 BC

Warring States period (Zhànguó)

475 to 221 BC

Qín dynasty

221 to 207 BC

Western Hàn dynasty

206 BC to AD 24

Eastern Hàn dynasty

AD 25 to 220

Three Kingdoms period (Sānguó)

AD 220 to 265

Western Jìn dynasty

AD 265 to 316

Eastern Jìn dynasty

AD 317 to 420

Nánběicháo (Northern and Southern dynasties)

AD 420 to 589

Súi dynasty

AD 581 to 618

Táng dynasty

AD 618 to 907

Five Dynasties period

AD 907 to 960

Northern Sòng dynasty

AD 960 to 1127

Southern Sòng dynasty

AD 1127 to 1279

Liáo dynasty

AD 916 to 1125

Jīn dynasty

AD 1115 to 1234

Yuán dynasty

AD 1271 to 1368

Míng dynasty

AD 1368 to 1644

Qīng dynasty

AD 1644 to 1911

Appendix 2

Samples of early dialectal materials

Samples of early dialectal materials

Sample 1. Bridgman, C. Elijah. 1841. Chinese Chrestomathy in the Canton Dialect, pp. 2–3 (Cantonese)

Samples of early dialectal materials 

 389

Sample 2. Anonymous. 1863.《耶穌言行撮要俗話》[A Summary of the Life of Jesus in Canton Colloquial], pp. 2–3 (Cantonese)

390 

 Appendix 2

Sample 3. Bruce, E. Donald. 1877. Easy Phrases in the Canton Dialect of the Chinese Language (2nd Edition), Lesson 31 (Cantonese)

Samples of early dialectal materials 

 391

Sample 4. Stedman, Thomas and Kuei-pan Li. 1888. A Chinese and English Phrase Book in the Canton Dialect, pp. 24–25 (Cantonese)

392 

 Appendix 2

Sample 5. Ball, J. Dyer. 1902. How to Speak Cantonese: Fifty conversations in Cantonese Colloquial (2nd Edition), pp. 38–39 (Cantonese)

Samples of early dialectal materials 

Sample 6. Chao, Yuen Ren. 1947. Cantonese Primer, pp. 82–83 (Cantonese)

 393

394 

 Appendix 2

Sample 7. Macgowan, John. 1869. A Manual of the Amoy Colloquial, p.39 (Mǐn)

Samples of early dialectal materials 

Sample 8. Ball, J. Dyer. 1913. Hakka Made Easy (Part I), p.9 (Hakka)

 395

396 

 Appendix 2

Sample 9. Pott, Hawks F. L. 1913. Lessons in the Shanghai Dialect (Revised Edition), p. 4 (Wú)

Samples of early dialectal materials 

Sample 10. Medhurst, H. Walter and John Stronach. 1867.《馬可傳福音書》(白話官話) [The Gospel of Mark in Mandarin Colloquial], Ch. 1: 1–24 (Mandarin)

 397

Language index Language index The language index includes names of languages, language families and Chinese dialects. The classification of Chinese dialects follows Yuán (2001), according to which there are seven Chinese dialects, namely, Mandarin, Wú 吳, Xiāng 湘, Gàn 贛, Hakka, Cantonese and Mǐn 閩. Under each dialect, there are a number of subdialects.

Altaic, 232 Amele, 119 Arrernte, 10 Atsugewi, 5, 6, 8, 9 Austroasiatic, 232 Bǎiyuè 百越, 44 Bantu, 6 Basque, 10 Bulgarian, 10, 11, 117 Caddo, 5, 6, 8 Cantonese (also Yuè 粵), 2 Guǎngzhōu 廣州, 2, 230 Hong Kong, 2, 4, 25, 31 Táishān 台山, 2 Chantyal, 10 Chinese (also Standard language), 2, 22, 131, 136, 141–143, 167, 235, 239, 251, 254, 255, 266, 272, 278, 290, 307, 335, 340, 349, 352, 366, 369 Archaic ~, 157–162 Classical ~, 1, 10, 15, 17, 21, 114–116, 134, 167, 225, 228, 229, 239, 254, 261, 264, 276, 278, 341–344, 349, 353, 355, 367 Middle ~, 2, 229, 252 Modern ~ (see also Mandarin), 157–161 Old ~, 114, 115, 341 Pre-archaic ~, 162 Diegueño, 152 Dutch, 117, 120, 121, 355 Eastern Mǐn (see also Mǐn 閩), 165, 225, 232, 233, 238, 240 English, 5, 6, 9, 10, 14–15, 19, 27, 31, 59, 62, 85, 86, 117, 132, 150, 155

Finno-Ugric, 6, 7 French, 10, 15, 16, 103, 229 Gàn 贛, 2, 4, 23, 229, 230, 234, 253, 254, 258, 260 Nánchāng 南昌, 230 Gbeya, 152 German, 5, 119, 203 Hakka (also Kèjiā 客家), 2 Bǎo’ān 寶安, 25, 183 Héyuán 河源, 263 Liánchéng 連城, 189, 205, 216 Méixiàn 梅縣, 25, 31, 183, 225, 230, 262 Sai Kung, 25 Hakka-Gàn 客贛, 229 Huī 徽, 4, 101, 102, 112, 139, 229, 234, 253, 254, 258, 260, 346 Icelandic, 10, 117 Indo-European, 6, 7, 120 Italian, 229 Jakalteck, 86 Jaminjungan, 118 Japanese, 6, 8, 10, 15, 16, 21, 94, 103–111, 113, 114, 117, 120–122, 134, 147, 148, 157, 202, 229, 293, 355, 367 Jìn 晉, 4, 229, 254 Shénmù 神木, 143–145, 254 Kiowa, 119 Korean, 8, 10, 71, 157, 229 Lahu, 5, 353–355 Latin, 5, 7, 228, 229 Lolo-Burmese, 353

400 

 Language index

Mandarin (also Guānhuà 官話 and Pǔtōnghuà 普通話), 2 Běijīng 北京 (also Pekingese), 2, 25, 27, 31, 142, 169, 175, 230, 254, 256, 276 Dàfānghuà 大方, 41 Guānzhōng 關中, 142, 143, 254 Jìzhōu 冀州, 254 Táiwān 台灣, 4, 23, 25, 141, 142 Xī’ān 西安, 254 Mayan, 6 Mǐn 閩 Cháo’ān 潮安, 25, 31, 165, 224, 225, 235, 238–249, 251, 252, 258, 273, 278, 314 Cháozhōu 潮州, 27, 250, 351 Díkǒu 廸口, 239 Fúqīng 福清, 25, 165, 232, 238–249, 252, 352 Fúzhōu 福州, 225, 230, 232, 237, 238, 249 Hǎichéng 海澄, 250 Hǎinán 海南, 4, 238, 351 Huì’ān 惠安, 25, 165, 235, 238–252 Jiànōu 建甌, 238 Púxiān 莆仙, 238 Quánzhōu 泉州, 27, 167, 233, 237, 238, 250, 278 Shípí 石陂, 239 Xiàmén 廈門, 25, 225 Yǒngān 永安, 238 Zhāngzhōu 漳州, 167 Zhènqián 鎮前, 239 Mǐnběi 閩北, 229 Mǐnnán 閩南 (also Southern Mǐn), 41, 165, 224, 229, 233, 237–242, 249–252, 264, 266, 268, 278, 334, 352 Táiwān Southern Mǐn, 141, 142, 167, 239, 273, 351 Mokilese, 152 Mongolian, 157, 232

Navaho, 8 Nez Perce, 6, 8 Ojibwa, 6, 7 Pínghuà, 平話, 229 Polynesian, 6, 8 Proto-Sinitic, 157 Proto Sino-Tibetan, 157 Romance, 6–8, 229, 340, 370 Russian, 5, 119, 120 Semitic, 6, 8 Serbo-Croatian, 10 Sign language, 10 Spanish, 8–10, 14, 121, 229 Swedish, 10 Tai, 232 Tamil, 6 Thai, 10, 19, 86, 147, 148 Tibeto-Burman, 157, 353–355, 366 Trans-New-Guinea, 119 Tungusic, 157, 232 Turkic, 157 Turkish, 14, 15 Tzeltal, 10 Warlpiri, 6, 7 Written Tibetan, 353 Wú 吳 Hángzhōu 杭州, 225 Shànghǎi 上海 (also Shanghainese), 4, 25, 31, 145, 146, 225, 232 Sūzhōu 蘇州, 27, 166, 225, 230, 349 Wēnzhōu 溫州, 234 Xiāng 湘, 2, 4, 23, 229, 230, 260 Chángshā 長沙, 230 New Xiāng, 2 Old Xiāng, 2

Subject index Subject index adjective, 12, 56, 87–90, 92–95, 97, 98, 102, 110, 114, 116, 147, 149, 152, 155–157, 234, 238, 259, 293, 294, 296, 349 adposition, 147, 148, 152, 155–157 postposition, 16, 147–150, 154, 155, 159, 255–258, 264 preposition, 5, 12, 19, 62, 68, 142, 147, 148, 154, 155, 157, 158, 160, 162, 169, 254–258, 268, 290 adverb, 8, 12, 44, 88, 99, 120, 121, 152, 155, 156, 159, 231, 234, 262, 264, 355 age, 25, 166, 183, 352 agentive use (see also causative use), 16, 43, 61, 98, 100, 105, 116, 134, 177, 224–226, 228, 242, 264, 289–294, 296, 309, 334, 335, 339, 340, 349, 365, 367, 368 ancestral language, 17, 22, 114, 272 animate, 59, 70, 175, 186, 189, 226, 285, 293, 303 argument, 65, 94, 114, 132, 156, 354 aspect, 5, 19, 44, 152, 266, 267 continual ~, 44 regular ~, 44 aspect marker, 17, 19, 38, 39, 43, 44, 46, 47, 62, 72, 84, 90, 126, 127, 129, 138, 140, 159, 271, 346, 354, 356, 358 durative ~, 346 experiential ~, 19, 46 inchoative ~, 44, 271 perfective ~, 19, 46, 62, 140, 356 progressive ~, 19, 46 borrow borrowed, 155, 156, 167, 170, 193, 205, 235, 249, 255, 262, 276–278, 290, 291, 307, 335, 342, 343, 345, 349, 351, 363, 368 ~ form, 235 ~ item, 345 borrowing, 253, 278

causative ~ meaning, 116 ~ prefix, 353 ~ use, 68, 73, 95, 99, 102, 107, 114– 116, 135, 268, 368 ~ verb, 341 ~ VP, 353 ~ relation, 5 central group, 230 change of state, 9, 10, 86, 87, 90, 92, 94, 98, 102, 103, 110, 111, 120, 122, 126, 134, 135, 354 classification, 1, 17, 22, 33, 45, 76, 118, 136, 218, 220, 221, 229, 236, 237, 240, 253, 258, 266, 371 Chinese dialects (also dialectal grouping), 22, 136, 208, 218, 220, 229, 234–236, 253, 258, 264, 332, 335, 369, 371 moderate VO dialect, 146, 234, 235, 254, 264, 368 strong VO dialect, 146, 228, 234, 264, 368 weak VO dialect, 146, 228, 234, 235, 237, 264, 369 classifier, 23, 32, 36, 56, 233, 234 co-event, 5–7, 10, 12, 15–17, 22, 69, 71, 73, 78, 79, 81, 83, 87–90, 97–100, 102, 103, 105, 106, 109–114, 117–119, 125, 130, 134, 175, 178, 179, 181, 184–189, 191–194, 196, 197, 199, 201, 204–207, 209–211, 218, 226, 227, 236, 265, 304, 309, 319, 320, 322, 325, 328, 329, 359–361, 363–366, 369 cognate, 32, 164, 230 colloquial, 21, 27, 32, 166, 168, 171, 239, 251, 255, 256, 273, 340, 344, 349 ~ form, 166, 239 ~ language, 27, 166, 273, 340 ~ speech, 44, 171, 239, 255, 256, 273, 344, 349

cause, 5, 7–10, 69, 71, 79, 81, 97–99, 105, 106, 109–111, 175, 186, 187, 192, 193, 226, 227, 290, 303, 342, 352 causation, 5, 116, 341, 342, 352, 353, 366

complement double directional ~, 40, 41, 52, 77, 79, 81–83, 137 phase ~, 139

402 

 Subject index

resultative ~, 12, 44, 87, 90, 91, 111, 129, 134, 135 triple directional ~, 41–43, 78, 79, 81, 83– 86, 125, 137, 322, 329 compound, 51, 58, 72–77, 90, 105, 110, 113, 114, 116–119, 121, 122, 126, 127, 130, 132, 134, 159, 160, 273, 355, 356, 360, 361, 366, 369 conflate, 7–9, 13 conjunction, 5, 113, 122, 123, 125, 341, 355 construction comparative ~, 155, 234, 238, 259, 349, 351, 352, 366 bǐ 比-comparative, 351, 352, 366 guò 過-comparative, 351, 352 coordinate ~ (also coordinate structure), 113, 122 coordinate verb ~, 112 disposal ~, 63, 64, 159, 234, 253, 254, 262 bǎ 把-construction, 159, 253, 254 zoeng1 -將 construction, 63, 64, 159 double framing ~, 119 double object ~, 259 neutral question ~, 112, 266 passive ~ (also bèi 被-~), 158, 163 potential ~, 34, 42 resultative ~, 111, 120, 135 satellite-framed ~ (also satellite-­ framing ~), 19, 111, 117, 121 serial verb ~, 10, 18, 19, 105, 112, 116, 122, 123, 221, 267, 282, 333, 369, 370 verbal compound ~, 121 verb complement ~, 73, 111, 112, 116, 122, 132, 135, 267 verb-satellite fused ~, 121 contact, 261 dialect ~, 235, 266 language ~, 235 continuum, 1, 232, 235–237, 264 co-occur, 5, 6, 113, 149, 150, 156, 196, 198, 202, 281, 317, 328, 334, 335, 356 coordination, 117–121, 341, 355 core schema, 6, 9, 10, 19, 20, 87, 110, 118, 119 correlation, 1, 5, 147, 148, 150–152, 163, 225, 228, 229, 263, 336, 349, 368, 370, 371 criterion of inclusiveness, 343–349 definite, 64, 139, 144, 162, 213, 216, 234, 251, 325, 326 descendant, 17, 21, 114, 116, 259, 367

destination (see also goal), 59, 62, 73, 78, 179, 184, 239, 282, 290, 292 disposal marker, 63, 64, 146, 159, 194, 196, 214, 262, 310 disyllabicization, 22, 342, 343, 347, 349, 365, 366, 369, 371 double framing language, 118 education, 183, 351, 352 equipollently-framed language, 10, 14, 17, 19, 20, 33, 116, 141, 221, 369 equipollent framing, 20, 118 erosion (also reduction), 30, 112, 139 external force, 8, 13, 59, 186, 226, 285, 286, 303 figure, 6–9, 13, 14, 18, 37, 56 fixed expression, 50, 169, 177, 225, 274, 276, 278 frequency of use, 40, 167, 332–334 fuse, 17, 22, 122, 132, 355, 360–362, 365 fusion, 22, 30, 31, 120, 121, 135, 266, 355, 356, 363, 365–367, 369 genre, 20, 166 goal, 12, 43, 55–57, 59, 66, 70, 73, 78, 79, 85, 86, 130, 133, 168, 169, 172, 173, 255, 279, 281–284, 300 grammaticalization, 44, 112, 119–122, 132, 134, 135, 143, 162, 270, 272, 354, 358, 367, 368 ~ path, 44, 120–122, 134, 354 ground, 6–9, 12, 13 head, 19, 92, 105, 111–114, 149, 153, 154, 156, 231, 234, 353, 368 head-final language (also OV language), 114, 148, 153, 154, 157, 159–163, 229, 231, 254, 372 head-initial language (also VO language), 114, 148, 153–155, 157, 159, 229, 231, 254, 371 inanimate, 59, 70, 175, 186, 189, 226, 285, 293, 303 indefinite, 139, 144, 162, 213, 216, 234, 251, 325, 326 influence, 25, 75, 165, 167, 232, 235, 238, 239, 249, 251–253, 259, 333–335, 340, 343–347, 349, 351, 352, 363, 366, 368

Subject index 

integrate, 9, 16, 35, 119, 120, 126, 135, 354, 367 involuntarily (also non-volitional), 59, 104, 175, 227 juxtapose, 22, 123, 266, 267, 354, 362–366, 369 koineization, 255, 349 layer colloquial ~, 166 literary ~, 168, 239 layer (also stratum/strata), 35, 166–168, 239, 277 lexicalization, 5, 9 lexical replacement, 166, 168 literary, 166, 168, 239, 251, 273, 276, 342, 352 ~ form, 166 ~ language, 166, 251, 273 macro-event (also framing event), 4–7 manner, 5–12, 14, 15, 50, 52, 66, 68, 69, 76, 78, 79, 99, 105, 106, 111, 118, 120, 121, 141, 152, 155, 156, 178, 179, 186, 187, 204, 227, 297, 303, 318, 369 meaning beginning, 5, 16, 19, 20, 32, 37, 44, 55–57, 59, 61, 62, 67, 71, 72, 85, 112, 115, 138, 139, 140, 269 directional ~, 37, 44, 61, 72, 138 imperfective, 138, 139 metaphorical ~, 20, 61, 62, 71, 72, 132, 133, 177 non-spatial ~, 269, 270, 363 spatial ~, 269, 270, 363 temporal ~, 138 temporal passing, 138, 139 termination, 138 migration, 166, 259, 260 modifier, 12, 148–150, 153, 156, 161, 231, 234, 262, 264, 290, 353 movement, 6, 7, 12–14, 33, 37, 43, 45–48, 50– 52, 55–59, 61, 62, 66, 68–71, 73, 76, 78, 79, 82, 85, 86, 94, 104–106, 114, 115, 130, 133, 134, 142, 150, 160, 164, 168, 169, 171– 175, 178, 179, 186, 187, 192–194, 204, 206, 226, 227, 239, 254, 255, 268–270, 279, 281–286, 289–293, 296, 297, 300, 303, 318, 319

 403

narrative, 14, 21, 23, 28, 166, 221, 336, 340, 371 negative (also negator), 112, 152, 230 non-head, 112, 234 northern group (also northern dialect), 2, 166, 167, 230, 232, 259, 260, 275 object goal ~, 57, 59, 130, 133 path ~, 68 patient ~, 63, 232, 233, 235, 253, 254 postverbal ~, 254, 258, 263, 264, 290, 293, 334, 335 sentential ~, 140 source ~, 69, 142, 254 theme ~, 16, 22, 40, 42, 43, 61, 71, 73, 75, 76, 82–84, 130, 133, 139, 146, 177, 194, 196–198, 200–202, 210, 213–220, 225, 226, 232, 235, 236, 243, 246, 248, 251, 254, 261, 271, 289–293, 310–317, 325–332, 334, 335, 357, 358, 360, 362–366, 369, 371 occupation, 352 orientation point, 14, 45, 61, 62, 66, 78, 86, 164, 175, 178, 179, 186, 192, 196, 279, 285, 298, 303, 308, 359 particle aspect ~, 44, 153 question ~, 152, 161 resumptive ~, 270, 271, 292 subordinate ~, 230 tense ~, — verbal ~, 62 predicate (see also main verb), 8, 12, 16–18, 92, 112, 113, 116, 118, 120, 132, 152, 156, 266 preference (also tendency), 49, 86, 87, 150, 153, 157, 159, 179, 194, 196, 202, 214, 223, 224, 226, 228, 232, 234, 235, 245, 254, 256, 258, 274, 286, 296, 297, 310, 312, 318, 332, 334, 336, 338, 340, 345, 346, 369 Principle of Temporal Sequence, 43, 84, 85, 255 productive, 73, 98, 171, 205, 209, 225, 226, 234, 236, 249, 262, 275, 290, 291, 296, 335, 340, 353, 365

404 

 Subject index

reading pronunciation, 239, 273, 352 reanalysis, 116, 122, 132 result, 12, 34, 37, 63, 85, 87, 88, 89, 93, 94, 97, 98, 103, 108–110, 117, 121, 127, 130, 133, 136–139, 228, 266, 292, 293, 352 retain, 2, 115, 157, 234, 235 satellite, 1, 5, 6, 10–17, 19–22, 33, 66, 76, 86– 90, 94, 97, 102, 103, 110–112, 114, 116, 117, 119–121, 134, 135, 141, 177, 178, 202, 203, 218, 221, 223, 224, 226, 228, 229, 235, 263–266, 268, 296, 318, 330, 336–339, 341, 342, 349, 352, 355, 365– 369, 371, 372 directional ~, 120 path ~, 11, 12, 15–17, 33, 103, 110, 111, 120, 202, 336 state change ~, 87–90, 97, 110, 111 satellite-framed language, 1, 6, 10, 11, 14, 15, 17, 19–22, 33, 66, 76, 86, 94, 110, 111, 114, 116, 134, 135, 141, 177, 178, 202, 203, 218, 221, 223, 224, 226, 228, 229, 235, 263, 264, 266, 268, 296, 318, 330, 336–339, 341, 342, 349, 352, 365–369, 371, 372 serialization, 120, 149, 150, 354, 355 source, 12, 43, 56–59, 66, 69, 85, 142, 147, 160, 168, 171–173, 254, 255, 279, 284, 300 southern group (also southern dialect), 2, 167, 183, 229–232, 259, 260, 334, 342 split, 13, 22, 33, 141, 210, 213, 214, 272, 326, 333 subject agent ~, 16, 61, 71, 73, 76, 81, 84, 89, 98, 177 theme ~, 59, 61, 66, 69, 73, 76, 79, 84, 85, 98, 108, 186, 303 subtopicalization, 233–237, 254, 334, 335, 371 syllable, 29, 30, 32, 112, 116, 149, 251, 278, 341–349 disyllabic, 2, 22, 116, 126, 160, 342–347, 349, 365, 366, 369, 371 disyllable, 341, 344–349 monosyllabic, 2, 116, 126, 160, 342–344 monosyllable, 341–349 polysyllabic, 342 polysyllable, 342, 344, 345 symmetrical framing, 118, 119

synonym, 278 syntactic demotion, 112 tense, 113, 114, 152, 153 tolerate, 196, 202, 254, 258, 263, 264, 311, 317, 334 topicalization, 233–237, 254, 290, 334, 335, 371 transitivity, 73, 236, 237 typological change (also typological shift), 1, 15, 21, 22, 114, 116, 135, 228, 264, 342, 349, 352, 366, 367, 371 univerbation, 17, 22, 120, 265, 336, 354, 362, 363, 366, 368–371 variation, 1, 15, 21, 136, 146, 164–168, 182, 183, 196, 203, 210, 216, 238, 249, 265, 272, 273, 279, 306, 318, 325, 334 verb action ~, 50, 68 co-event ~, 12, 15–17, 22, 69, 71, 73, 78, 79, 81, 83, 87–90, 97–100, 102, 103, 105, 106, 109–114, 117, 125, 130, 134, 175, 178, 179, 181, 184–189, 191–194, 196, 197, 199, 201, 204–207, 209–211, 218, 226, 227, 236, 265, 304, 309, 319, 320, 322, 325, 328, 329, 359–361, 363– 366, 369 compound ~, 113, 122, 126, 127 coordinate ~, 112, 117, 122 copula (~), 152, 156, 266 existential/possessive ~, 266 intransitive ~, 64, 87, 89, 91–95, 97, 98, 100, 107, 110, 293, 294, 296, 371 main ~, 6, 9–14, 19–21, 23, 27, 28, 34, 38, 39, 44, 52, 62, 64, 66, 68, 73, 75, 76, 84, 86, 88–91, 95, 98, 102, 103, 112, 130, 132–134, 139, 143, 146, 156, 169, 178, 202, 216, 221–225, 241, 266–269, 280, 296, 297, 300–303, 305–308, 310, 312, 313, 315–318, 322, 327, 336– 340, 355, 357 manner ~, 12, 14, 15, 99, 120, 141, 297 movement ~, 46, 50, 270 optative ~, 266 path ~, 14–16, 20, 21, 33, 103, 105, 110, 111, 113, 114, 117, 119, 141, 202 state change ~, 21, 33, 86, 87, 91–93, 105, 110, 111, 113–116, 134, 367

Subject index 

transitive ~, 22, 63, 64, 87, 89, 91–95, 97, 98, 100, 107, 110, 116, 293, 294, 296, 363, 364, 366, 369, 371 versatile ~, 5, 353, 355 verb-framed language, 1, 6, 9, 11, 12, 14, 15, 21, 33, 66, 68, 94, 103, 111, 114, 116, 117,

 405

134, 135, 141, 177, 202, 221, 224, 228, 229, 264, 296, 338, 341, 342, 349, 365, 367, 369, 372 voluntarily, 7, 8, 14, 56, 59, 66, 103, 104, 168, 175, 227, 279, 293, 308