广东廉江方言的“子”义语素与小称问题

The Meaning Morphemes "Son" and Diminutive Form in Lianjiang Dialect of Yue Group

广东廉江方言有语素"儿、子、仔",它们都可作后附成分。只有"-仔"具备小称功能,表年龄或个头/容量小、职位低、数量少、程度低、持续时间短等。小称形式"仔"可附着在名词、临时量词、谓词重叠、数量词及"副+形"词组之后。从语义和分布看,廉江方言小称具有连续性,该连续性是其语法化不同程度的表现。廉江方言后附成分"-儿/子/仔"的用法是粤、客、闽三大方言接触和影响的结果。

The morphemes er[η,i]（儿）, zi[tsi]（子）, zai[tsei]（仔）which all means ＂son＂ in the Lianjiang dialect in Guangdong can be placed at the end of some other morphemes, yet only zai is the diminutive form denoting smallness including smallness of age, size, volume, position, number, level, and duration. And zai can attach to many other kinds of grammar units such as noun, temporary classifier, VV/AA, and numeral-classifier compound. Based on their meaning and distribution, the authors summarize these diminutive markers demonstrate continuity in their development and indicate different levels of grammaticalization. The uses of the three morphemes are the result of language contact among Yue, Min, and Hakka dialects.