后置介词结构语序演变的类型学观照

A typological perspective of word-order changes of postpositional structures in Chinese

介词结构的语序是判断语序类型的重要参数。SOV型语言的介词结构一般前置(PPV),SVO型语言的介词结构一般后置(VPP)。汉语后置的介词结构语序发生历史性的移位,在不同历史阶段,介词结构的语序表现出不同的类型学特征。汉语的基本语序以SVO为主,兼具SOV型语言的某些特点,介词结构前置属于SVO型语言的例外特征。汉语后置的介词结构语序演变的内在动因主要是介词更新、句法结构的复杂化以及时间顺序象似性。

The word-order of adpositional structure is an important parameter of estimating the word-order type of a language.Prepositional structures more often precede the verb in SOV languages,while they are usually placed after the verb in SVO languages.The word-order of Chinese postpositional structures have experienced a historical change by showing different word-order typological features in different historical stages.“SVO”is the dominant word-order in Chinese,which perfectly explained why most Chinese prepositional structures are used after the verb,however,the existence of prepositional structures before the verb implies that there are still some“SOV”-oriented features in Chinese.There are three intrinsic motivations for word-order changes:the replacement of prepositions,the complexity of syntactic structures and the constraint of the temporal sequence principle.