一百多年前新界客家方言的体标记“开”和“里”

The Aspect Markers Kai and Li in the early Hakka Dialect of the New Territories

根据巴色会于1879年编写出版的客家方言课本《启蒙浅学》,讨论一百多年前香港新界一带客家方言中的完成体标记“开”和“里”。“开”从趋向动词开始,经过“唯补词”的阶段,逐渐虚化成一个体标记;“里”则是一个虚化得比较彻底的纯体标记,其来源尚不清楚。“开”和“里”在句法位置上既有相同又有不同,在语法功能上既有交叉又有分工。

Based on the Hakka textbook Qimeng Qianxue (1879) compiled by the Basel Missionary Society, this paper discusses the nature of the perfective aspect markers kai and li in the Hakka dialect of the New Territories of Hong Kong. It points out that kai is derived from a directional verb, while the origin of li is obscure. The syntactic functions of these two markers are explored.