土家语四音格词缀-i的功能及来源

The Suffix-i in Tetrasyllabic Expressions in Tujia: Function and Origin

土家语中存在大量带词缀-i的四音格词,它们的基本语义虽与由同一词根构成的没有词缀-i的词相同,但多有一些附加义:或表即将达到某种程度,或表数量较少,或表时量较短。文章认为词缀-i是土家语将行体标记的残留。将行体标记-I经过了从体标记到貌标记再到词缀的过程,这在藏缅语族乃至汉藏语系语言中都是较为罕见的。

A large number of the tetrasyllabic expressions in the Tujia language contain the suffix-i.Though sharing the same basic meanings with those expressions derived from the same lexical roots,these tetrasyllabic expressions with the suffix-i have certain add-on senses,such as upon reaching some degree,or connoting senses of a smaller number or quantity,or connoting the sense of a shorter duration.This paper proposes that this suffix-i is a remnant of the immediate aspect marker in the Tujia language.It argues that the immediate aspect marker-i has undergone the evolution from being an aspect marker to an aktionsart marker and then to a suffix,which is a rarity not only in Tibeto-Burman languages but even throughout all Sino-Tibetan languages.