汉语指示词语法化的类型学考察

Typological Study on the Grammaticalization of Demonstratives in Chinese

指示词语法化的结果具有多样性,在汉语方言和民族语言中,指示词可以语法化为冠词、话题标记、定语标记和句际连接词等。指示词的语法化在人类语言中具有普遍共性,这与心理认知因素有关,主要表现为指示词的去范畴化和可及性,去范畴化使得指示词的指示功能淡化,从而产生其他功能;指示词的可及性问题反映了人类对于指示词的普遍认识,指示功能弱化的指示词,其可及性也降低了,在语句中表现为更加虚化的语法功能。

The results of demonstrative grammaticalization are diverse. In Chinese dialects and ethnic languages, demonstratives can be grammatically transformed into articles, topic markers, attributive markers and inter-sentence connectives. The grammaticalization of demonstratives has a common feature in human languages, which is related to psychological and cognitive factors. It is mainly manifested in the decategorization and accessibility of demonstratives. Decategorization weakens the demonstrative function of demonstratives, thereby resulting in other functions;The accessibility of demonstratives reflects the general understanding of demonstratives by human beings. Demonstrative with weakened demonstrative functions also reduces its accessibility and shows more grammatical functions in sentences.