关于话语标记I pray起源的考察——以乔叟作品为中心

On the Origin of Discourse Marker of "I pray" :With Special Reference to Chaucer's Works

本文旨在揭示I pray由表示具体含义的主谓短语逐渐转化成为抽象性话语标记的历时性语法化过程。作者首先通过对251例出现在乔叟等数位14世纪后期英国作家作品中的I preye(you/thee)这一语言表现的具体考察,发现中英语期的此类词汇性短语大部分仍旧保持有"请求/祈祷"的实际含义,语法化程度还仅仅处在起步阶段,也远没有发展完善成为现代英语中特定的话语标记现象;但与此同时,相当数量的I preye(you/thee)又显示出一定的位移灵活性、且之中实意动词均为一般现在时态的动词原形等诸多句法特征。在此基础上,本文推断该词汇性短语在乔叟时代的14世纪后期就已经具备完成语法化、成为话语标记的基本条件,并且祈使句和疑问句的首尾两个句法位置很有可能是其成为话语标记的最初发端点。

The present paper aims at clarifying the dia- chronic grammaticalization process whereby I pray, a sub- ject-verb phrase with concrete meaning, gradually trans- formed into an abstract discourse marker. Through the in- vestigation into 251 instances of I preye （you/thee） found in the Middle English works of Chaucer and other late fourteenth century writers, the author finds that the then lexicalized phrase still kept its original meanings of requesting and wishing, only being at a start stage during the whole grammaticalization process, and having not de- veloped into a discourse marker as it functions in Present- day English. At the same time, however, it cannot be de- nied that a great number of I preye （you/thee） examples were able to be moved relatively freely without changing the meanings of the whole contexts it lied in; the main verb within the phrase dominantly preserved the present tense as well. All these appear to suggest that the Middle English lexicalized phrase has contained some primary qualifications of accomplishing the grammaticalization for eventually turning into a discourse marker;especially, the syntactic positions of starting or ending in imperative and interrogative seem to be an original point of the discourse marker.