Aspect of Chaozhou Grammar A Synchronic Description of the Jieyang Variety / 潮州

話揭陽方言語法研究
Author(s): XU Hui Ling and 许惠玲
Source: Journal of Chinese Linguistics Monograph Series , 2007, No. 22, Aspect of
Chaozhou Grammar A Synchronic Description of the Jieyang Variety / 潮州話揭陽方言
語法研究 (2007), pp. i-xiv, 1-304
Published by: The Chinese University of Hong Kong Press on behalf of Project on
Linguistic Analysis

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 JOURNAL OF
CHINESE LINGUISTICS

MONOGRAPH SERIES NUMBER 22 2007

Aspect of Chaozhou Grammar

A Synchronic Description of
the Jieyang Variety

潮！Itl話谒降方言語法研5C

XU Hui Ling

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 ABSTRACT

This thesis is an analytical and functional description of a number of important

aspects of Chaoshan grammar which include core grammatical structures as well a
constructions known to diverge from other Sinitic languages, particularly the offici

language of China, Putonghua. The Chaoshan dialect refers collectively to a group

mutually intelligible sub-dialects spoken in the coastal Chaoshan or Chaozhou regio
in eastern Guangdong province, PRC. The Chaoshan dialect belongs to the Souther
Min branch of the Min dialect group, which is among the most conservative dialec
groupings in China, retaining many archaic linguistic features.
The thesis includes eleven chapters. Chapter 1, the introduction, presents
demographic and ethnographic information about the Chaoshan dialect group
which the Jieyang dialect is an integral part. Chapter 2 describes the phonologic
system of the Jieyang dialect, including a brief description of one of the most salien

phonological features in the Chaoshan dialects, tone sandhi. Chapter 3 covers thre
derivational processes in the Jieyang dialect: affixation, reduplication and
compounding. In Chapter 4, I discuss personal pronouns, reflexives and nomin
demonstratives. Chapter 5 deals with three topics involving the noun phrase: numera

classifiers, possessive structures and relative clauses. Like other Smmc languages,
the Jieyang dialect has a very rich aspectual system, which is covered in detail i
Chapter 6. Chapter 7 describes a set of constructions, collectively called ‘th
pretransitive construction', which are similar but not identical to the much studie
BA-construction in Mandarin. The pretransitive construction is salient because of
several syntactic and semantic features which differ from those of a canonical SV

sentence. In Chapter 8,1 discuss three constructions with similar morphosyntax, ‘the

K9s71 i\ constructions', two of which encode passive meanings while the third on
marks overt unaccusativity. Chapter 9 deals with negation, which is an area wher
many features dating back to Old Chinese are preserved. Chapter 10 describe
interrogative constructions, which show close connection with negation. Finally,
Chapter 11 explores the constructions of comparison which are also one of the are
where greater divergence is found between the more conservative dialects such a
Chaoshan dialect and the more modern dialects such as Mandarin.

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 摘要

通行于中国广东省东南部的潮州方言是中国一个极为古老的方言之
—。她继承并保留了古汉语的许多特征，包括语音，构词和语法结构，被称
为研究古汉语的活化石。潮州方言同时也具有许多本身特有的语法现象及规
律。然而，在此之前，在中国或海外对潮州方言都没有进行过任何较完整和
系统的研究。本文的撰写，其首要目的，就是为了填补这一空缺，并希望所
研究的结果能起抛砖引玉的作用，有助对潮州方言进一步深入的调查。无
疑，本研究所提供的语料也将有助于中外语言学的研究和探索。
本论文从共时角度，描述和分析了潮州方言（以揭阳话为代表）的
语音系统和构词法，以及八个语法范畴。第一章为导论，简单介绍潮汕地区
历史人文与语言背景；第二章描写语音系統；第三章为构词法；第四章描写
人称代词及名物指代词：第五章讨论名词短语结构中三个重要范畴：名量
词，领属关系以及关系从句；第六章详细分析和讨论体貌系統；第七章论述
‘处置句’的类型，构成与语义；第八章论述被动式以及非自主动词‘被动
式’：第九章描述否定结构；第十章描述疑问结构。最后一章描写比较式的
各种类型并分析其历史层次。

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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

My interest in this project stemmed from my strong desire to record and

preserve my mother tongue, the Jieyang dialect, one of the varieties of the Chaoshan

dialect group, which is among the most conservative and yet little researched dialects
in China. However, the completion of this thesis is not my individual effort but has

occurred with the support and help given to me by many people.

I would like, first of all, to express my thanks to my supervisor, Professor David

Holm of the Asian Institute of the University of Melbourne, for taking a strong
interest in my research into the Chaoshan dialect and thus taking me on as a Ph.D
candidate in the Chinese department. I would like to give my gratitude for his
academic support and help as well as moral encouragement. I am particularly
indebted to my associate supervisor Professor Stephen Matthews from the Linguistics

Department at the University of Hong Kong who had involved me in one of his
research projects on Chaozhou grammar, through which I gained valuable research
experience and knowledge in this field. My gratitude also goes to his generosity,
throughout my candidature, of his time in reading and discussing with me my
chapters and linguistic issues. I also owe a very special debt to Dr. Wu Yunji and Dr
Luo Yongxian of the Asian Institute of the University of Melbourne who, as
supervisors in the earlier phase of my candidature, had given me so generously their
time, effort and valuable comments, which laid a strong foundation for my current
research. I would like also to thank Professor Sander Adelaar of the Asian Institute of

the University of Melbourne and Dr Imogen Chen from Victoria University of

Technology Melbourne for helping in the supervision. They have provided me with
useful comments on numerous chapters. The final version of this thesis has
incorporated many invaluable comments and suggestions from my supervisors. No
doubt, any shortcomings or errors that this study possesses remain my sole
responsibility. Other people to thank include Professor Alexandra Aikhenvald,
Professor Walter Bisang, Professor Lien Chin-fa, Professor Lin Lunlun, Professor Shi

Qisheng, Dr Hilary Chappell and Dr Tania Strahan, all of whom have been
enthusiastic about my project and have given me academic advice and help one way
or another.

I am extremely grateful to my friends, in particular, Zhuo Jia and Rong Xia, and

relatives in Jieyang who acted as my consultants and spent a large amount of time

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iv ASPECT OF CHAOSHAN GRAMMAR

being recorded and doing the questionnaire with structured lists of sentences; t
family and friends whose love, encouragement, moral support and faith in my

have kept me going along the daunting but richly rewarding journey of compl

Ph.D. A few of them deserve special mention, my dearest cousin Lin Lin wh
me support of all kinds, my wonderful neighbours Chris and Tony, and two
dear friends Don and Anne who are also Chaoshan culture enthusiasts. To G
thank you for your great support at the earlier stage of my study.

I also need to thank a few organisations: the Chamber of Commerce in

Kong, for contributing to my data collection and for inviting me to particip
number of the organisation's local events which had enabled me to get in c
with the local Chaoshan speakers in Hong Kong; the Research Centre of Cha
Culture and History in Shantou, for not only allowing me to have access to
archival materials but also donating to me numerous books on Chaoshan topics.

The research of this thesis has been made possible through an Austr
Postgraduate Award scholarship by the University of Melbourne. Funding fr
university as well as from the Asian Institute of the University of Melbou
enabled me to undertake fieldtrips and to attend international conferences.

I would like to express my most sincere and greatest gratitude to Mr L

Liang (刘艺良)，President of the Chao Zhou Natives Association Macau (澳
同乡会)，for his generosity in providing funding for the publication of this the

Finally, this thesis is dedicated to my late beloved parents who gave m

freedom to pursue my dreams.

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Chapter One. Introduction 1

1.1 Aims, scope and outline of the thesis 1
1.2 Geographic location and population distribution of the Ch
1.3 A brief account of the history of the region and aspects
1.4 The dialect 5

1.5 Typological linguistic features of the Chaoshan dialect 8

1.6 Previous study on the dialect 10
1.6.1 Early works 10
1.6.2 Works by Chinese scholars 11
1.7 Significance 13
1.8 Methodology 13
1.8.1 The data 13

1.8.2 The linguistic consultants 13

1.8.3 Conventions used in presenting the data 13
1.8.4 Approach to data analysis 16

Chapter Two. Phonology: The Sound System 18

2.1 Introduction 18

2.2 The sound system of Jieyang 18

2.2.1 Initial consonants 19
2.2.2 Finals 20
2.2.3 Tones 23
2.2.3.1 Basic tones 23
2.2.3.2 Tone Sandhi 25

Summary of section 33

Chapter Three. Morphology 34

3.1 Introduction 34
3.2 Affixation 34
3.2.1 Prefixes 36
3.2.1.1 a33- 36
3.2.1.2 lau15- 37

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vi ASPECT OF CHAOSHAN GRAMMAR

3.2.1.3 ts'iu33- 37
3.2.1.4 /o/35- 38
3.2.1.5 ho53- 38
3.2.1.6 mo53- 38
3.2.1.7 sio33- 39

3.2.1.8 hua俨- 40
3.2.1.9 u35- & bo55- 41
3.2.2 Suffixes 42

3.2.2.1 -kia53 43
3.2.2.2 -hue53 45
3.2.2.3 -t'au55 46
3.2.2.4 -知213 46
3.2.2.5 -bo53, -kou11 & -heり55 47
3.3 Reduplication 47
3.3.1 Reduplication of adjectives 48
3.3.1.1 Forms 48

3.3.1.2 Semantic an
3.3.2 Reduplication of measure words, classifiers & nouns 53
3.3.2.1 Reduplication of measure words/classifiers 54
3.3.2.2 Reduplication of nouns 56
3.3.3 Reduplication of verbs 57
3.3.4 Reduplication of onomatopoeic expressions 61
3.3.5 Reduplication of phrases 63
3.4 Compounding 63
3.4.1 Nominal compounds 64
3.4.2 Adjectival compounds 67
3.4.3 Verb Compounds 69
Summary of chapter 73

Chq)ter Four. Personal Pronouns

4.1 Personal pronouns 74
4.1.1 Forms 74

4.1.2 Usage 75
4.1.2.1 Singular pronouns: ua5\ Iiu5\ /'33 フ5

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS vii

4.1.2.2 Plural forms: naひ53, uaり53, ne//53, iiynatf5'n 77

4.1.2.3 The possessive forms 78
4.2 Reflexive pronouns 82
4.2.1 ka33ki11 as a pronoun 82
4.2.2 ka^ki11 as an adverbial 83

4.2.3 The emphatic function of ka3iki11 83

4.3 Nominal demonstratives 84

4.3.1 tsi53 and htu5} 85

4.3.2 tsioS5 and hio53 88
4.3.2.1 Semantic and syntactic features 88
4.3.2.2 Deictic and anaphoric functions 90
4.3.3 tsia53 and hia53 91
4.3.3.1 Semantic and syntactic features 91
4.3.3.2 Deictic and anaphoric functions 92
4.3.3.3 Other functions 93
4.3.4 tsia5^35 kai55 and hicP^ kaiS5 94
Summary of chapter 95

Chapter Five. Numeral Classifiers, Po

5.1 Numeral classifiers 97
5.1.1 Mensural classifiers 97
5.1.1.1 Collective classifiers 98

5.1.1.2 Classifiers denoting plurality

5.1.1.3 Body parts as classifiers 101
5.1.2 Sortal classifiers 102

5.1.3 Special features of cl

5.1.3.1 Functioning as pronominals 107
5.1.3.2 Denoting deflniteness 108
5.1.3.3 [CL + mue?5] construction 0

5.1.3.4 With adjectives in expressing vividness.

5.1.3.5 In indicating possessive relations
5.2 Possessive constructions

5.3 Relative clauses

5.3.1 Relative clause with kai55

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viii ASPECT OF CHAOSHAN GRAMMAR

5.3.2 The use of a resumptive pronoun in relative clauses 115

5.3.3 Relative clause with classifiers 117

5.3.3 Differences between relative clauses with k

Summary of chapter 119

Chapter Six. The Aspect System 121

6.1 Introduction 121

6.2 Situation types 122

6.3 Aspectual categories in the Jieyan dialect 123
6.3.1 The bounded aspect 123
6.3.1.1 The Perfectctive aspect 123
6.3.1.2 The Inchoative aspect 135
6.3.1.3 The Experiential aspect 137
6.3.1.4 The Delimitative aspect and the Tenta
6.3.2 The unbounded aspect 147
6.3.2.1 The Progress 148
6.3.2.2 The Continuous 151

Summary of chapter 156

Chapter Seven. The Pretransitive Constructions 158

7.1 Introduction 158

7.2 The semantic functions of the pretransitive constructio 161

7.2.1 Resultative type of pretransitive sentence 162
フ.2.1.1 Semantically transitive verbs 162
7.2.1.2 The adversity semantics 164
7.2.2 The telic type of pretransitive sentence 166
7.3 Syntactic makers of the pretransitive constructions 167
7.3.1 tsiatf3, pa53 and pa5365 tsiarj33 167
7.3.2 /V13 172
7.3.3 tuim 173
7.3.4 to/55"11-/33 174
7.3.4.1 The lexical and gr
7.3.4.2 The functions of Aw
7.3.5 The co-occurrence of pretransitive markers 179

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS ix

7.4 Other grammatical features: definite NP and complex VP 181

7.4.1 Definiteness of the object NP 181
7.4.2 Complexity of the VP 183
7.5 The pretransitive construction and the passive 185
Summary of chapter 186

Chapter Eight. Passives and the k 'e?2 z33 Construction 189

8.1 Introduction 189

8.2 The marker k 'e?2 190

8.3 The long passive construction 192

8.3.1 The agent requirement 193
8.3.2 The adverse connotation 194

8.3.3 Lexical strategy: teJ^kaum and siiP5 196

8.4 The indirect passive construction 197
8.5 The k 'e?2 z33 construction 199
8.5.1 Unaccusative predicates and the syntactic r

8.5.2 The formation of unaccusative predicat

8.5.3 Other semantic properties of the k '
8.5.4 The k 'e?2 z33 construction in discourse 208

8.5.5 The k 'e?2 Z33 construction and the ‘impersonal passi

Summary of chapter 209

Chapter Nine. Negation 211

9.1 Introduction 211

9.2 Modal auxiliaries and their negative counterparts 212

9.3. Negative markers- an overview 215
9.4 Types of negation 216
9.4.1 Lexical negation 216
9.4.2 Clausal negation 227
9.4.2.1 m35i in negating copula clauses 218
9.4.2.2 m35! negating stative predicates 219
9.4.2.3 boi35 and /w35t negating adjectives 220
9.4.2.4 The functions of bo55 222
9.4.2.5 bue11 indicating that an event has n

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x ASPECT OF CHAOSHAN GRAMMAR

9.4.2.6 Negating verbal complements 227

9.4.3 Indefinite negation 229
9.4.4 Negating modal meanings 230
9.4.4.1 Negating epistemic modality 234
9.4.4.2 Negating deontic modal it 234
9.4.4.3 Negating futurity and volition 237
9.4.4.4 Summary of section 241
Summary of chapter 242

Chapter Ten. Interrogatives 243

10.1 Introduction 243

10.2 Wh-questions 243

10.2.1 Question words in questions 244
10.2.1.1 "u-‘which， 244
10.2.1.2 -4who' 245

10.2.1.3 tilltiar^siss.
kuisys> tiam^ZzioT^tso11 tiam53 ‘what time’ 245
10.2.1.4 tillko21} - ‘where， 246
10.2.1.5 me?2kai55. -'what' 246
10.2.1.6 tso2iy5ini55 'why'/'how' 247
10.2.1.7 zio^tsoi11/ kuP ‘how many/much’ 249
10.2.2 Question words as indefinite pronouns 250
10.3 Yes-No questions 251
10.3.1 Neutral (non-presumptive) questions 251
10.3.1.1 V-Not-VP 254

10.3.1.2 [VP-Neg] and [VP-Dis-Neg] 255

10.3.1.3 Aux-Neg-VP 261
10.3.1.4 VP-QPRT 262
10.3.1.5 Responses to neutral questions 264
10.3.2 Presumptive questions 265
10.4 Choice questions 265
Summary of chapter 268

Chapter Eleven. Constructions of Comparison 269

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS xi

11.1 Prototypical comparatives 269

11.1.1 Four degrees of comparison 270
11.1.1.1 Comparative constructions of superiori
1.1.2 Comparative construction of inferiority
1.1.3 Comparative constructions of equalling degre
1.1.1.4 Comparative constructions of equality
1.1.1.5 Summary of section 288
11.2 Other schemes of comparison 289
11.3 The superlative degree 292
Summary of chapter 292

Bibliography 295

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 o F A BBREVIATIONS

first person singular

second person singular

third person singular

first person plural

second person plural

third person plural

first person plural inclusive

first person plural exclusive

first person singular genitive

second person singular/plural genitive

adjective
sgndrd-5.^-3.-H.pl«s8gndAIdnjAcdl\.wlen』.. adverb

CCS comparative construction of superiority degree

CCI comparative construction of inferiority degree

CCEQ comparative construction of equality degree

CCEQL comparative construction of equalling degree
CL classifier

CM comparative marker
COP copula verb
COM comparee (NP)
CONT continuous aspect marker
CRS current relevant state

DEL delimitative aspect marker

DIS disjunctive marker
EXP experiential aspect marker
EXT marker of complement of extent
INT interjection
LW linking word
MAN marker of complement of manner
MW measure word

NOM nominaliser

NP noun phrase

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 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

object
object
ordinal number

parameter

passive marker
perfective marker

possessive marker
marker for the complement of potential

prefix

pretransitive marker

progressive aspect marker

particle

question particle

resultative verbal complement

subject
similarity (comparative marker)
standard (NP)
subject
suffix

surpass (comparative marker)

tentative aspect marker

tone group
tone sandhi

verb

intransitive

verb object
verb phrase
transitive

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LIST OF TABLES

Table (2.1) Initials 19

Table (2.2) Vowels 20
Table (2.3) Diphthongs & Triphthongs 22
Table (2.4) The Eight Basic Tones in the Jieyang Dialect 25
Table (2.5) Anterior Tone Sandhi Rules 30
Table (2.6) Posterior Tone Sandhi 31
Table (4.1) Personal Pronouns 74
Table (4.2) Possessive Pronouns 80
Table (4.3) Nominal Demonstratives 84
Table (5.1) Collective Classifiers 98
Table (5.2) Collective Classifiers with Cognates in Mandarin 99
Table (5.3) Classifiers (plurality & unspecific quantity) 101
Table (5.4) Body Parts as Measure Classifiers 101
Table (5.5) Sortal / Shape Classifiers from the Local Lexicon 103
Table (5.6) Sortal / Shape Classifiers Cognates with Mandarin 104
Table (5.7) Sortal / Shape Classifiers Cognates with Mandarin (continued) 105
Table (5.8) Sortal / Shape Classifiers Cognate with Mandarin (continued) 106
Table (7.1) Pretransitive Constructions in the Jieyang Dialect 160
Table (9.1) Modal Auxiliary Verbs in the Jieyang Dialect 214
Table (9.2) Negation of Modal Meanings 241
Table (10.1) Question Words in the Jieyang Dialect 244
Table (10.2) Complex negatives in the Jieyang Dialect 255
Table (10.3) [VP-(DIS)-Neg] patterns with Different Negatives 255
Table (11.1) Comparative construction of superiority- CCS “more than" 288
Table (11.2) Comparative construction of inferiority- CCI “less than" 289
Table (11.3) Comparative construction of equalling- CCEQL “(at least)
as...as..." 289

Table (11.4) Compa

“as. "as."，， 289

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MAJOR CHRONOLOGICAL DIVISIONS OF CHINESE HISTORY1

Archaic Chinese Shang dynasty (ca. 1700-1100 BC)

Western Zhou dynasty (ca. 1100-771 BC)
Spring and Autumn period (770-476 BC)
Warring States period (475-221 BC)
Qin dynasty (221-206 BC)
Western Han dynasty (206 BC-AD 25)
Medieval Chinese Eastern Han dynasty (AD 25-220)
Wei-Jin period (220-420)
Southern and Northern dynasties (420-589)
Sui dynasty (581-618).
Early and Middle Tang dynasty (618-907)
Pre-Modern Chinese Late Tang dynasty
Five dynasties period (907-60)
Northern Song dynasty (960-1127)
Southern Song dynasty (1127-1279)
Yuan dynasty (1206-1368)
Ming dynasty (1368-1644)
Modern Chinese Qing dynasty (1616-1911)
Twentieth century

1 This list is based on Chen Ping (1999:3). Archaic Chinese and Medieval Chinese
are also known as Old Chinese and Middle Chinese. In the thesis, Archaic Chinese

and Medieval Chinese are used interchangeably with Old Chinese and Middle
Chinese.

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CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION

1.1 Aims, scope and outline of the thesis

The Chaoshan dialect refers collectively to a group of mutually intelligible sub
dialects spoken in the Chaozhou-Shantou region, a coastal region in the eastern part
of Guangdong province in the People's Republic of China. Linguistically, the
Chaoshan region borders the Min-speaking Fujian province to the east, and within the

Guangdong province the Hakka-speaking region to the north and the Yue-speaking
region to the west (see § 1.4 for discussion on linguistic affiliation). The Chaoshan
dialect is one of the most conservative dialects in China, retaining many archaic
linguistics features which have disappeared in other Sinitic languages (see § 1.5).
However, previous studies of this important dialect group are sketchy and many
attempts have been confined to phonology (see § 1.6). The task of this thesis is to
provide a more comprehensive analytical and functional description of important
aspects of Chaoshan grammar, aimed at filling this gap. The dissertation focuses on
data from the Jieyang dialect, one of the sub-dialects spoken in Jieyang municipality,

which lies immediately to the west of Chaozhou and Shantou, two other major
municipalities which make up of the Chaoshan region. Although the data presented is
mainly from Jieyang, the grammatical topics and features addressed in this thesis are
characteristic of Chaoshan as a whole, since the variation among the Chaoshan sub
dialects is predominantly of a phonetic nature.

This thesis is not a comprehensive grammar of the Jieyang dialect. Rather, it

focuses on certain important aspects and provides a more analytical and in depth
treatment. The topics and constructions chosen for discussion and description are core

grammatical structures including those forming questions, negations, comparisons

and expressing temporal relationships of events. These syntactic areas are known to
have distinct Chaoshan characteristics which diverge from other Sinitic languages,

particularly the official language of China, Mandarin. Many other linguistic issues
would not be specific to the Chaoshan area. For example, word-classes (such as verb
versus adjective or verb versus preposition); basic grammatical relationships or
syntactic functions (such as subject and object); topicalization; serial verb
constructions, and morphological issues (such as the question of word-hood) arise
more or less equally for all Sinitic languages. Therefore, these general issues have not

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2 ASPECT OF CHAOSHAN GRAMMAR

been covered here, as analyses and research on these topics are readily availabl
especially those that focus on Mandarin data.
This thesis is divided into 11 chapters: introduction (1); phonology (2)
morphology (3); pronouns (4); numeral classifiers, possessives and relative clause
(5); the aspectual system (6); passives and the 'k'e?2133 construction' (7); th
pretransitive construction (8); negation (9); interrogatives (10) and the construction
of comparison (11). In the remainder of this introductory chapter, I will present som

background information about the demography, linguistic affiliation and previous

research on the Chaoshan dialect, as well as describing the methodology an
convention used in the present study.

1.2 Geographic location and population distribution of the

Chaoshan region
Situated in the east of the Guangdong province, the Chaoshan region is surrounded by
mountains to its east, north and west sides and faces the South China Sea to the south.

In the centre of the Chaoshan region are fertile plains nourished by and named after
the major rivers that run through them. These rivers are the Hanjiang and Rongjiang,

which run from north to south, the Lianjiang running from north to west and the
Longjiang running from west to south. The region is comprised of three
municipalities: Chaozhou, Shantou and Jieyang. Chaozhou municipality was
established in 1989, administering the city proper as well as Chao'an and Raoping
counties, with a total area of about 3,000 square kilometres and about two million
inhabitants. Shantou municipality, including the city proper, and Chenghai, Chaoyang

and Nan'ao counties, has a total area of about 2,027 square kilometres and a
population of about four and a half million people. Jieyang municipality, which was
established in 1992, is the largest municipality in the region in terms of area and
population. With the government seat housed in Rongcheng district, Jieyang governs

Jiedong, Jiexi, Huilai and Puning counties, with a total area of about 5,240.5 square
kilometres and a population of about five million people (Li Lunlun 1997a).

1.3 A brief account of the history of the region and aspects of its
culture

Not only is Jieyang the largest municipality in the region, it also has the longest
history. It was here that one of the Qin army garrisons was set up after the first

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 CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION 3

emperor of Qin dynasty sent troops southwards in the year 214 BC to conquer the
Lingnan area (present-day Guangdong and Guangxi areas) (see Jieyang County
Gazetteer 1993:7; Du Songnian 1995: 15; Huang Ting 1997:42; Huang Ting and
Chen Zhanshan 2001:41). During pre-historic times, the areas of Lingnan were
inhabited by non-Han tribal groups, mainly the Min-Yue and Nanyue people of the
Baiyue or ‘Hundred Yue’ tribesScholars have speculated that the ‘Hundred Yue’
were speakers of the precursors of Austroasiatic, Tai, Hmong-Mien and possibly
Austronesian languages (see Norman and Mei 1976: 277; Norman 1988: 18; Lin
Lunlun 1991b: 16; LaPolla 2001: 233). The ancient Jieyang region was named after
one of the ancient five ridges in the Lingnan region, and covered the present-day
Chaoshan region and some areas of southern Fujian and Guangxi provinces. When
the South was finally subjugated, prefectures and counties modelled on the Qin and
Han systems of local administration were set up in the Lingnan area, bringing vast
new territories under Chinese rule and cultural influence. In the year 111BCE,
Jieyang Garrison District was set up as a county, under the jurisdiction of Nanhai

prefecture (Jieyang County Gazetteer 1993:7). The establishment of the ancient

Jieyang county is hailed as a significant event in the historical development of the
Chaoshan region (see Wu Qinsheng and Lin Lunlun 2001:30), as it ushered in the
beginning of a Chinese-style administrative system and subsequent increasing contact
with people from Central China and from the ancient Wu and Min areas, due to
waves of migration at different periods in history. Inevitably, linguistic influence
from these people over the centuries helped to shape what has become Chaoshan
dialect of today (see further discussion in § 1.4).
After its establishment, Jieyang County went through many changes in
jurisdiction over a long period of time: at different points in time, it was governed by

different prefectures and administered different villages. The jurisdiction was also
discontinued and reestablished serval times, until 1138 (CE) in the Song dynasty
when it was re-established, continuing till 1992 when it was elevated to the
prefectural level.

The history of the Chaoshan region is also intimately linked to that of Chaozhou,

because of the prestige of that city as the regional government seat and a cultural
centre for many centuries. Developed from a county named Haiyang in the 4th century,

Chaozhou became a prefecture during the Ming dynasty (1368 - 1644 CE) and Qing
dynasty (1644-1911 CE), governing eleven counties including Jieyang and Chenghai,

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4 ASPECT OF CHAOSHAN GRAMMAR

the precursor of Shantou. Although Chaozhou prefecture was downgraded to a count

and the name changed to Chao'an during the period of the Republic of China (1912
1949)，it continued to serve as the seat of the regional government until the People

Republic of China was founded. Today, the Chaozhou region is also known a
Chaoshan, an abbreviation of Chaozhou and Shantou, recognising the importan
status of the latter city, which arose from a small fishing village from the 14th centur

to develop into a port for foreign trade. Shantou grew over five centuries and final
replaced Chaozhou to become the seat of the regional government and the political
and economic centre after the founding of the People's Republic of China.

Despite obvious administrative divisions, the people from the three

municipalities in the Chaoshan region are collectively known as ‘Chaozhouren’，i.e.,
‘Chaozhou people’ while the various forms of speech spoken in the area are also
known collectively as ‘Chaozhouhua’，literally, ‘Chaozhou speech’. Within the region
however, an etic distinction is often made based on original birthplace. Thus, peop
from Jieyang will call themselves 'Jieyangren' (Jieyang person) rather tha
‘Chaozhouren’.

Chaoshan culture is rich and sophisticated, which is manifested in various

distinct ways. For example, Chaozhou opera, with a history of more than five hundred

years, is among the most well known local operas in China with unique costumes,
singing and performing styles. Chaozhou music is another ancient musical art form.
Originating in the Tang dynasty (618 - 907 CE), it includes wind and percussion,
gong, string, flute and temple music (Du Songnian 1995: 282). As Chaoshan
communities are strongly ‘tradition oriented’ and engage in many ceremonial
activities (for a detailed description of folk customs, see Fang Liewan 1996)，
Chaozhou music, with its flexible performing arrangement, has become an important
part of these traditional ceremonies.

Another important part of Chaoshan's traditional culture is a genre of vernacular

literature with a history of over 500 years known as kua^-ts'e?2, literally ‘song-book’
or 'song-volume', that is, chapbooks. These are not songs as such but rather rhyming
verses, usually consisting of seven, five and four syllables, which were intended for
oral recitation in the local dialect, usually by women. kuaP-ts^?2 were thus
considered a ‘low’ literary genre in the sense that they were not concerned with
aesthetic values in terms of writing style nor with profundity of content. Today,
although Chaoshan operas are no longer very popular (due partly to the increasing

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 CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION 5

influence of modern entertainment media) and the oral literary form of kua^-ts

no longer practiced, the play scripts and the chapbooks remain valuable wr
records for linguistic research, as is the case of this thesis where some exampl
drawn from these sources.

Chaoshan culture is also strongly associated with its distinct culinary traditi
which is recognised as one of China's ten major and finest cuisines. Furthermor
Chaoshan style of tea drinking, commonly known as gongfu cha 'prowess te
intimately associated with the region's cultural identity. Brought to the region
imperial officials and literati in the late Tang dynasty (618 - 907 CE), gongfu tea

elaborate ritual which has become an indispensable part of Chaoshan people's

life. As the saying goes, "I'd rather have three days without eating than have on
without drinking {gongfu tea、”. The saying shows the profound historical and cul

tradition of gongfu tea in the Chaoshan region.

The Chaoshan region is regarded as 'Home of Confucius Along the Coa

reflecting the fact that the community is oriented towards traditional literati c
and education to a high degree. At the same time, the people are also known
entrepreneurial and adept at trade, as the extensive coastline provides easy acce
water for foreign trade. With a long sea-faring history, the region is also known fo

emigration, with Southeast Asia as the main destination. Today, more than ten m
people of Chaoshan origin live overseas, with the heaviest concentration
Chaoshan speakers in Thailand, Hong Kong and Singapore.

1.4 The dialect

Varieties of Chinese languages are commonl

linguistics, stemming mainly from the fact that
than three millennia in the use of a common w

culture, political history as well as identity

accepted view by linguists in the west is that v

actually mutually unintelligible languages, and

of languages (see Norman 1988: 1). This view

‘Sinitic languages' in place of ‘Chinese dialec
Chappell 2001c; LaPolla 2001; Sagart 2001, amon
the term ‘Sinitic languages' as another general
dialect groups), of which the Min, Yue, Hak

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6 ASPECT OF CHAOSHAN GRAMMAR

However, the term ‘dialect’ is also used, in its truer sense, to refer to mutually
intelligible forms of speech within a particular dialect (or language) group. For these
sub-dialects, a geographical designation is used to avoid ambiguity. Thus, the
Chaoshan dialect collectively refers to the varieties spoken in the Chaoshan region
and the Jieyang dialect refers the sub-dialect spoken in Jieyang within the Chaoshan
dialect group.
There is also an etic and emic distinction made when referring to the Chaoshan
dialect. The term ‘Chaozhouhua’ or ‘Chaozhou dialect’ is commonly used by
outsiders and people from the region to distinguish their dialect from other dialects in

China. Outside of the region, this traditional term exists along with several other
dialect transliterations, such as ‘Ch'ao-chou’，‘Tiechiew’，‘Swatow’ and ‘Shan-t'ou’，
etc., which are commonly used by overseas Chinese who migrated from the region to
Southeast Asian countries and Hong Kong in the past century or two. Within the
region, a local geographic designation is employed as a self-reference term. Thus,
people from Jieyang speak ‘Jieyanghua’ or 4Jieyang speech' while that of Shantou is
called 'Shantouhua' or 'Shantou speech'.
The development of the Chaoshan dialect, like other Sinitic languages, is an end
result of imperial unification and expansion, ensuing migration, and language contact
during the last two and a half millennia (see Zhou Zhenhe and You Rujie 1986;
Norman 1988; LaPolla 2001; Chappell 2001c, among others). Synchronically,
therefore, linguistic stratification, among other features, is characteristic of Sinitic

languages, with sharp stratification found to exist in the more isolated Min dialect

group (Chappell 2001c: 11) to which the Chaoshan dialect belongs. The Min group,
which is one of the ten major Sinitic language groups in China"1, ftirther divides into

Inland Min and Coastal Min, following different routes of migration in the past. The

following diagram (from Chappell 2001c: 14) illustrates the distribution of the
dialects within Min and shows that the Chaoshan dialect belongs to the Southern
Coastal Min subdivision:

(i) Inland Min

b. North-western: Jian dialects
c. far western: Shaowu, Jiangle
d. Central: Yong'an
(ii) Coastal Min
a. North-eastern: Fuzhou, Fu'an
b. Southern: Xiamen, Taiwanese, Chaozhou, Hainanese

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 CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION 7

The close linguistic affiliation between the Chaozhou,v dialect and Min,
particularly with Southern Min, rather than the Yue dialect group in Guangdong
province, has been attributed to large scale emigration waves from Fujian to
Chaozhou during the Tang and Song dynasties (see e.g. Zhou Changji 1996: 98;
Huang Ting 1997: 61). Other contributing factors to this affiliation are geographic
and topographic. In the past, the Chaoshan region was virtually isolated from the Yue

and Hakka speaking areas to its north and west by impassable mountain ranges (for
discussions on the history of the Chaoshan dialect, see Li Xinkui 1992; Lin Lunlun
1991b; Huang Ting 1997; Du Songnian 1995; for a detailed discussion on the
development of Southern Min, see Zhou Changji 1996).

Being a member of the Min dialect group, the Chaoshan dialect also shows
linguistic influence from an older stratum which is said to be probably the basis of the

development of the Min dialect: ancient Wu dialects, spoken in the trans-Yangtze

region in the late Han (206 BCE - 220 CE), the Three Kingdom period (220 • 265 CE)
and the Western Jin period (265 - 316 CE) (see Li Rulong 2002: 37; Norman 1988:
210. See also various discussions on the close relations between Wu and Min dialects

in Ding Bangxin and Zhang Shuangqing, 2002). Another important source of

influence is the varieties of Old Chinese brought to Chaoshan by migrants at different

periods in history. These various forms of speech evolved from contact between the
Northern dialects spoken by migrants with the local speech in the areas they moved
into. In terms of influence from Han Chinese, the most profound substratum is
attributed to a literary form of the Tang dynasty koine. Thus, it is often claimed that

Chaoshan dialect shows at least several substrata: the autochthonous language spoken
by the tribal Min-Yue people pre-Qin and Han (see § 1.3); the old Chinese language
of the Warring States to Han dynasty periods (3rd Century BCE • 3rd Century CE); a
post-Han dynasty substratum from the Jin to the Northern and Southern dynasties (3rd

Century CE - 6th Century CE), and the Tang and Song periods (7th Century -13th
Century CE) (see Li Xinkui 1992; Lin Lunlun 1997b, among others). However, what
is most salient about the Chaoshan dialects (and Min dialects as a whole) is their
conservatism linguistically speaking. As noted in Zhou Zhenhe and You Rujie (1986:
38), even though the present-day Wu dialect is the oldest dialect in China, many
archaic features of its ancestor, that is, Ancient Wu, are best preserved in the Min
dialect group. This is because the Ancient Wu dialect was more exposed to Northern
influences. Indeed, the Chaoshan dialect, like other Min dialects, not only preserves

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8 ASPECT OF CHAOSHAN GRAMMAR

various Old Wu features, but many other archaic linguistic features from Old Ch

and Middle Chinese in the phonology as well as in the lexicon (see Norman 1988
Lunlun 1991b; Li Xinkui 1992; Li Xinkui and Lin Lunlun 1992; Lin Lunlun 1
among others).

1.5 Typological linguistic features of the Chaoshan dialect

Being a member of the Sinitic language family, the Chaoshan dialect shows pan
Sinitic linguistic features as well as those which are more characteristically Chaoshan.

This last category in many cases reflects both the older substrata which are influences

from its ancestral source languages, as discussed above, and various local
innovations.

Chaoshan phonology is said to be conservative, reflected in the preservation of

numerous features from Old Chinese. For example, no distinction is made between
bilabials and labial dentals (eg. ‘to fly’ is jei in modern Mandarin but pue33 in the
Jieyang dialect), and dental stops, which by Middle Chinese had become affricates of
one kind or another in other Sinitic languages (Norman 1988: 231), have been
retained in Chaoshan (eg. ‘axle” is zhou in Mandarin and teJc" in the Jieyang dialect).

Another significant phonological feature is the two-way reading system known in

Chinese linguistics as ‘wen-bai-yi_du’ (literally, 4literary-vernacular-different
reading’）which contrasts a literary and a colloquial pronunciation for the same
character /morpheme. The literary pronunciation evolved from the Tang dynasty
koine introduced to the dialect in the late Tang, while the vernacular pronunciation is
said to reflect the preservation of various phonological and lexical features from
earlier layers such as the Han period (see Lin Xinkui 1992: 159; Zhang Guangyu
1996: 17). Chaoshan dialect is tonal, as are all other Sinitic languages. However, its
tonal system is more complex than those of northern Chinese dialects, which is
reflected in a larger array of tones (eight in all) and in complex tone sandhi in
continuous speech (see Chapter 2).
Morphologically, Chaoshan dialect, like other Sinitic languages, shows analytic
or isolating features with no inflectional morphology, although derivational processes
such as compounding, affixation and reduplication are all present (see Chapter 3). As
a more conservative dialect, monosyllabism, an ancient feature, is more prominent in
Chaoshan, as noted in Liu Zhenfan and Xu Huiling (2002). There is no overt marking
for case, gender or number on nouns, though pronouns and a collective classifier can

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 CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION 9

be used to express plurality (see Chapter 4). Also, there have developed
portmanteau forms which can be considered full-fledged genitive forms (see Ch
4).
Because of its lack of morphology, word classes in Chaoshan dialect, like
Chinese languages in general, are not that clear cut, in the sense that many words
have multiple functions. For example, nouns can serve as verbs while adjectives can
function as adverbs.

In terms of word order, it has widely assumed that Chinese languages have a
SVO order. However, aspects of this claim are debatable, in particular, the categories
of subject and object. It has been argued that there are no grammaticalised categories
of ‘subject’ and ‘object’ in Chinese and therefore, word order is not determined by
syntactic relations but mainly by semantic and pragmatic reasons (see LaPolla 1993:
767; 1995: 297). As such, Chinese languages, including the Jieyang dialect, are
typically topic-comment languages where the topic is what the sentence is about and
the comment is the speaker's comment on the topic which presents the subject matter
to be talked about (see Y. R. Chao 1968: 70)v.
Chaoshan NP syntax in general displays pre-nominal modification, as modifiers
such as relative clauses, possessors as well as attributives generally precede the head
noun. However, it is also common in the Chaoshan dialect to have post-nominal
modification as well as using classifiers in indicating definiteness and relations in the

possessive and in relative clauses (see Chapter 5). These features are also very
common in Miao, Yao and Zhuang languages and which may be an indication of the
Proto-Tai influence.

In VP syntax, the temporal relations of events and situations are coded overtly

by aspectual markers as well as by post-verbal resultative complements used as

aspectual phase markers (see Chapter 6). Post-verbal complements are also common
to encode change of state, result and extent of an event and potential of an event to

take place. Several other more salient features which are typologically unusual within
the Sinitic family include the use of intransitives, specifically, unaccusative predicates

with transitive passive morphology to encode adverse change of state (see Chapter 8),
and the use of a dummy pronominal object in the pretransitive construction, which
also exhibits a number of more conservative features (see Chapter 7). Similar to other
Southern Min members, the Chaoshan dialect boasts a large array of negators, using

some negative elements which date back to Old Chinese (see Li Ying-che 1992: 437).

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10 ASPECT OF CHAOSHAN GRAMMAR

Another significant feature with regard to negation is that many negators are fused
forms, consisting of a negative element and a modal auxiliary, resulting in the close
relations between negation and modality as well as other semantics such as aspectual
properties of the predicates (see Chapter 9). Also similar to other Southern Min
dialects is the use of complex negatives as question particles in the Yes-No
interrogatives (see Chapter 10). The comparative construction (see Chapter 11) is
another area which shows greater divergence from the official language Mandarin,
and classifies the Chaoshan dialect, together with Yue and other Min dialects closer
to the earlier stage of the Chinese language. For example, the 'Absent-marking' type,
in which no overt marker of comparison is employed, is a strategy dating back to
Middle Chinese and is preserved in various Southern dialects such as Cantonese,
Hakka, Chaozhou, Shanghainese and Taiwanese Southern Min (see Ansaldo 1999).

1.6 Previous study on the dialect

1.6.1 Early works
According to a comprehensive review by Lin Lunlun (1991
descriptions of the Chaoshan dialect were by non-Chinese mission
recorded of these works appears to be the Hanying Chaozhou
Chinese-English dictionary of the Chaozhou dialect”）by Josiah G
published in 1847 by a missionary publishing house in Bangkok. A
later, two other western missionaries undertook study of the C
1883, R. Lechler published a glossary entitled English-Chinese
vernacular or spoken language of Swatowv,. A year later in 18
Ashmore published his Primary Lessons in Swatow Grammar. The

set of lessons, organised around grammatical categories and

beginners learning this language. Even though the work, in a stric

descriptive nor a pedagogical grammar, it provides much lingui

Shantou dialect of the time, with extensive word and phrase
romanisation to illustrate each of the categories under discussion.

1.6.2 Works by Chinese scholars

(i) Dictionaries
Among the pioneering studies of the Chaoshan dialect produced by local schola
were rhyming dictionaries. According to Lin Lunlun’ s review (1991a), the first

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 CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION 11

appear was called Chaosheng shiwu yin (“Fifteen initials of the Chaoshan dialect")vn,
published in 1913. The work was by Zhang Shizhen, a well-travelled and multilingual
businessman who began compilation of his dictionary in 1885. Incorporating a
significant trade lexicon, it was organised according to alliterative and rhyming
principles, and it identified fifteen initials and forty-four finalsvu,. This work was
followed by other ones, such as Chaosheng shiba yin ("Eighteen initials of the
Chaoshan dialect") by Liu Yiru published in 1936. They were organised along similar
principles, with the initials increased to eighteen, to account for distinctions omitted
earlier between /n/ and /l/, /m/ and fb/ and /g/ and /rj/. The common feature of these

early works is that their purpose was restricted to providing a guide to pronunciation,

without providing meanings of the words. The dictionary, Chaoshan zidian

("Chaoshan character dictionary") compiled by Chen Linqian from Jieyang,
published in 1935, overcame these shortcomings. It uses homophones and the system

of 4fanqie',x as guides to the pronunciation of the characters, but it also adds meanings

and contemporary usage of the characters. It includes indices of the radicals and of
the strokes, which are used to look up a word. Chen's reader-friendly approach,
together with the inclusion of meanings, proved to be very successful and resulted in
such demand that it was reprinted more than ten times (Lin Lunlun 1991a: 3). Today,
it is a classic that can be found in most household collections in the region.

After the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, there was an
upsurge of interest in dialect research, but it was confined to producing bilingual
dictionaries for the purpose of popularising the official language. Two representative
works are Beijingyin Chaozhou fangyin zhuyin xin zidian ("A new dictionary of the
Beijing dialect with Chaozhou dialect pronunciations，’）by Wu Huazhong, published
in 1957, and Putonghua Chaoshan fangyan changyong zidian ("A dictionary of
everyday expressions of Mandarin and the Chaoshan dialect") by Li Xinkui in 1979.

(ii) Phonology
As the Chaoshan dialect has retained many ancient phonological features, which
provide an interesting and rich source of data for research, phonology is the most
extensively studied aspect in the Chaoshan dialect. According to Lin Lunlun (1991a),
the majority of articles and books about the Chaoshan dialect over the past five
decades or so have mainly been concerned with phonology. They can be divided into
those that describe the phonetic system of a locality (see, for example, Zhang

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12 ASPECT OF CHAOSHAN GRAMMAR

Shengyu 1981; Lin Lunlun 1994, 1996) and those that focus on individual
phonological features such as the evolution of sounds to the literary-vernacular
reading system, and tone sandhi, as exemplified by works of Zhang Xiaoshan (1992);
Zheng Zhiyong (1992) and Xu Zemin (1993). A third category of research into
Chaoshan phonology is comparative in nature, looking into the extent of phonological
differences and similarities among the variants within the region (Li Yongming 1986;

Lin Lunlun and Chen Xiaofeng 1996).

(iii) Lexicography
The Chaoshan dialect not only retains many archaic Chinese sounds, it also has a rich

lexicon that originates from ancient Chinese. Many of these words are archaic from
the point of view of modern Chinese. It also has many words which are not originally

Chinese words, resulting in a situation where they lack appropriate characters because
there are no cognates in Mandarin. Some local scholars have thus undertaken
etymological research. Two representative works are Li Xinkui and Lin Lunlun
(1992) and Cai Junming (1991).

(iv) Syntax
An examination of a comprehensive bibliography of modern Chinese dialect researc
by Nie Jianming and Li Qi (1993) reveals that the study of Chaoshan grammar wa
virtually a barren territory before the 1980s. An early work which touches on aspe

of grammatical structures (though in a sketchy format) is Li Yongming (1959

followed by a similar kind of work by Zhou Yaowen (1985) more than two and a ha
decades later.

In the last two decades more works on syntax, although quite sketchy with many

of them, have begun to appear. However, they tend to focus on a single area o
particular structure of grammar (see Chen Jifan 1987; Chen Chuanjia 1996; Li
Lunlun 1992; Zhang Shengyu 1979; Zhan Bohui 1982; Li Yiyan and Weng Jingqu
1987; Chen Chuanjia 1999). The works by Shi Qisheng (1996) and Zhang Xiaosh
(1994) are more detailed investigations of particular linguistic phenomena. Zhan
work, an unpublished Ph.D. thesis, describes the distributional properties an
syntactic functions of the negative particles in the Chaozhou dialect. Shi Qisheng,
the other hand, tackles one of the more complex syntactic constructions, namely, t
aspectual system of the Shantou dialect.

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 CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION 13

1.7 Significance
This review of previous studies on the Chaoshan dialect re
grammar is, on the whole, under-researched. In fact, accor
(1993)，this can also be said of other dialects and can be att
mistaken view that although the Chinese dialects differ
phonology, their syntax is more or less the same, as reflec
‘universal Chinese grammar' held by Y.R. Chao (1968:13). As a
has not received its due attention in comparison to other area
lexicography. Since the 1990s, however, more and more interes
of dialectal syntax and works on various dialects have emerge
typologically and theoretically significant divergences.
Chaoshan dialect grammar in comparison with other dialects
main focus of any extended study. This thesis aims to rect
providing a detailed description and analysis of key aspects o
Furthermore, the study of Chaoshan dialect syntax will no d
comparative study of dialect grammar and to the typolo
languages as a whole. From a diachronic point of view, the m
features preserved in Chaoshan dialect and which have disap
dialects are certainly invaluable data, which will help us bet
reconstruct the various linguistic domains of the ancient Chin
The significance of documenting the synchronic use of th
preserving and maintaining one of the most distinct local lan
is fast being influenced by other varieties such as Mandarin an

1.8 Methodology
1.8.1 The data

This study intends to reflect current usage of the d

a primary base, forming the bulk of the data of t

draws from four main sources:

(i) Naturalistic data

Data from this source comprises spontaneous conversations, narratives and interviews
recorded during my field trips to the Chaoshan areas in 1999, 2000 and 2001. The
topics covered include matters of general interest such as local customs, accounts of

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14 ASPECT OF CHAOSHAN GRAMMAR

historical changes which have taken place in the city and the consultants' personal
lives. Oral data were also drawn from locally produced audio materials such as folk
stories and comic skits.

(ii) Elicited data

While naturalistic speech yielded interesting and natural data, it was inadequate whe
certain specific language structures were sought. Therefore questionnaires with
structured lists of sample sentences were used, following in part Yue-Hashimoto
(1993), to elicit specific usages from the informants.

(iii) Written materials

Local play scripts, chapbooks, folk stories and comic skits were also used as
supplementary materials, as diachronic information can often be traced from written
records.

(iv) Introspective data

Being a native speaker of the dialect*, my native intuitions also constituted an
important and a very large part in the linguistic data presented in this book.

1.8.2 The linguistic consultants

The linguistic consultants who contributed to the corpus of data were relatives a
friends from my home-town who participated in my project by agreeing to
interviewed and have their conversations recorded. They represent a wide variet

native speakers who have lived all their lives in Jieyang. Their language can be s
to be representative Jieyang usage.

1.8.3 Conventions used in presenting the data

(i) Romanization
The data is represented in alphabetic form, using the system International Phoneti
Alphabet (IPA). Mandarin data are transcribed using pinyin, with tones given t
examples which I provide. Examples from other sources are quoted in their origina
forms (with or without tone marks). For example, the Yale system is commonly use
for Cantonese.

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 CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION 15

(ii) Tones

Although this thesis is mainly concerned with syntactic description, I

the transcription of the data because one of the salient linguistic f

Jieyang dialect (and Chaoshan dialect as a whole) is the prevalence of
the flow of natural speech. Tones are indicated with tone values render

following Chinese linguistic convention established by Y.R. Ch

citation tone is given first followed by the sandhi form. The two num

separated by a hyphen, such as piarj2^ (‘change’).

(iii) Examples and glossing

Unlike the common practice in Chinese dialectology in China of presenting linguistic
material in Chinese characters, I do not use characters to gloss the examples. There
are two reasons for this: firstly, while the characters may help non-dialect speakers to

translate the data mentally into Mandarin, most of the original dialect flavour will be

lost. Secondly, as mentioned in § 1.6, many local words have no corresponding

characters because they do not have Mandarin cognates with the same contemporary

meanings (the most common practice to overcome this in Chinese dialectology is to

use either a square or a homophone, which still does not solve the issue
satisfactorily).

Each example is given in a three-line format: it is transcribed in IP A, followed

by a morpheme-by-morpheme gloss and then an idiomatic English translation. In
glossing the morphemes, one meaning is given to each monosyllabic word. But as
contemporary Jieyang dialect possesses many compound words, some separable
while others more lexicalised and idiomatic, there are two treatments for these two

situations. With separable compounds whose components all have a meaning, a

hyphen is used between each syllable and between each individual gloss. However,
highly lexicalised and idiomatic polysyllabic compounds are written in one word with

no hyphen in the romanization and they are given one unitary gloss. The Chaoshan
dialect also possesses many portmanteau forms, that is, words fused with two
morphemes. Such words are transcribed as one word in the romanization but are
given two glosses linked by a dot, such as bo55 (‘not.have’).
Following common practice in linguistics, an asterisk preceding a word, a clause
or a sentence is used to indicate ungrammaticality or unacceptability, while a question

mark is used to indicate questionable usage.

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16 ASPECT OF CHAOSHAN GRAMMAR

1.8.4 Approach to data analysis

In analysing the data, the goal is not to test or prove any particular linguistic theories.

Rather, this thesis aims at describing how the language is actually spoken and used, in
as clear and insightful a manner as possible. As such, the approach taken is both
descriptive as well as analytic. While aiming at presenting the actual linguistic data
faithfully, I also attempt to analyse and explain it in functional as well as typological
terms. In functional terms, the focus is on the use and meaning, that is, the way
particular structures are used, how their meanings interact with their use and how
grammatical structures are related to discourse. In doing so, I pay attention to
grammaticality, that is, whether a certain sentence is possible in spoken Jieyang for a

certain meaning, and to appropriateness, which concerns register such as formal

versus informal, oral versus written. For example, while the pretransitive construction

uses pa53, which is cognate with Mandarin ba, in marking a preposed direct object in
the written register, there exist a number of vernacular forms used only in the spoken

language (see Chapter 7). Hie issue of register is also related to a very common
phenomenon in Sinitic languages, that of syntactic strata, which are a result of a long
history of language contact and language diffusion. Thus, it is common to find in
Jieyang grammar alternative structural patterns as well as grammaticalised words
which may come from different sources. However, as this thesis is from a synchronic

point of view, not much space is given to etymological investigation or diachronic

analysis, which is worth undertaking in the future.

In typological terms, the data from Jieyang is often analysed in comparison with

similar features found in other languages whenever possible. For example, the
‘intransitive passive’ (see Chapter 8) in the Jieyang dialect is found to share a feature

with the impersonal passive found in some European languages, namely the use of
intransitive predicates with passive morphology, although the two phenomena are
also found to be quite different in other aspects.

While there is no preeminent theoretical motivation in this book, it is

nevertheless informed by linguistic findings and research. The theoretical framework
or descriptive tools used in the thesis are based on what is called basic linguistic
theory (see Dixon 1997: 128), which is said to be grounded in traditional grammar
but supplemented by other linguistic traditions such as structuralism, generative
grammar and typology (Dryer 2001). This eclectic approach is reflected in this thesis
by an attempt to stick wherever possible to traditional terms, that is, notions which

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 CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION 17

have been established and widely used in linguistic literature such as ‘subject’ and
‘object’ etc. But at the same time, descriptive notions from other grammatical theories

as well as those that are more commonly known in Chinese linguistics have been
adopted. In the latter case, the notions used are defined whenever necessary.

1.As pointed out by Luo Yongxian (1996: 36)，the term ‘hundred’ was meant to
indicate the diverse components that formed this ancient multi-ethnic community
rather than being an exact number.
2.The native place of Confucius, one of China's ancient philosophers and
educationalists, is in present-day Shandong province, north China. Chaoshan region
boasts many temples built during the Song dynasty in memory of famous ancient
philosophers and educationalists, such as the Jieyang Confucius Temple and the Han
Wengong Temple in Chaozhou in memory of Han Yu，one of the most influential
literati and educationalists who was demoted from the imperial court to Chaozhou in
the year 819 to the post of the governor of Chaozhou prefecture. One of his greatest
contributions was the setting up of schools and the restoration and promotion of
education. It was also during his time that a two-way (literary vs colloquial) reading
system began to develop.
3. The number of dialect groups was formerly classified as seven but three more have
been identified since the 1930s (Chappell 2001:6).
4.1 use the term Chaozhou here when talking about the history of the region because
the term Chaoshan is a relatively new term.
5. However, it should be noted that the terms ‘subject’ and ‘object’ are still used
throughout this thesis. The term ‘subject，is used as another way of saying 'topic，，
while the term ‘object’ refers to a patient argument of a transitive verb.
6. Swatow is a transliteration ofShantou.
7. According to Lin (1992)，many old dictionaries are no longer in existence and in
many cases, are only known by their names being cited in some reference.
8.The traditional way of describing a Chinese syllable does not divide it into
individual sounds (phonemes) but into combinations of the beginning and end of a
syllable: initials, the consonantal onset of a syllable, and finals, the combination of
vowels and consonants which may occur at the end of a syllable. I follow this
tradition in this thesis.
9. Fanqie is a traditional method of indicating the pronunciation of a Chinese
character by using two other Chinese characters, the first having the same consonant
as the given character and the second having the same vowel and tone.
10.1 was bom and grew up in Jieyang until I was age 20 and continue to use the
dialect every year when I visit my family in Jieyang.

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CHAPTER TWO PHONOLOGY: THE SOUND SYSTEM

2.1 Introduction

In the introductory chapter, it was noted that the

municipal cities: Shantou, Chaozhou and Jieyang, e

over a number of counties and districts. On the wh
the dialects spoken in the Chaoshan region is high, al

in the sound systems of various sub-dialects. The ph

reflected in the pronunciation of certain finals a

variety has. While all the dialects have eighteen in
has 84 finals, Chaozhou has 90, while Jieyang
Xiaofeng 1996: 83). The discrepancy in the numb
inclusion or exclusion of certain onomatopoetic sou

The following description will cover the sound sy

a brief introduction to an important phenomenon i
of the Chaoshan dialects as a whole: tone sandhi.

2.2 The sound system of Jieyang

As with other Sinitic languages, a syllable in the Jieyang dialect comprises an initia
a final and a tone. The initial represents the consonantal onset to the syllable while
the final is the remainder of the syllable excluding the initial. However, there are

syllables which do not have initial consonants, even though there can be a glottal sto
onset to the vowel. However, the glottal stop is often conventionally not represente
in IPA. The tone represents the pitch level of the voice. Thus, the structure of
syllable in the Jieyang dialect can be schematised as below:

Tone

Initial Final

vowel / ending
diphthong Vocalic / Consonantal

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 CHAPTER TWO: PHONOLOGY 19

2.2.1 Initial consonants

There are eighteen initials in the Jieyang dialect, which ar

below. The transcription used in this thesis closely appr
exception is that /z/ is used to represent the voiced affricate

following a convention common in Chaoshan dialect stud

Junming 1991).

Table (2.1) Initials

;tops
；tops affricates
affricates fricatives nasals liquid
in aspirated voiced un ispirated voiced
aspirated ispirated
aspirated

bilabial P P'
P，
b m

alveolars
alveolars t t'
t， tsts ts’
ts' z s n 1

velars k k'
k， g q

glottals ？? h

It can be seen that Jieyang dialect makes a three-way distinction between the
stops: /p/ and /pV are distinguished by the contrast in aspiration while /p/，/p" and lb/

are distinguished in voicing. The three-way distinction is also found in the

dental/alveolar series and the velars. It can also be observed that Jieyang dialect, like
Min dialects as a whole, retains the dental stops from Archaic Chinese which by
Middle Chinese have become retroflex initials in the northern Mandarin dialects (also

see § 1.5). These Archaic Chinese dental stops have subsequently become affricates
of one kind or another in other dialects (Norman 1988: 231). For example, for the
words 'bamboo', ‘pig，and 'return', Mandarin has [t§u:]，[t§u:] and [t§uan] and
Cantonese has [tsok], [tsy:] and [tsyn] while Jieyang dialect has [tek],
[tui] and [tuiq] (note that there is a free variation of tuir) which is tq) respectively.

Among the consonantal sounds, /p/，/k/, /ml, /q/ and /?/ not only appear in

syllable-initial positions, but also in syllable-final positions, where /-p/ and /-k/ are
realised as unreleased stops. In initial position, the glottal stop such as in
(?)a? (‘evil，）is often omitted in connected speech and only becomes obvious when
the vowel following it is enunciated careftilly and in isolation. The glottal stops
occurring in syllable final positions, however, are phonemic and therefore cannot be
omitted. For example:

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20 ASPECT OF CHAOSHAN GRAMMAR

(1) a. /oi55/ (‘shoe’）本 /oi?5/ (‘narrow’）

b. /ue33/ (‘pot’）本 /ue?5/ (‘sratch’）

The nasals /m/ and /が can serve as initials and codas. As well, they can appear

as syllabic nasals when they 叩pear alone in a syllable. Some examples with these
two syllables include the negative marker /m35/ (‘not’）and /q55/ (‘yellow’).

2.22 Finals

The finals in the Jieyang dialect can be div

(ii) diphthongs and triphthongs; (iii) vowel
nasal finals.

(i) Vowels
The Jieyang dialect has six vowels: /a/, /of, /e/, /i/, /ui / and /u/ which

in the following inventory:

Table (2.2) Vowels

front central back
back

unrounded rounded
unrounded rounded unrounded rounded unrounded rounded

high
high i ui u

e o o

low

However, the places of articulation of the vowels are not as neat as the table
suggests. There are various pronunciations of the six vowels depending on their
preceding and following environments.
/\/ is realised by the long allophone [i:] when the syllable is open, as in [si:]
‘poem’. In syllables ending in -m, -p, -rj, -k, the tongue position is slightly lower and
less rounded to give the sound [i], for example, [im] 'sound' and [sip] ‘moist’. When
l\l combines with the vowel /o/ in the diphthong /io/，it becomes almost like a
rounded [y], as in iolc' [Yok] 'medicine'.

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 CHAPTER TWO: PHONOLOGY 21

Id is strictly [e] phonetically, that is, it is more an open-mid than a mid vow

especially when it stands alone as a final or when followed by a velar final conso
-ij, or -k, or is preceded by zero initials. For example, [s] 'dumb’，[ts] ‘tea’，[tse
‘clock’ and [nek] ‘meat’.
/a/ is a low central unrounded vowel but the tongue root is further retracted

become [a] when it is followed by -g, -k, -m, -p as in [pag] ‘room，，[lak] ‘strengt

[tsam] 'station' and [ap] 'box，.

/o/ is open-mid [o] as in [to]4all’. However, it is pronounced halfway betwee
close-mid [o] and an open-mid [o] when it precedes -q and -k.
/u/ is high back rounded, similar to the vowel of English food.

/ui/ is a high back unrounded vowel. Phonetically, it has two variants, one
which is pronounced with the tongue lower to come between high and mid high
become [uj】 especially when the syllable ends in -ui, as in [tui] ‘pig’ and [ts
‘book’. When a final ends in -rj, its pronunciation is [y], as in [trrj] 'return' and [kv

“to persuade’.
Although the Jieyang dialect makes no distinction between long and sho
vowels, the general tendency is that vowels or vowel clusters occurring alone ar
longer duration than those occurring in syllables closed with -p, -k, -m，-rj or
this thesis, the data are transcribed phonemically rather than phonetically.

(ii) Diphthongs & triphthongs

The inventory of diphthongs and triphthongs is listed and exemplified in t
following table:

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 22 ASPECT OF CHAOSHAN GRAMMAR

Table (2.3) Diphthongs & Triphthongs

Sound
Sound Example
Examrile Meaning
ai ai55 'mother'

au au35 'after'
‘after，

ia ia55 'grandfather'
'grandfather'
io io33 'waist'

iu iu55 'oil'
‘oil，

oi oi55 ‘shoe.
'shoe'

ou ou33
OU33 ‘black’
'black'

ua ua53 'I'
‘I，

ue ue33 'pot'
4pot'
ui ui33 'power'
iau iau33 'monster'
'monster'

uai uai33 'slanting'

‘slanting，

All of the diphthongs and triphthongs have both oral and nasal variants (see
below).

(iii) Other finals

The following shows other finals apart from single vowels, diphthongs and
triphthongs. As can be seen, some of these are nasalised vowels while some are a

combination of vowels with consonants. Still others are a combination of diphthongs

or triphthongs with consonants. A consonant alone, such as -m and -q, as noted

before, is a syllabic nasal.

nasalised finals:
e a 0 ai au 01 ou

1 iu ia io ia

ul ue ua uai

finals ending with nasals:

eq em aq am oq om

im iam iai] ioq

uq ueq uam uaq

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 CHAPTER TWO: PHONOLOGY 23

nasals as finals:

m q

checked finals:

e? e?

a? ai? au? au?

m? 0? oi?

i? ia? io? iu? 1? iu?

u? ue? ua? ua?

が
ek ak ok uk

ap op ip
iap iak iok uek uap uak

Compared with other Sinitio languages in the same region, Chaoshan has a
reduced inventory of final consonants. It has -m and -q, but not -n; -p and -k but not

-t. In place of -n, it has nasalised finals, and in place of -t, it has checked finals (-?).
Note however that nasalisation can co-occur with final glottalisation.

2.23 Tones

2.23.1 Basic tones

The Jieyang dialect has a relatively large tone inventor

variety of tonal systems in dialects in modern China, ran

categories, which have resulted from the historical proc

the four tonal categories from Middle Chinese, which

and Ru respectively (M. Chen 2000: 13). Although the
used to refer to tonal pitch contours but rather to syllab

segmental features (eg, the Ru tone consisted of syllabl

been adopted in modern Chinese linguistics to ref
distinguished by different pitch contours, such as high

respectively in modern Mandarin. At some point aft

primary tonal categories in split into two registers,
presence or absence of voicing respectively (Norman
were called Yin tones and the voiceless ones were called

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24 ASPECT OF CHAOSHAN GRAMMAR

term tonal system was created (see Norman 1986). Due to historical change, th
tone-consonant correspondence is preserved in various degrees among mode
Chinese dialects. In some Wu dialects, where voicing is contrastive amon
consonants, it is noted that the tone-consonant correspondence is still maintained (s
M. Chen 2000: 7). This is, to some extent, also the case in Chaoshan dialect as noted

in Lin Lunlun (1997a: 31). In other words, the correspondence between voiceles
consonants and the Yin register and that between the voiced consonant and the Yan
register are quite regular. Thus, described in the traditional terminology, the eigh
basic tonal categories of the Jieyang dialect are:

1 yin ping 2 yang ping

3 yin shang 4 yang shang
5 yin qu 6 yang qu
7 yin ru 8 yang ru

In modern Chinese linguistics, even though Ping,

used as labels for the tone categories, the tones ar
numerical values from 1-5. According to Y.R. Chao
average speaker's voice may be divided into four equal i
1 low, 2 half-low, 3 middle, 4 half-high and 5 high. Ad
(2.4) shows the numerical notation of the tone val
categories in the Jieyang dialect (note that for convenie
refer to tone categories. Thus, tone 1 in the Jieyang has

2 is a high 55).

Table (2.4) The Eight Basic Tones

Name
Name Pitch
Pitch Descriotion
DescriDtion Example
ExampleWords Words

1 yin ping
ym 33 mid level 33
t't'i33 ‘sticky’
'sticky'
2 yang
yang pingping 55 high level t't'i55
55
'carry
'carryby
byhand'
hand’
3 yin shang 53 high falling t'
t»:53
53
'body'
‘body，
4 yang shang 35 mid rising ti
ti35 'younger-brother'
'younger-brother'
5 yin qu 213
213 falling-rising
falling-rising
213
t't'i213 ‘shave’
'shave'

6 qu
yang qu 11 low level ti
ti11 'field'
‘field，

7 yin ru 2 low level checked t't'i?2

?2 ‘iron’
'iron'

8 yang
yang ru ru 5 high level checked ti?5 ‘plate’
'plate'

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 CHAPTER TWO: PHONOLOGY 25

2.23.2 Tone Sandhi

Tone sandhi (hereafter TS) refers to the changes of tones w

speech. This phenomenon is manifested in various degrees
Sinitic languages. Like other Min dialects, TS is pervasive
other Chaoshan dialects. For any string of two or more
occur, as illustrated in (2). However, in anterior tone sand

do not change in any environment. These are the yin pin

the yang qu tone, which is a low level 11.

(2) a. mue?5*2- tek5

do-straight
straighten
b. ua53 mue?5"2- tiau11 kai55*11 tiaq35"21 si35
lsg do- RVC CL television
I broke the TV.

In (2a), the verb compound consists of a main verb and a resul

complement. The resultative complement fe^occurs in the final positio
compound and retains its basic tone, while the verb muef in the initia
changes from its basic tone value of 5 to 2. In (2b), the subject uaS3 retains its

tone, as it is at the end of a tone group (see discussion to follow). In the pr

syllables preceding the last one change to their sandhi tones (except yang q
Tone changes as exemplified by (2) are what will be referred to as ‘ante
sandhi’ (see § 2.2.4.2.1), which is very common in the Jieyang dialect. This
is similar to what is known as a right-prominent pattern in Taiwanese Sou

(see Hsiao Yu-chau 1995:485). According to Hsiao, this pattern means th

sequence of base tones, only the right-most one remains invariant,
preceding tones surface in sandhi forms. What is important with this TS r
the issue of the scope or domain within which TS operates. For exam
suggests that in the Jieyang dialect, the Verb + RVC construction seems to
one TS domain, while (2b) indicates that there is a boundary lying bet
subject and the predicate. It is clear that sandhi domains are circumscribed
to certain rules. However, there has been little theoretical and systematic
Chaoshan TS so far, unlike some other Min dialects such as Fujian, Xia
Taiwanese Southern Min which have been the subjects of numerous and

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26 ASPECT OF CHAOSHAN GRAMMAR

studies (see, for example, Shih Chi-lin 1986; M. Chen 1987, 2000. For a
comprehensive study and bibliography, see M. Chen 2000). One of the important
findings of these studies is the relationship between syntax and tone sandhi domains
or tone groups (TG). For example, Shih Chi-lin (1986: xiii) claims that in Xiamen, a
TS domain is best defined in terms of syntactic relations while that in Fuzhou is
sensitive to prosodic and performance factors. That there is an interface between
syntax and TS in Xiamen is supported in M. Chen (1987) who also adopts a syntax
based approach and suggests that a tone group in Xiamen is a syntactic group. He
claims that the prosodic domain TG in Xiamen is circumscribed by surface syntactic
structure and is largely independent of syllable count, rhythm and tempo (p. 141).

Studies parallel to those on Taiwanese Southern Min and Xiamen have yet to be
carried out on the Chaoshan dialect to see if tone group divisions correspond to
syntactic breaks, as is characteristic of other Southern Min dialects. So far, comments

of an intuitive nature from Chaoshan linguists (see Lin Lunlun and Cheng Xiaofeng
1996: 20; Zhang Xiaoshan 1992: 203) tend to support the view that TG divisions are
related to syntax. For example, Zhang Xiaoshan (ibid: 203) notes that subject and
predicate are structurally not so closely bound, and they thus constitute two sandhi
domains, but the object of a verb must follow the verb closely and they usually form

one tone group. For example, in (3), there is a break between the topic ‘I’ and the
comment ‘buy newspaper’.

⑶ ua53/ poi5H5 po^^ua53

lsg/ buy newspaper
I bought newspapers.

Lin Lunlun and Chen Xiaofeng (1996: 20) also comment that given a string of
syllables, tone groups are divided into certain prosodic domains according to their

syntactic structure. However, they also point out that in Chaoshan dialects, TS rules

are not always very neat (p. 21). For example, the following data, (4a & b), which are
provided by the same authors (p. 22)，show that a [modifier + head noun] can be
either two TGs or one TG without any alteration in meaning. For example, the phrase
'the Chinese nation’ can be (a) or (b)

(4) a. toq33hua55 / meq55"uzok5 b. toq33hua55 me ぐ11zok5

Chinese / nation Chinese nation

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 CHAPTER TWO: PHONOLOGY 27

Lin Lunlun and Chen Xiaofeng (p.22) also give the following examples (5a-c)
(the glosses and translations are mine) to illustrate that division of TG can also
depend on what meaning is intended.

(5) a. tsui21>53ho53 / se33 tsek5"2 kai55.

best / give.birth.to CL
It is best to have (only) one child.

b. tsui2D53ho53 / se33 tsek5'2 kai55*11

best / give.birth.to CL
(You) had better have a child.

c. tsui^^ho5335 se33 / tsek5"2 kai55

best give.birth.to / one CL

the easiest birth (of all the children).

In (5a), the semantic emphasis is on ‘one child', with the head noun 'child'
omitted. The classifier kai55 thus serves as the head of the classifier phrase and is

therefore emphasised and receives the base tone. (5b) has the emphasis on 4you had
better'. Because of this, the tone of the classifier kai55 is lowered. In (5c), kai55 is
again emphasised because it is the head of the noun phrase 'the child' modified by a
relative clause ‘is the easiest birth'. This means that a relative clause and the noun

phrase it modifies form two tone groups.

2.23.2.1 Anterior tone sandhi

It was mentioned earlier that anterior TS is similar to what is called ‘right

TS, so called because the only the right-most syllable remains unchang
preceding syllables all surface in sandhi forms (except for 33 and 1
process, what is more clearly documented are the rules for a string of
known in Chinese as Miangzi qian bian diao’，literally, 'two-syllable-a
change' (see Cai Junming 1991; Lin Lunlun and Chen Xiaofeng
following set of examples, adopted from Cai Junming 1991 (pp. 3-4)，li
forms of the eight tones in anterior tone sandhi:

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28 ASPECT OF CHAOSHAN GRAMMAR

yin ping tone 33 remains invariant when preceding all other tones
hue33-hue33 hue33-nag55 hue33-huq53 hue33-ts'i35
flower flower flower basket flower powder flower
flowery flower 一 basket pollen market

hue33-poun3 hue33-kiou hue33-pua?2 hue33-be?5

flower - cloth flower - sedan flower -pot flower - honey
cloth with floral wedding sedan chair flower pot honey
pattern

(b) yang ping tone 55—> 11

hue^-sim33 hue55"11 - t'au55 hue55"u-li53 si55'u - sia り35

return - heart return - head return - ritual time - favourite
change (mind) turn back reciprocate (rituals) fashion

si55"11-si213 si55"11- sui11 hue55"n- tap2 si55"u - kek5

time- situation time • matter return - answer time - situation
situation current affairs Reply situation

(c) yin shang tone

53 —► 35 before 53,55,5

hue53"35- pa53 hue5>35-lou55 hue53"35- tsi?5

fire - stick fire - stove fire - tongue
torch stove flame

53—24 before 33,213,35,11,2

hue53"24- sua33 hue^-tsl213 hue5>24- kui35

fire- mountain fire - arrow fire - torch
volcano rocket touch

hue5324- ts'iu11 hue5324- sok2

fire - tree fire - speed
a kind of tree speedy

(d) yang shang 35 —> 21

kiarj35*21- karj33 kiar)35"21- ts ’ uaq55 hue35*21- gi53 tia り35-21- si35

build - health build - complete meet • discuss electric - vision

healthfy) (to) perfect meeting television

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 CHAPTER TWO: PHONOLOGY 29

hue35"21- po213 hue35*21 - ue11

kiag35'21- tok2 hue35"21- ha?5

meet - report meet - talk build - construct electric - vision

report dialogue construct gather (together)

(e) yin qu tone 213

213 — 53 before 53,55,5

hue^-k'uag53 hue213"53- lug55 hue^-mue?5

goods - money goods -ship goods - thing
money(for goods) freight ship product/commodity

213 — 42 before 33,213,11，2

-4
hue2"*42-—33 hue213^2-i6u hue - sek2
goods - warehouse 2-kprike2ce goods - sample goods - quality
warehouse h 8 p ue2oodl13s , sample product quality

(f) yang qu tone 11 remains invariant when preceding all other tones

ti11- t'ua33 ti11- tou55 ti11- tseg53 t^-e35

earth - drag earth - picture earth - shake earth - under
mop map earthquake underground

ti11- si213 tiu- meg11 tiu-t'i?2 ti11- gek5

earth - situation earth - face earth 一 metal earth - prison
topography ground subway hell

yin ru tone 2
2 — 5 before 53,55,5

hue?2"5- kuaq53 hue?25- kiu55 hue?2"5- ek5

blood - tube blood - ball blood - liquid
vein globule blood

2 — 3 before 33,213,35,11,2

hue?2"3 - ts'eg33 hue?2"3- tse213 hue?2"3-!'!35

blood - clear blood - debt blood - piles
plasma a debt of blood haemorrhoids

hue?2'3 • zio11 hue?2*3 - tsia?2

blood - urine blood - stain
blood urine blood stain

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 30 ASPECT OF CHAOSHAN GRAMMAR

(h) yang ru 5—2

tek5*2- teg33 tek5*2- zer)55 tek5"2- sua53

special-characteristic hostile - person special - produce special - task

characteristics enemy special produce special task

tek5"2- i213 tek5"2- hau11 tek5"2- ka?2 tek5*2- piak5

hostile - meaning special - effect straight- feeling straight - other
hostility special effect instinct unusual

The following table summarises the data given above.

Table
Table (2.5)
(2.5) Anterior
Anterior Tone
Tone Sandhi Sandhi Rules
Rules
Tone Label Citation Cphrase
fphrase final)
final! Sandhi Environment
Environment
(phrase
(phrasefinal)
final)
a. yin pin 33 33
b. yang
b. yangping
ping 55 11

c. yin shang 53 35 53,55,5

24
24 33,213,35,
33,213, 35,11,2
11,2
d. yang
d. yangshang
shang 35 21

e. yin qu 213 53 53,55,5

53, 55, 5
42 33,213,35,11,2
33,213,35,11,2
f. yang qu 11 11

g. yin ru 2 5 53,55,5
3 33,213,35,
33,213,35, 1 1,2 11,2
i. yang ru 5 2

Two-syllable anterior TS can be said to be the elementary processes of TS.

However, given a string of syllables such as A-B-C-D, how do the elementary
processes interact to produce the final output of sandhi form for the whole string?
This topic is yet to be fully explored.

2.23.2.2 Posterior tone sandhi

Apart from anterior TS as shown in Table 2.5, another common form of tone c
is the process of lowering the right most syllable of a compound, a phrase or a

which is usually called 4houzi lianxu biandiao', literally, 'posterior-syllable-

change' (see Lin Lunlun and Chen Xiaofen 1996: 22). The following table show
descended tones of the eight basic tones in the Jieyang dialect:

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 CHAPTER TWO: PHONOLOGY 31

Tabic
Table (2.6)
(2.6)
Posterior
Posterior
Tone Sandhi
Tone Sandhi
Tone Categories Basic form
form of
of Sandhi
Sandhi form
form of
of
Dhrase final syllable phrase final
phrase final syllable
syllable

yin ping 33 11
yang ping 55 11

yin shang 53 213

yang shang 35 21
yinququ
yin 213 21
yang qu
yangqu 11 11

yin ru 2 2
yangru 5 2

In Mandarin, there is tonal reduction of weakly stressed syllables, which is said

by Y.R. Chao to be unpredictable (1968: 39). This view is also shared by M. Chen
(2000), who notes that tone deletion in Mandarin belongs to the lexical stratum. In
other words, it is lexically idiosyncratic. For example, while the second syllable in
(6a) is neutralised, the same rule does not apply to (6b). This lexical idiosyncrasy is
further demonstrated in (7) (examples from M. Chen 2000: 385) (note that the
numbers in the following examples indicate tone categories rather than tone contours):

(6) a. lao3"2- hu3"0 b. lao3"2- shu:

老虎 老鼠
tiger mouse

(7) a. da4 - yi4"0 b. da4 - yi4

大意 大意
main ideas careless

In the Chaoshan dialect, irregularities have also been noted, as can be seen in the

following examples. In (8), the morpheme gue?5 ‘month’ is weakened to a low tone 2
in the (a) examples, but retains the base tone in the (b) examples. A closer
examination shows that the (a) examples are words while the (b) examples are
phrases. However, this same observation cannot be applied to (9) where the (a)
examples are also words but the last syllable zek5 ‘day’ receives the basic tone while
in the (b) examples which are phrases, the last syllable zek5 ‘day’ gets a lower tone.
Note that in (9a), although the second syllable zeks is a free morpheme, the first

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32 ASPECT OF CHAOSHAN GRAMMAR

syllable in each of the three examples is a bound morpheme which cannot be glossed
independently.

(8) a ek2 gue?5"2 zi35 gue?5'2 zua?5 gue?5"2 gag55 gue?5'2

one month two month hot month cold month
January February summer winter

(colloquial) (colloquial)

b.
tsek5*2 kai55"11 gue?5 tsi5355 kai5H1 gue?5 sio35"21 kai55"ugue?5
one CL month this CL month above CL month
one month this month last month

(9) a. kim33zek5 tsau33zek5 ma21>53zek5

today yesterday tomorrow

b. tsal55 zek5*2 au35zek5*2 tua11 tsal55 zek5"2

before day after day big before day
the day before the day after two days before

Examples in (10) provide further evidence to show the irregularity of posterior

TS. Both the (a) and (b) examples are synoptically phrases, but ni55 'year' gets
reduced in the (a) examples but not the (b) examples:

(10) a. kim33ni55 ku11 ni55 me55Uni55 zi35"21 tsap5'2 gou3521!^55

this year old year next year two ten five year
this year last year next year twenty five years

b. tsal^ni5511 au55*11 nPu tua55 U tsa"i55 Uni5H1 zP21 gou55*1^55.11

before year after year big before year two nine year
the year before the year after two years before 29th year

Although the above data show that the lowering of tones in phrase-final position

is not so much rule-regulated, there are certain syntactic elements which are common
candidates to receive a lower tone in phrase-final position. These include aspectual
markers, post verbal complements, suffixes and particles, as illustrated in (11) (see
Lin Lunlun and Chen Xiaofeng's data 1996: 22-27):

(11) a. t'ol53- lau®"213 b. t'ia^-tio?5"2

see -PERF listen -RVC
have seen /read heard

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 CHAPTER TWO: PHONOLOGY 33

c. keT^io55- hue脚 d. ua53 kai^u

Jieyang -SUF lsg POSS
of Jieyang origin my (or mine)

However, counter examples can also be found, as shown in the following where
the locative suffix in (12a) and the resultative complement meaning 'well, good' in
(12b) are both in their base tones. This further demonstrates that neutralisation of
tones is indeed unpredictable:

(12) a. tsio5>35 kom b. sia53*35- ho53

this - SUF write - RVC
here finish writing

Summary of section
This section has shown that tone sandhi is a very important and an integral part of the

sound system in Jieyang. However, TS rules are not straightforward. In existing

literature on Chaoshan phonology, two processes of TS are noted, which can be
called anterior and posterior TS. The former is characterised as having the syllables
except the right-most one surfaced in sandhi forms in a string of two or more
syllables. While the rules of TS for a string of two syllables in the Jieyang dialect are

documented (see Cai Junming 1991; Lin Lunlun and Chen Xiaofeng 1996), how
these elementary processes interact to produce the final output of a string of more
than two syllables have yet to be researched. Posterior TS is basically a process of
lowering the right most syllable. However, as in Mandarin, in many cases it is an
unpredictable process, which is basically lexically idiosyncratic.

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CHAPTER THREE MORPHOLOGY

3.1 Introduction

It is generally held that Sinitic languages are typo

word is made up of one morpheme. However, as Tsa
isolating label suits Classical Chinese better tha
Classical Chinese, ‘most Chinese characters corresp
both morphemes and words', whereas in modern S
characters correspond to morphemes only，(p. 286
two or more morphemes. In fact, the trend towards

is corroborated by findings of a study conducted

among the first 9000 most productive or frequently u

quarter is monosyllabic (Su Xinchun 1995: 160). Th

words in modern Sinitic languages are achieved thro
as reduplication, affixation and compounding, wit
productive. Inflectional morphological processes, how
Sinitic languages.
Being one of the most conservative and oldest
preserves more monosyllabic words than its norther
However, like other modern Sinitic languages, it als
well as reduplication and, to a lesser extent, affixation

In this chapter, I describe affixation, reduplicat

Jieyang dialect, making references to Sinitic langua
particular wherever necessary. Due to the limitation
subsection are far from exhaustive. They only serve to

3.2 Affixation

Affixation refers to the process of placing an affix

middle of a stem morpheme. These processes are t
infixing respectively. An affix is defined as 4A bo
occur attached to a word or a stem' (Trask 1993: 11)

This definition applies to Sinitic languages to a ce

languages, pure affixes are usually bound and sem
which serve either mcnphological or grammatical

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 CHAPTER THREE: MORPHOLOGY 35

211; Li and Thompson 1981: 36; Chen Guanglei 1994: 22). In Mandarin, for ex
the suffixes -zl and -er are compulsory second syllables in many multisyllabic w
According to Li and Thompson (1981:44)，these suffixes serve as part of the eff
Mandarin to create disyllabic words as a response to the problem of ‘ma
homophony' due to the loss of many final consonants and tonal distinctions in
course of the language's development. The prefix chu- in Mandarin, on the
hand, serves grammatical functions. It is used with cardinal numbers to create o

numbers. Pure affixes such as this are very limited in number in Sinitic languages

Affixation in Sinitic languages, however, usually represents a broader concep

include morphemes which are functionally more versatile, that is, they can be u

independent forms but are also productive in forming new words with
morphemes. A good example from Mandarin is the word hao which means ‘good
is used to derive adjectives from verbs, as in haochi (‘good-eat = delicious，)，ha
(‘good-see = pretty'), haoydng ('good-use = useful’)，haowanr ('good-play = f
etc. As can be seen, the lexical meaning of hao is still apparent in the words it

to form. Morphemes such as hao are categorised as ‘leicizhui’ (or ‘quasi affixe
Chen Guanglei (1994: 23) because they have not entirely lost their lexical mean
nor have they gained the status of grammatical morphemes.

According to Y. R. Chao (1968), there is also a group of affixes which are c

‘modem’ affixes because their emergence is a result of translating foreign a
(p.214). For example, in (1) below, the morpheme xue means ‘study’ but it has
used to serve as a suffix, denoting a field of study while the word jia means ‘fa
or ‘home’ but as a suffix, it is used to indicate a certain profession:

(1) a. -xue ‘•ology’

yuyln (‘pronunciation’） + xu る 'phonology'
d6ngwu (‘animal’） + xu6 ‘zoology’

b. -jia '-ist, -or, -er’

hua (‘paint，） jia ‘artist’

jiaoyu (‘education’） jia 'educator'

In the Jieyang dialect, affixation is used to a lesser extent than Mandarin. This is
because the Jieyang dialect is a phonetically more conservative dialect where
monosyllabism is better preserved, as noted in Liu Zhenfa and Xu Huiling (2002).

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36 ASPECT OF CHAOSHAN GRAMMAR

The following lists are illustrative: the Mandarin equivalents of the Jieyang dialect
monosyllabic words either have the suffix -zl or -tou:

Jievane Mandarin

‘stomach’ tou55 duzi

‘nose. plu bizi

‘chair， I53 yizi

‘table’ ts'uir)55 zhuozi

‘house’ ts'u213 fSngzi

‘brush’ sue?2 shuazi

‘tongue’ tsi?5 sh 谷 tou

‘stone’ tsiok5 shi'tou

'yam' ou11 yiitou

‘hammar’ t'ui55 chuilzi

‘wood， ts'a55 mutou

Adopting similar categorisation of affixes in Mandarin, the Jieyang dialect also

has pure affixes, that is, those which are bound morphemes and which serve syntactic

functions, as well as the so called ‘quasi’ affixes, to use Chen Guanglei's term
(1994:.20). Some of these may be cognate with their Mandarin counterparts but may
show different characteristics in the process of affixation.

An important point worth noting is that due to tone sandhi, either anterior or
posterior tone sandhi (cf Chapter 2), affixes may or may not always be destressed or

in neutral tone in the Jieyang dialect. This differs from Mandarin where affixes are

usually phonetically weaker in stress, pronounced shorter in syllable length, and with

attenuated tones. In the following sections, I list and discuss common affixes in the
Jieyang dialect, leaving out the ‘modern’ affixes which can be freely borrowed from
Mandarin (see Y. R. Chao 1968 and Chen Guanglei 1994 for detailed discussion on
these affixes in Mandarin).

3.2.1 Prefixes
3.2.1.1 a33

This is a bound morpheme which is devoid of any le

before names, or kinship terms, either ascending o
indicating the ranking of siblings in a family. The use of

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 CHAPTER THREE: MORPHOLOGY 37

and denotes familiarity and endearment towards the addressee. Note that kinsh
terms prefixed with a33- can be used in direct address as well as in third perso
reference.

a33 - ti35 'younger brother' (can also be used to address a little boy)
a33 - ma53 'grandmother'
a33 - sa33 ‘the third child in the family'
a33- k'iag35 familiar form of addressing someone by the name ofK'iar)

3.2.1.2 /aw35

This prefix is derived from 汪 free morpheme, meaning ‘old’. It is o

of surnames as a form of address by the speaker who considers

younger than the addressee, a usage very similar to Mandarin.
used in the Jieyang dialect with kinship terms to show respect,
relationship:

lau35"21 - tio33 (‘Zhang’） ‘Mr Zhang，

lau35'21 - pe?5"2 (‘uncle’） ‘old uncle' (used to address an older male person)
lau35'21- hia33 (‘elder.brother’） 'old brother' (used to address a male pal)
lau35'21 - ko33ti35 (‘brothers’） ‘old brother’ (only used to describe a pal)

3.2.1.3 ts'iu33
This is a bound morpheme which is added to the numerals o
first ten days of a lunar month. It is to be noted that for t
eleventh day to the last day of a lunar month, this suffix is

simply uses the cardinal number to indicate the order of the da

(2) a. loり55"11 lek5 ek2 gue11 ts'iu33- ek2

agricultural calendar one month PREF -one
the first day of the first month of the lunar calendar

b. log55*11 lek5 ek2 gue11 tsap52 ek2

agricultural calendar one month ten one
the eleventh day of the first month of the lunar calendar.

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38 ASPECT OF CHAOSHAN GRAMMAR

3.2.1.4 tor5

This is a bound morpheme which is added to numerals

glossed as ORD in the examples below:

toi3521 ek2 toi35"21 sa33 toi3521 zi3521 tsap5

ORD one Ord three ORD two ten

first third twentieth

3.2.1.5 ho53
This morpheme can be a free lexical word meaning ‘good
combining with verbs or nouns to form adjectives, simi
both form and function, but as can be seen from group
morpheme in the Jieyang dialect can be applied to a wide
Mandarin. As mentioned earlier, this type of affix still ret
the words it is attached to:

(a) Similar to Mandarin

Mandarin
Jieyang

'good-eat' ‘tasty, delicious’ h^o - chl ho53"35- tsia?5

‘good-see' 'interesting, pretty’ (people, things) h§o- kan ho掷ィ，01»

4 good-play' 'interesting, worth visiting' (places) hSo - wanr ho5H5-t'e?2to55

‘good-laugh， 'amusing, funny' hSo - xiao ho^-tsMo213

(b) Jieyang
ho 掷-sio213: ‘good- cherish 'cute, likeable’ (people)
ho53"35- kia53 'good -son， 'virtuous, well behaved'
ho5H5-be53 ‘good-horse’ ‘brave'

3.2.1.6 脚53

This portmanteau form, fused with the negativ

morpheme ho53 (‘good’）serves as a negator by i
opposite in meaning and in function of ho切，as can be

mo53"35- tsia?5 ‘not.good-eat’ ‘unpalatable’

mo53"35- t'ol53 ‘not.good-see’ ‘uninteresting’，‘ung
mo53"35- t'iai) 'not.good-listen' 'cacophonous'

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 CHAPTER THREE: MORPHOLOGY 39

mo5>35- t'e?2t'o35 'not.good-play' ‘uninteresting’ (places)

mo5H5- sio53 'not.good-cherish' ‘unlikable’ (children)

However, not every form prefixed with ho1、- can have a corresponding negative

term with mo53-. For example, ho^35- is'ia05 (‘flinny’）is not *mo^36-is,iai5.
Furthermore, highly idiomatic expressions such ho猫-kid53 (good-son = ‘virtuous’）
and ho^5- be^ (good-horse = ‘brave’）do not have their negatives with mo53- either:

* mo5>35.乜”0213 ‘not.good-laugh， 'not amusing'

* mo5>35- be53 ‘not.good-horse’ ‘not-brave’
* mo5>35- kia53 ‘not.good-son’ ‘badly-behaved，

Note that although in Mandarin the equivalent of mo53 is bu hao, as in bu hao

chi (‘not-good-eat’ = ‘unpalatable’)，it also uses another prefix nan- which means
‘hard to’ as functional variant. However, the equivalent of nan chi is impossible in

the Jieyang dialect:

Mandarin Jieyang

hSo - chi ho5>35- tsia?5 ‘delicious’

nan - chi *o?2- tsia?5 'unpalatable，

3.2.1.7 sio 公•
A very archaic morpheme, sio^- is a bound morpheme and the
j/fli/33- which is cognate with the reciprocal adverb xiang- (‘mu

Chinese. This bound morpheme is used with verbs to create a

what Lien Chin-fa calls explicit and implicit reciprocity (see
Verbs of explicit reciprocity denote involvement of action by tw
mutually affected as a result of the action and are thus bi-di
implicit reciprocity also involve two participants, semantically
patient, but only the patient is affected as a result of the action by

verb sio^-hu25 (‘to help’）for instance, it is the helper, i.e., the ag

an act which benefits the receiver of the act. What Lien calls

could equally be termed the non-reflexive use of words like xian

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40 ASPECT OF CHAOSHAN GRAMMAR

private communication, Dec. 2004).While most Sinitic dialects also make use
cognates of xiang- in forming reciprocal verb phrases, there has been a gradual shi
from explicit through transitional to implicit reciprocity, while the Min dialects st
retain the explicit reciprocal construction (Lien Chinfa 1994: 281). Data from th
Jieyang dialect certainly supports this observation, as can be seen below wher
usages exemplifying explicit reciprocity are far more common than those wit
implicit reciprocity:

(i) with explicit reciprocity:

‘scold’ sio33-meu 'argue with each other’

‘beat’ sio33-p'a?2 'fight against each other'

‘greet， sio^-tsioT^muq11 ‘greet each other，

'share' sio^kar)11 'share with somebody'

‘kill’ sio33-t'ai35 4 be at war'

‘interact’ sio33-ts'ap2 ‘be friends with somebody’

‘be friendly with sio33-t'iuta?5 ‘be friendly with each other’

(ii) with implicit reciprocity:

‘help， sio33-hu35 ‘help’

‘cheat (in price)' sio33-ts'ua?2'cheat somebody (in price)'
‘offer /give way to’ sio33-ziag35 'invite/let the other person to go first’
‘inform’ sio33-t'au213 'inform' (somebody of something)

In addition to the colloquial form sio恐-，a few verbs of explicit reciprocity are
formed with the formal form siarf33-, which comes from the literary stratum:

ho53 ‘good’： siag33-ho53 ‘be in good terms with each other'

mo53 ‘not.good’： siag33-mo53 ‘not on speaking terms with each other'

keg213 ‘respect’： siar)33-keq213 4be respectful'

3.2.1.8 Ituarf^
This bound morpheme means ‘foreign’ and it is used with nouns to de
objects that are of foreign origin:

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 CHAPTER THREE: MORPHOLOGY 41

(i) denoting people

huar)33-kia53 (‘child’) 'foreigner' (usually refer to younger people)

huar)33-p'ua55 (‘woman’） ‘foreign women’

huaり33-k'e?2 (‘guest’） ‘visiting overseas Chinese’

(ii) denoting objects

huarj33-ts'ia33 (‘machine’) ‘sewing machine'

hua り33-p'oi33 (‘letter’） ‘letters or remittance from relatives residing overseas’

(liij denoting plants and animals

hua り33-tsui55 (‘tuber’） ‘sweet potato， huag33-kio55 (‘aubergine,) ‘tomato’
huaり33-kue33 (‘melon’） ‘pumpkin’ huag33-koi33 (‘chicken’） ‘turkey’

3.2.1.9 ii35- & bcf5

These two morphemes are the affirmative and negative of the existentia
verbs respectively (note that bo55 is a fused form, see chapter 9 on nega
can be used in deriving adjectives from nouns. The following illustrate th
formed by m35- and their antonyms formed by bo55-:

with with bo55

u^-tsl55 ‘rich’ u^-tsl55 4poor'
have-money not.have-money

u35-21_ si2i3 'powerful' 'powerless'

have-power not.have-power

u^-ia^-tsia?2 vtrue' bo55"11- ia5>35-tsia?2 ‘untrue’

have-shadow-trace' not.have-shadow-trace

‘polite’ 4rude'
u^-k'uag^t'au213 bo^-k'uarj^t'au213
have-manner nothave-manner

‘glorious， ‘shameful’
u35"21- liarj53 bo55"11- liar)53
have-face honorable， not.have-face

Although the above examples seem quite symmetrical, the negative form bo55- is

more productive than its affirmative form i/35- in deriving adjectives from nouns. This

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 42 ASPECT OF CHAOSHAN GRAMMAR

means that some negative adjectives formed with わ。55- do not have pos
counterparts formed with uM-. In other words, forms with bo55- have be
idiomatic expressions:

bo55*11- ma?5 ‘disrespectful’

not.have-eye

bo55"u-ma?5'2se?5 'slow, dump' * u35"21- maT^se?5

not.have - insight

bo^-tuirj^ou35 ‘simple minded’ * り5511tou35

not.have-gut

bo^-t'au^-ts'er)55 ‘listless， * u^-t'au^-ts'erj55

not.have - head-spirit

On the other hand, some words formed with u35- can also be said to be idiomatic

expressions in the sense that the opposite with boM- is not found. For example,

u35*21- se り33hug〗1 ‘pregnant’ *bo55"u- seg33hugu

3.2.2 Suffixes

Compared with prefixes, the morphemes which ca

number in the Jieyang dialect. They include gra

markers -iiau53, -kue213, -tse?2 (and its allomorph

Perfective, the Experiential and the Delimitative

These verbal suffixes will be discussed separately i
‘modern’ suffixes from Mandarin which can be fr
pointed out earlier. For example,

(i) -hua ‘-ize，-fy’

Mandarin Jievang

'modern' xiandai - hua hegntou- hue11 'modernize'

'industry' gongye - hua kag^giap5*2- hue11 ‘industrialize’
“beauty’ m5i - hua mui5>35- hue11 'beautify'

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 CHAPTER THREE: MORPHOLOGY 43

(ii) -xing 4-ity, -ness'

Mandarin Jievang

‘necessary’ bir^n - xing pek2ziag

‘serious’ y^nzh6ng - xin rjiam^toq
In the following section, I list and discus
than the aforementioned types.

3.2.2.1 -it/a53

This is an extremely common suffix among Southern Min dialect

dating back to Middle Chinese (AD 25 -907), this morpheme
derived from the lexical word ‘son’ (Lien Chinfa 1998: 466; Lin
This suffix is referred to as the diminutive suffix in the literatu
meaning of ‘smallness’ can be inferred only in some words attached w

(i) diminutive
In this group, although the original meaning of ‘son’ is lost, the meaning of ‘smal
the most obvious:

nou55- 'child' nou5M1- kia53‘child(ren)’

♦■ゥ 33^^1,33
• men ‘boy’
ta33pou33- kia53
tsui33nio55 ‘women’
tsiu33nio55"u- W
kia53

koi33 ‘chicken’ koi33- kia53 ‘chick(s)’

ua53 ‘bowl， ua5W5- kia53 ‘small bowl’

I53 ‘chair’ 15>35- kia53 ‘stool’

(ii) used with compound kinship terms

aq^-tsia53"35 4husband-wife' aq33-tsia5>35- kia53 ‘husband and wife’

tse5>35-muen 'elder-younger sister’ tse^-mue11- kia53 ‘sisters’
hia33-ti55"u ‘elder-younger brother’ hia33-ti55'u- kia53 ‘brothers’

The difference between a compound kinship term and one suffixed with -kia33 as

shown in group (ii) is that the former is a generic term but the latter is used to
indicate the meaning of'between' or ‘among’ the people denoted in the kinship term.

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44 ASPECT OF CHAOSHAN GRAMMAR

For example, if one wants to express ‘The sisters always fight with one another’，one
should use ts^5- mue11- ki护 rather than ts^5- as shown below:

(3) i^nag55*11 tse^mue11 *(-kia53) tiam35

sio33meu

3pl elder-young sister * (-SUF) always argue

(iii) affective (usually with derogative meaning)

ts'a?5 ‘thief ts'a?52-kia53 'thief, ‘pickpocket,

p'a?2-kar)33 ‘to labour' psa?2-kag33-kia 'labourers'

t'i^-tau^-kia53
t'i21>53-tau55*11 ‘to shave hair' ‘barbers’

k'iau33 ‘poor’ k'iau33-kia53 'poor people'

(iv) with classifiers

The suffix -Aria53 can also be used with a classifier and the expression [CL + kia53]
denotes ‘small in quantity' and ‘short in duration or length', which is similar to the
diminutive meaning in (i) above:

tse?5"2 ti11 ‘one-bit’ tse?5"2 ti11- kia53 ‘little bit’

tse?5'2 ts'o?2 ‘one-some’ se?5'2 ts'o?2- kia53 ‘a few,

no35*21 ko213 ‘two- piece’ no35"21 ko213"53- kia53 ‘two little pieces'

tse?5"2 k'ug213 ‘a while’ tseT^k'ug213"53- kia53 ‘a little while'

It was noted at the beginning of this section that Mandarin uses -zf, derived from

the lexical word ‘son’，as a very productive and yet meaningless suffix in forming

disyllabic nouns such asyizi ('chair'), shuzi (‘comb’) and jingzi (‘mirror，). This is not
the situation with -kia53 which also derives from the word meaning ‘son,. Firstly,
kia33 is not used as widely as -zi in Mandarin in forming multisyllabic words; and
secondly, it is not semantically very ‘empty’. In all of the uses listed above, it can be
said that the basic meaning of ‘small’，derived from ‘son’，is still apparent in the
multisyllabic words it helps to form. Even in group (iii), the use of -kiSP in signaling
‘dismissive’ and ‘downgrading’ emotive meanings can be said to be an extension of
•smallness’ and ‘insignificance，.

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 CHAPTER THREE: MORPHOLOGY 45

3.2.2.2 -hue53

Although Sinitic languages do not have obligatory marking for di

there are morphemes which can be used with human nouns to e

example, -men in Mandarin can be used with pronouns as well as

women (‘I + men = we’)，mmen (‘yousg + men = youpi’) and Id

men = teachers'). In the Jieyang dialect dialect, there is no exact
because plural pronouns are not formed from suffixing (cf Ch
nouns are not morphologically marked either. There is, howev
/ri/e53, which is used with common human nouns to refer to a cer

This usage is only employed when one wants to imply a contrast

groups of people: for example, 4the old’ vs ‘the young' or
children’：

'adult，
tua11- nag55"11 tua11- nag55*11- hue53"213 ‘the adults'

'children'
nou3521- kia53 nou^-kia^hue53'213 'the children，

‘old people’
lau35"21- nag55 lau35"21- naq^-hue53*213 ‘the old’

'young
hau35"21- se33 (people). hau35"21- se33- hue53"213 4the young'

According to Lin Lunlun (1996: 220)，the suffix -hue53 is cognate with -hud in
Mandarin which can be (i) a collective classifier meaning ‘group’ (of people) as in タ2
hud ren (‘a group of people’)，and (ii) as a lexical word meaning 'partner, mate,
company' in compound words such as dahuo (‘everybody’），hudban (‘mate’）and
tonghud (‘accomplice’）. Even though -hue53 cannot be used in the same ways as -hud
in Mandarin, the basic meaning of ‘a group of (people)' is still obvious in the
compounds it helps to form.

3.2.2.3 -t'au55

This suffix is cognate with tou in Mandarin and both can fun
words meaning ‘head’ or can be attached to other morphemes as
as mentioned earlier, -tou in Mandarin is one of the two most p

forming disyllabic words such as shitou ('stone'), mdntou (

chutou (‘hoe’）. In many of the words it helps to form，-tou is dev

in the Jieyang dialect, -i'au55 is not as productive as -tou and its u

as in Mandarin. It is mainly used with time words to denote phrase

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46 ASPECT OF CHAOSHAN GRAMMAR

tsa5>35seg55 ‘morning’ sa53*35seq55"11-!'au55 4in the early mornings'

zeT^tau213 ‘noon’ : ze?5"2tau21>53- t'au55 4at noon times'
e^'^kua213 ‘afternoon, e^kua213^3 -t'au ‘in the afternoons，

As can be seen, time words with the suffix ィ’an55 refer to general time periods
rather than specific time. The contrast is illustrated below:

(4) a. A: lui53 tiutiarj33si55*u kai55U ua5W5 p'a?2

tiag^ue11?
2sg when to lsg make telephone
When are you going to call me?

B: me^am213 ne11

evening PRT
This evening.

b. A: lxu53 me^am21353-^au55 to33 si35'21 tso213*53

sui" me?2
2sg evening - SUF all COP do what matter

What do you usually do in the evenings?

B: to33 si35*21 t'aT^tsui33 a33 si35'21 t'oi5355 tiaq^si35

all COP study DIS COP watch TV
Either study or watch TV.

3.2.2.4 -kd^

This is a bound morpheme and is used with the interr

demonstrative pronouns ‘this’ and ‘that’ to create thr

'where', ‘here’ and 'there' (see below). As common n

proper names are not locative words, they cannot
example, while it is correct to say in English ‘I am goi

it is ungrammatical to say the same things in the Jie

which is not a place word must be attached the suf
locative expression, as can be seen from the examples

ti11 ‘which’ 一 ti11- ko213 ‘where，

tsi53 ‘this’ —■ tsi53"35- ko213 ‘here’
hui53 ‘that’ — hui5W5- ko213 ‘there’

i33na り55*11 ‘they’ — i33nag55"u- ko213"53 ‘their place’

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 CHAPTER THREE: MORPHOLOGY 47

ts'u21>53teg53 'roof —- ts'^^teq53- ko21>53 4on the roof

lau21>53sui33 ‘teacher’ — lau21>53sui33- ko213"53 ‘the teacher's office or p

3.2.2.4 -kou恐 & -he奴55

Sinitic languages in the main exhibit prenominal NP modification, that is, attributives

preceding the head noun. However, various Southern and Southwestern dialects also
allow post-nominal modification, that is, head before the modifier. The Jieyang
dialect is one of these which exhibit both prenominal and post-nominal modification.
Post-nominal modification is mainly reflected in gender suffixes with animal terms

(see also NN noun compounds with post nominal modification in § 3.4.1).-如53,

kou^ and -herj55 are three suffixes for indicating gender of animals, with -bo53
indicating female and kou^ male animals. However, for poultry, it is -herj^ for the
male gender, with the exception for the word ‘rooster’ koi55 afj55, which uses the word

arj55 ‘husband’ to indicate the male gender. The following lists some of the animal

terms with the gender suffixes:

animal term + kou^ animal term + bo53

gu55 'bull’ gu^kou33 ‘cow， gu55"ubo53

be53 ‘horse， be^kou33 'mare' be55Ubo53
io55 ‘sheep， io^kou33 ‘ewe， i655-ubo53

3.3 Reduplication
Reduplication is defined as a morphological process in which ‘s
materials is repeated ...for lexical or grammatical purposes' (Tr
other words，reduplication of any form will result in either sem

change. In the Jieyang dialect, for example, there is a group of a

result of reduplicating one single noun, while a repetition of a

serve as an adverb, as shown below:

(5) a tsui5>35 tsui53 — 'watery' b. maq11 ma

water water slow slow

Like other Sinitic languages, in the Jiey

and the elements which can undergo redupli

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48 ASPECT OF CHAOSHAN GRAMMAR

For example, with a verb and a resultative complement (RVC) construction, only th

verb is repeated and not the RVC, resulting in a [VV + RVC] form (see § 3.3.2.3
Words that can participate in reduplication can be different parts of speech: verbs
adjectives, nouns, classifiers as well as kinship terms. Reduplication of onomatopoe
is also common. Reduplication also takes a variety of forms which, in a way, ar
arbitrary or idiosyncratic. For example, while a single syllabic adjective in the
Jieyang dialect usually takes the AA form (‘A’ stands for a monosyllabic adjective)
in some Southern Min dialects, such as Xiamen, it can take AAA form, whic
denotes strong degree. Another good example concerns a disyllabic adjective. While
some disyllabic adjectives take A ABB form (where ‘AB’ stands for a disyllabic
adjective), some can only be reduplicated in ABAB form. Thus, there are no straigh
formal rules as to what forms should a reduplication take.

3.3.1 Reduplication of adjectives

33.1.1 Forms

Reduplication of adjectives can take the AA, A丨

where ‘A’ stands for a monosyllabic adjective or
word; ‘AB’ for a disyllabic word and ‘ABC’ fo
category which is represented as AxAx where 4
any meaning.

AA

The AA form is the most productive in the sense that most monosyllabic adjectives
can be repeated. The reduplication of a monosyllabic adjective intensifies the
meaning of the adjective and expresses vivification. In terms of tone change, just like
a disyllabic word or phrase, the firs syllable of a reduplicated form changes its basic
tone while the second one retains its citation tone:

sio33 ‘hot, sio33- sio33 ‘quite hot，

pe?5 ‘white， pe?5"2- pe?5 ‘quite white,

gaq5: ‘cold， gar)55"u- gar)55 ‘quite cold’

ku?5 ‘slippery’ ku?52- ku?5 'quite slippery'
kuig
,33
‘shine’ kujg33- kiur)33 'quite shiny'

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 CHAPTER THREE: MORPHOLOGY 49

Sometimes, an AA reduplicated adjective can become an adverb, as show

below and exemplified in (6) and (7). It seems that the adjectives which can
reduplicated to form an adverb tend to be those which describe manners, such
‘quick’ and ‘slow’； as well as time, such as ‘early’ and ‘late’：

me53 ‘quick’ —► me53"35- me53 ‘quickly，

mag11 ‘slow， — mag11- mag11 ‘slowly，
am213 4 dark/late' —► am213*53- am213 ‘quite dark / late’
za?2 'early' — za?2'5 - za?2 ‘quite ‘early’，

(6) lui53 *(magu)- mag11 tsiak5

2sg .(slow)- slow eat
Eat slowly. [It is not a command but a polite expression said to people who are
still eating if you finish your meal first]

(7) i53 *(am21>53)- am213 tsia21>53 lai55

3sg *(dark) \- dark then come
He came quite late.

Adverbs derived in this way are usually adverbs of manner and as s

only appear right before the VP, as shown above. Just like reduplicati
adjective for vivification purposes, an AA adverb tends to intensify the m

41A1A2A2
This form is a result of reduplication of two monosyllabic adjectives, represented as
A】and A2 respectively. This type of reduplication is not at all productive, which is
reflected in the paucity of examples. The A1A1A2A2 compound denotes a meaning
different from either A】 or A2 which participate in the reduplication:

pui55 (‘fat’）+ pe?5 (‘white’） -> pui55"u- pui55'11- pe?5'2- pe?5 ‘rather chubby'
hue33 (‘flowery’）+ le?5 (4green') -> hue33- hue33- le?5"2- le?5 'very colourful'

ABAB

This form represents repetition of an entire disyllabic word consisting of two

independent and meaningful morphemes. This type of disyllabic words usually
reflect the combination of the characteristics of each constituent, as shown in the first

three examples below. In some cases, constituent A and constituent B are

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50 ASPECT OF CHAOSHAN GRAMMAR

synonymous, and therefore, the combined form of AB reflects one intensifie

meaning, as in the last two examples below:

pui55"u- nu?2 pui55-11- nu?2- pui5H1- nu?2 'quite plump, chubby' (children)
fat- tender
ou33- s'ou33 ou33- ts'ou33- ou33- ts'ou33 'very dark and stout’
dark 一 stout

ou33- am213 ou33- am213"53- ou33- am213 'very dark (as in lighting)'
black - dark

ziu55"11- nuig53 ziu55"11- nuiり53- ziu55"11- nuiq53 'very soft’，’lithe'

supple - soft

AABB

This form is a result of reduplicating each morpheme of a disyllabic adjective. It is

common with disyllabic adjectives whose meanings may not be a combination of
each of the syllable but may be related to the meanings of one of the components. In
other words, this group of disyllabic words is more idiomatic in meanings. This kind
of reduplication is similar to the one above in that a similar meaning of ‘quite AB’ or
‘rather AB’ is involved:

si21H3-tsia213 ‘square’ sj21>53_sj21>53.ts^21>53.ts^21 ‘quite neat’ (eg.

four • upright hand writing)

si21>53-tek5 'straight' si21>53.si21>53.tek5.tek5 ‘satisfactory’ (in

four- straight handling a matter

au^-zia?5 ‘bustling’ ou33- am213"53- ou33- am213 4 very dark (as in

noisy - crowded

ABCABC

The base form ABC represents a tri-syllabic phrase whose internal structure takes the

form of ‘modifier + head’ with AB as the modifier and C as the head. Although ABC
consists of two nouns, the whole form is used as an adjective when reduplicated:

lau5H5sui33 ('teacher') + io11 ('style, look') -* 'rather like a teacher'

ha?5'2seg33 (‘student’）+ ti35 (4younger-brother') — 'rather like a freshman'
nou33kia5>35 (‘child’） + heq55 (‘shape，form’） -> rather like a child'

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 CHAPTER THREE: MORPHOLOGY 51

(in behavior)
p'ua^^io21353 (‘sick’）+ heg55 (‘shape，form’） — 'rather like a sick
person'

The trisyllabic adjectives like the above do not occur alone, but are used in
reduplication. However, whether this type of reduplication is productive or not
depends on how freely one can form trisyllabic adjectives like those above. It seems
that the morpheme roots -ion (‘style’，‘look’）and -keff55 (‘shape，，‘form’）are more

productive in combining with other nouns denoting a certain profession or certain

types of people. The reduplicated forms render a vivid semantic description of the
‘perceived’ mannerism or behaviours pertaining to a certain profession, look or
appearance of a certain type of people. They can only be used predicatively. For
example:

(8) i t'o15>35 -tio?5 kaij^pou^21- io11 kag^pou3521- i5u

3sg look- RVC official - look official -look
He looks very much like an official.

(9) qia33 pa55 huaij^k'e?2 -io11 huaij^k'e?2 -io11

2sggen father foreign-guest-style foreign-guest-style
Your dad looks like an oversea Chinese, [implying he dresses differently from
mainlanders]

AxAx

This is a very interesting category, which is perh叩s a characteristically Chaoshan

feature. In this form, ‘A’ stands for a monosyllabic adjective and ‘X’ a morpheme
devoid of any concrete meaning:

I35 (‘round’） I35.21- lau33-!3521- lau33 “quite round'

p'ia?2 (‘remote’） p'ia?2*3- sia?2- p'ia?2*3- sia?2 ‘quite remote, out-of-the-way'

nuir)53 (‘soft’） nuirj^-lo^-nui^-lo55 'quite soft' (women's body)

ge35 ('stiff) rje35"21- liau^-ge35"21- liau55 'very stiff (a thin, stiff person)

tiam55 (‘sweet，） tiam55*11- ts'i?5"2- tiam55*u- ts'i?5 ‘sweetish，

ts'au213 (‘smelly’） ts'au213"53- ha33- ts'au213"53- ha33 ‘quite smelly'

Note that 4 Ax' does not exist alone and thus AxAx forms can be considered

idiomatic expressions because adjectives cannot be formed freely in this way. In

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52 ASPECT OF CHAOSHAN GRAMMAR

other words, the adjectives in the above expressions cannot be replaced by ot

adjectives. Take the first expression for instance: it is ill-formed to have ano
adjective such as tek5 (‘straight’）to go with lau^:

tek52-(‘straight’）* tek5'2-lau33- tek52-lau33: ‘quite straight'

3.3.1.2 Semantic and syntactic features of reduplicated forms

The examples given so far show that semantically, reduplication of adjective
various forms discussed above denotes vivification. Syntactically, reduplic
adjectives can differ from the original forms in their linguistic environments an

their ftinctions. For example, reduplicated forms cannot be modified by a de

adverbial or occur in a comparative construction, as illustrated in (10a) and (1
One explanation for this is that a reduplicated adjective is considered to have so
degree of intensification or is a degree expression in itself (R.し Cheng 19
Another possibility is that the resulting forms are not gradient concepts:

(10) *a. kim33zek5 ho?2 gag55"11 gag5!

today very cold cold
Today is rather cold.

b. kim33zek5 ho?2 gar)55"11

today very cold

(11) *a. tsi53 kai55*11 ua213 pi53"35 htu53 kai55U "i5511-lau3

this CL bowl CM that CL rather-round
This bowl is more round than that one.

b. tsi53 kai55"11 ua213 pi5H5 htu53 kai55"11 I55

this CL bowl CM that CL round
This bowl is more round than that one.

In terms of syntactic roles, the reduplicated adjec

in (12a); attributive modifiers of nouns, as in (13a);
(14a), or verbal complements, as in (15a). Some of
to the non-reduplicated forms, as indicated in the ‘b
when not reduplicated, an adjective serving as a pre
degree adverb such as ‘very，. (12c) is illustrative:

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 CHAPTER THREE: MORPHOLOGY 53

tiau55"u mua55Uhui55 ku?5"2-ku?5

CL eel slippery-slippery
The eel is very slippery to the touch.

b. tiau55*n mua^hui55 ku?5 kMo?52-tio?5 kia53 si53

CL eel slippery, take - RVC fear dead
The eel is very slippery to the touch and lam scared of holding i

tiau55"11 mua^hui55 ho?2 ku?5

CL eel very slippery
The eel is very slippery to the touch.

(13) a. hui5H5 kai55"11 pui55'u-nu?2-pui55"11-nu?2 kai55"

that CL chubby LW child
That chubby little baby.

* b. hui5335 kai55"u pui^-nu?2 kai55"u n

that CL chubby LW child

(14) a. tso2^3 lrn 掷 tai 班1-hua^-tai 節-huag33 k'm2

do 2sg poised go see 3sg
You should just go and meet her in a poi

*b tso2出3 lui53"35 tai 抛-huag33 k'u

do 2sg poised go see 3sg

(15) a. i33 ko2 放 zi11 sia5进 lai55 si^-si^-tsia^-tsia213

3sg CL word write MAN straight
His handwriting is quite nice.

* b. i33 ko213"53 zi11 sia5W5 lai55 si^^-si21353

3sg CL word write MAN straight

33.2 Reduplication of measure words, classifiers & nouns

In this section, I will use the letter ‘N’ to symbolize the syllables of these groups of
words. 4N' stands for a monosyllabic noun, measure word or a classifier, and

stands for a disyllabic word. Reduplication of these classes of words in the Jieyang
dialect can take the forms ofNN, NiNiN2N2. NiN2 NjN2 andNiNiN2.

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54 ASPECT OF CHAOSHAN GRAMMAR

3.3.2.1 Reduplication of measure words/classifiers

Reduplication of measure words and classifiers takes the NN form and denotes ‘every
+ MW/CL', similar to Mandarin and many other Sinitic languages:

‘day’ zek5 zek5"2- zek5 'everyday'

‘piece’ ko213 ko21^53- ko213 'every piece’

Syntactically, the reduplicated form cannot be used alone but must function as a
syntactic element in the sentence. The position of the reduplicated form is different

from the monosyllabic or disyllabic forms before reduplication: the reduplicated form

can only appear as the topic of the sentence, as in (16a), and never as the object of a
verb in a normal post-verbal position, as illustrated in (16b). In a normal post-verbal

position, one can use the quantifier ‘every’ before the numeral phrase [one + CL +
(N)], as in (16c):

(16) io11 iou tsiak^mue?5 to33 tsio213"53 kui213

kind kin food all so expensive
Every kind of food is so expensive.

:b. i33 hi^hua33 io11 io11 tsiakwmue?5

3sg like kind kind food
She likes every kind of food.

i33 hi^hua33 mue5335 io11 tsiak^mue?5

3sg like every kind food
She likes every kind of food.

3.3.3.2 Reduplication of nouns

Reduplication of nouns is not very productive. However, there is a group of
adjectives which is a result of the reduplication of a monosyllabic common noun, as
shown below. This feature is unique, although it is not productive in that not every
common noun can undergo this process. In other words, the following reduplicated
forms are more or less set expressions.

tsui53 ‘water’ — tsui53"35- tsui53 ‘watery’

s'iag33 'celestial being' —»• s'iai)33- s'iag33
'laid-back, leisurely'
ts'a55 ‘wood’ — ts'a55"11- ts'a55 'woody, dumb'

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 CHAPTER THREE: MORPHOLOGY 55

kau55 4 monkey. kau55U- kau55 ‘small and thin’

ts'uirj33 ‘village’ ts'uig33- ts'uig33 ‘rustic, uncouth’

pou213 ‘cloth. pou213^3- pou213 'dry and tasteless'

tui33 W tui33- tui33 4dumb, slack'

hug53 'powder' hug53es- hur)53 'powdery, starchy'

nuig35 'egg' nuig35*21- nuig35 ‘bald’ (of hair)

kia213 'mirror' ki各21H3- ki巨213 ‘smooth and shiny'

The meanings of the reduplicated forms are closely related to the non
reduplicated nouns, eg., 'watery' from 4water' and ‘woody’ from ‘wood’. However,
the meanings of some reduplicated forms can only be said to be met叩horical or a
figure of speech. For example, a very thin person is compared to a monkey with thin
and slender limbs. Syntactically, the reduplicated forms can only serve as predicates
or verbal complements, as illustrated in the following examples:

(17) tsi5335 ko215"53 huag33tsui55 tsuP^-tsui53，mo5H5 -tsiak5"2 si53

this CL sweet .potato watery not.good eat dead
The sweet potato is very watery and it doesn 't taste nice.

(18) kai55U mue?5 tso213"53!^11 ts'eq11 - kau21>53 ts'uiij^-ts'uig33.

this thig how.com wear ■ EXT uncouth
How come that person was dressed with such poor taste? [note that
mue?5 can be used to refer to a human reference. See Chapter 5]

Another type of NN form is with nouns denoting location or direction. A very

distinct feature of this type of reduplication is that the resulted NN form expresses the

superlative degree, similar to 4 the -est of...' or ‘the very in English:

pi33 ‘side’ pi33-pi33 'the very edge,

ka?2 ‘corner' ka?2- ka?2 ‘the very end of the comer’
bue53 ‘end， bue53"35- bue53 'the very end' (of a queue)
kau55 'monkey' kau55*11- kau55 ‘small and thin’

ts'uig33 ‘village’ ts'uii)33- ts'uir)33 ‘rustic，uncouth'

pou213 ‘cloth’ pou213"53- pou213 ‘dry and tasteless'

tui33 w tui33- tui33 4 dumb，slack'

huq53 * powder’ hurj5>35- hug53 4powdery, starchy'

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56 ASPECT OF CHAOSHAN GRAMMAR

nuig35 ‘egg， —^ nuig35'21- nuirj35 ‘bald，（of hair)

kia213 'mirror' —► kia21353- kia213 'smooth and shin

This group of reduplicated forms often combine with the locative suffix -ko23

serve as objects of the locative preposition to35 (‘at’)，as in (19), or as a modifier,

4the person in the very front'. (20) is illustrative:

(19) p k'ia35"21 to35*21 hio5365 ka?2^?2-^213-21

3sg stand at that corner-comer-SUF
He is standing at the very end of the corner.

(20) tsal&11 tsal55 kai55"11 mue?5 tsu35"21 si35 i3^11.

front - front CL thing then COP 3sg
The one in the very front is him.

Kinship terms can also participate in the NN reduplication, as shown below

Such reduplicated forms are a result of modern Mandarin influence and are mos
used by children and younger people..

'father' pa55"u pa55 ‘mother' ma55"11 ma55

‘elder brother’ hia33 hia33 'elder sister’ tse5>35 tse53
‘uncle’ tsek2 tsek2 ‘auntie’ kou33 kou33

Finally, there is a N1N1N2N2 form which usually involves two hyponyms. For

example, in the first phrase below, ‘son’ and ‘grandson’ have a hyponymic
relationship to ‘off-spring’. The resulted form emphasises ‘inclusiveness’ and ‘totality’
of all the entities belonging to the categories as denoted in the nouns. But note that not

all hyponyms can be freely reduplicated in this way. In other words, what words can

be reduplicated in this way are of local idiosyncrasy and thus the reduplicated forms
are best regarded as common expressions. For example, while plates and bowls can be
used together, it is odd to have either plates and chopsticks or bowls and chopsticks.

kia335- kia5H5- suq33- suq33 ('son' + 'grand-children') 'all the offspring'

p'eq55"11- p'eq55"11- kuaq213^3- kuaq213 ('bottle' + ‘jar’） ‘all the bottles and jars'
pua55'11- pua5"1- ua5H5-ua53 (‘plate’ + ‘bowl’） ‘all the plates and bowls

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 CHAPTER THREE: MORPHOLOGY 57

sio33- sio33- laq5>35- lag53 (‘box’ + ‘trunk’） ‘all the boxes and trun
t'lng55""- t'uig5541- pia5H5- pia53 (‘candy’ + ‘cookie’） ‘all the sweets'

333 Reduplication of verbs

Reduplication of verbs in the form of VV cannot stand alone, but must be f
by a complement, expressing such syntactic meanings as direction and result
(21) and (22), or by the Delimitative and the Tentative aspectual markers
denote ‘doing an activity for a short while' and 'doing an activity on a tri
respectively，as in (23) (see Chapter 6):

(21) ko5ン35 sa33 lo り53^ siu33 -sin33 *(-zip5'2lai3521).

CL clothes all take-take * (-in come)
Take all the washing in.

(22) tsio5H5 ts'ai21353tsiak5"2-

tio?5"2 tsiak5*2 *(-zipwLai3W1)
this dish should eat - eat * (-finish)
The food needs to be eaten up.

(23) tsio53"35 io?5 lui53 ho5W5 ts?i2i>53 *(.t'ol53)

this.kind medicine 2sg can try - try * (-TENT)
You can give this medicine a try.

(24) ua53 ts'u?5 lai35"21 kia35"21 -kia35"21 * (-e11)

lsg out come walk - walk * (-DEL)
I will go out and take a walk.

(i) VV + directional / resultative complements

Post verbal complements can serve as phase markers to signify the completiv

(see Chapter 6). But a [VV + complement] construction not only enc
semantically bounded action, it also expresses vividness of and the rapid mann
which an activity is carried out. If the direct object NP denotes food, a redu
verb with a resultative complement also indicates thorough consumption of th

Thus, the reduplicated form tsiaf^1- tsiak^2 uarf55 (‘eat-eat-finish’）implies t

food is totally consumed and in a rapid manner. The meaning of ‘rapid compl
evidenced by the fact that the reduplicated form tends to be used with an ad
expressing haste, such as ‘in a short moment’ in (25) and 'quickly' in (26):

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58 ASPECT OF CHAOSHAN GRAMMAR

(25) i33 tou53 k,ug213'53 si53, bo55"11 tsekweu sa33

3sg stomach hungry dead, not.have one.moment three

ua5H5 pug11 tsu35*21 log5355 tsiak^-tsiak5"2 -uarj55

bowl rice then all eat - eat - finish
He was so hungry that he quickly polished off three bowls of ric

(26) tsio53"35 mue?5 ts'au213^3 si53 me^-me53

this thing smelly dead, fast - fast

ka?5"2- ka?5-tsu?2-k'iu21>21.
throw 一 throw - out- go
Chuck this out quick! It is so smelly.

The following shows some common reduplicated verbal compounds of [VV +

RVC] type. It is worth noting that the RVC tiaun, deriving from the homophonic
verb ‘to throw (away), discard', and kftum} which derives from the lexical verb ‘to
go’，are only compatible with verbs which denote 4disappearance'. Note also that
some verbs can also take different RVCs. For example, as food can be consumed and
can disappear, the verb ‘eat’ can also occur with

tsiak5'2- tsiak5- k'ui213^3 ‘finish eating up the (food)’

eat - eat 一go

mue?5"2- mue?5*2 - te?5 ‘rinish doing something'

do - do - straight

sia5H5- sia53- ho53 'nnish writing (something)’

write - write 一 finish

sau213"53- sau213"53- tiau11 'thoroughly sweep ...off

sweep - sweep - throw

A very interesting characteristic of the [VV + RVC] construction in the Jieyang

dialect is that there is a free variant form in which the pronunciation of the first verb

changes without altering the meaning of the original form. We can perhaps represent
this variant form as [VjV + RVC]. Compare the two lists below:

VV + RVC V,V + RVC

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 CHAPTER THREE: MORPHOLOGY 59

tsiak5'2- tsiak5- k'ui213'53 tsek5'2- tsiak5- k'ui21>53

eat - eat 一 go

mue?5'2- mue?5*2 - te?5 me?5'2- mue?5"2 - te?5

do - do - straight

sia5>a5- sia53- ho53 ser)5H5- sia53- ho53

write - write 一 finish

sau213"53- sau213"53- tiau11 seg213"53- sau213*53- tiau11

sweep - sweep 一 throw

hul5H5- hui5H5- tiau11 heq53*35- hul5H5- tiau11

destroy - destroy 一 throw

hai^-hm^-tiau11 heg35"21- h 沿35*21- tiau11

return - return • throw

A comparison of the two lists shows that the first token of a reduplicated v
which has a (nasal or oral) diphthong as its nucleus and is in a VV+ RVC stru
has the diphthong reduced to [e]; if the final is not a stop consonant, [q] is add
the end of the syllable. The [VV + RVC] and the [V! V + RVC] forms do not diff
meaning or register and the preference for one over the other seems to be a matte

speaker idiosyncrasy.
As the reduplicated verb form with a resultative complement denotes an act

plus a result state, it is often used in the imperative mood and the pretran
construction (see Chapter 7) both of which carry a strong semantic meanin
‘transitivity’，i.e., how the agentive activity affects the direct object. For exampl

(27) ko213"53 ts'ai213 kai55"11 -i33 tsek^-tsiak5"2- uag55

CL food PRET-3sg eat - eat- RVC
Eat up the food!

(28) kai55U guag5H5ku35 k'e?2-i33 me?5"2 -mue?5*2- tiau11

CL toy PASS 一 3sg do - do - RVC
The toy was totally ruined by him.

Syntactically, while a [V + RVC] compound can take a post-verbal direct object,

the [VV +RVC] form cannot, as illustrated in (29a) and (29b):

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60 ASPECT OF CHAOSHAN GRAMMAR

(29) a. i33 sia^-uag55"11 hog33 seg213 lau53"213

3sg write - RVC CL letter CRS

She has finished writing the letter.

* b. i33 sia5H5- sia53"35 uag55*u hog33

seg213 lau53"213
3sg write 一 RVC CL letter CRS
She has finished writing the letter

(ii) VV + Delimitative & Tentative aspect markers

Semantically, there is not much difference between [V + Delimitative

[VV + Delimitative marker]. However, the reduplicated form tends t
activity is done with a ‘casual’ manner and ‘with no specific purpose
example, the difference between ^/o^-^Cwalk + DEL'= ‘take a wal
and ki^-e^ (‘walk -walk’ + DEL = 'take a walk’）in (30b) is that t
simply emphasizes the short duration while the latter emphasizes ‘w
‘strolling’ without any definite route:

(30) a ua53 tsiak2*5 -pa5H5 au35 to33 si35*21 k'ui21^ k

lsg eat - full after all COP go walk - DEL
I always go for a walk after my meal.

b. ua53 m35"21 pa?2 k'ui213"53 hio5335ko213, lai55"u kia55"11- kia55

lsg not EXP go there, come walk -walk -DEL
I have never been there. Let ’s take a stroll there.

A single verb or a reduplicative verb together with the Tentative a

marker t'di53 express the same meaning, which is ‘doing something on a t
(see Ch叩ter 6). The closest in meaning in English of [V(V) + tfoP] is
such as ‘have a look, have a try’. However, there is a syntactic difference be

[V + t'oP] and the [VV + tfaP] forms: the former can take an object if t
transitive, as in (31), but the reduplicated form needs to front the object to
position, as in (32):

(31) ltu53 tsia^-t'oi5335 tsio5H5 tuig33 oi35"21 k'a?2 kiam55 b

2sg eat - TENT this soup can too salty not.can
Try this soup and see if it is too salty.

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 CHAPTER THREE: MORPHOLOGY 61

(32) ko213"53 io?5 ua5365 tsiak5"2 - tsiak^-t'ol5^5 tsai^se33.

CL medicine lsg eat — eat — TENT how
I will give the medicine a try and see how it works.

3.3.4 Reduplication of onomatopoeic expressions

Reduplication of this class of words is quite productive. In this kind of reduplication,

the reduplicated form is always accompanied by a suffix kid^ deriving from the verb

‘to call', as shown in the following example where the morpheme k'a35 describes a
loud and hearty laughter:

k'a35- k'a35- kio213 ‘to laugh heartily’

This usage is similar to Mandarin which also makes use of the morpheme jiao
‘to call’ after the reduplicated words, e.g., gu-gu-jiao (‘rumbling’).
The letter '0' is used to represent an onomatopoeia. Reduplication of this
category can take three forms: (i) 00 + kio213 where the same onomatopoetic syllable
is repeated; (ii) 0i02 + kid2^ where Oiand 02 differ in their finals, and (iii) +
kid^ where 03 differs totally from 0丨 but differs from 02 only in the initial.

(i) OO + kio213
k'a35- k'a35- kio213 “to laugh heartily^usually women and children)
kau?5*2-kau?5"2- kio213 ‘to make a rumbling noise'
hai^-hai35-21- kio213 ‘to make a lot of sighs’
hiu35"21- hiu35"21- kio213 ‘to make a piercing noise’
ho5335- ho53"35- kio213

Or

sui35'21. sui35"21- kio213 ‘yeses’ and OK's’ (flattering)

ue11- ue11- kio213 ‘inclined to make complaints'

(ii) 0^2 + kio213

tsi35- tsu35- kio213 ‘to make a chirping sound’
(can also refer to girls chatting/whispering)

per)11- poq11- kio213 ‘to make a banging sound'

hi?5*2- hau?5'2- kio213 *to make a crunching sound'
si11- sa11- kio213 'to make a splashing sound'

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62 ASPECT OF CHAOSHAN GRAMMAR

te?2- to?2- kio213 ‘to make a ticking sound’

(iii) OiOzOa + kio213

In this form, the second syllable rhymes with the third one which takes the l
initial [1] (cf English ‘splash’，‘slurp’，'slap’，etc.)：

peg11- pag11- lar)u- kio213 'to make a cracking sound'

ts'i?5*2- ts'o?5*2- lo?5'2- kio213 'hastily'

t'i?5*2- t'u?5"2- lu?5*2- kio213 ‘to slurp' (also, ‘a frog in the throat due to phle
Hi?5*2- hau?5*2- lau?5*2- kio213 'to make a creaky sound’ (esp. when chewing)

k'i11- k'om35*21- lom35"21- kio213 ‘to cough loudly’ (due to excessive phlegm)

It is to be noted that in the third category, 03 can always be omitted, w

results in a form similar to category (ii). Thus, it can be said that (iii) is a varian
(ii). However, if there is any slight difference between the two, it is in the degr
vividness and the effect the expression creates: since this type of reduplication h

do with onomatopoeia, it is plausible to say that the more syllables in the expre
and the more varied the pronunciation, the stronger and more lifelike the ‘s
effects' can be.

Syntactically, the reduplicated onomatopoeic expression is a VP which denotes

act of making a certain sound, as in (33). But it can also be used as a predic
adjectival phrase to metaphorically describe a certain trait of a person, as in (34)

(33) lau^eg53^5 pefju-potju-kio kai55 to33 tso213"53 me?2 su

upstairs bang - bang - call COP PROG do what matter
There is a lot of banging upstairs. What is going on there?

(34) nag55"11 kio213^3 i33 tso53"35 me?2 sui11 i33 to33 si55*u
people ask 3sg do what matter 3sg all COP

ho^-ho^-kio213
yes 一 yes - call
He is always saying yes to everybody.

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 CHAPTER THREE: MORPHOLOGY 63

3.3.5 Reduplication of phrases

R. L. Cheng (1987) points out that phrases normally do not participate in
reduplication. To be able to participate in reduplication, ‘a phrase has to be word-li
phonologically and/or syntactically' (p.293). He cites ‘yi b6n yi b如’ (‘one volume b
one volume') in Mandarin as an example because they are inseparable by a potentia
pause and thus, the phrase is interpreted as one unit. In the Jieyang dialect, nume
classifier phrases which undergo reduplication fit in this category. These phra
appear to be phonologically word-like because they are short and inseparable by a
potential pause. Syntactically, the reduplicated form behaves like an adverb wh
simple, non-reduplicated forms do not have this function, as shown by the l
example in the list below:

zip5
tsek5*2- nag55"u- tsek5"2- nai)55 lai55"11 4come in one by one'
enter come
one - person - one - person

tsia?5
tsek5'2-ti11kia5>35-tsek5"2-ti11kia53 4eat little by little，
one - bit- one - bit eat

tsek5"2- pou11- tsek5*2- pou11 k'ua^ni55*11 lai55 ‘proceed slowly step by step'
one 一 step 一 one 一 step slowly come

* tsek5*2- pou11 k'ua33ni5511 lai55

one- step slowly come

3.4 Compounding
A compound is by and large defined by various linguists as a comb
more meaningful morphemes or stems, free or bound, to form a sing

example, Y.R. Chao 1968: 359; Li and Thompson 1981: 45; Che
18).
Compounding of various morphemes can result in three types of compounds:
nominal, adjectival and verbal. Within each of these categories, the compounds can
be made up of various parts of speech, such as noun-noun gu^nek5 (‘cow - meat'=
4beef) or verb-noun tsia/^hurj33 (‘eat-tobacco’ = ‘to smoke’）. However, it is to be
noted that although some compounds may be made up of words of the same parts of
speech, such as noun-noun, the inner structures of the compounds can be different.
For example, t'au^mo55 (‘head - hair，= ‘hair’）is considered a [modifier + head]

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64 ASPECT OF CHAOSHAN GRAMMAR

structure while narj^k'e?2 (‘people - guest, = 'guest') is a [head + modifier

relationship.
Semantically, compounds can be classified into endocentric and exocentric
(Terry et al. 1995: 246). An endocentric compound is ‘a sub-class of the items
denoted by one of its elements’，such as koPnuitf5 (‘chicken-egg, = ‘egg’）which is
a kind of egg. In an exocentric compound, on the other hand, the constituents of the
compound 4 do not represent a sub-class of either of the constituent parts' (p. 246). In
the Jieyang dialect, for example, baf^mal^ (‘eyebrow • eye’ = ‘clue’）is neither a
type of eyebrow nor a kind of eye. Compounds of this type are often very colloquial
and the meanings are usually idiomatic and metaphorical. Apart from these two
categories, there are also compounds which are called copulative, in which ‘the
meaning of the whole compound represents the sum of the meanings of the
constituent parts' (Terry et al. 1995: 246). A good example of this type of compound
is pe/^2bo5i ('father • mother’ = 'parents'). Thus, an important property of
compounds is that the meaning of a compound can be ‘either more specific or
entirely different than the combined meanings of the words that make up the
compound’ (Payne 1999:95).
Syntactically, like other Sinitic languages, compounds in the Jieyang can have
dual status: being compounds and phrases.
In the following section, I discuss nominal, adjectival and verbal compounds in
the Jieyang dialect. As mentioned in the introduction, due to constraints of space, the

examples given are not exhaustive.

3.4.1 Nominal Compounds

Nominal compounds can be made up of various parts of speech such as NN, NA,

AN, VV, VN and NV in which ‘N’ stands for a noun, ‘A’ an adjective and ‘V’ a
As noted in § 3.2.2.5, the Jieyang dialect allows both prenominal and post-nomi
modification. The post-nominal modification can be reflected in NN as well a
compounds below (cf gender suffixes on animal terms)

NN

There are two main syntactic relations in NN compounds: subordination

coordination. In the former, the relationship between the two nouns can be
modifier and a head or the reverse, head before the modifier, as shown in

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 CHAPTER THREE: MORPHOLOGY 65

following two lists (more examples of head-modifier compounds are to be foun

compound adjectives in NA compounds). Compounds of this type are usu
endocentric, whose meanings are derived from one of their constituents:

⑴ Subordination

modifier-head head-modifier
t'au55"11- mo55 'hair' kio33- bo53 ‘(old) ginger’
head - hair ginger 一 mother

n33- si55 ‘weather， narj5541- k'e?2 'guest'

sky - time people-guest
4content of letter' 'tea leaves'
seg21>53- ne?5
letter - flesh tea - rice

(ii) Coordination
There is also a sizable number of NN compounds whose two nouns form a coordin
construction, that is, neither of the nouns can be said to be the head. However, t

important characteristic of this type of compound is that the order of the componen

cannot be reversed. Compounds of this type can be exocentric ones whose mean
relates to neither of the constituents. In some cases, the meanings are copulative, t
is, the meaning of the whole compound represents the sum of the meanings of t
constituent parts, as illustrated by the last two examples of the following list:

tou53"35- kia53 'customer' bai55"u- ma?5 ‘clue，

belly - child eyebrow -eye

bug5541- bak5 'knowledge' kuig213"53- tsui53 ‘sharpness’ (knife)

language - ink steel - water

huaq33- tsui53 'grave' liag5355- meg11 ‘glory，

wind - water face - face

sa33- k'ou213 ‘clothes k'a^-ts'iu53 ‘limbs'

shirt - pant leg - hand

AN

In an AN combination, 'A' is a monosyllabic adjective, serving to modify the noun.

However, the meanings of such compounds are not literal, but rather metaphorical or

metonymical. Take the compound arj^nmc^ (‘red-hair，）for example: it does not

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66 ASPECT OF CHAOSHAN GRAMMAR

literally mean a type of hair, but rather, it is used to refer to European foreigner
because of their hair colour.

soi213"53- ts'au53 4 small-appetite' ag55"u- mo55 'European, Caucasian'

small • grass red - nair

hi5知-suiu 'wedding' pe?w- suiu 'funeral'

happy - matter white ■ matter

pe?5*2- zeq55 ‘simpleton /fool’

white - kernel
(which refers to
the whites of eyes)

NA

The following NA compounds show a head + modifier order, which further

exemplifies post modification of NP syntax in the Jieyang dialect. Compare the
following two lists where the equivalents in Mandarin have the reverse order:

Jieyang Mandarin
‘duckling， a?2- lui55 xiio • ya
duck - small small 一 duck

‘drizzle’ hou35*21- mui55 xiio - yti

rain - minute/small small 一 rain

'hunch-backed' io33-ku33 tuo - bei

back - hunch hunch - back

‘mince’ ne?5"2- ts'o213 sui - rou

meat - mince mince - meat

^1-^2
A few monosyllabic adjectives can combine to form nouns. This type of compound is

usually made up of two antonyms, which are represented here as Aj and A2

respectively. While identical in structure with the same type of compounds in
Mandarin, the resultant compounds may have different meanings. For example, in
Mandarin, xian-dan ('salty-bland') means ‘taste’ of a dish, while its equivalent in the
Jieyang dialect also means ‘dish’.

tua11- soi213 ‘size’ gar)55"11- zua?5 ‘weather conditions’

big • small cold - hot

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 CHAPTER THREE: MORPHOLOGY 67

puj5Hi_ saり 53 ‘body build， kul55*u- ke35 ‘height，

fat- thin high - low

ke^-kiam53 'total amount' kiam55"u- tsia53 ‘(taste of a) dish’

more - less salty- bland

YiVzivaysv
Nominal compounds formed from verbs and with verbs are very limited and the
relatedness between the resulted compounds and their parts can be close or remote.
For example, kia^1- taf means ‘to walk' and ‘to step’. It has become to mean
interaction between people, that is, the visits between people. Thus, if two families
have close interaction, it is said to u5^1 kia令11 -taf that is, ‘have contact'.
Syntactically, the inner structures within the compounds can have a coordinate
relation, as in W\V2, or subordinate patterns, as in the VN and the VN groups. The
following are some examples:

k'ui33- sai53 expenses kia^-ta?5 ‘(personal) contact’

open - spend walk - step

VN

tsau5365- kui53 ‘maid’ k'e?2- tsiak5 'beggar'

run - devil beg - food

NV

tiu-t'ua33 4mop， o55"11- lua?2 'oyster omelette'

floor - drag oyster - pan.fry

3.4.2 Adjectival Compounds

Compound adjectives can also be formed with morphemes which are of various pa
of speech. The possible combinations include AN, A丨 A2，AV, NA, VV, VN. N
that like nominal compounds, the meaning of an adjectival compound can
transparent from the constituents, or in some cases, have no connection with
constituents. In the latter case, meanings can be metaphorical. For example, tua^t
(‘big - tongue') in the AN compound group does not mean a tongue which is big
is used as a figure of speech to describe someone who repeats words spasmodic
as if this is caused by the tongue being too big.

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68 ASPECT OF CHAOSHAN GRAMMAR

AN

In this group, although the adjective syntactically may seem to serve as a modifie
while the noun the head, the meaning of these two constituents may not alway
reflect a literal meaning in the resultant compound, as noted above and illustrated
below:

siau5H5- li53 ‘embarrassed， ♦grumpy

tseq5>35- tou53
small - reason swell 一 tummy

‘thin’ ts'ou33- k'au53 ‘good-eater’

sar)53"35- kau55
thin - monkey unrefined - mouth

ua?5"2- ts'i35 ‘smart， tua11- tsi?5 ‘stuttering’

lively ■ market big - tongue

This group is made up of two adjectives which are not entirely synonymous, but are
close in meaning. They are represented here as A! and A2 respectively. Although the
meanings of some of the compounds may be closely related to those of the
components, some are not, such as ‘stingy’ from ‘salty’ and ‘puckery’：

pe?5"2- tsia5355 ‘bland’ kiam55"u- siap2 ‘stingy，

white - bland salty - puckery

ts'au213"53- ts'o33 ‘fishy’ 0u33- ts'e33 ‘bruised’

smelly - fishy black 一 green

AV

hau^-se33 ‘young’ kau213*53- tso213 ‘well-built，

late - born enough - make

NA

nag55- mo5H5 ‘sick’ sim33-se?2 ‘happy’

person-not.good heart - suitable

VV

km53"35- tsiak5 4 choosy'(of food) ts'io213*53- bu?2 ‘smiling’

choose - eat smile - kiss

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 CHAPTER THREE: MORPHOLOGY 69

maj2i>53. maj2i3 ‘uninterested’ (in doing something)

not.want - not.want

VN

In this group, the noun in the compound can be either monosyllabic or disyllabic and

the inner structure of the compounds is of verb + object pattern. As can be seen, the
meanings of the compounds seem to have close connection to the meaning of each
component:
tsM653d5- ts'ui213 ‘tasty， tsai33- t'au55*11- bue53 ‘thoughtful’
grab - mouth know - head - end (detail)

hiau5H5- sui11 ‘sensible’ fia33- ue11 ‘obedient’

know ■ matter listen - words

pai5H5- gia53 ‘showy, ui213"53- mei)11 ‘shy，

display - beauty fear - face

3.43 Verb Compounds

The processes of creating a verb compound include the combinations of a v
noun (VN), a verb with an adjective (VA) and a verb with a different verb (

VN

In VN compounds the internal structure of components is mainly that of a ve

relation and the resulting meaning is closely connected to the parts that m

compound:

ta^-ue11 ‘to speak， sue?2- ueu ‘pray’ (eg to ancestors)

speak - word say - word

pia55 U- ue11 ‘spread gossip' k'ui33- pak2 ‘slaughter’ (animal)

move ■ word open - stomach

t05335.ti6213 ‘collapse’ (business) ke^-kio55 ‘to collude'

fall - account build - bridge

t'ou21353- sai53 'speak nonsense’ ia5>35- mak5 ‘glance’

vomit - shit glance - eye

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70 ASPECT OF CHAOSHAN GRAMMAR

In some cases, the meaning of a VN verb compound cannot be deduced from th

meaning of the components because they are idiomatic or metaphorical. In the fir
example below, for instance, to shed tears is likened to cook sticky rice balls, becau
the process involves dropping one ball at a time, similar to tears dropping down:

sa?5"2-!55 ‘shed tears' tsMa33-tuan- p'au213 ‘to boast'

boil - rice.ball transport - big -cannon

jc»ua2i>53. j033 ‘lie down to rest’ kue20"53-seg33 ‘pass awa

hang - waist pass - body
tsiak^-hP35- to?2 'attend a wedding banquet'
eat - happy - table

As mentioned earlier, one syntactic feature associated

that they have dual status: they can also be phrases. This i

noted in Li and Thompson (1981: 73), one of the criteria fo

separability of the constituents. Thus, a VO phrase means
can be inserted between the V and the O, such as resultat
markers and numeral classifier phrases. This observat
Jieyang dialect. A good example is tsial^hutj23. As show
as the equivalent of an intransitive verb ‘to smoke’，but in
are separated by a numeral classifier phrase:

(35) a. i33 m35"21 hiuhua33 tsiak^-hug33

3sg not like eat - tobaco
He doesn ’t like to smoke.

b- i33 tsek5*2 zek5 u^'^piag213"53 tsiak5"2 tsap5"2 ki33 hug33

3sg one day can eat tem CL cigarette
He can smoke ten cigarettes a day.

However, there seem to be no general rules to determine which

compounds can be separated and which cannot. In Mandarin in genera
has something to do with the degree of idiomaticity. In other words, hig

compounds, which account for only a small minority, are generally i

and Thompson, 1981: 75). In the Jieyang dialect, this general p

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 CHAPTER THREE: MORPHOLOGY 71

applicable to a large extent although it is interesting to note that some compounds

with very idiomatic meanings can still be separated, as shown below:

k'ua21^3 eu io33 t'ou213^3 tsek5*2 tou5335 sai53

hang TENT waist vomit one tummy shit
rest for a while speak a lot of nonsense

tsiak5"2 liau5^ hi5H5- to?2 sue?2 ho?2tsoiu ue11

eat PERF happy - table say many word
attend a wedding banguet pray for many things

Another syntactic feature of the VO compounds is that they cannot t

object other than the one in the compound, as illustrated in (36a). In m

compound functions as a simple intransitive predicate, and can be fol

Perfective marker, etc, as in (36b).

(36) * a. i33 tsiak^-pur)11 sa33 ua5H5 pug11.

3sg eat - rice three bowl rice
He ate three bowls of r ice.

b. i33 tsiak^-purj11 lau53*213

3sg eat 一 rice PERF / CRS
He has eaten.

VA

In this combination, ‘A’ can be a monosyllabic or a di-syllabic adjective serving as a

verbal complement, expressing the result of the action denoted by the verb which
takes the initial position. This combination yields a verb-complement syntactic
relation and is quite productive of verb compounding strategies, as one can create
verbs of this kind with any verb and a related resultative complement.

'straighten
mue?5"2- p'ua213 'tear - torn’ ta213^3- tek5 things up’
make - broken say - straight

‘to put
sia53"35- ho53 ‘finish writing' ta"5*2- it to the open’
p'ua213
write - good say - broken

[Verb +complement] compounds are transitive in meaning but the

can take are often positioned pre-verbally. Thus (37a) is not ungra

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72 ASPECT OF CHAOSHAN GRAMMAR

unusual. [Verb + complement] compounds can be followed by aspectual markers

such as e^1, which encodes the tentative aspect, as in (37b), or "au53, which denotes
perfective aspect, as in (37c):

(37) ？ a. kai55"11 ua5B5 tim33- sio33 ko21^ ts'ai213

for lsg reheat- hot CL dish
Heat up the food for me.

b. ko213® ts'ai213 kai55U ua55"u tim33- sio33 eu

CL dish for lsg reheat- hot TENT
Heat up the foodfor me.
c. ko213® ts'ai213 tim33-sio33 liau53 tsia213"53 ho53"35 tsiak
CL dish reheat- up PERF then can eat
You must heat up the food before you can eat it.

There are 丑 few VA compounds in which the constituents are not in

complement relation. In fact, they can be considered verb-object wh
represents an attributive form of a noun phrase in which the head noun is
For example,

kou35"21- ts'au213 ‘renege’

rely • smelly/foul (‘rely on foul play，）

ta?5*2- nui り53 ‘give in’

step - soft (‘step on soft grounds')

ts'am33- siag55 ‘discuss，

join - detailed (‘discuss detailed matters')

sio55"u- uaq53 ‘regret，

thinking - past (‘thinking of past events')

V.V2
A number of compound verbs are of this formation, which is made
represented as Vj and V2 respectively. In some VjV2 compounds, th
synonymous, as illustrated in the right hand column, and exhib
construction. With a compound, the semantic connection of the
its components are usually quite close:

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 CHAPTER THREE: MORPHOLOGY 73

sio35'21- tsiak5 'attempt to annex ka2l>53- si11 ‘lecture’

think - eat (by tricks)' teach 一 demonstrate (ie. criticise)

t'oi5535- sio35 'attempt to annex k，。严 k'a213 ‘extort’

look - think (by tricks)' hit 一 beat

k'a21H3. suir)213 'to calculate' siu33- sip5 4 pack, repair, punish’

beat -calculate tidy - pick.up

ta^-ts'io213 'to make a joke’ pa?2- pak5 'to intervene’

say - laugh hold 一 tie

si5於!- tuiq53 'change one's mind' tau5365- t'oi213 ‘substitute’

think 一 return reverse - substitute

Summary of chapter

This chapter deals with three derivational processes in the Jieyang dialect: affixation,

reduplication and compounding. In terms of affixation, the Jieyang dialect has

prefixes as well as suffixes but no infixes. The prefixes and suffixes discussed here
are mainly from the local lexicon. Those which have cognates in Mandarin have been
shown to exhibit certain features not found in Mandarin.

In the Jieyang dialect, reduplication is rich, as it is in other Sinitic languages. In

terms of types of reduplication, it has been shown that complete reduplication, that is,

the copying of an entire word, as well as partial reduplication which copies only part
of a word are all common. Reduplication in the Jieyang dialect not only takes various

forms, it also serves different purposes, such as expressing intensified meaning, as

exemplified in adjectival reduplication; in deriving words, as exemplified in the NN

reduplication which yields an adjective, and in denoting distributive meaning as

shown in the reduplication of classifiers.

Compounding is very productive, and the processes can result in three types of

compounds: nominal, adjectival and verbal. A very significant feature of compounds

is that the semantic connection between the meaning of a compound and the meaning
of its constituents in many cases are not transparent because the connection is more
often metaphorical, figurative, metonymical and inferential rather than literal.

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 CHAPTER FOUR PERSONAL PRONUNS, RELEXIVES AND
NOMINAL DEMONSTRAIVES

In this chapter, I discuss personal pronouns, reflexives and nominal demonstratives.

Interrogative pronouns are discussed separately in Chapter 10 on interrogatives so as

to avoid overly here.

4.1 Personal pronouns

4.1.1 Forms

Table (4.1) provides an overview of the for

Jieyang dialect.

Table (4.1) Personal Pronouns

Person
Person Possessive Forms Reflexives

fused analytic
forms forms

person SR
1st person so ua53 ua33 subj / obj form ka^ki11
subj/obj form + ka33kiu
2nd person
2nd person SR
sa lui53
lui53 nia33 + kai55 eg. ua53 + ka33kiu

33 rd
person
person SR
se i33
j33 eg. ua53+ kai55 (my) (myself)

1st person pl
P| iar)53 inci.
incl. ua33

uag53cxci.
uai)53exci.

2 ^ person
2nd personotP| leg53
tier)53 nia33

3 "*
16 person
personpL
pl i33-nai)55'u
i^-narj55"11

As can be seen, the Jieyang dialect distinguishes three persons: first (speaker),
second (addressee) and third (all other), with two numbers distinguishing each:
singular versus plural. The first person plural pronouns also have two forms:
inclusive and exclusive (§ 4.1.2.2). There is only one invariable form in all positions,
but possessive relation is generally expressed analytically, by employing a linking
particle kaP5, or alternatively, a classifier between the pronoun and the possessed (§
4.1.2.3.2). However, there are two fused forms which appear to have developed into
fully-fledged genitive forms for the first and second person. It will be shown that they

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 CHAPTER FOUR: PERSONAL PRONUNS, RELEXIVES 75

are used solely with kinship terms. Reflexives (§ 4.2) are formed by combining a
pronoun and a disyllabic word kd^kf1, equivalent to the English word ‘self.

4.1.2 Usage
4.1.2.1 Singular pronouns: wo53, /w53, i33
These three forms represent the singular first, second a
respectively. There is no honorific form for the secon
where nin is used instead of ni to indicate politeness, wo53

human reference, but the third person singular z33 (‘sh

anaphorically to refer to animate non-human entities su
things. In this usage, can be translated as ‘it’ in English.
refer back to the topic tsio035 io?5 'this medicine’
puppy’ in (1) and (2) respectively:

(1) tsio®36 io?5 lui53 hua33 bue11 ts'i213- tio?5*2

this medicine 2sg still not.yet try • ■RVC

tso21^3 tsai33 i33 U5H1 hau11 a33 bo55?

how know 3sg have effect or not.have
You haven't tried this medicine, how do you know if it works?

(2) tsia?2 kau^-kia53 m35'21 tsai33 tsau53"35 tui213"53 t^ko21^53

CL dog-SUF not know run towards where

k'ui213, ts'ue11 i33 m35*21 tio?5

go, look.for 3sg not RVC
I don 7 know where the puppy has gone. I couldn 't find it

However, i33 cannot serve as an expletive like the English ‘it，to talk a

weather. Thus, ‘It is hot today，in English can only be translated literally

very hot’，as shown in (3b):

(3) * a. i33 kim33zek5 zua?5*2 si53

3sg today hot dead

b kim33zek5 zua?5"2 si53

today hot dead
It is very hot today.

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76 ASPECT OF CHAOSHAN GRAMMAR

However, in two grammatical constructions: the pretransitive construction

Chapter 7) and the 'k'e?2 P construction' (see Chapter 8), the third person singu
form i33 is used as a dummy object and a dummy agent respectively.

Sentences (1) and (2) above ate the use of Z33 as 汪 substitution anaphor. Ther
another anaphoric use of f33 which is quite unusual: it can precede a demonstr
NP in sentence-initial position in oral discourse, as in (4B) (see § 4.2.2.
description of the fused form of the demonstrative tsio^ ‘this.CL’)：

(4) (Context: two friends are talking about drug problems in their hometown.)
A: ua53 tiam35"21 ta213^3 lia?5"2 kau213"53 tsio53 qiap55,
lsg always say catch EXT so tight

tsio5H5 io?5 tso^^ni55"11 ha33 u^^iag213*53

this medicine how.com still able

lai55"u kau213"53 tsio5B5 ke?2io55

come arrive here Jieyang
As I keep saying, [the government] has adopted very string
measures to catch [the drug dealers], how come these drugs still
to Jieyang?

B: i33 tsio53* mue?5 to33 pu?2-tsek2tian to35"21

3sg this thing PRT not. necessarily be.at

hug^^am55 lai55 kai55"u ma3>u

Yunnan come PRT PRT
These things [drugs] don，t necessarily come from Y

(5) (Context: the speaker was telling his friend how his n
couple, were trying to connect a telephone wire illegall

wait till finish-work after, look • RVC COMP 3sg

tui21^53 mue?5"2 k'ui21>53 tsi?2 tiaり5511ue11 sua213 …

pair thing go connect telephone line...
After I returned home from work, I had a look and realized that
couple had made an illegal phone line connection...

The above two examples show that i33 and the immediately f
demonstrative NP are syntactically in apposition. Together they function a

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 CHAPTER FOUR: PERSONAL PRONUNS, RELEXIVES 77

of the sentence. The use of 戶 here seems anaphoric: it helps to signal that the
reference of the entity as represented by the demonstrative NP has been established
previously in the discourse, rather than a first mention. Sentence (5) is a good
example: the antecedent or co-referent of the demonstrative phrase
tsf^5 /W|2i>s muef (‘this couple’）(see § 4.2.2 for the discussion of the use of muef
'thing' in substituting for a noun) is not in the previous clauses; the use of i33 here
tells us that the speaker is not pointing at a couple and referring to them. Rather, the

speaker uses z33 to signal that tsP^tuP^muef refers to the couple who has been
mentioned earlier in the discourse. This usage of 戶 here unequivocally makes it clear

that the nominal demonstrative phrase is not deictic but rather anaphoric.

The special uses of r® which outlined above are characteristic of Chaoshan as a

whole and are quite unusual. In other words, parallel examples do not seem to be
found in other Sinitic languages.

4.1.2.2 Plural forms: na(产，uarp, nerj^, i^narf6^

In Sinitic languages in general, it is personal pronouns which distinguish number:
singular and plural. In the Jieyang dialect, narj53 and uatj5i represent respectively the

first person plural inclusive form, which includes the speaker and the person spoke to,
and the exclusive form, which includes the speaker and a person or person spoken of,

nerja and Pnatj56^ represent the plural forms for the second and the third person
plural reference respectively.
Like the singular forms (except the third person r33), the plural forms are only
used for human reference and they do not vary in forms whether they appear in the

topic or post-verbal positions:

(6) A: u55"11 nag55'11 k'ui33 ts'ia33

sag213 neg2 neg卿
have people drive vehicle send 2pl not.have
Is anyone driving you?

B: bo55, uag53 ka33kiu tso55*11 ts'ia33 rmm21

not.have lpl 挪丨. self sit vehicle go
No. We will go by bus.

The inclusive naデ3, however, also displays some pragmatic features other than
its basic deictic function. For example, in contexts where the speaker needs to

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78 ASPECT OF CHAOSHAN GRAMMAR

persuade, coerce or encourage the listener, usually children or older people, to do

something, natj^ can be extended to refer to the second person singular. In such a
usage, the inclusive nature of the pronoun is not entirely lost because the use of the

inclusive pronoun gives the listener the feeling of 'not being alone’ in whatever
he/she is being to told to do:

(7) (Before an exam, the father is encouraging his son to get full marks)

lpl inc| today definitely should take.exam hundred mark

We are going to get full marks today, aren 7 we?

Another situation where naロ53 can be used to refer to the addressee is for
politeness and tactfulness, again with the sense of ‘inclusiveness,. For example, in (8),
the speaker uses the inclusive form to address the listener so as to give the listener the

peace of mind that if something goes wrong, the speaker is also responsible:

(8) (The speaker asks the builder why he did what he did)

lpl inC| this thing why want this, way do

Why did we (ie. ‘you') do this thing in this way?

Contrasting with the polite usage in (8) is a situation where narj53 is used t
to oneself when one tries to be humble or deliberately tries to put oneself dow
some sarcastic or envious undertone:

(9) lui53 tsia21353 k'iar)213 a33, naij53 tai^tek2 oi35.

2sg are smart PRT lpl inc 丨 how can
You are the smart one. How can I [do what you are able to do]?

4.1.2.3 The possessive forms

4.1.2.3.1 Genitive forms: i/a33 and n/o33
Chappell (2001a: 351) points out that Hakka is unusual among Sinitic languages in
having a portmanteau genitive form which can be considered as ‘a kind of case
marker'. However, Hakka is not alone in displaying this special feature. In the
Jieyang dialect, as mentioned in the introduction, there are two fused forms which
have become fully-fledged genitive pronouns. They are ua^ for first person singular

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 CHAPTER FOUR: PERSONAL PRONUNS, RELEXIVES 79

reference (‘my’）and u/a33 for second person singular and plural reference (‘your，）.

For example:

(10) a. ua^gen pa55 ‘my father’

b. nia^gen pa55 'your (sg. / pi.) father，

Unlike the genitive forms in some Hakka dialects which can be used to modify
physical objects as well as kinship terms (see Yan Xiuhong 1999: 235), the two fused
genitive forms in the Jieyang dialect can only be used to modify kinship terms, but
not inanimate objects or other animate nouns such as 'hands' and 'foot', as illustrated
in (11):

(11) * a. ua33 mak2 * b. nia33 tsui33

my/our eye your (sg/pi) book

4.1.2.3.2 Analytic possessive pronouns

Apart from the two genitive markers mentioned above, there are no separate
possessive pronouns corresponding to the English my/mine, your/yours, their/theirs.
Possessive pronouns are created by using the possessive marker kaf6 or tf1 (formal
and written cognate with Mandarin de) after the pronoun (both are glossed as POSS
for possessive marker). Alternatively, a pronoun can directly precede a classifier
phrase with the classifier serving as the linking word between the pronoun and the
head noun, just like kai55.

(i) Pronoun + kaf6 = possessive pronoun

The morpheme kai55 is polysemous. It has lexical meanings as well as a number of
grammaticalised uses. Lexically, it is a general classifier denoting three-dimensional
entities, such as person, object, building, institution and most fruits, etc. Its syntactic

functions include forming possessive pronouns (see below) as well as indicating

relations in the possessive constructions and in relative clauses (see Chapter 5). It can
also serve as a nominaliser after an adjective or a verb (e.g., arj55 kaf5 ‘red one[s]'),

and as a copula verb in informal speech (see Li Yongming 1997: 224; Matthews and
Xu 2002). Many similar functions of kai55 can also be found in present-day Zhuang

languages. However, whether the Jieyang usages of kai55 may be a Proto-Tai

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80 ASPECT OF CHAOSHAN GRAMMAR

influence historically needs further investigation. Table (4.2) summarise

possessive pronouns formed with kaf5 and ti11.

Table (4.2) Possessive Pronouns

ua53 +
+ kai55
kai55 //ti11
tiu = my / mine

lui53 +
+ kai55 / /tiu
kai55 ti" == your / yours

i33 +
+ kai55/tiu
kai55 / ti11== his / her

++ kai55/tiu ==
kai55 / ti11 their
their / theirs
/ theirs
Fnai]55"11
Pnarj55"11

For example,

(12) a. ua 阴s kai5Mi Sa33k'ou213 b. p kaPu hia33ti35

lsg POSS 3sg POSS brother
my clothes his /her brothers

(ii) Pronoun + CL
The use of classifiers to link a NP and a pronoun (see Chapter 5) to indicate
possession is a distinctive feature in the Chaoshan dialect as well as some other
Southern dialects such as Cantonese, but it is not found in the Northern dialects such

as Mandarin. It is not found in other Min dialects either. Consider the examples
below from Jieyang, Cantonese, Mandarin and Xiamen:

(13) a Jievang b. Cantonese

ua53 kia3521 sa33 ngoh jek gau
lsg CL blouse/shirt lsgCL dog
my blouse / shirt my dog

*. Mandarin * d. Xiamen
w5 jian shan gua3 kia5 sa1
lsg CL blouse/shirt lsg CL blouse/shirt
my blouse / shirt my blouse /shirt

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 CHAPTER FOUR: PERSONAL PRONUNS, RELEXIVES 81

(iii) Differences between [pronoun + A:a/55】 and [pronoun + CL]

Payne (1997:41) points out that many languages in the world make a formal
distinction between alienable and inalienable possession. In general, the Jieyang
dialect does not mark this semantic distinction. In other words, either [pronoun + CL]

or [pronoun + kai55 ] can be used for alienable as well as inalienable possessions. So,
what are the differences, if any, between [pronoun + CL] and [pronoun + kai55 ]?
Since one of the common functions of classifiers is to individualise entities, the

possessives formed with classifiers convey the 'individuality of items possessed',

whereas the use of [pronoun + kai55] denotes ‘totality’ of the things possessed.
Compare the following minimal pair where (14a) denotes the total amount of books
owned while (14b) focuses on a particular book. This difference is evidenced by the
compatibility with the quantifier lotj53 ‘all’ with the kai55 possessive pronouns but not

with the possessive forms formed with classifiers which denote individual entity.
However, if the classifier ts'o?2 which denotes plurality is used, then lorp 4air is
possible, as in (14c):

(14) a ua53 kai5"1 tsui33 log5535 si35"21 siau5H5sue?2.

lsg POSS book all COP novel
My books are all novels.

b. ua53 pug5335 tsui33 ("。功掷）si35"21 siau5H5sue?2.

lsg CL book (*all) COP novel
My book is a novel.

c. ua53 ts'o?23 tsui33 log5"5 si35*21 siau5班sue?2,

lsg CLpj book all COP novel
My books are all novels.

A second difference between the two constructions is that syntactically

construction [pronoun + kaf6] can serve as a modifier, as shown above, as wel

pronominal, as in (15a), but [pronoun + CL] can only serve as a determiner but

a pronominal, as illustrated in (15b):

(15) a. tsi53"35 tiau5541 kur)55 sP21 ua5335 kai5"1.

this CL skirt COP lsg POSS
This skirt is mine.

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82 ASPECT OF CHAOSHAN GRAMMAR

E b. tsi5W5 tiau55"11 kur)55 si35'21 ua5^35 tiau&n.

this CL skirt COP lsg CL
This skirt is mine.

4.2 Reflexive pronouns

The reflexive marker in the Jieyang dialect is ka^ki11, which is translatable in

oneself in English and ziji in Mandarin. It is invariable in form, that is, it ca

with all person and number references (cf Table 4.1). The reflexive can be u

own as a simple form or with a personal pronoun as a compound form.

Three main functions of the reflexive in the Jieyang dialect can be ide

which are similar to those of Mandarin. They include (i) a pronominal func
an adverbial function, and (iii) an emphatic function.

4.2.1 ka^kf1 as a pronoun

As a pronoun, kt^kf1 can be optionally preceded by a personal pronoun. The
sequence of [(personal pronoun) + ka^kf1] can appear in the clause as different
grammatical participants, for example, as object of the VP (16), indirect object (17),
and the possessor in a possessive phrase (18). In this usage as a pronoun, the
reflexive pronoun must have an antecedent in its own clause. The following examples
are illustrative:

(16) |ui53 siu5>35sal33 tio?2 hi5>35hua33 (lui5335) ka^ki11

2sg first should like (2sg) self
You should first be happy with yourself.

(ロ） i33 kai5H1 (i33) ka^ki11 poi5W5 liau5365 kV3 kain

3sg for (3sg) self buy PERF CL ring
She bought herself a ring.

lui53 kuarj5HS ho53 (lui5335) ka33kiu kai55"u sui11 tsia213^3

2sg manage good (2sg) slef POSS matter then

lai55U ta21>53 pak2 nag55

come say other people
You should get a good grasp on your own < affairs before you criticise
others.

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 CHAPTER FOUR: PERSONAL PRONUNS，RELEXIVES 83

The above examples show that the reflexive is co-referential with the topic of
the sentence. In complex sentences, it also designates the topic as its antecedent. For
example, in (19)，the reflexive is co-referential with the topic of the matrix clause
because if it is taken out, the pronoun i33 in the embedded clause can be ambiguous
between coreferential with the topic of the sentence or a different referent:

(19) i» tsai33 ta21^ (i33) ka33^ m35"21 tui213

3sg know COMP (3g) self not right
She realized that it was herself who was at fault.

(20) p tsek5*2 u^-al55 tsu35"21 kai5541 ua5H5 ta213^3

3sg when have-leisure then to lsg say

(i33) ka^ki11 kue^^'ui213 kai55"11 sui11

(3sg) self past LW matter
Whenever he has time, he tells me about his past.

4.2.2 ka^kf1 functions as an adverbial

The reflexive can also occur before the verb to function as an adverbial, expressing
the notion of ‘by oneself or 'alone'. This usage signals a contrast between the person
in question and others who could be involved. It can be separated from the co
referential topic by other constituents, such as temporal phrases, as in (21) and (22
This is because a manner adverb usually appears before the verb:

(21) (lui53) kim33zek5 ka^ki11 k'ui213^3 hak^hau35, ua53 m^-al55

2sg today self go school lsg busy
Today, you go to school by yourself, because I am busy.

(22) ua53 zek^zek5"2 ka^ki11 li5J55lok5 tsiak5，kue2

2sg day-day self cook over boring
It is really boring to cook for myself everyday.

4.23 The emphatic function of ktr^kf1

kc^kf1 can be used in apposition to a noun phrase, particularly a p
for emphasis. This function is similar to English, as in ‘I don't know
myself am all for this plan•’ The following are some Jieyang examp

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 84 ASPECT OF CHAOSHAN GRAMMAR

(23) ua53 ka33^ hi5H5hua33 tsu35"21 ho53

2sg self like then good
As long as I like (it), that is fine.

(24) P ka^ki11 al21«3 k'ui213 kai^, bo55"11 nag

3sg self want go PRT not.have people

ki021>53 j33.ll kai55-ll

ask 3sg PRT
It was he himself who volunteered to go. No one asked him to go, yo

When the reflexive is used with an emphatic meaning, as exemp

and (24), the personal pronoun is obligatory since it is the real gramma

the sentence. In other words, the emphatic ka^kP1 can only be in appo
antecedent NP.

4.3 Nominal demonstratives

Nominal demonstratives are those which can occur in an

demonstratives used to denote location, manner or degr
The Jieyang dialect has a relatively complex nominal dem
first of all reflected in a relatively large number of forms

Table (43) Nominal Demonstratives

Proximal
Proximal Distal
Distal

tsi53 (this)
(this) hui53 (that)
hut53

tsio53 (these / the) hio53 (those / the)

tsia53 (this.kind.of) (generic) Ilia53

hia53 (that.kind.of) (generic)

tsia5H5-kai55 (this.kind.of NP) (definite) hia5365-kai55 (that.kind.of NP) (definite)

hia5335-kai55

As can be seen from Table (4.3), in terms of morphological forms, the

distinction between the proximal and distal demonstratives is mainly in their initials.

Within each set, that is, proximal and distal respectively, it is mainly the finals that
serve to distinguish one form from another. Both sets display the same citation tones.

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 CHAPTER FOUR: PERSONAL PRONUNS, RELEXIVES 85

Deictically, it can be seen from Table (4.3) that the nominal demonstratives in
the Jieyang dialect exhibit a two-degree distinction: proximal and distal (for a full
description of the demonstrative system in the Jieyang dialect, see Xu Hui Ling 2001;
Xu and Matthews 2001). This deictic distinction is generally one of spatial distance,
near or far, with respect to the speaker or the referents. However, the distance may
not be just in the strict physical sense because, as it will be shown in later discussions,

some demonstratives can also signal temporal and emotional distance, which are
sometimes referred to as ‘secondary deictic functions' (Lyons 1995: 310).
Apart from 汪 relatively large number of forms, another salient feature of the
nominal demonstratives is that not only are there simplex forms which are tsP and
Am53 (§ 4.3.1), there are also fused forms tsio^ and hi<P as well as ttia53 and hicP.
These fused forms have developed as a result of historical fusion between a
demonstrative root and 壮 classifier. It will be shown in § 4.3.2 that it is likely that
tsic^ and hio^ have contracted with a classifier which denotes plurality and
unspecific quantity (hence the glosses as ‘these /those’ as well as ‘the’ for unspecific
quantity), whereas tsia53 and hia53 may have contracted with a classifier which means
4kind / category’ (§ 4.3.3). This is because this pair can only be used to denote
categories rather than individual members. There are also two compound
demonstratives, tsitP^6 kar6 and hia^ kaf5 (§ 4.3.4), which are also used to encode
‘狂 kind /category of, but syntactically, they behave differently from isia53 and A/a53.

Syntactically, due to their semantic properties, while some demonstratives can

function as demonstrative determiners, others can serve as determiners or
pronominals or both. In the following sections, I discuss each pair of the nominal
demonstratives in more detail.

43.1 tt/53 and hw53

These two nominal demonstratives mean ‘this’ and ‘that’ respectively. They

serve as determiners in a classifier phrase which must consist minima

classifier. In other words, they cannot directly precede the head noun, but m

the classifier as the middle term. The order of the sequence is as follows, and

exemplified in (25):

tsi53/ hui53 十(numeral)十 classifier 十(noun)

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86 ASPECT OF CHAOSHAN GRAMMAR

(25) a. tsi5335 *(purj5>35) tsui33 b. hui53"35 *(tsia?2) ts'ia33

this *(CL) book that *(CL) car
this book that car

The noun phrase modified by tsi53 and hw^

and individualised entity. If tsP and htu^ are
number bigger than ‘one，，as in (26a), or a
they refer to a plural entity:

(26) a. tsi5H5 sa33 kai55*u nag55 b. hui5HS so?2 tsui33

this three CL people that CLP 丨 book
these three people those books

It is worth noting that when the reference is singular, the numeral ‘on
necessary, as in (25) above. However, if the numeral ‘one’ is added, the e
more on the notion of ‘one and one only' as in (27), as well as on the n
‘totality’ and 'wholeness' as in (28):

i33 tsi5535 tsek5"2

(27) nag53 tsu5>35iau213 si35*21 ts'u5355
lpl mainly COP take 3sg this one

tiam53, ua33ts'uag55 tia11 ma11

point, safety only PRT
We only wanted one thing: safety.

(28) hui5"5 tsek5"2 pT21353 mue?5 buaguek2 to5:

that one CL tning in-case

tsio^-loT^-pag33
lo?5*2 k'ui213*21, kar)33ho53"35 si35*21
down go just COP attend-finish-work

kau33-horj33 si^kag33, k'i5H5p'e53 hui5>35

peak time, at. least that CL area

tio?5*2 si5H5 sio33 zioT^-tso11 nag55

should dead wound how.amny person
What if that entire wall had collapsed during rush hour, there would h
a lot of casualties around that area.

In deictic terms, the choice of either the proximal or distal demonstra

contingent upon proximity to the speaker or referent or utterance either spa

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 CHAPTER FOUR: PERSONAL PRONUNS, RELEXIVES 87

temporally. For example, in (29), the speaker uses the distal form because she is
referring to the business card given to her sometime in the past:

(29) lui53 hua33 si35"21 guag^lai55 hui®35 tio33 mia^-piaq213,

2sg still COP original that CL name-card

si3521 me11?
COP QPRT
You are still using the same business card, right?

However, the proximal form is often preferred in recounting a past event, as in

(30) below, which serves to make the referents psychologically closer and more vivid

to the addressee. This is similar to the use of the present tense in narratives in English:

u35*21 no35*2
(30) tsi各21353to35"21 k'ui33, t'oi5335 tio?5"2 t'au55"^!55
PROG drive, see RVC ahead have two

sa33 tio33 keq5H5 ts'ia33 to35"21 ts'e55"11 hia53"35 siau5

three CL police car PROG check that.kind small

ts'ia33, nag53 t'ol5>35-tio?5 ta21^53, "ai213, kai5541 nag55"11

vehicle lplinc| see - RVC COMP "PRT to lplinci

bCai11”， nag53 tsu35*21 k'ui33, k'ui33, k'ui33, tsP35 tiau5"1

irrelevant lplinci then drive, drive, drive this CL

ts'ia33 tau35， tsP35 tiau3521 tsu5"5 ts'ia33 tau35,..…

main road this CL main venicle road...
...I was driving along when I suddenly spotted tw
ahead, checking vehicles. I thought to myself that it w
me [as the speaker was driving a motorbike] so I w
this lane for cars, this main lane for cars, ....

Between the proximal and distal forms, the proximal /

in a deictically neutral context, displaying a function

article in English. For example, in (31)，the demonst
information about the referent. Rather, it locates a refer

be inferred on the basis of knowledge of the world:

(31) lui53 na11 ta213*53 ts'oq55"11 tsi5335 kai55*

2sg if COMP from this CL pessimistic

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88 ASPECT OF CHAOSHAN GRAMMAR

huag^meij11, t'ol53 -tio?5'2 io11 io11 mo53,

aspect see - RVC kind kind not.good
If you look at [the social issues] from a pessimistic point of view,
everything is wrong.

As tsP and huP do not function as full NPs, they cannot be used as textual
anaphor (terminology from Dixon 2001: 4). For example, in (32B) below, tsP cannot
be used to substitute for the event mentioned in (32A). Instead, the fused form tsia53

(‘this.kind.of) which can function as a textual anaphor is used in place of tsP

(detailed discussion of tsioP/hi(P in § 4.3.3):

(32) A: i33 m35-2i t'ak^tsui33, tiam35"21 al21^3 suir)5H5 iu^hi^-ki33

3sg not study always want play game-machine

B: (*tsiB) / tsia53 tio?5*2 ta213 i3>u.

(•this) / this.kind.of should criticise 3sg
A: He does not want to study but always wants to go and play
computer games.
B: B •• You should scold him for this (kind of behaviour).

4.3.2 tsic^ and hio53

43.2.1 Semantic and syntactic features

isio^3 and hio53 are a pair of fused forms. Although the etymology of this pair is not
certain, their present-day usage suggests that they are likely to be fusions created
from the basic demonstrative forms tti53 and Aiii53 and the collective classifier ko2^，

which denotes both plurality and unspeciflc quantity:

tsi53 + ko213 = tsio53 hui53 + ko213 = hio53

This conjecture can be supported by the fact that synchronically, the fused forms

exist side by side with the full form [tsi53 / hui53 + ko213 ] with the same meanings:

(33) a. tsi掷 ko咖 nag55 =tsio53"35 naij55 ='these people1

this CL people this.CL people

hui掷 k02的 tsi55 =hio53-35 tsi55 =4the money'

this CL money this.CL people

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 CHAPTER FOUR: PERSONAL PRONUNS, RELEXIVES 89

Examples in (33) show that because the classifier kom denotes both plurality
and unspecific quantity, isio53 and hio53 can be used with discrete entities, such as
'people' in (33a), as well as non-discrete entities, such as 'money' in (33b). Because
of this dual function, these two demonstratives are glossed as ‘these’ and ‘those’
before count nouns and ‘this.CL’ and ‘that.CL’ before uncount or collective nouns.

It is worth pointing out that although tsio53 and hio5^ are fused forms with a
built-in classifier, they can still be followed by a classifier phrase with kd02 or with
tsoT1, both of which denote plurality, as in (34). This usage suggests that tsio53 and
hioa perhaps have become more grammaticalised as pure demonstratives, which can
then take a classifier before preceding the head noun:

(34) a. tsio5H5 (ko21>53) mue?52kia35 b. hio5H5 (ts'o?2) nag55

these (CL) thing those (CL) people
these things those people

Syntactically, tsio53 and hio^ can be demonstrative adjec

(36), or as full NPs, representing either a plural entity or a mass
of which can only be determined by the context, as in (37):

(35) hio5^35 oi55 log5H5 k'io?5 ts'u?2 k'ui21321.

those shoe all take out go
Take out all of those shoes

(36) tsio 掷 h'ui55 tso^ni55"11 mue?5

tthis.CL fish how make
How do I cook the fish?

(37) boi53*35 tsio53 ho53"213, tiam55. hio53 boi班1

buy these good, those not.can sweet

Better to buy these. Those ones aren't sweet

tsior^ and hio^ are often used with the morpheme mue?5 (‘thing’）to form two

nominal compounds: tsicr^-muef and hio^'mue?5, both of which can function as

demonstrative pronouns to refer to any inanimate referents. For example, in (38),
tsio^-mue?5 refers to whatever food is left on the plate:

(38) tsio5335 mue?5 tsiak5 k^ui213"21.

this.CL thing eat go
Eat up the food.

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 ASPECT OF CHAOSHAN GRAMMAR

(39) hio5^ mue?5 k'io?5*2 k'ui213^3 pag213"53 tsui^ke21363 terj^-ko213^3

that.CL thing take go put bookcase top-SUF
Put that (thing) on the bookshelf.

tsic^ and hio55 are also often used with the word laix 'home, house’ to refer

one's home or house. The proximal form is used if the speaker is in the house, bu
the speaker is not in the house at the time of speaking, the distal form is used,
shown in (40) (see chapter 9 for discussion on using negators as question particles

(40) (A calls home to check about his son)

3sg have be.at that.CL home nothave

Is he at home?

B: i33 u35"21 to3521 tsio5H5 lai35'21

3sg have be.at this.CL home
Yes, he is at home.

43.2.2 Deictic and anaphoric functions

tsio53 and hio^ do not behave anaphorically but are distinguished deictically. The
former refers to things closer to the speaker, the latter further from the speaker. The

deictic distance, however, can be temporal as well as spatial, as is the case in the
following example:

(41) tsau33zek5 hio5335 /* tsio5^35 nag55 kai55 tPko213"53 lai55 kai55*u

yesterday those / *these people COP where come PRT
Where do those people [whom we met yesterday] come from?

However, the compounds tsio^-muef and hia^-mue?5 can be used as

textual anaphors, as shown in (42) where tsio^6 -muef substitutes for an event
which has been mentioned previously:

(42) (the speaker and some friends are talking about drug-taking in their home
town)
tsio^-mue?5 to^siau21363 huak2se33 to35'21 tek^sui^k'ue33
this.CL-thing majority happen at disco

bu^-tia33^213*21
dance-hall-SUF
This kind of thing [ie., taking drugs] mostly takes place in discotheques.

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 CHAPTER FOUR: PERSONAL PRONUNS, RELEXIVES 91

(43) (after briefing the addressee about what has happened to a friend, the
speaker asks the addressee for some advice)
hio5^5 -mue?5 lui53 t'ol^-tiok5"2 tso21>53ni55"11 tso213
that.CL -thing 2sg see 一 RVC how do
What do you think should be done about that?

433 tsiff^ and hiaP

433.1 Semantic and syntactic features
These two demonstratives appear to be another pair of fused forms, as evidenced by

the fact that they can directly precede a NP without a classifier, unlike isP and み！！/53.

Consider the following minimal pairs:

(44) a. tsP35 kal33 ts'u213 b. tsia5335 ts'u213

this CL house this.kind.of house
this house this kind of house

c. hui5335 tiau55"u lou11 d. hia5335 lou11

that CL road that.kind.of house
this road that kind of road

tsicf3 and A/a53 are glossed as ‘this.kind.of and ‘that.kind.of respectively

because they do not denote an individual entity but rather a category. This can be
further demonstrated by a comparison with other Sinitic languages. For example, to

express the phrase ‘this kind of book', both Mandarin and Cantonese require a
classifier which expresses ‘kind’ while the Jieyang dialect does not:

(45) Mandarin Cantonese Jievang

zhe zhdng shu li euih syu tsia5>35 (* tseg53d5) tsui33
this kind book this kind book this.kind.of (*kind) book

The evidence shows that the classifier incorporated into the fused forms

one that expresses ‘kind’. But which classifier? So far, there hasn't been an

finding. However, in Fuzhou in Fujian province, a Min dialect in Southeast

a similar pair of demonstratives exists,者[tsia] and 许[xia]，which
suggested to be fused with the basic demonstratives and the general classi
Chen Zeping 1999: 255) whose equivalent in the Jieyang dialect is kaP
/s/Vi53 and hicP in the Jieyang dialect have gone through the sam

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92 ASPECT OF CHAOSHAN GRAMMAR

development needs further investigation, because in their present day usage, t

combination of the basic demonstratives /si53 and hui53 and the classifier kaf6, that i

[tsi53 / hui53 + kai55], has a different meaning to the fused forms ttio®35 and /r/o53:

(46) a. tsia5335 nag55 幸 b. tsP35 kai55"11 nag55

this.kind.of person this CL person
this kind of people this person

When designating ‘kind’，tsia55 and hia^ can either refer to a member of an

entire category, as in (47)，or the entire kind or category, as in (48):

(47) tsia5^ p'eo^kue53 tso^ni55 ho5H5 boi53?

this.kind.of apple how can buy
How could you have bought this kind of apples?

(48) tsia035/ hia5335 p'eq^kue53 tsiak5"2 zioT^tsoi

this.kind.of / that.kind.of apple eat how-many

to33 mu ド13
all not.afraid
There is no harm in eating as many apples as you can.

Syntactically, tsia53 and /r/a53 can function as determiners by preceding a head

noun, as illustrated in (49). They can also function as pronominals, serving as th
subject or the object, especially when there is a contrast involved:

(49) i33 tsia5^ ia35*21 al21^, hia5335 ia35"21 al213

3sg this.kind.of also want that.kind.of also want
She wants this (kind of thing) and that (kind of thing).

(50) i33 mai21H3 tsia5335, mai213"53 hia53.

3sg not. want this.kind.of not. want that.kind.of
She doesn'/ what this (kind of thing) nor that (kind of thing).

433.2 Deictic and anaphoric functions

tsia?^ or hia53 are distinguished deictically when they refer to a member of a category.

Thus, in (47) above, because the apples are right in front of the speaker and the
addressee, it is ungrammatical to use the distal form. When fsia53 or hia53 refer to an

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 CHAPTER FOUR: PERSONAL PRONUNS, RELEXIVES 93

entire kind or category, that is, when they refer to a generic entity, the deictic
distinction is neutral and as such, the proximal and distal demonstratives are
interchangeable, as in (48). In other words, in contexts not requiring distal and
proximal distinction, both forms can serve to mark a generic entity. For example,
although the distal form is used in (51), the proximal form is also grammatical for
this context:

(51) i33 tiam35"21 ta21353 kai55"u tsia5355 ts"Pule り55*11nui り35 pe55"1^©11
3sg always say with this.kind.of sugar, coated.peanut same
She kept saying that [the white pills] are like sugar-coated peanuts.

As remarked earlier, the proximal form tsi(^ can be used as textual anaphor to
refer to an antecedent which can be in the previous clause or stretch of discourse. For

example, in (52B), the proximal form tsia53 is used by the listener to substitute for
what the first speaker has just said (also cf example 32B): that the person in question
does nothing but plays computer every day:

(52) A: i33 zek5'2-zek5'2 tsu35"21 si35'21 al21^3 mue?5"2 i33 kai55U

3sg day-day then COP want do 3sg POSS

tia り35^nau53 tiar)u, me?2kai55"u to33 bo^Vi5^ tso213.

computer only, what all not. want do

B: tsia53 tso21^3 ui213.

this.kind.of how afraid

A: He does nothing but playing with the computer everyday.
B: This [kind of behaviour] is nothing to be worried about.

433.3 Other functions

In oral discourse, the distal form /r/a53 can also as a conjunction,

name 'then', in Mandarin or 'then, in that case, such being the c

a topic marker, translatable into English as ‘speaking of..., then

(53) A: i33 mi2i>53 tio^iu^-ue11 si 叫35-21 u3521

3sg towards Chaozhou-dialect most have research

B： hia53, lai55*u ts'ue11 i3>u tsu35"21 tui213.

that.kind.of come find 3sg then correct

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94 ASPECT OF CHAOSHAN GRAMMAR

A: He has a profound knowledge about the Chaozhou dialect.

B: In that case, he will be the ideal person to approach

(54) A: kiarj^mer)55 lui53 herj^ai35 zio?5*2 m^al55?

Jian Ming 2sg now how busy

B: hia53, i33 tsi5335 kai55"u ze?2bu35 li33 m^ai55 le3>u

that.kind.of 3sg this CL position PRT busy PRT
A: How busy are you in your current position, Jianming?
B: (As far as that is concerned), he is extremely busy in this position.
(The answer was given by a third party who was also present at t
conversation).

Both the proximal tt/o53 and the distal hia53 are also used as ‘gap fillers', simila

to hesitation markers such as ‘um’ and ‘uh’ in English. It is interesting to note tha
not only are they interchangeable, but they can alternate in the same sentence:

(55) j33 kai55"11 mia55 k’^35 lai55 kue21>53 ho53,

3sg POSS name give.a.name.to EXT over good

kio213"53 tso23 me?2kai55?

hia5535.. hia5335.. tsia53 o53,
call as what Oh

kio20"53 tso213^3 ‘pek2-seg213-k'e?2’

call as ‘must-win-guest’
The name given to it [pizza hut] is really fantastic: it is called,
um...um...what is it? Oh, it is called ‘must-win-guest.,

4.3.4 -kaf5 and hic^5- kav6

This pair are compound forms, combining the fused forms tsia53 a

morpheme kai55. However, whether kaP here derives from the clas

yet clear. In its synchronic usage, kai55 in tsicP^ kaf5 and hia5^6 k
element (as such, it is glossed as NOM in the examples). The reason
is that tsicP35- kaf5 and /r/d5335- kai55 can only function as full NPs

They also refer to a kind or category of things, but rather than d

entity, as tsia^ and /r/o53, they refer to a definite entity of a certain

(56) (Two customers are looking at a variety of mobile phone

considering which kind to buy)

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 CHAPTER FOUR: PERSONAL PRONUNS, RELEXIVES 95

A: tsia^-kai55"11 mo^t'ol53, ha33 si35'21 hia^-kai5^11 ho213

this.kind.of- NOM ugly still COP that.kind.of- NOM good

B: hia53 tsu21353 boi5>35 hia^-kaP11

thatkind.of then buy that.kind.of- NOM
A: This kind (of phone) is ugly. I think that kind is better.
B: In that easel，buy that kindfof phone) then.

As tsicP^-kaf5 and hit^-kai55 are pronominals, they cannot be used as

modifiers, as mentioned before. Thus, in (57b), it is ungrammatical to leave the head
noun in situ after tsUP^-kav6:

(57) (The speaker is asking about a kind of exotic fruit)

a. tsia^-kai55 si35"21 me?2kai55?
this.kind.of-NOM COP what

b. tsia^-kai55 (*tsui5>35kue53 ) si35"21 me?2kai55

this.kind.of-NOM (* fruit) COP what
What is this (kind of fruit)?

Summary of chapter
In this chapter, I have discussed personal pronouns and nominal demonstratives in
the Jieyang dialect. Personal pronouns do not vary for gender but do vary for number

singular versus plural. The first person plural pronouns also have two forms
inclusive and exclusive: nau5im(L and wfl(/53exc卜The pronouns are invariant in all
positions in the sentence. Possessive relation is expressed analytically with the
particle kai55 or a classifier, both of which are placed after the pronouns. However
there are two ftised forms which have developed into fully-fledged genitive forms,
used only with kinship terms.

In terms of usage, the third person singular pronoun is found to be of particular

interest because of its various functions. For example, it can be used anaphorically t
refer to non-human but animate reference. It can also be used in apposition to the

subject NP, the usage of which is also anaphoric. Syntactically, it can also serve as a
dummy for the agent role in the 'k'e?2 i33 construction’，and the semantic patient role
in the pretransitive construction (see Chapter 7 and 8 for detailed discussion on thes
two constructions).

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96 ASPECT OF CHAOSHAN GRAMMAR

The system of the nominal demonstratives is quite complex, not only in

semantic features but also in their different deictic, anaphoric and syntactic fun

The paradigm of the demonstratives shows a binary distinction: distal vs pro

with each sub-paradigm consisting of four forms. Within each sub-paradigm,
a number distinction between singular and plural (e.g. tsP ‘this’ vs /sio53
Some forms are distinguished by whether they can occur with individual ent
denote a kind (e.g. /si53 ‘this’ vs. tsi'a53 ‘this.kind.of and tsicP^5 kaf5 ‘this
NP，)，and syntactically, by whether they can serve as full NPs or only as determ

or both, tt/a53 and hieP are also found to have discourse-pragmatic functions,

as conjunctions or as gap fillers in oral discourse.

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CHAPTER FIVE NUMERAL CLASSIFIERS，POSSESIVE
STRUCTURES AND RELATIVE CLAUSES

Tnis ch叩ter deals with three topics that are closely related to the noun phrase:
numeral classifiers, possessive structures and relative clauses.

5.1 Numeral classifiers

Numeral classifiers constitute a very important part of the sy

in the Sinitic languages as a whole. They are used obligato

speciiying noun entities. Thus, a numeral or a deictic dete
modify a head noun, but must have a classifier preceding t
use of numeral classifiers in individualising and classifyin
classifiers in the Jieyang dialect have a number of features
southern dialects in China. These features include their
spoken language in signalling the definiteness of a nou
indicating relations in possessive constructions (§ 5.2) and in

The Jieyang dialect does not have as large a repertoire of

As such, the usages of classifiers are, on the whole, mor
Mandarin, which are much more specialised. However, classif
be freely borrowed, serving as alternative forms for the fo
writing, on TV or in radio broadcasting.

There are two main types of numeral classifiers: m

sortal/shape (§ 5.1.2). As the names suggest, mensural cla
measure words, are used to denote quantities or measures wh
to classify or categorise a class of nouns by picking out 'salie
either physical or functionally based, which are permanentl
named by the class of nouns' (J. Tai 1992: 591). In the fo
common numeral classifiers in the Jieyang dialect, followed
syntactic features.

5.1.1 Mensural classifiers

Mensural classifiers include measure words used for measuring

length, width etc. They also include collective and container cla

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 98 ASPECT OF CHAOSHAN GRAMMAR

quantities and amounts of things and substance. As measurement classifiers (such

foot, kilo, mile, inch), and container classifiers (such as bowls, bottles, cups) in t
Jieyang dialect are very similar to those in Mandarin (see Y.R. Chao 1968 pp.
620 and Li and Thompson 1981 pp. 104-112), they will not be discussed in det
here. Instead, I will focus on collective or aggregate classifiers, many of whi
belong to the local lexicon.

5.1.1.1 Collective classifiers

Collective classifiers are sometimes called group measure words bec

used for a group or collection of individual entities. Group measure wor

Jieyang dialect can further be divided into two subgroups: those that
local lexicon and those which are cognate with or borrowed from Ma
two groups of measure words are listed in Tables (5.1) and (5.2) respect
Table
Table (5.1) (5.1)
Collective
Collective
Classifiers Classifiers
ClassifierVfeanine
Classifier VIeaninc denoted
denoted Examole
Example nouns that
nounscan 20that
with thecan
classifier
go with the classifier
Form
Form Gloss
siu"
siu11 lest
rest koi33 chicken
tin33
tui33 kia53 piglet
k'u?2 lollow tsui53 water
water

t'ou55 mud
kiu55 string, bunch
string, bunch p'u^to55
p'u^'to55 grape
banana
banana
keq33tsio33
pak5 )ig
jig bundle ts'au53 grass
ts'a55 wood
ts'ai213 green vegetable
te35 small bundle ts'ai213 green vegetable
ku33 ts'ai213 chives

argish pile
largish brick
p'ia55 ag55"11
aq55"11 tsinq33
tsraq33

mur)11toi55
mug11 toi55 problems/issues
problems/issues
sa33
sa33 k'ou213
k'ou213 clothes
clothes

u?2 small pile (of mass) kau5M5sai53

kau5335 sai53 dog's dung
t'ou55 mud
tu?2 small pile (of objects
objects or
or p'eg5541
p'er)5531 kue53
kue53 apple
mass) synonymous
synonymous sweet potatoes
huaq33 tsui55
huag33 tsin55
vith u?1
u?2

ta?2 flat area

flat area scar
sio^hug55
sio33huQ55
bakM-
bak52-tsia53
tsia53 ink stain

ts'uig55 jedful or
t>edful ortableful
tableful
p'ue3"1
p'ue3521 zok5
zok5 quilt
ts'ai213 dishes
dishes

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CHAPTER FIVE: NUMERAL CLASSIFIERS, POSSESIVE STRUCTURES 99

Table
Table (5.2)
(5.2)Collective
CollectiveClassifiers
Classifiers
with
with
Cognates
Cognates
in Mandarin
in Mandarin
Classifier
Classifier: Meaning
Meanina ExamDle nouns
Example thatcan
noun that caneoeowith
withthe
theclassifier
classifier
Jievane
Jievane Mandarin
Mandarin denoted
denoted Form
Form Gloss
Gloss
class student
网33
pat)33 ban班
ban HE hak^seg33
crowd people
k'ug55
k'ur)55 qanH
qtin群 nag55
horse
be53

tui33 couple hl^kau33

hP^kau33 earrings
dui对
dui

pair oi55 shoes

sag33 shuang W.
shuang 双
ta53 dozen eggs
ddS打
afT koi33nutg55
koi33nuig55

t'au213 set ke33si33 furniture

tau套
tau S
suit
sai33tsuag33
batch hue213 goods
p'oi33 pT批
pi St
row I53 chairs
pai55
p^i排
p£i §£
tui33 pile sa^k'ou213
sa33k'ou213 clothes
dur堆
dui iji

A feature of this type of classifier, which are called group measures in Mandarin,
is that they can take the linking word de (see Y.R. Chao 1968: 595), as in (la) and
(2a), which is not possible in the Jieyang dialect, as shown in (lb) and (2b):

(l)a. yi da (de) jidan b. tsek5*2 ta53 (♦kai5^11) koi33nq35

one dozen (LW) egg one dozen (LW) egg
one dozen eggs one dozen eggs

yi xiang (de) shu b. tsek5*2 sio33 (*kai55*u) tsui33

one box (LW) book one box (LW) book
a box of books a box of books

5.1.1.2 Classifiers denoting plurality and nonspecifi

ts'o?2 and are two classifiers which denote a plurality of cou

non-specific quantity of uncountable substance. They are largely

example:

‘people，nag55 ts'o?2 / ko213^3 nag55 ‘the people’

‘money geq55 ts'o?2 / ko213*53 rjeg55 4the money

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100 ASPECT OF CHAOSHAN GRAMMAR

As can be seen, [ts'o?2/ ko213 + NP] denotes a definite entity (see § 5.1.3.2 for
further analysis of [CL+N] in signalling definiteness in topic position). It can also be
preceded by the nominal demonstratives tei53 and htu53 (‘this’ and ‘that’）to
emphasise the deictic meanings, with the head noun omitted if the context is clear:

(3) tsi5335 ts'o?2 / ko2353 tsui33 k'io?5 zip52 k'ui213^3,

this CL book take in go

hui53 ts'o?2 / ko2^ ka?5*2- tiau11.

that CL throw • RVC
Take these books in and throw those away.

(4) hui5"5 ts'o?2 / ko2^3 tsl55 log53"35 eg11

that CL money all use go CRS
That (amount of) money has all been spent.

These two classifiers do not take numerals. However

the numeral tse/^ (‘one’）which does not serve as a q
rather helps to emphasis the meaning of ‘all’，as in (4)
numeral tsel^ is used before body part terms to denote

(5) (tsek5*2) ts'o?2 / ko23"® nag55 log5^ k'u

(one) CL people all go CRS
(All) the people have gone

tsel^2 tsfo?2 and tsel^2 ko233 can also mean ‘so

possible when there is a contrast involved, as in (6). N
the following example, which indicates that each o
constitutes a sandhi unit:

ts'o?2 / ko2的
(6) (tsek5"2) nag55"11 k'ui213 lau53213,

(one) CL people go CRS

(tsek52 ) ts'o?2 / ko215® naf ha33 bue11

(one CL people still not.yet

Some (of the) people have gone, some (of them) haven，t.

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CHAPTER FIVE: NUMERAL CLASSIFIERS, POSSESIVE STRUCTURES 101

The meanings and usages of tsfo?z and ka05 are summarised below in Table

Table
Table (5.3)
(5.3)Classifiers
Classifiers( (plurality
plurality & unspecific
& unspecific quantity) quantity)
Classifier
Classifier Functions
Functions Examules
Examples
ts’。?2/ko213
ts'o?2/ kom (1) tsi5H5 // hui5H5
a. tsi5335 hui5335++ts'o?2
ts'o?2//ko21343
ko21*53++ nag55
natj55
denoting 'these / those people'
plurality
(tsek52) ++ts'o?2
b. 1. (tsek5*2) ts'o?2// ko213"53
ko213"53 ++ nar)55
nag55
‘(all)
'(all) the people'
b. 22 tsek5*2
tsek52 +十ts'o?2
ts'o?2 // ko21353
ko213"53 ++ nag5521
nag55"11

'some of the people' (in contrastive contexts)

(2) tsi5335 // hui5335
a. tsi53"35 ts'o?2 // ko213
hui5H5 + ts’。?2 geg55
ko2U + geg55
denoting 'this / that amount of money' / 'the money'
‘this
unspecific
(tsek5'2) + ts'o?2
b. 1 (tsek5*2) ts'o?2 ++ geg55
qeq55
quantity
'(all) the money’
‘(all) money'
b. 2. tsek52
tsek5"2++ts'o?2
ts'o?2//ko21353
ko21553++rjeq55"11
geg55*11

'some money' (in contrastive contexts)

5.1.1.3 Body parts as classifiers

Body parts can be used with the numeral ‘one’ to metaphorically denote such
meanings as 'all over', 'totally' or 'full of...', as illustrated in Table (5.4).

Table
Table(5.4) Body
(5.4) PartsParts
Body as Measure Classifiers
as Measure Classifiers
Classifier
Classifier Meaning
Meanine Examples
Form / Gloss Meaning
Meanine

foot tsek53 k'a33 t'ou55

tsek5"2 t'ou55 'both feet
feet covered
covered
k'a33
one foot mud with mud'
with mud'

seg33 body tsek" seg33

tsekw kua"
seq33 kua11 ‘sweating
'sweating all over'
one body sweat
tsekw
tsek5"2 seq33
seg33 tsc213
tse233 'heavily
‘heavily in debt'
one body debt
debt
tou53 stomach
stomach lsekw tou5335
tsek32 tou掷 hue53
hue53 ‘full
'full of
of anger'
anger'
one stomach fire
face 4full of smile'
'full of smile'
meg"
meg11 tsek5"2meg"
tsek32 meが1 ts'io^^io55
ts'ioa>53i655
one face smile
ts'iu53 hand tsek5"2 ts'iu5H5 k'aq^k'ue213
tsek32 ts'iu5335 k'ag33k'ue213 ‘very
'very skilful’
skilful'
one hand work (ie.,full
(ie., full of skills)
of skills)

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102 ASPECT OF CHAOSHAN GRAMMAR

5.1.2 Sortal classifiers

Sortal and sh印e classifiers are used to classify nouns accordi

which can be distinguished by two major criteria: ‘seman
‘shape criterion’ (see Yip and Matthews 2000:39):

Semantic class criterion:

Classifier Semantic Class Examples

ki33 tools, instruments tsek5"2 ki33 traut,au55: ‘a hoe'

one CL hoe
tso11 buildings tso11 ts'u213: ‘the house’
CL house

pUq53 books, magazines

no35"21 pug5HS tsra33: ‘two books'
two CL book

Shape criterion:

Classifier Semantic Class Examples

liap5 small and round tsek52 liap5"2 nq35:4an egg'

one CL egg
tiau55 long and narrow sa33 tiau5541 hag11: 'three lanes'
three CL lane
tig33 flat surface tio33 tsua53: ‘the piece of paper'
CL paper

In this section, two groups of sortal / shape classifiers will be listed: those from the

local lexicon and those that are cognate with Mandarin classifiers. In both groups,
there is not always a one-to-one correspondence between the Jieyang classifier and
the Mandarin classifier. In many cases, while several nouns can share one classifier

in the Jieyang dialect, the same nouns in Mandarin may require different classifiers.

It is therefore common to find that a classifier in the Jieyang dialect in most cases
corresponds to more than one, or in some cases, to as many as ten different classifiers

in Mandarin (see Tables 5.5 to 5.8). However, I should also make it clear that what I
am comparing is between the oral register of the Jieyang dialect with the literate layer

of Mandarin. In the spoken Mandarin or northern vernacular, the classifier system is

not as elaborate as in my presentation here. In other words, it might be just as general

as spoken Jieyang. For example, there is a strong tendency for the general use of the
individualising classifier ge to be applied to all sorts of physical objects. Thus, it is
perfectly possible to say ‘zhe ge zhuozi' (‘this table’）or 4nei ge qiche' ‘(that car') in

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 CHAPTER FIVE: NUMERAL CLASSIFIERS, POSSESIVE STRUCTURES 103

the spoken language even though the ‘proper，classifiers are zhang and Hang
respectively.
Table (5.5) lists the common sortal /shape classifiers in the Jieyang dialect from
the local lexicon. I give corresponding classifiers in Mandarin for comparison.

Table
Table (5.5)
(5.5) Sortal/Shape
Sortal/ShapeClassifiers
Classifiersfrom
fromThe
TheLocal
Local
Lexicon)
Lexicon)
Classifiers
Classifiers Physical features; Example nouns
Example nouns that
that go
go Corresponding
Corresponding
from shapes denoted; with the classifier
classifier in
in the
the Mandarin
Jieyang semantic classes Jieyang dialect classifiers
or functions
functions

io33 from the noun tiao 条

tiao &
kuq55 (skirt),
kuq55 (skirt),k'ou213
k'ou23
‘waist’
'waist' (trousers)
tu55
tu5S from the noun hue5335
hue53"35ts'ia33
ts'ia33(train)
(train) ji6节
jie 1?
'drawer'
‘drawer，
p'ai)33 (bees)
p'aij33 (bees) xiangSS
xiSng 箱
hue33 denotes very
denotes very tra33nek5
tin33nek5 (pork)
(pork) pian
pian 片
thin slice
thin slice
niam23
niam213 denotes a segment ka33 (orange), ban恭
ban 9S
of citric fruits
ke?2 (mandarin)
siu2
siu11 from the noun be?5 (wheat) kuaSt
ku幺挂
‘ear
'ear of grain'
p'u^to55 (grapes)
p'uB1ItoS5 (grapes) chuan串$
chuan

uaq55
uar)55 denotes a soft, sticky,
sticky, t'ou55 (mud),
t'ou55 (mud),mi11
mi" (dough)
(dough) tuan HQ
tuan 团
irregularly-shaped
tsui5HS
tsui5335 ni55
ni55 (cement)
(cement) kuai 块
kuai
lumpy object
nia53 from the noun 'collar'.
‘collar’. ts'au^ts'io?5 (straw
ts'au5H5ts'io?5 (straw mat)
mat) ling®
ling 领
It denotes things that
that
flat surface
have a flat surface t'aq53 (blanket), ts'rag^tua33
t'ag53 (blanket), ts'raij^tua33 tiao 条
tiao

and can be spread

spread out.
out. (bed-sheet),
(bed-sheet), kur)55
kug55 (skirt)
(skirt)
tiuts1M
ti"tsT33 (carpet), zh§ng张
zhang 5K
te^niam55
tek2niam55(bamboo
(bamboocurtain),
curtain),
hui^ma^Cfish
hmBumai)35 (fishnet)
net)
pou^'mo35
pouaH3mo35(stage
(stage curtain)
curtain) mian 面
mian ®

maq^tio213 (mosquito-net)
mai)5335tioa3 (mosquito-net) chuang
chuang 床

t'eq33niams (curtain)
t'erpniam55 (curtain) kuai tfc
kuai 块

ts'u?2 This classifier is a tiarj^ia53 (film)

tiai)5541^53 (film) bu部
bu o8
literary term referring
to section of a literary hi213
hi213 (play)
(play) はi台
tai &
play. It is used only
for films, or plays. It

may be
may berelated
relatedtoto H
fife
found in
chu found in Mandarin
Mandarin
language.
literary language

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104 ASPECT OF CHAOSHAN GRAMMAR

It is a characteristic of sortal/shape classifiers that many are nouns themselves,

such as io23 (‘waist’)，tu55 (‘drawer’）and nia53 (‘collar’）in Table (5.5). When they
function as lexical nouns, they have their own classifiers. Thus, tiau55, which denotes

long and elongated object, is used for io33 (‘waist’）and rtia53 ('collar'), while kar6,
the classifier for three-dimensional objects, is used for tur6 (‘drawer’).

The following three tables focus on sortal classifiers that are cognate with
Mandarin. In each table, the classifiers in the Jieyang dialect and their cognates in
Mandarin are highlighted and underlined.

Table
Table (5.6)
(5.6)
SortalSortal
/ Shape/Classifiers
Shape Classifiers
Cognates with Mandarin
Cognates with Mandarin
Classifiers
Classifiers Physical
Physical features
features
and and Example
Example nouns
nouns that gothat
with go with
shapes
shapes denoted;
denoted; semanticthe
semantic theJieyang
Jieyang classifiers
classifiers
classes
classes or functions
or functions
Jieyang Mandarin
Mandarin

tip33 tsua53 (paper),

(paper), Both "533
tion and zhang
zhang are
are used
used
zhang 张
zhSng
sio^^p'iag213 (photo)
sioaisp'iar)213 (photo) for flat, horizontal
horizontal surfaces.
surfaces. The
The
Jieyang classifier,
classifier, however,
however, is
is also
also
jia^e
jw架 huaq33ts'ia33
applied to machines
machines andand vehicles.
vehicles.
(sewing machine)
tai台
tai a

k'a33ts'ia33 (bike)
li如g辆
liang $5
lap
kai33 paq55 (room),
pag55 (room), Both cognates
cognatesare
areused
usedfor
for
jian
iian 间
m
s'e»>53so53 (toilet)
s,e21>53so53 (toilet) rooms,
rooms, but
but the
theJieyang
Jieyangclassifier
classitiercan
can
also
also be
beused
usedfor
formost kinds
most of of
kinds
zuo座
zuo Si ts'u213 (house)
buildings.
buildings. However,
However, thatthat the three
the three
classifiers in
classifiers in Mandarin
Mandarincan canbe
beused
used
jial^
jia家 geg55"uhag55
rjet)5H1hat)55(bank),
(bank),
interchangeably
interchangeably in
in some
some cases.
cases.
p'ou213 (shop),
kag33ts'iaq53
kaq33ts'iarj53 (factory)
liap5 bi53(rice),
bi53 (rice), While all the
the Mandarin
Mandarin
life
tauuzei)55 (peanut)
taunzer)55 (peanut) classifiers are used to
to apply
apply
to small, roundish objects,
objects,
ke颗
keS5 ts'e33 (star),
ts'e33 (star),
they are not entirely
entirely interchangeable.
interchangeable.
tiului55
tinlui55(land
(landmine)
mine)
In the
Ae Jieyang
Jieyang dialect,
dialect, only one
nuiq35
nuit)35 (egg), mak5
maK^ (eye)
(eye) classifier is
classifier is
ge^h
gさ个
usea
used in
in place
place of
of those
those in Mandarin.
io?3: p'iaq213
io?5"2 (pill)
p'iag213 (pill)
pian)n
pian Jt"

mei枚
mei ft teq33 (nail),
teg33
sio3353 tsiag33
sjg2i>53 tsiag33 (badge)

dT滴
dTdS ma?5-tsap2 (tear)
ma?5'2tsap2 (tear)

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CHAPTER FIVE: NUMERAL CLASSIFIERS, POSSESIVE STRUCTURES 105

Table
Table(5.7)
(5.7)
Sortal
Sortal
/ Shape
/ Shape
Classifiers
Classifiers
Cognates with
Cognates
Mandarin
with(continued)
Mandarin (continued)
Classifiers
Classifiers Physical
Physical features
features
and and Example nounsthat
Example nouns thatgogo
shapes
shapesdenoted;
denotedsemantic
； semantic with
with the
the Jieyang
Jieyangclassifiers
classifiers
classesor
classes orfunctions
functions
Jieyang Mandarin

tiauH
tiau55 Although both
both cognates
cognates are
are k'oi33 (small
(small stream),
stream),
ti^o 3k
tido 条
used for long,
long, thin
thin objects,
objects, the
the meqnpou213
mer)npou213 (face
(face towel),
towel),
one in the Jieyang
Jieyang dialect
dialect is
is also
also koi33 (street)
used for vertical
vertical cylindrical
cylindrical
ts'aq33
ts'aq33 (spring
(spring onion),
onion),
g^n裉
gen objects, for
for which
which aa different
different
classifier is
is required
required in
in t'iau35 (pillar)
Mandarin.
tsia?2 zhT只 Both cognates
cognates are
are used
used for
for koi33(chicken),
koi33 (chicken), kau53
kau53 (dog)(dog)
zhi .R
animal terms.
terms. But
But the
the Jieyang
Jieyang
classifier
classifierisisalso used
also usedforfor
other
other tui33
tui33(pig),
(pig),
gu55
gu55
(ox) (ox)
tou头
tou
nouns
nounswhich
whichrequire
require
different
different
classifiersinin
classifiers Mandarin.
Mandarin. be53 (horse)
(horse)
piEE
pT

ba把
baffi I53
"i53 (chair)
(chair)

ts'uiq55
ts'tui)55 (table),
(table),
zhang 张
zhang 5K
meg^ts'uiq55 (bed)
meij^Hs'uig55 (bed)
pue33ki33
pue33ki33 (aeroplane)
(aeroplane)
jw架
jia tH
huea>53ts'ia33
hue21>53ts,ia33(truck)
(truck)
liang 辆
bang
t'ua33la33ki33
t'ua33la33ki33 (tractor)
(tractor)
tai台
tai n

- 脏
sou股
sou ©£ hue^tsug55 (steam-boat)
hue5>35tsuq55 (steam-boat)

条
tiao 3k hui^Hsuq55
hiuautsuq55 (fishing
(fishing boat)
boat)

lid列 hu^^ts'ia33 (train)

hue5>35ts'ia33 (train)
lie 5!)

p'ian213
plan213 Both cognates denote
denote aa small,
small, lai55 (pear), mi11
mi11 pau33
pau33
piin 片
pihn ft
thin surface (usually
(usually vertical),
vertical), (bread)
but the
the Jieyang
Jieyang classifier
classifierisisalso
also ke?2 (mandarin)
(mandarin)
ban辦
ban
for aa segment
segment (of
(of aacitric
citricfruit),
fruit),
in which case, itit is
is synonymous
synonymous mug55 (door),
(door), t'eg33
t'eij33
shan JH
shan 扇
with niap^ (see
with niqp213 (seeTable
Table5.5).
5.5). (window)

mian 面
mian ® ts'io55 (wall)

sen33 shin
shSn 身
M Both cognates come from the sa33
sa"33 k'ou213
k'ou213 (clothes)
(clothes)

zun 5
zun尊 noun 'bust'
‘bust’ or
or 'body'.
‘body’. tsio?5"2
tsio?5"2 sio213
sio213 (statue)
(statue)

jian ft
件 ag33kia53
at)33kia53 (toy)
(toy)

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106 ASPECT OF CHAOSHAN GRAMMAR

Table
Table(5.8)
(5.8)
Sortal
Sortal
/ Shape
/ Classifiers
Shape Classifiers
Cognate with
Cognate
Mandarinwith
(continued)
Mandarin (continued)
Classifiers
Classifiers Physical
Physicalfeatures
features
andand Example
Examplenouns
nounsthat
thatcancan
go go
shapesdenoted;
shapes denoted; semantic with
semantic with the
theJieyang
Jieyang classifiers
classifiers
Jieyang Mandarin
Mandarin classes
classesor
orfunctions
functions

kia
Id33 The Mandarin
Mandarin cognate
cognatezhl
zhlisis ts'io33
ts'io35 (gun),
(gun), pek2
pek2(pen)
zhl支
zhl (pen)
mainly
mainly used
used for
forcylindrical
cylindrical
zhl S
zhl枝 objects,
objects, but
but its
itscognate
cognateinin tsam33 (needle), ts"i213
tsam33 (needle), tsl213 (arrow)
(arrow)
the Jieyang
Jieyang dialect
dialect also
also
tai台
tai C? applies
applies to
to tools,
tools, huar)33sl213
huag33s"i213(electric
(electricfan)
fan)
instruments,
instruments, machines
machinesandand
zhSn金S
zh^n other
other objects
objects such
suchasaslamps
lamps
t'ai55*11
t'ai55"11 teg33 (table lamp)
and
and flowers.
flowers.
to33ife),
to33ife), hou55"11tsia33(umbrella)
hou55'11tsia33(umbrella)
ba把
baJB
hue33 (flower)
(flower)
du6朵
dud

ts'ue55 (stick)
tek2ko33 (pole), ts'ue55 (stick)
gen根
gen 18
tsiu53 (wine),
tsiu53 (wine), si'55"11™55
si,55"uiu55 (soy
(soy
ping JS
ping 瓶
sauce)

ting 61
挺 ki33kuag33ts1533
ki33kuag33ts'i533 (machine
(machine gun)
gun)

men门
men ll tua"p'au213 (cannon)
tuanp'au213

tsak2 jie in Mandarin

Mandarin denotes
denotesa a tek2 (bamboo),
(bamboo), tsia2l3(sugarcane)
tsia213(sugarcane)
逛节 ‘joint’.
'joint'. But
Butits itsJieyang
Jieyang
duan cognate
cognate isis also
also used
usedtoto lou" (road),
lou11 (road), ts'iuuki33 (branchof
ts'iunki33 (branch of
duan 段
IS
denote
denote aa 'length’
'length'or oraa tree)
4'section'
section' of long
of a long
elongated
elongated object,
object,for
forwnich
which
a different
different classifier
classifierduan
duanisis
required
required in
in Mandarin.
Mandarin.
kai55 The
TheMandarin
Mandarin cognate ge is ge is
cognate nag55 (people)
个 nag55 (people)
becoming
becoming a general
a general hak^seq33
hak52seg33(student)
(student)
classifier
classifier andand
can can
replace
replace
pue21>53sim33
pue21M3sim33 (vest)
(vest)
jian 件
jian many
manymore more specialised
specialised
classifiers.
classifiers. However,
However, its its io^^no^niu55 (jumper)
i655'11mo5H1niu55 (jumper)

k6u
kdu Pロ Jieyang
Jieyangcognate ka^5kat6
cognate is is tse53
tse53 (a(awell)
well)
even
evenmore
more
ubiquitous.
ubiquitous.
zhSng
zhang 38
张 meq^ts'uiq55 (bed)
meg55""ts'ujg55 (bed)

tiao条^
tiao kui)55
kug55 (skirt), k'ou213 (trousers)
(trousers)

bu nP
SB tiag35"2Inau53 (computer)
tiaq35"21nau53 (computer)
tiag^si35 (TV)
tiag5H1si35 (TV)

mian
mian 面 kou53 (drum),
(drum), lo55
lo55 (gong)
(gong)

zuo座
zuo Jl£ sua33 (hill,
(hill, mountain)
mountain)

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CHAPTER FIVE: NUMERAL CLASSIFIERS, POSSESIVE STRUCTURES 107

As can be seen from Tables (5.6) to (5.8), the Jieyang cognates are far more
general in their meanings than their Mandarin counterparts. In other words, the
semantic or shape criteria are applied in a more strict way in Mandarin. An
illustrative example is the classifier zhJ in Mandarin which is mainly used for small

items (eg. ‘pen，and ‘flute’)，but the cognate in the Jieyang dialect kt33 is extended to

be used for larger objects which have a part that is cylindrical. For example, the
phrase ‘a bottle of wine’ takes the mensural classifier ‘bottle，in Mandarin (the same

is true for the Jieyang dialect), but it is also possible to use kP3 in the Jieyang dialect

because the bottle is cylindrical. It is no wonder then that kP can be used in place of

eleven classifiers in Mandarin. It should be pointed out also that in many cases, the
same nouns can take more than one classifier. For example, hue33 ‘flower’ can be
used with p'au33 or with 炎/55, the former denoting the head or related part of a flower

while the later a flower attached to its stem, literally, ‘a stem of flower’. Another

point is that in many cases, the Mandarin classifiers can be freely borrowed in written

or formal contexts. For example, one can also use the classifier 似53, which is the
translation of Mandarin dud for a stem of flower.

5.13 Special features of classifiers/measure words

5.13.1 Functioning as pronominals
An interesting feature of classifiers in the Jieyang dialect is that mensural classifiers
can be used alone to function as a full noun phrase, serving as the topic in the
sentence. The following conversation is illustrative:

(7) Customer: Ua53 zio?5*2 -tsoi11 tsl55?

Hawker: Ua53 kai55 geg55, lai55^ tsiak5 ua3"213.

bowl CL yuan come eat bowl
Customer: How much is a bowl (of...)?
Hawker: One yuan each. Come and try one.

This usage, used only in contexts involving buying and selling, is only p
when the implied numeral before the mensural classifier is ‘one’，i.e., w
referent is singular. It is therefore a case of an ellipsis of [one + CL ].

(8) pek^ts'ai213 (tsek5'2) keg33 zioT^-tsoi11 ger)55?

cabbage (one) catty how-much yuan
How much is a catty of cabbage?

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108 ASPECT OF CHAOSHAN GRAMMAR

5.13.2 Denoting definiteness

As mentioned in the introduction, in the spoken language, a numeral classifier in the

Jieyang dialect can be used to mark a definite referent when it precedes the head
noun in topic position. For example, in (9), the entity being talked about, 'the cat’，is

shared knowledge between the speaker and the listener:

(9) (Upon discovering that the family cat is not around, the speaker asks)
tsia?5"2 ijiau33 tui213"53 tPko213"53 k'ui213?
CL cat towards where go
Where's the cat gone?

Contrary to Mandarin where a bare noun can be definite in referenc

noun in topic position in the Jieyang dialect can only be generic. The follo
is illustrative: in (10a), tfiau23 and hwr6 refer to 'cats' and ‘fish’ in genera

(10b), tsiak2 rjiau^ and bue^3 hut6 refer to 4the cat' and 'the fish’ res
(note that 10b is a pretransitive construction with the marker Varj02' indi
affectedness of a definite patient NP. See Chapter 7).

(10) a. Qiau33 a"!213"53 tsiak5"2 hui55

cat love eat fish
Cats like to eat fish.

b tsiak2 rjiau33 fag213"53 bue5^ hui55 t

cat love eat fish fish eat RVC
The cat ate the fish.

It can be said that the classifier used in th

function, by drawing attention to the boundar
bare noun, by contrast, serves as a label for a g

is a well-known phenomenon typologically (se

The development of the use of classifiers for
other Southern and Southeastern dialects, such
(see Zhang Shuangqing 1999). It is to be noted
indicating definiteness is not a case of ellipsis of
pronoun, as suggested by some linguists (see
example, in (11)，the classifier phrase ko23^ h
either the proximal or distal demonstrative, or a

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CHAPTER FIVE: NUMERAL CLASSIFIERS, POSSESIVE STRUCTURES 109

‘our’ because all the family members there know that the speaker is referring to the
leftover of the only one fish dish of the dinner. If there are two or more dishes of fish

of that dinner, and there is possibility of confusion, then the speaker might use the
demonstrative, probably accompanied by a pointing gesture, to make the referent
identifiable. In (12), the distal demonstrative is not used even though the car the
speaker is referring to may be parked outside the house. But because the car may be
their only family car, the father has no difficulty picking out the referent. Thus, it can

be said that in both cases, neither the distance component nor the notion of
possession is relevant. As identifiability is a major feature of definiteness (see Lyons
1999), the examples below clearly demonstrate that [CL + NP] in topic position is an
indication of a definite referent.

(11) (a daughter asked her mother whether she still wanted to keep the leftover
fish):
ko2^3 hui55 ha33 al213 me11?
CL fish still want QPRT
Do you still want to keep the fish?

(12) (A son asked his father for permission to use the fam
tsia?2 ts'ia33 kim33zek5 k'e?2 ua5>35 k'ui33, ho53 me11?
CL car today PASS lsg drive, good QPRT
Can I have the car today

[CL + NP] also occurs in post-verbal position, but here, it is u

ellipsis of [‘one’ + CL + NP], with the numeral isek5 (‘one’）om
post-verbal position, [one + CL + NP] can be either specific or
example, in sentence (13) below, the speaker has a specific car
he was there when his friend won the car but the listener may not

was talking about:

(13) (Friend A is telling Friend B that their Friend C won a car

i33 kim33zek5 uguk'i213 t'ou5>35 ho53, t'ua21
3sg today luck very good turn.out.to.be

ia55*11 -tio?5*2 tsia?2 ts'ia33.

win -RVC CL car
He was really lucky today: he won a car!

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110 ASPECT OF CHAOSHAN GRAMMAR

By contrast, in (14), the speaker is referring to any box without having a specific
entity in mind. Thus, this sentence has a non-specific reading:

(14) lui53 na11 al213， ua53 tsu55*11 k'io?5*2 kaP"u sio33

2sg if want Isg then take CL box

2sg put
If you want [to buy them], I will get you a box to put [the goods in].

Thus, pre-verbal [CL+ NP] needs to be distinguished from post-verbal [(one

CL +NP]. This distinction further supports our analysis that [CL + NP] in a p
verbal position is a strategy for marking deflniteness in the spoken language.

5.133 [CL + mue?5] construction

A very productive usage is the combination of a classifier and the morpheme mue?5
'thing' to substitute for a noun denoting an object or a person (cf. the demonstratives
tsifp^muef ‘this thing’ and hio^6 muef ‘that thing' in § 4.3.2). The classifier used
in this compound must be companble with the noun it replaces. For example, the
classifier kai55 can refer to human beings, and thus kai^11 mue?5 can mean ‘the
person', referring to a certain person being talked about, usually with derogatory
connotation because of the meaning of muef ‘thing’：

(15) kai®"n mue?5 s^siau^koq55, lui53 mai213"53 ts'ai53 i3>u.

CL thing crazy 2sg ignore 3sg
That guy is crazy. Just ignore him.

In (15), the speaker is asking the listener about the mobi

suggested that the listener should buy. He uses tiaw6^ mue

mobile phone’ because the classifier used is for long c

referring to inanimate 'objects', however, this usage has no

G5) tiau55"11 mue?5 hoか5-eg11 me11?

CL thing useful PQRT
Is the mobile phone any good?

The [CL + muef] compound indicates a specific and definite objec

similar in function to that of the pre-verbal [CL + NP] construction

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CHAPTER FIVE: NUMERAL CLASSIFIERS, POSSESIVE STRUCTURES 111

further evidence that [CL + NP] serves to mark definiteness without carrying any
deictic meaning.

5.13.4 With adjectives in expressing vividness

Another distinctive feature of the syntax of classifiers in the Jieyang dialect is that a

classifier can be used with adjectives to express vividness and a high degree of the
quality as represented by the adjectives. While this is a very colloquial usage, the
choice of adjectives that can be used in this way is in fact very limited: only those
that denote ‘big’ or ‘small’. There are several patterns in this usage. First of all, a
classifier can be used after 狂 reduplicated adjective to yield pattern (i) where 4A'
stands for ‘adjective’. This construction can only serve as a predicate (note the use of

classifier as possessive marker in example 17. See § 4.1.2.3.2 and next section for
discussion)

(i) (AA + CL)

(16) i33 sag33 mak5 tuau-tuau sag33

3sg pair eye big -big pair
Her eyes are very big

Secondly, a classifier can be used optionally after a single adjective which

usually modified by an adverbial such as the degree adverb ho5i (‘very’)，an adver
demonstrative tsio53 or hio53 (‘so’)，or the superlative degree marker siatf^t
(‘most’）. This feature is also common in Yue dialects such as Cantonese. The pat
is:

(ii) 【Adv + Adj + (CL)】

Again, the construction only serves to form predicates:

(17) A: ua53! bue5HS hui55 tsio5335 tuau (bue53)
IN 丁 CL fish so big (CL)
Oh, what a big fish!

B: he33 tsi5>35 bue5W5 mue?5 siag^teg5335 tua21

PRT this CL thing most big (CL)
Yes, this fish is the biggest

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112 ASPECT OF CHAOSHAN GRAMMAR

A variant of [Adv + Adj + (CL)] involves the highly colloquial degree adve
w*53, literally 'dead', which is placed after the adjectival predicate:

(iii) 【Adj + CL + 5/53】

Thus, sentence (18A) can be re-presented as (19) using this third pattern. Not
however, that the classifier after the adjective in this pattern tends to be presen
although it can also be optional:

(18) ua53! bue5H5 hui55 tuau bue53 si53!

INT CL fish big CL dead
Oh, what a big fish!

The three patterns described above serve similar functio

denote a stronger degree or vivification. Syntactically,
constructions can only serve as predicates but not as attr
illustrated in (19):

(19)* tiau35"11 soP-soF-tiau55"11 lou11.

CL small-small-CL road
a small road

As mentioned earlier, the use of a classifier with adjectives is only limited to the

adjectives ‘big’ and 'small', or their synonyms such as ‘huge’ and ‘tiny，. Other
adjectives seem ill-formed in these constructions:

(20)' ua53! bue5B5 hui55 ts*!33 bue53 si53!

INT CL fish fresh CL dead
Oh, the fish is really fresh!

傘
(21) lui53 kia35*21 sa33 gia5535 -ijia^35 kia35.
2sg CL blouse beautiful- beautiful CL
Your blouse is really beautiful!

5.13.5 In indicating possessive relations

It has been shown in Chapter 4 that an alternative way of forming a possessive
pronoun is by using a classifier after the personal pronoun (see § 4.1.2.3.2). I
recapitulate this by providing a couple of examples below:

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CHAPTER FIVE: NUMERAL CLASSIFIERS, POSSESIVE STRUCTURES 113

(22) a. ua53 ki33 pe?2 b. i33 tsia?H kau53

lsg CL pen 3sg CL dog
my pen his dog

Parallel to this function, classifiers can also serve t

the possessive constructions, which I now turn to.

5.2 Possessive constructions

In the Jieyang dialect, possessive forms are created in exactly the same f

possessive pronouns (cf example 22): by placing the possessive marker ka

or tf3 (written and formal), the formal equivalent of de in Mandarin, be

possessor and the possessee, as in (i), and by using a classifier in place of k

to indicate the relationship between the possessor and the possessee, as in

(i) possessor + kai55 / ti33 + possessee

(ii) possessor + CL + possessee

For example:

b. lao5H5sui33 pug335 tsui33

(23) a. lao5H5siu33 kai55"11 tsui33
teacher CL book teacher CL book
the teacher ’s book(s) the teacher's booK(s)

nia^tau35"21
(24) to35*21 ts'i^tsiai)53 ti33 e35 …
be. at mayor POSS lead under

under the leadership of the mayor,.

The use of kav6 and tP3 as possessive markers a

indicating possession, as well as the differences in using

in forming possessive pronouns, which have been co

such, I will not repeat the discussion here.

53 Relative clauses
The structure of relative clauses in Sinitic languages is very

English: no relative pronouns are involved, and the modif

before the head noun. In English, relative clauses can be d

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114 ASPECT OF CHAOSHAN GRAMMAR

restrictive and non-restrictive. In the restrictive type, the relative clause ‘is essent

for identification of the referent of the NP'(Trask 1993: 238), while in the n
restrictive type, the relative clause ‘merely adds further information about the N

without being required for identification' (ibid.). Matthews and Yip (1994: 110) poi
out that in Cantonese there are no direct counterparts of non-restrictive clauses. T
observation, perhaps, is pan-Sinitic. However, as will be shown later in § 5.3.2,
oral speech in the Jieyang dialect, due to different tone changes, certain sentences ca

be analysed as a pivotal construction which seems to correspond functionally t

non-restrictive relative clause.

Restrictive clauses are formally coded in the Jieyang dialect in two patterns:

(i) relative clause + kai55 / (ti33) + head noun

(ii) relative clause + (demonstrative pronoun) + CL + head noun

As can be seen, these two patterns resemble those of possessive constructions

(cf § 5.2 and § 4.1.2.3.2), with one structure using the morpheme kai55 or ti33 as t
linking word (as such, they are glossed as LW for ‘linking word’ rather than POSS
for 'possessive marker’）between the head noun and the relative clause, and the oth
pattern using a classifier as the linking word. Like the possessive pronouns, pattern
with kaf5 encodes a general referent while the pattern with classifiers encodes an
individual entity. In the following section, I take a look at each of these two patter
in turn in more detail.

53.1 Relative clauses with kaf5

There are no relative pronouns as those in English in the Jieyang dialect. Ins
modifying clause is linked to the head noun by kai55, as shown below:

(25) hau21^ ta21^3 suirj5H5ts'io213 kai 射1 narj55

like say joke LW people
people who like to make jokes

(26) tai^ke33 lor)5H5 hi5>35hua33 ts'iag213 kai55"1

everybody all like sing LW song
songs that everybody likes to sing

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CHAPTER FIVE: NUMERAL CLASSIFIERS, POSSESIVE STRUCTURES 115

(27) k'e?2 narj5511 par)213^3 k'a33ts'ia33 kai55"11 tinhi)33

give people put bike LW place
places (or the place) where people can keep their bikes

(28) ua53 t'a?5*2 tor)33- ha?5 kai55"11 si5H5houu

lsg study middle - school LW time
(the time) when I was in high school

The above examples show that the head noun of a relative clause can play
various grammatical functions in the relative clause: it can be a subject, as in (25); an
object, as in (26), as well as other grammatical constituents such as the location, as in
(27), and the time, as in (28). However, when the head noun serves grammatical
functions other than the ones listed, a resumptive pronoun is required.

53.2 The use of a resumptive pronoun in relative clauses

A resumptive pronoun is defined as ‘an overt pronoun which occurs within the
relative clause in its "logical" position instead of a gap’ (Trask 1993:240). In
Mandarin, it is noted that when the head noun serves other than subject, object,
instrument, reason, location or time, a resumptive pronoun is required 'in order for
the head noun to refer to it’ (Li and Thompson 1981: 583). Li and Thompson provide
four situations when a resumptive pronoun is needed (the following four examples
are from Li and Thompson: 584-585):

(i) when the head noun is the indirect object

(29) a. wo song gei *(ta) yi ben xiaoshuo de ren

lsg give to *(3sg) one CL novel NOW person
the person to whom I gave a novel

(ii) when the head noun follows a coverb

(30) a. wo gen *(tamen) da qiu de yundongyuan

I with *(they) play ball NOW atheletic
the athletes with whom I play ball

(iii) when the head noun occurs in a pivotal construction

(31) a. ni qing *(ta) he jiu de jiaoshou

you invite *(3sg) drink liquor NOM professor
he professor whom you invited to drink

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116 ASPECT OF CHAOSHAN GRAMMAR

(iii) when the head noun occurs after the locative zai

(32) a Zhangsan zai *(nar) zhangda de cunzi

Zhangsan at *(there) grow.up NOM village
the village where Zhangsan grew up

However, as pointed out by LaPolla (1993: 778), an NP in any semantic role can
be relativised, which means that a resumptive pronouns may not always be required.
Indeed, as Li and Thompson (1981: 585) also noted, relative clauses with resumptive
pronouns are only marginal constructions and are rarely found in either speech or
writing because they are considered awkward although not ungrammatical.

Similar to Mandarin, in the Jieyang dialect, the use of a resumptive pronoun is

not common, although in the following four sentences which are translations of the
four Mandarin examples above, the pronoun is required:

(29) b. ua53 sag21353 *(© pug5>35 siau5H5sue?2 hui5^ kai55"11 nag55

lsg give *(3sg) CL novel that CL person
the person to whom I gave a novel

(30) b. ua53 ka?2 *(i33naq5M1) p'ak2 kiu55 kai55"

lsg with *(they) play ball NOW athlete
the athletes with whom I play ball

(31) b. lui53 ts'ia5>35 *(P) tsiak5'2 tsiu5H5 hui5^5 kai&u ka^^

you invite *(3sg) eat liquor that CL professor
he professor whom you invited to drink

(32) b. tio33sa33 to35*21 *(hio5H5ko213) tai35 hui5^35 kai&n ts'ui

Zhangsan at *(there) grow.up that CL village
the village where Zhangshan grew up

Note the different functions of kai55 in the above examples. In (29b), (31b), an
(32b), it is the classifier denoting an individual entity, but in (30b), it is the parti
linking the modifying clause and the head noun. As kai55 can cause ambiguit
because of its dual function, a demonstrative is called for when it serves as t
classifier (see also § 5.3.3). In other words, a [demonstrative + kai55 + N
construction can only refer to an individual referent.

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CHAPTER FIVE: NUMERAL CLASSIFIERS, POSSESIVE STRUCTURES 117

In Cantonese, a resumptive pronoun is also allowed in a sentence where the

noun modified by the relative clause plays the role of possessor of a noun phrase
within the relative clause (see Matthews and Yip 1994: 111), as shown in (34a) (from
Matthews and Yip ibid), but this usage is not possible in the Jieyang dialect, as
illustrated in (33b):

(33) a. keuihdeih tiuh kwahn hou dynn ge sailouh-Ieui

their CL skirt very short that little-girl
‘the little girls whose dresses are very short’

* b. Pnag55"11 tiau55*11 kurj55 ho?2 to213 kai5H5 tsui^nio^-kia53

3pl CL skirt very short that little-girl

(33b) can be rectified by leaving out the resumptive pronoun and by using the
demonstrative with the plural classifier linking the modifying clause and the head
noun, as in (34c) (also see next section):

(33) c. tiau5541 kug55 ho?2 to213 tsui33 tsui^nio^-kia53

CL skirt very short CL little-girl

533 Relative clauses with classifiers

Like the possessive constructions, a relative clause can also be linked

noun by a classifier. The structure can be schematised as below and exem
(34a):
modifying clause + CL + head noun

(34) a. i33 sia53 pug53*35 siau5>35sue?2 ho5>35-t'ol5H5 si5W5.

3sg write CL novel good-read dead
The novel he wrote is a very good read

As remarked before, S initio languages do not distinguish restrictive an

restrictive clauses. However, in the Jieyang dialect, depending on tone
sentences such as (34a) can be analysed as a pivotal construction consistin
clauses. Note that in (34a), the main verb 'write' receives the basic tone
means it is at the end of a tone sandhi domain (cf Chapter 2). In this c
classifier phrase is not treated as the patient argument of the verb but rat

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118 ASPECT OF CHAOSHAN GRAMMAR

classifier phrase is the head noun ‘the novel'. However, if the main verb receives the

sandhi tone, as in (34b), it can only mean that the classifier phrase together with the
verb form a syntactic unit which often corresponds to a sandhi domain (see Chapter
2). Thus, (34b) receives a reading which is functionally similar to a non-restrictive
relative clause: 'He wrote a novel, (which) is a good read’：

(34) b. [i33 sia®35 pug5355 siau5H5sue?2] [ho^-t'ol5365 si53"35.]

3sg write CL novel good-read dead
He wrote a novel, which is a good read.

The following pair of sentences is another example of two po

depending on how the sentence is read:

(35) a. ku^-ni55 ua53 poi53 t'au213^3 ts'u213 ho?

last -year lsg buy CL house very big
The house which 1 bought last year is very big.

b. [ku55*u-ni55 ua53 poi5535 t'au21>53 ts'u213] [ho?2 tua

last -year lsg buy CL house very big
I bought a house last year, which is very big.

Sentences such as (34b) and (35b) are similar to what is called ‘ex
presentative sentence’ discussed in Li and Thompson (1981: 611-618) an
(1995: 314-316). This type of sentences has a structure which consists o
comment clauses (LaPolla 1995: 315) with the first clause introducing th
and the second clause making an assertion about it.

533 Differences between relative clauses with ka?5 and with

classifiers

Relative clauses with kai55 denote general referents, as shown in (25) to (28) earli
as well as in (36a) below which does not refer to any particular products that
factory produces but the products in general. The same is true with (37a) which d
not refer to any particular diligent students:

(36) a. tsi5H5 ke33 ts'iag53 se33sua53 kai55"11 sua53"35p'eg53

this CL factory produce LW product
the products which are produced by this factory

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CHAPTER FIVE: NUMERAL CLASSIFIERS, POSSESIVE STRUCTURES 119

(37) a. al213^3 t'ak^tsui33 kai55"11 hak^seg33

this CL LW product
students who are diligent

On the other hand, relative clauses with classifiers

individual entity, as in (36b) and (378b). This is the same as

possessive relations. To refer to more than one entity, the plu

kom is used, as in (38c):

(36) b. tsi5H5 ke33 ts'iag53 s^sua53 (hui5H5) k

this CL factory produce (that) CL product
that product produced by the factory

(37) b. al213"53 t'ak^tsui33 hui5B5 kai®"n hak^seg33

this CL that CL product
that student who is diligent

c. al21353 t'ak^tsui33 (hui5>35) ts'o?2 hak^s

this CL (that) CL student
those students who are diligent

Summary of chapter
In this chapter, I have discussed three topics which are integr
numeral classifiers, possessive constructions and relative claus
in the Jieyang dialect consist of two types: mensural, which
words, and shape/sortal classifiers. The latter type are found
meaning and thus have a wider scope of use than those of Mand

Numeral classifiers play a very important part in the synta

the Jieyang dialect, as they have 汪 wide range of function

primary and major functions of enumeration and individua
between a numeral and a noun, they are also used as an alt

possessive pronouns, in possessive constructions and relative

word between the head noun and the modifier. Another importa

classifiers in the Jieyang dialect is their ability to combine wi

definiteness in topic positions, a usage which is highly pro
language. These special functions of numeral classifiers are

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120 ASPECT OF CHAOSHAN GRAMMAR

Southern and Southwestern dialects such as Cantonese, in Miao and Yao, and in
some Southeast Asian languages (see e.g. Bisang 2000).
Possessive constructions and relative clauses formed with classifiers denote

individual entities while those formed by the grammaticalised morpheme kaP (or tP
for the written language) denote general reference. Relative clauses in Sinitic
languages in general can only be of the restrictive type. But in the Jieyang dialect,
due to tone sandhi, a relative clause can also be analysed as a pivotal construction
which is functionally similar to a non-restrictive relative clause in English.

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CHAPTER SIX THE ASPECT SYSTEM

6.1 Introduction

It is well-known that in Sinitic languages, tense

category, but there are rich aspectual systems. W
concerned with the temporal dimensions of verb phra
in their semantic focus. Tense relates an event or the

moment of speaking or to some other situation and

other hand, makes reference to the properties of si
concerned with ‘the internal temporal "structure" o
a situation is presented as an unanalysable whole, wi

is said to be perfective whereas if only part of a situ

imperfective (see discussion in Comrie 1976; Dah

1985, Smith 1994 among others). However Chappe
distinction for the category of aspect be divided
Bounded aspect，which corresponds to perfective
‘encode that the event or state of affairs has either

while unbounded aspect, which corresponds to imper

which ‘have neither a limit placed on duration nor
(p.96). Such a division enables the classification of
aspect because it typically marks the beginning of a n

It is pointed out by Comrie (1976:12) that the

distinguished from 'perfect', because ‘perfective’ co
denotes a situation in its entirety, while ‘perfect’ r
current relevance. It will be shown in the ensuing
relevant to the discussion of the aspectual system of t
As in other Sinitic languages, the Jieyang dialect

However, apart from grammatical categories, it als

well as auxiliary verbs to encode the perfective me
latter is a distinct characteristic of the Min dialect

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122 ASPECT OF CHAOSHAN GRAMMAR

6.2 Situation types

Closely related to aspectual distinctions of perfective vs. imperfect
types, which are ‘idealised classes of situations formed according to
temporal features' (Smith 1994: 108) such as static vs. dynam
instantaneous, telic vs. atelic (see Comrie 1976: 44). The semantic co
and dynamic is primarily a distinction between states and events (o
distinction between durative and instantaneous is only relevant to ev

either have duration, which consists of different phases, or

momentarily. Momentary or instantaneous events are not conceived
time and thus do not have any internal structure (Comrie 1976: 42)
the beginning and end points are rolled into one. The distinction be
atelic, on the other hand, focuses on whether or not the event has a

point which constitutes the outcome, or goal，of that event. Those

terminal point which indicate the goal of the event are said to be t
which do not are atelic (Smith 1994:109).
Based on these distinctions, four common situation types have b
State, Activity, Achievement and Accomplishment. Introduced f
(1967) to categorise English verbs, these terms have been widely
literature on aspect. For example, in two comprehensive studies
aspect system, Smith (1991, 1994) distinguishes five situation typ
the four just mentioned, and a fifth which is called Semelfactiv
instantaneous event which is atelic. Discussion of situation types is r

to verbs but also verbs and their arguments (see Smith 1991: 107). Th
sentence 'John is singing' describes an atelic situation, the sentence
two songs' describes a telic situation. The following shows the t
situation types of Mandarin by Smith (1991):

Semantic features
Situation types Examples

Activity dynamic,atelic, durative zdu 'walk', ting ‘listen’

Accomplishment dynamic, telic, durative gaiyizud qiao 'build a bridge’
Semelfactive dynamic,atelic, instantaneous ti ‘kick’，qiao men 'knock on
the door，
Achievement dynamic, telic, instantaneous da-pd 'break', shul-zhao 'fall
asleep'
State static, durative zhJdao 'know', gaoxing 'happy'

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 CHAPTER SIX: THE ASPECT SYSTEM 123

In the ensuing sections I adopt the dichotomy of bounded and unbounded a

and the same taxonomy of situation types used for Mandarin by Smith to discu
aspectual distinctions are encoded in the Jieyang dialect. I also adopt 'situation
cover term to refer to event, process and activity, as well as to refer to
constellation with its arguments.

63 Aspectual categories in the Jieyang dialect

Under the bounded aspect, four main categories in the Jieyang dialect can be
identified: the Perfective (PERF), the Experiential (EXP), the Delimitative (DEL) and
the Tentative (TEN), while under the unbounded aspect, there are two categories: the
Progressive (PROG) and the Continuous (CONT). To avoid confusion, I use an initial
capital for these semantic concepts to refer to the aspectual categories in the Jieyang

dialect while not using an initial capital for the ‘language independent semantic
distinctions', following the convention established by Comrie (1976).

63.1 The bounded aspect

6.3.1.1 The Perfective aspect
The Perfective aspect can be encoded by different means which include a
grammaticaiised marker //aw53 (§ 6.3.1.1.1), lexical verbal complements
(§ 6.3.1.1.2), as well as auxiliaries (§ 6.3.1.1.3), as mentioned above.

63.1.1.1 The Perfective marker //an53

The formal marker of the Perfective aspect in the Jieyang dialect is //aw53，which
evolves from and exists alongside the lexical form liau55, a postverbal resultative
complement meaning 'finish' (as in *tsiakK liau53' -‘eat up' and 'eng31 liau^'-'use
up'). The grammaticalized marker //aw53 is cognate with the perfective aspect marker

le in Mandarin which is claimed to have evolved from the verb liao ‘to finish' (Wang

Li, 1980).
Perfective liau53 can appear in two positions in the sentence: (i) in post-verbal

position in independent clauses (the verb here is taken to include VO compounds)

(§6.3.1.1.1.1), and (ii) in clause-final position of a subordinate clause in a complex
sentence (§6.3.1.1.1.2). For the convenience of description and distinction, verb-final
liau53 in a single clause is transcribed as liau^suf and that in a subordinate clause as
iiau53sub. In cases where the verb is an intransitive verb that takes no other arguments,

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124 ASPECT OF CHAOSHAN GRAMMAR

the marker //flii53ギ naturally occurs sentence-finally. In this sentence-final position, it

is phonologically reduced to lau233, which will be transcribed as such. This sentence
final perfective laum should be distinguished from the homophonous sentence-final

particle laifi^ which expresses current relevant state (CRS), a term adopted from Li
and Thompson (1981). CRS is a notion similar to the English perfect which implies a
current relevant state as a result of a prior event. However, as it will be shown,
sometimes sentence-final lau^ neutralises the perfective meaning and CRS. This is
also the case of Mandarin where the perfective verbal suffix 一le is often neutralised
specifically in verb-final constructions. As pointed out by Chappell (1992: 81),
overlapping areas of use for perfectives and perfects is not uncommon.

63.1.1.1.1 Verbal - final //aw53

In 丑 single clause, the Perfective liau53 presents an event which is seen as a whole or
has been realised. As such, it can directly combine with verbs which are inherently
bounded semantically. It can also occur with those which are semantically durative
but have quantified and definite NPs, as these elements serve to delimit the process.

(i) with inherently bounded events

Some events are inherently bounded by virtue of their own meanings. These are
usually situations represented by Achievement situation types in Chinese whose
semantic features are instantaneous and telic such as 'get up’，4wake up', 'fall asleep’，

‘(fire) go out’ and 'graduate'. Achievement situations can thus directly occur with the

Perfective liaiPSUf without any post-verbal modification to set the semantic

boundaries, as in (1) and (2).

⑴ i33 t'ag^^ak2 tsau5H5k'i53 lau55"213.

3sg just now get.up PERF
He/She got up a moment ago.

(2) ua33 pa55 sa33 ni55*u tsal55 kuea>53ser)33 lau53"213.

3sg father three year before pass.away PERF
My father passed away three years ago.

It should be noted that the aspectual categorisation of verbs can be an

idiosyncrasy of individual languages. For example, while verbs such as get up’ and
‘to die’ or ‘pass away’ in Chinese are treated as achievement verbs, counterparts are

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 CHAPTER SIX: THE ASPECT SYSTEM 125

accomplishment verbs in English. This is why one can use the progressive in English
with verbs of this kind but cannot do so in Chinese.

Among instantaneous situations, there is a subgroup which is called

Semelfactive. A Semelfactive situation refers to one which takes place once and once

only (see Comrie 1976: 42). Semantically, although it is also instantaneous in terms
of its internal temporal structure, it is atelic, that is, its end point does not result in a
change of state. Situations such as ka^sau213 (‘cough’)，ni?2mak5 (‘blink’)，i*ak2
(‘kick’）and p'a^murj55 ('knock on door') belong to this group. However, these
situations are more often interpreted in the iterative sense, that is, the events are often

interpreted as repeated events rather than as a single event. Take the verb ‘to cough'
for example, in its iterative sense, it means a series of coughs rather than a single
cough. Thus, for Semelfactive events to be able to combine with /iaw53,^, they need
to be bounded by certain syntactic elements which can serve to delimit the process.
The following two examples show that quantified phrases denoting the frequency or
duration of the event can serve such purposes:

(3) i33 kai55"11 ua5H5 ni?2 liau5M5suf eu mak5，

3sg to lsg blink PERF once eye

|21>53sllI213 ki021>53 似》35 ts'llk2 k'lU213*21.

meaning call lsg out go
S/he gave me a wink to signal me to go out.

(4) ua53 ka^sau213® liau5H5suf tsek5"2 me55 kai55*11

lsg cough PERF one night CL

au55 t'ia213^3 si53,

throat sore die

I coughed the whole night and my throat is terribly sore.

(i) Perfective liauasuf with durative situations

Activity verbs such as ‘study’，‘eat’ and accomplishment situa

bridge' are durative situations. They are not naturally c

Perfectively liau^suf, but need to be delimited. Quantified phr
the specific quantity of the direct object; the frequency of
activity; the duration of the activity and the extent of pr
perfectivise the verb, as exemplified in the following sentences:

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 126 ASPECT OF CHAOSHAN GRAMMAR

(5) ua53 tsau33zek5 t'ol5>35 liau5>35suf sS33 huij11 tsui33

lsg yesterday read PERF three CL book
I read three books yesterday.

(6) i33naqu kim33zek5 sio33meu liau5>35suf kua5^35 ts

3pl today argue PERF several time
They argued several times today.

(7) ua53 tai)5H5 liau5H5SUf pua21^ kai®"u tseg

lsg wait PERF half CL hour
I waitedfor half an hour.

(8) kai55*11 nou33kia53 kim33 ni55 kul55*11 liau5H

CL child this year tall PERF

ho?2 tsoiu.
very much
The child grew a lot this year.

(ii) Perfective //伽53,“ゾ with VO compounds

In the Jieyang dialect, as in Mandarin, there is a group of disyllabic verb compounds
such as soP^-e/^ ('wash-bath' = 4take bath/shower'), isia/^2-Durjn (4eat-rice' = ‘to
eat' or ‘to eat a meal’)，ta^^-ue11 (‘say-word’ = ‘to speak'), tsia/^-hu^ (‘eat
cigarette' = ‘to smoke'). These compounds can be considered transitive activities
where the patient is an undifferentiated 'cognate object’. In other words, the referent

as represented by the cognate object is interpreted as non-specific and non-actual.

liau^SUf occurs after the compounds, as shown below in (9). Note that liau53SUf
changes to lau53 in sentence-final position and expresses both Perfective and CRS at
the same time. In other words, not only does the sentence present a completed event,

it indicates that this prior event has some current relevance. For example, (9) can be

relevant if someone wants to invite the speaker to eat but the speaker happens to have
eaten his or her meal.

(9) ua53 tsiakH-pugu lau®^3

lsg eat -rice PERF/CRS
I have eaten.

In Mandarin or Cantonese, the perfective marker, le and jo resp

occur after the verb but before the ‘0’ element, as shown below (

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 CHAPTER SIX: THE ASPECT SYSTEM 127

used in Li and Thompson 1981 and Matthews and Yip 1994 as the gloss for
perfective marker):

(10) "They got married."

a. tamen jie le hun (Mandarin)
3pl tie PFV marriage

b. keuihdeih git-jo-fan (Cantonese)

3pl marry-PF V-marriage

The possibility of using the Perfective marker after a VO compound in the

Jieyang dialect reflects the preservation of a feature of Middle Chinese. According to

Cheung (1977), [Verb-Object -liao] (where 一liao is a perfective marker) was a

common construction marking perfective aspect in the Bianwen, which are records of

religious sermons and folk stories dating from the 8th to the 10th centuries (p.56). It is

also noted in Mei Tsu-lin (1978:9) that the fronting process of moving ‘liao’ to
postverbal position was completed in the late 11th century. It can thus be said that the

perfective marker liau^SUf in the Jieyang dialect has not yet grammaticalised as a
post-verbal suffix to the same degree as le in Mandarin or jo in Cantonese.
A VO construction can also function as VO phrase. One of the main criteria for

determining a VO compound and 狂 VO phrase is separability by other constituents

(Li and Thompson 1981: 73). In the following contexts, the verb and the post-verbal
0 argument no longer form a compound. Rather, they form a verb and object phrase.
As such, because the verb is durative, the O element is delimited by quantified
phrases:

(11) i33 tsiak5"2 liau53suf sa33 ua®35 pug11.

3sg eat PERF three CL cooked.rice
He ate three bowls of rice.

(12) i33 ta21353 liau53suf tsek5*2 tua5535 tu33 ueu,

3sg say PERF one big pile word

ua53 ha33 m35"21 tsai33 i33 to35'21 ta21353 me?2kai55.

lsg still not know 3sg PROG say what
She said a whole lot but I still didn ’t know what she was talking about.

(iii) Perfective liau5i5Ufyvith stative situations

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128 ASPECT OF CHAOSHAN GRAMMAR

Chung and Timberlake (1986: 216) point out that when the concept of semantic
closure or boundedness is applied to state situations, it 'implies a complete change of
state, specifying inception rather than cessation’. They also note that many languages
in the world use the perfective category to signal inception of a state. Thus, the
perfective form of stative verbs such as ‘see’，'be pregnant', 'remain' will mean
‘catch sight of, ‘become pregnant' and ‘begin to remain' (ibid: 216). In the Jieyang
dialect, the perfective marker also interacts with stative verbs to indicate change of
state. Consider (13) where (a) purely describes the general state of a certain road,
perhaps a dirt road, but (b) is about a newly paved road: the cement has now dried up.

(13) a. tiau55"u lou11 ho?2 ta33.

CL road very dry
The road is very dry

b. tiau55U lou11 ta33 Ian®"23

CL road dry PERF/CRS
The road has dried up.

The inception of a new state can also be expressed by combining an ad

stative verb with the resultative complement kfwm, deriving from the ve

For example,

(14) a si5H5 k'ui213^3 b. 0u33 k'ui21^3

die RVC black RVC
become dead turned black

However, [adjective / stative verb + kftum] also connot

deictic nature of the RVC kfwm (for example, the conc

‘going’)，which meaning is not necessarily implied in [

laum]. As such, adjectives and stative verbs which denot
not used with k*wm but can be used with liau53 (see Chapt

on adversity expressed by For example,

(15) ua?5 — ua?5 lau 脚

alive RVC black PERF
become alive become alive

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 CHAPTER SIX: THE ASPECT SYSTEM 129

! b. e?2tek2 k'ui213"53 — e?2tek2 lau55"213

remember RVC remember PERF
remembered remembered

63.1.1.1.2 Clause-final Perfective iiau5^

As mentioned before, Perfective liaua also appears
occurs at the end of a subordinate clause foll
construction [clause] + [claus^】 represents
liau53sub marks the boundedness of the first event

happen or eventuate after the first event has taken

followed by the subsequent event(s), the first even
unanalysed whole, one that has beginning and en
situations are compatible with liau5isub. For example,

(16) ua53 tsok5*2 tsa?2rjiap5*2 liau5^ tsia213^3 k'ui21353 ha?5*2hau35

lsg do homework PERF then go school
I will go to school after doing my homework.

tsau^k'i5^ liau53,,, b soi5H5 meg11, soi5H5 meg11

get.up PERF wash face wash face

tsia?5*2 mue55, tsia?5"2 mue55,

PERF eat porridge eat porridge

Hau53sub ts严 ts'u?2 k'ui21^3

PERF then out go
After getting up, wash your face; after washing your face, eat the
porridge; after eating the porridge then go out.

(18) a. i33 kia35*21 sui11 pal11 liau53sub tsia21353 tsau53

3sg CL matter do PERF then go
He left after he sorted out the matter.

The construction [clause! liau^b] + [clausej conveys narrative se

which the order of situations presented in the VPs in the complex sente
the order of situations as they occur in the real world. As such, liau^
marks a bounded event but also functions as an event punctuator, in

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130 ASPECT OF CHAOSHAN GRAMMAR

chronological order of events. This can also be demonstrated by the fact that liau53sub

can be replaced by the subordinate conjunction an35 (‘after’)，as shown in (18b):

(18) b. i33 kia35'21 sui11 pal11 au35 tsia213^3 tsau53

3sg CL matter do after then go
He left after he sorted out the matter.

The function of liau5^ bears close similarity to Mandarin post-verbal -

it is used to mark "first event in a sequence" (see Li and Thompson 1981:9

(19) a. wo kan- wan- le bao jiu shui

1 read- finish- PFV paper then sleep
When I finish reading the paper, I will go to sleep.

However, tiau5^ differs from the Mandarin counterpart in term

distribution. In a subordinate clause, liau53脚b appears clause-finally (unless th
argument is topicalised), as shown in (16), (17) and (19b), while that in M
must follow immediately after the verb, as shown in (19a). The contrast betw
Jieyang dialect and Mandarin data further confirms our earlier suggestion t
Perfective //an53 in the Jieyang dialect is less grammaticalised than its Man
counterpart which has become a verbal suffix.

(19) b. ua53 t'ol5535 po^ liau53 tsia21^3 k'ui213"53 I35

lsg read paper PERF then go sleep
When I finish reading the paper, I will go to sleep.

6J.1.1.1.3 Perfective liau53 and past tense

The characterisation of tense is that it anchors 汪 situation to an axis of

that is, some point in time, which can be event time, speech time and ref

(Ross, 1995: 89). As speech time is the most natural and most common
time for events, the most common interpretation of past tense is with re
moment of speaking (ibid.: 100). From this standpoint, Ross argues t
Mandarin can be said to mark past tense because in most cases, it marks

of an event prior to the moment of speaking. The following examples are

Ross(1995:100):

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 CHAPTER SIX: THE ASPECT SYSTEM 131

(20) wo mai le yi- ben shu

I buy- le- one- cl book
‘I bought a book.’

(21) wo xie le yi- fen xin

I write- le- one- cl book
'I wrote a letter.’

Chappell (1989: 97) also notes that perfective markers s

and le in Mandarin will typically lead to a past time interpr
explicitly marked for time reference. The Jieyang dia
observation especially the single clause tiau53su,，because as i
and cessation of an event before the time of speech, it typic

reference interpretation. Example sentences with liai^SUf

6.3.1.1.1 are illustrative, as they are consistently translated
However, it should also be pointed out that past time ref
involve /iaii53,^ The most illustrative case is when the
sentence where /ffln53sl^ should not be used because iiau5^, i
event which has not been realised:

(22) ua53 bo55"11 t'ol5W5 Miau5^,^ tsP35 pug5"5 tsui33

lsg not.have read * PERF this CL book
I didn 7 read this book.

Furthermore, many situations which refer to the past do no

Past time reference can be specified by using other mean
adverbials or emphatic constructions such as w3521 ".kaPn (‘…

(23) ua53 ho?2 tsa53 tsu35"21 ts'e53.

lsg very early then wake.up
I woke up very early.

(24) ua53 si3521 k'ui33 ts'ia33 lai55 kai55"11.

lsg COP drive car come PRT
/ came by car.

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132 ASPECT OF CHAOSHAN GRAMMAR

Finally, as clause final liau53 sub can appear in clauses with future reference, as

can be seen in various examples above, which shows that the perfective marker
should not be taken as a past tense marker.

63.1.1.2 Resultative verb complements as phase markers

Resultative verb complements (RVC) are post verbal lexical elements such as
adjectives and verbs which indicate the result state of the action as represented by the
first verb. For example, mue^-p'ud05 ('make-broken'), tsia^-p^ (4eat-ftill') and
tuP^-tel^ (‘pull-straight’ [of strings or wires]). When serving as a RVC, the lexical
meanings of such adjectives are quite transparent. However, RVCs can also serve as
phase markers or phase complements which express 4the phase of an action in the
first verb rather than some result in the action or goal’ (Y. R. Chao 1968: 446). As
RVCs indicate the completive or terminative phase of an action, thus presenting an
event as a bounded one, they code the perfective meanings. Compare the following
minimal pair which illustrate the use of the same morpheme functioning as a lexical
RVC in one context, (25a), and a phase marker, as in (25b) (note that in 3 la
is a pre-verbal object marker 6which encodes the affectedness of the direct object in
the pretransitive constructions (see Chapter 7 for discussion):

(25) a. tiau55"u tiarj^-sua213 kai55"11- i33 mue?5"2- tek5

CL electric-wire PRET -3sg make - straight
Straighten the electric wire!

b. kia35"21 sui11 tio?5*2 kaisu- i33 mue?5*2- tek5

CL matter need PRET - 3sg make- straight
(You) should sort the matter out (ie. don 7 leave it unfinished).

RVCs which are commonly used to express completive and terminative

meanings include ho53 (‘good’，‘finish’)，uarf55 (‘complete’，‘finish’)，tek5 (‘straight’，

‘finish’)，and //an53 (‘finish’). While they can be considered synonymous, sharing the
meaning of ‘finish’，they are subject to some constraints on the compatibility with
certain verbs because of their lexical meanings. hoa has the core meaning of ‘good’
and is therefore used to express the successful and smooth completion of an event or
activity, tel^，with the basic meaning ‘straight’，stresses the completeness of the
carrying out of an event or activity, uary^ and liau53 on the other hand share the basic

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 CHAPTER SIX: THE ASPECT SYSTEM 133

meaning of ‘finish / exhaust', and both can denote the notion of complet
consumption, but uaty6 can also express the termination /completion of an even

These semantic differences are shown in the following examples. In (26)，the ver
paT1 ‘to execute/do (something)' is compatible with hoa, tel^ and uatf55 because o

can talk about the successful (ho53) and thorough (iek5) execution of a matter as w
as about completing or terminating (uatj55) the carrying out of a matter. In (27)，sin

ww55 ‘salt’ is something to be consumed, we can only talk about total or partial
not successful or thorough consumption of it. Hence the incompatibility
e(/u(4consume') with ho53 or tek5:

(26) kia35"21 suiu paiu ho53 /tek5 /uarj55 / * liau53 lau53*213.

CL matter do RVC CRS
The matter has been seen to.

(27) ko213"53 iam55 eg11 liau5

CL salt use RVC CRS
[We] have used up the salt.

In addition to the above comm

phase marker worth mentioning

used to encode the endpoint of a

dialects. For example, the verb t

unequivocally signals that some

is also a process which may inclu
bit of bargaining, etc. But k'w
completed and something is boug

(28) ko21^53 hui55

tsiak5"2 k'tu213"21 k'e?2"3
CL fish PASS CL cat RVC
The fish was eaten by the cat.

(29) ts'o?2 tsui33 log53"35 k*e?2 nag55"11 boi53 k'ui21353 lau53*213

CLpi book all PASS people buy RVC CRS

The books have all been sold.

The constraints placed by RVCs on lexical selection can fur

kttum as a phase marker. Although not used in its primary sen

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134 ASPECT OF CHAOSHAN GRAMMAR

meaning is still apparent, as evidenced by the fact that it can only be used with verbs

that denote ‘disappearance，and extends from this meaning, ‘adversity，(see Chapter

8 for further discussion). Thus, contrary to (29)，if a sentence is talking about
someone having bought some books, a situation which can only mean that the buyer
‘acquires’ something, it is ungrammatical to use k'ui733 but the Perfective marker

liau53 is acceptable, as illustrated in (30):

(30) i33 poi5H5 liau035^ /(* k'ui21353) kui5>35 put)5365 tsui33

3sg buy PERF /(*RVC) several CL book
S/he bought several books.

63.1.13 i/35 and btf5 and the perfective aspect

w35 and bo^5 are antonyms expressing the affirmative and negati
respectively of possession and existence. Apart from their lexical
commonly used before a VP to assert the occurrence of a specific even
which case u35 functions as an auxiliary, translatable into Engli
emphatic use. This function of u35 is found widely in Southern Min d
Feng-fu 1998 for discussion on aspectual markers in Taiwanese souther

(31) ua53 kim33zek5 u3521 qo35-tio?2 i3>u

lsg today have meet - RVC 3sg
I bumped into her today.

(32) ua53 u3521 kio213 i3M1’ i33 ta2^3 bo55"upia り21^ lai55
lsg have ask 3sg 3sg say cannot come
I did ask him but he said that he couldn 7 come.

As single clause Perfective //似53,“, marks a complete event

realised prior to the moment of speaking, it can be said that w35

similar in function to liau53^ in indicating a perfective viewpoint. H

differ in one important respect, that of modality: [VP+ //fliz53,“

modality as it neutrally reports a bounded event, whereas [u26 + V
speaker's subjective view on whether the activity or event is a real

for the fact that liauasu, cannot occur in negative sentences, as it

realisation of an event, but [bcr6 + VP], the negative form of [ux
to negate the occurrence of an event. The following sentenc
differences:

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 CHAPTER SIX: THE ASPECT SYSTEM 135

(33) (the father asks whether the son went to school today)
A: i33 kim33zek5 u35"21 k'ui213"53 ha?5*2hau35 bo55"11?
3sg today have go school not.have
A: Did he go to school today?

(The sister thinks he didn't go)

B： j33 bo5Ml k'UI213

3sg not.have go
B: No, he didn't go.

63.1.2 The Inchoative aspect

The inchoative aspect ‘expresses the onset of an action or state of affairs' (Chappell,
1989:105) and the continuation of it. In the Jieyang dialect, there are three markers
coding these meanings: the first one is the disyllabic form k'i ^-lai55 which is also a

lexical verb meaning ‘arise’，as well as a post-verbal directional complement showing

the upward direction of a motion. As an inchoative aspect marker k'i ^lav6 modifies

dynamic verbs as well as stative verbs. The second marker is the Perfective liau53,
which is only used with stative verbs and adjectives and expresses inception of a new
state. The third marker is kftum, derived from the movement verb ‘to go’ which
encodes adverse change of state.

6J.1.2.1 Vcrb + ife'i^/fli55

The use of k'i ^lai55 in encoding the initiation of an activity or state of affairs and its

continuation is identical with Mandarin Chinese. The closest in meaning in English

of [verb + k'i ^laf5] is ‘when + verb，".’ or ‘begin to + verb."’. For example,

(34) kia35"21 sa33 ts'eg11 k'i®"213 lai55"11 ho?2 ho53"35- t'ol53

CL shirt put.on INC very good - look
The shirt looks quite good (on you) (ie, When the shirt is put on, it look
good on you).

(35) fi33si55 zua?5 k'P^lai55"11 hou^eq55 tsu35"21 tsoi11

weather hot INC fly then many
When the weather gets hot, there will be a lot of flies.

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136 ASPECT OF CHAOSHAN GRAMMAR

6.3.1.2.2 Stative verb + liau53

Chung and Timberlake (1986:216) point out that when the concept of semantic
closure or boundedness is applied to state situations, it ‘implies a complete change
state, specifying inception rather than cessation'. They also note that many languag
in the world use the perfective category to signal inception of a state. The Jieyan
dialect conforms to this observation as the perfective marker liau53 also interacts wit

stative verbs to indicate change of state. Consider (36) where (a) purely describes th
general state of a certain road, perhaps a dirt road, but (b) is about a newly pav
road: the cement has now dried up. The inception of a new state can also be s
about (37b):

(36) a. tiau55"11 lou11 ho?2

ta33

CL road very dry

The road is very dry.

b. tiau55"11 lou11 ta33

lau®"213

CL road dry PERF/CRS

The road has dried up.

(37) a. kai5H1 meg11 ag55"11 a が5"11

CL road red- red
The face is red.

b. kai55"11 mei,u ag55U lau^213

CL face red PERF/CRS
The face has turned red.

63.1.23 Stative verb + k rwm

In § 6.3.1.1.2, we describe the use of khum in coding the completive meaning with

activity verbs. The inception of a new state can also be expressed by this verbal
complement, as shown below,

(38) a. si53 k'ui213^3 b. ou53 k'ui213*53

dead RVC black RVC

become dead become black

However, similar to its completive usage with activity verb

pejorative meaning, the use of kfw213 after adjectives denotes an

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 CHAPTER SIX: THE ASPECT SYSTEM 137

state, which meaning is not necessarily implied in [adjective / stative verb + liau
as shown earlier. As such, adjectives and stative verbs which denote favourable
meanings are not used with kfutmb\x\ with liau tor example,

(39) "become alive"

a *ua?5 k'ui213^ b. ua?5 丨 au®"23
alive RVC alive PERF/CRS

Furthermore, the change of state encoded by kfwm

prior action or event, which may or may not be overtly e

example",

(40) ma^au35 tsu35"21 hua?2he が1 ta21353 ko5"1 p^ue55

later then discover say CL skin

tso21>53ni55'11 k'e?2 i33 pe?5 k^ui23^53

why PASS 3sg white RVC
Later, I suddenly discovered that the skin [on my elbow] had turned
white.

(41) k'a?2*3 ku5H5 bo55U na^k'e?2 tsu35"21 k'e?2*3 i33

too long not.have guest then PASS 3sg

m3521 tsai33 lo?23 zioT^tsoi11 bi53 k'ui21^3

not know put how.much rice RVC
Because (we) hadn't had guests for a long time, I forgot (ie, became not
knowing) how much rice to cook (for lunch).

Note that in the above two examples, k'e?2is the passive marker and i33 is the

third person singular pronoun. Together, they serve as an overt marker for
unaccusativity in the Jieyang dialect (see Matthews, Xu and Yip, 2005).

6.3.1 J The Experiential aspect

6.3.1.3.1 Semantic features

The experiential aspect indicates that ‘a given situation has held at least onc
some time in the past leading up to the present’ (Comriel976: 58). This a
meaning is also referred to as the experiential perfect by Comrie. Sinitic la

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138 ASPECT OF CHAOSHAN GRAMMAR

mark the experiential aspect formally. Smith (1994:116) defines the experiential
aspect of Mandarin as ascribing to a subject4the property of having experienced the
event, rather than presenting the event directly'. In other words, the semantic focus of

the experiential aspect is not in asserting the fact that a specific event has taken place,

which would be the semantic domain of the perfective. Rather, it treats the
event/situation as one of a set that has been experienced with respect to some
indefinite time in the past. Other linguists have also described the experiential aspect
along the lines of a general experience, as Cheung (Cheung et al 1994: 275) points
out, the English meaning of ‘ever’ or ks negative form ‘never’ underscores the
'experiential nature of an action'. However, Chappell (2001b) argues that the
meaning of a general experience should not be analysed as the core meaning of the
experiential aspect expressed by V-guo in Mandarin because there are many contexts
where the experiential meaning cannot be used to explain the cases. For example
(Chappell ibid: 64):

(42) ta lai-guo (you zou-le)

3sg come-EVD (again go-PECT)
She's been (and gone again).

Chappell points out that (42) can be appropriately used either if the speaker
personally seen the subject leaving or if the speaker can infer her leaving
circumstantial evidence. The sentence is not in the least encoding a general
experience. Rather, it illustrates what she calls the 'inferential' type of evidential

(p. 65). She thus argues that ‘experience’ is not the only meaning that guo enco
but rather it constitutes a subset.

In the Jieyang dialect, the same can be said about the Experiential aspect wh
has a range of meanings similar to those of Mandarin: (i) a general exper
involving an animate entity; (ii) a particular event which took place at least
involving an inanimate entity, and (iii) inferential evidence of a prior event bas
an observable resultant state. However, as will be seen below, the third meanin
only possible when the marker is kue2^, which is cognate with guo in Mandarin
which instantiates a Mandarin influence.

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 CHAPTER SIX: THE ASPECT SYSTEM 139

6.3.13.2 Syntactic forms

While English does not express the experiential morphosyntactically (Comrie 1976:
59), most Sinitic languages have a distinct form for it. In Mandarin, for example, the
experiential marker is the postverbal clitic guo (with neutral tone) while various other

Sinitic languages make use of a morpheme cognate with guo, such as gwo in
Cantonese.

In contrast to Mandarin and many other Sinitic varieties, but similar to other
Southern Min dialects such as Xiamen and Taiwanese, the vernacular Jieyang
employs a pre-verbal marker pak2, which is an indigenous form, to mark the
Experiential aspect. However, due to external borrowing, the Jieyang dialect also
adopts the general strategy by using a post-verbal marker kue03 (‘pass’，‘across’).
These two forms exist alongside a hybridised form which combines the pak1 form
and the kue05 form. Thus, in the Jieyang dialect, there are three ways to mark the
Experiential aspect:

(i) pale1 + VP
(ii) verb + kue^
(iii) pale1 + verb + kue03

I discuss the functions of each of the forms in more detail below.

6.3.13.2.1 pak2 + VP
pak1 may have derived from the lexical verb ‘to know’，as it exists alongside the
lexical verb ‘to know' (knowledge), ‘to recognise，(a person or words):

(43) a. ua53 pak2 tsi5W5 kai55"11 zi11

lsg know this CL word
I know this meaning.

b ua53 pak2 o?5*2 tsi5HS kai55"11 zi11

lsg EXP learn this CL word
I have learned this word before.

The lexical source of the experiential marker pale1 from the verb ‘to kn

suggested for the closely related Taiwanese Southern Min dialect. Chap
65) has conjectured the pathway of semantic change from lexical verb

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140 ASPECT OF CHAOSHAN GRAMMAR

verbal experiential (or 'evidential' in Chappell's term) in Taiwanese Southern Min a

follows:

Lexical verb -+ ‘know，（‘once’）+ v2 —► evidential + v2

It is plausible to argue that there is a semantic connection between ‘to know

(knowledge) and ‘to have experienced', and as such, the conjecture postulated b
Chq>pell can be applied to the Jieyang dialect. It is perhaps because of this lexi
connection that this particular form is often used to encode 'past experienc
involving an animate subject, with the emphasis on having the knowledge
experience of something as a result of a past event. For example, what (44) convey
is that the speaker has experienced an electric shock and implies that s/he ha
knowledge of how it feels like:

(44) ua53 her)utsai35 m35"21 ka5H5 eg11 iarj^-lou55,

lsg now not dare use electric-stove

eg^ui55"11 ua53 pak2 k'e?2 tiag35 ts，。?2-^。

because lsg EXP PASS electricity shock-RVC
I still dare not to use an electric stove because I once got an electric
shock.

The notion of a past experience does not only apply to human subjects but also
to other animate referents such as animals, as exemplified by (45) where the dog has

had the experience of being taken to training classes:

(45) tsia?2 kau53 pak2 k'e?2 i33 kiau33 k'ui21>53 hug2tH3liag11

CL dog EXP PASS 3sg take go training
The dog has been taken to obedience classes

The notion of experience is also relevant in interrogative sentences where

addressee is asked about a past experience or in negative sentences where t
experience is denied:

(46) A. lui53 pak2 k'ui21353 meg55Utso?5'2-ts 'uiq33 me11

2sg EXP go ethnic- village QPRT
Have you ever been to the Ethnic Village? [a tourist attraction in
Shenzhen】

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 CHAPTER SIX: THE ASPECT SYSTEM 141

B. m35'21 pak2
not EXP
No.

Another type of ‘past experience' involving an animate subject can best be

described as a past event which has affected the referent at least once in the past but

the situation no longer holds. In other words, the resultant state no longer exists at the

time of speaking because it has returned to ‘汪 state of affairs that is natural or basic'

(Smith 1994: 117). Sickness and healing typically belong to this type where the
subject, as the experience!*，is often an affected subject:

(47) ua53 ku55^55 pak2 mak5 ia り213"53…

CL last.year EXP PASS 3sg
My eyes were sore /似/少ear….[but now they are ok] [The speaker was
recalling how he discovered that he had suffered from glaucoma and
undergone an operation]

In spoken Jieyang, there is a colloquial form pak2 tsia*- /fi23"53 which consists of

the experiential marker pak1, the portmanteau proximal demonstrative tsicfi

(‘this.kind of) and a grammaticalized complementizer to03 (lexically, ‘to say’). The

construction can be rendered roughly in English as ‘it once happened /occurred

that...' and can serve to mark the Experiential. However, it is only used in encoding a
past experience that is deemed 'unusual', 'uncommon', and ‘extreme’ or
‘extraordinary，by the speaker:

(48)ユa53 t'a?5"2 tai^ha?5 kai55"11 si55*uhaun, pa^-tsia^-ta21^

lsg study university LW time EXP

tuig5>35 k'ui21353 lai35, tsek5*2 nag55 tsiaq33 tsek5*2 keg33

return go home, one person PRET one catty

tui33-nek5 tsek5'2 ts'ui213 tsu35"21 log5365 tsiak5 lok^-k'ui213

port one time then all eat down-go
When I was in university, on one occasion when I returne
-vacation], I ate a catty of pork all by myself in one go. [
referring to the early 80s when food supply was relatively sc
undernourished from living on canteen food.]

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142 ASPECT OF CHAOSHAN GRAMMAR

i^nag55"11 pa^-tsia^-ta21353 arj33tsia53 sio33meu au35,

3pl EXP husband, wife argue after

kai55"u gue?5"2 bo55*11 ta21>53ue11

CL month not.have speak
Once they (the couple) had an argument and didn ’t speak to each other
for a whole month!

6.3.1 *3.2.2 Verb + kue233

The second strategy in marking the Experiential in the Jieyang dialect is similar t
most other Sinitic languages. It uses the post verbal morpheme kue m, a borrowed

form from Mandarin. The construction [verb + kue213] is interchangeable with th

first syntactic form in encoding a general experience, as illustrated in (50):

(50) "She has learned English before."

i33 o?w kue咖 eg33buq55.
3sg learn EXP English

i33 pak2 o?M eg33bug55.

3sg EXP learn English

However, like its cognate form [verb+ guo] in Mandarin, it can also encode
'inferential evidence’ about a prior event based on an observable state of affairs,
which is referred to by Chappell as the inferential type of the evidential (2001b: 68),
as mentioned earlier. For example, (51a) can be uttered in a context in which the
speaker discovered that her books were not in the order she had arranged before:

(51) a ko213^ tsui33 t^tiarj55*11 t'arj35 kue21描？

CL book who touch EXP
Who ’s touched the books?

This ‘evidential’ meaning, however, is not available

combination form {pa/c2 + verb + kue2^] (see § 6.3.1.2.3)
presence ofpak1 which only encodes 'past experience’：

(51) *b. ko21^3 tsui33 tiutiag5H1 pak2 far)35

CL book who EXP touch

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 CHAPTER SIX: THE ASPECT SYSTEM 143

The dual function of [verb + kue213] can be seen more clearly in the interrogative

and the negative clauses. In the interrogative, if the sentence is to elicit whether an
event has been experienced, it is common to add the pre-verbal marker pale1, as in
(52a) (see further discussion on the combination form below). On the other hand, if
the speaker wants to find out whether an event has occurred based on some
observable evidence, the epistemic auxiliary w35 is used before the verb, as in (53a).
This is because w35 and its negative counterpart bo55 can be used before a VP to assert

or negate the occurrence of an event (cf § 6.3.1.1.3):

(52) a. i33 pak2 tso213"53 (kue21355) tsia5335 k'ag33k'ue213 me11?

3sg EXP do (EXP) this.kind work QPRT
Has he ever done this kind of work?

(53) a. i33 t'ag^tsa?2 u3521 lai55 kue2的 bo55"11?

3sg just.now have come EXP not.have
Was hehere just now?

In the negative, the negators (see Chapter 9 for negation in the Jieyan

used for these two meanings are also different: to negate a 'past experienc
simplex negator while negating the occurrence of an event, the negat
fused form bo55, the negative counterpart of w35. Thus, (52b) and (53
negative answers to (52a) and (53a) respectively:

(52) b. i33 m3521 pak2 tso213"53 (kue213®) tsia5H5 k'ag33k'ue213

3sg not EXP do (EXP) this.kind work
He has never done this kind of work

(53) b. i33 t'aq^^a?2 bo&n lai55 kue咖

3sg just.now not.have come EXP
He wasn't here just now.

6J.U.23 pak2 + Verb + kue213

This form combines the pre-verbal and the post-verbal marking strategies, although
either pak2 or kue03 can be omitted. It is functionally the same as the native form
[pak1 + VP] in that it can only be used in encoding a past experience involving an
animate subject or that an event (with a non-human subject) has happened at least
once before, as shown below.

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144 ASPECT OF CHAOSHAN GRAMMAR

(54) ua33 pe55*11^53^5 pak2 kui213"53 kue21553 pak2kia33

lsggcn parent EXP go EXP Beijing
My parents have been to Beijing for a visit

(55) tsi5355 ke33 tsap^tsi213 pak2 ts'u?2pal5B5 kue2553

this CL magazine EXP publish EXP
i33 kai55"11 bug^^io33
3sg POSS article
This magazine has published his articles.

The hybridised form cannot be used to talk about inferential evidence abo

prior event, as noted before. Thus, (56b), a counterpart of the Mandarin senten
which is repeated here as (56a), is ungrammatical because of the presence of
whose absence, however, would make the sentence grammatical, as shown in (5

(56) a. ta lai-guo (you zou-le)

3sg come-EVD (again go-PECT)
She's been (and gone again).
(Mandarin)

* b. i2 pak2 lai55 kue21353 (iu35 tsau5H5 lau53"213).

3sg EXP come EXP (again go PERF/CRS)
She's been (and gone again).
(Jieyang)

c. i2 lai55 kue2153 (iu35 tsau53"35 lau53"213).

3sg come EXP (again go PERF/CRS)

Although the native form [pak2 + VP], the borrowed from [Verb + k
the combination form [pak1 + Verb + kue05] are free variants in enc
experiential meaning, the last two are synchronically more productive. T

attributed to the influence from standard Mandarin or written Chinese.

there exists the hybridised form in the Jieyang dialect, perhaps a plausib

that there was a need to introduce 汪 form to avoid potential ambiguity b

as a lexical verb，and pak2 as the Experiential marker along the p
grammaticalisation. The addition of a post-verbal kue2^ unequivocally elim
ambiguity.

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 CHAPTER SIX: THE ASPECT SYSTEM 145

6.3.1.4 The Delimitative aspect and the Tentative aspect

The delimitative aspect in Sinitic languages is used to denote the notion of doing an
action ‘a little bit’ or ‘for a short period of time’ (Li and Thompson 1981: 232).
Smith (1994)，adopting Y.R. Chao (1968)'s terminology, calls it the tentative aspect,
which is used to present a closed situation of short duration, and of little importance
(p.l 19). The closest meaning in English of this aspect is ‘do...for a while’ or 'have
a....’.

Even though the terms 'delimitative' and ‘tentative，are used in Mandarin

interchangeably, in the Jieyang dialect, a distinction is made between the two because

they differ in semantic features and in their syntactic forms. The Delimitative aspect
in the Jieyang dialect denotes doing an activity ‘a little bit’ or 'for a short duration',
while the Tentative aspect expresses the notion of ‘doing an activity on a trial basis',
as the term suggests.

63.1.4.1 Delimitative: Verb + tsel^2 一 / tse?2 / e11

The Delimitative aspect is formally expressed by the marker tsel^2 ^ which derives
from a verbal measure complement meaning ‘once’ or4one time’，as shown in (57):

(57) ua53 ne35 p'a?2 i33 tsek5-eu tia11

lsg only hit 3sg one-time only
I only hit him once.

As a grammaticalised aspectual marker, tsek^2 are often contracted to tie?2

or even shortened to e11. The marker Isek5"2 e11 or its allomorphs tse?2 or e11 follow

the main verb if the verb does not take any object, as in (58). The Delimitativ
marker can occur in two positions if the verb takes an object: it follows the verb if th

object is a NP, as in (59)，but if the direct object is a pronoun, it occurs after t

pronoun, as in (60):

(58) tsiak5*2 pa53 tio?5"2 hia?2 tse?2 tsia21353

eat full should rest DEL then

ho5>35 k'ui213^3 t'ak5"2 -tsui33

can go read-book
You should have a rest after dinner before you go to study

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146 ASPECT OF CHAOSHAN GRAMMAR

(59) ua53 zip5'2 k'ui21363 k'io?5*2 e11 mue?52kia35

lsg enter go take DEL thing
1 am just going in to get something.

(60) ua53 lai55"11 k'ui21353

eu muQu i33
lsg come go ask 3sg DEL
I will go and ask him (about this).

63.1.4.2 Tentative aspect marked by VoP

As mentioned above, the Tentative aspect is used to express the notion of 'doing an
activity on a trial basis'. This aspectual meaning is marked by tfaP, which is derived

from the verb ‘to see，. Mandarin employs the same strategy by using the morpheme

kan (‘to see’) as a marker for the tentative aspect, but the verb preceding the marker
must be reduplicated, which is not obligatory in the Jieyang dialect. Compare (61a)
(Jieyang example) and (61b) (Mandarin example):

(61) "Do you want to try (it) on?’’

lui53 mai 筋3 ts'eij11 (? ts'egu) t'ol53

2sg want not. want wear (? wear) TEN

ni yao bu yao chuan chuan kan

2sg want not want wear wear TEN

The position of the Tentative marker t'ot3 depends on whether the object is

present or not, and whether it is an NP or a clause. When the verb takes no object
argument, the Tentative marker appears after the verb, as shown in (61a). If the verb

takes an object and if the object is either a pronoun or aNP, the marker is placed after

the object, as in (62), but if the object is a clause, the marker is placed after the verb

and before the object, as in (63):

(62) tsi5>35 kai55"11 boi35^1 tiam55, tsiak5"2 hui53 kai55"11 t'oi53

this CL not sweet eat that CL TEN
This melon is not sweet. Try that one.

(63) lui53"35 tsiak5"2 t'dP35 si&n me?2kaiK

2sg eat TEN COP what
Have a taste to see what (this) is.

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 CHAPTER SIX: THE ASPECT SYSTEM 147

Semantically, the Tentative aspect is very closely connected to the Delimitative

aspect: to do an activity on a trial basis or to try (doing) something implies doing it

just a little bit and perhaps only for a short duration. That is why the two aspectual
categories often merge to yield the following construction, which conflates both the

Tentative and Delimitative meanings:

Verb + tsek5"2 c11 / tse?2 / 一 + tyoi53

The following examples are illustrative:

(64) ltu53 eg11 eu t'oi53 u^eg11 bo55"11

2sg use DEL TEN useful not.have
Give it a try to see if it is useful.

(65) lui53 tsai2053 sio3521 e11 t'oi53

2sg again think DEL TEN
Think again (or Give it another thought.)

63.2 The unbounded aspect

The progressive and the continuous constitute two viewpoints of the imperfecti
aspect which views part of a situation that includes neither the initial nor the f
point. The progressive focuses on internal stages of dynamic situations whereas
continuous focuses on homogenous situations, which are resultative. These tw
aspectual categories in the Jieyang dialect are marked differently: the Progressiv
marked by to35 which is placed before the verb, and the Continuous by a post-ver
compound marker as illustrated in the following contrastive sentences:

(66) a. i33 to3521 tsiak^-pug11.

3sg PROG eat-rice
S/he is eating. (Progressive)

i33 tso35"21 to^ko21353

3sg sit CONT
S/he is sitting. (Continuous)

In addition to these two markers for the Progressive

respectively, each category also has a subset marked by

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148 ASPECT OF CHAOSHAN GRAMMAR

encodes additional meanings (see §6.2.4.1.2 and §6.2.4.2.2). I next discuss the
Progressive and Continuous aspect in turn in more detail.

6J.2.1 The Progressive

63.2.1.1 tox + \?

Bybee et al. (1994) point out that progressive forms in many langu
expressions involving locative elements (p. 129). This is true abo
dialect, as the Progressive marker to35 derives from a lexical morph

a locative preposition as well as a locative verb. The developm

progressive marker is similar to that of zai in Mandarin (see Y. R.

the full locative there is an implication f progressiveness, and later

location can be dropped, leaving only the locative verb. The fol
lexical uses as well as its grammaticalised use of marking an ongoin

Preposition Locative verb Progressive marker

i33 k'ia35"21 to3521 ke?2io55 i33 to352 lai35 i33 to3521 ts

3sg live in Jieyang 3sg be.at home 3sg PROG eat
S/he lives in Jieyang. S/he is at home. S/he is eating.

The Progressive [to6 + VP] does not focus on presenting a situation from
outside as a whole, but rather on its internal stages. As such, k is directly available to

Activity situations, as illustrated below:

(67) nou55-ukia53 to3521 t'akw-tsui33, mo53"35 tsak2 i3>u

child PROG read-book not disturb 3sg
The child is studying. Don ’t disturb her/him.

Sometimes, a location can be specified in 汪 progressive sentence and

instances, the Progressive marker to" is usually omitted, since the on-going
the activity is implied. However, to add more emphasis on the progressiven
can still be retained:

(68) i33naij55-ii to2521 kiu5H5-tio55 (to3521) p'ak23 kiu55

3pl be.at ball-field (PROG) play ball
They are playing ball in the field.

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 CHAPTER SIX: THE ASPECT SYSTEM 149

As Semelfactive situations such as ka^sau233 (‘cough’) and p'a?1 murf55

(‘knock on a door') are often used in their iterative sense, they can be presented
imperfectively with the marker to35, as shown in (69), which can only be taken to
mean that the event consists of a series of knocks rather than one knock:

(69) i33 to35"21 p'a?2 mug55

3sg PROG knock door
She is knocking on the door.

Since the progressive viewpoint requires an interval that does not include both
the starting and end points, the Progressive to35 is not compatible with instantaneou
events such as Achievement situations which do not have 狂 durative internal

structure, as illustrated in (70):

(70) * i33 to3521 kau21353 sua35 teg53.

3sg PROG arrive mountain top
She is reaching the mountain top

The Progressive to35 does not usually take adjectives either, since this would
involve a contradiction between the dynamic nature of the progressiveness and the
stativity of the adjective. However, certain predicative stative verbs and adjectives
such as ‘busy’，4angry' and ‘ripe’ which do not describe an intrinsic property as
denoted by the adjective are able to occur with the Progressive to^. This usage
implies a process which involves change over time. Thus, (71) means that the
referent is still feeling angry, but implying that the anger will subside eventually, and

(72) can be taken to mean that the state of being busy is a temporary one. This
temporary nature is evidenced from the use of ha33 (‘still’）in the following two
sentences:

(71) i33 ha33 to3521 se^k'F bo5H1 al21>53 ぼ!>53-Uell

3sg still PROG angry not.have want say-word
She is still angry and doesn 7 want to talk.

(72) zio?2tsoiu tiam53 lau53*213，ha33to 卸 m^al

how.many o'clock CRS still PROG busy
What time is it now? You are still busy?

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150 ASPECT OF CHAOSHAN GRAMMAR

63.2.1.2 pa^-ko^ + y?
parj^-kd05 (also glossed as PROG in the examples) consists of the verb parj2^ ('to

leave, put’ [something somewhere]) and the locative suffix ko^ (as in tsicr^ kd0
‘this + suffix' = ‘here’). The marker can be used to mark the Progressive but wit
additional meanings implied. Firstly, in declarative sentences, it can signal that the
on-going activity concerned is perceived to be carried out with deliberateness or
wilfulness on the part of the agent. This is exemplified by the following tw
sentences whose focus is not simply on presenting a neutral on-going activity. Rather,

(73) encodes that the referent kept on crying despite being told to stop. Example (74
contrasts the neutral use of to3521 with pag^^-ko213® which denotes that the

addressee is watching TV despite the fact that this was not approved by the speaker.

(73) kio21^3 lui5H5 mai21>53 k'au213, lui53 ha33

ask 2sg not. want cry 2sg still (?PROG)

/ pag^-ko215® k'au213
PROG cry
I asked you not to cry but you just kept on crying.

(74) i33 bo55"11 to35 tso213"53 tsak^rjiap5, pa

3sg not.have PROG do homework PROG

t'ol53 tiag^si35
watch TV

He isn't doing his homework but was watching TV.

Secondly, [pa^-ko03 + VP] can occur in the imperative to encode that

speaker wants the addressee to carry out or not to carry out an activity such as in
The difference between [to6 + VP] and Iparj^-kd233 + VP] again can be seen clea

in (76) where the first clause reports a neutral ongoing event and thus to35 is used,
the second clause is an imperative which can only use parjny5S'kdny71:

(75) lui53 (no35) /pag^-ko21321 tsio53"35 mug55 tsu35 ho53

2sg (*PROG) PROG guard door then good
You just guard the door [and needn 7 worry about other things].

(76) lui53 ha33 to3521 tag53"35 i3>u? lui53 meg5H5

2sg still PROG wait 3sg 2sg no.need

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 CHAPTER SIX: THE ASPECT SYSTEM 151

pag^^-ko2553 tag53 i33 kui213 lau53*213

PROG wait 3sg go PRFE/CRS
You are still waiting for her? Don't wait (any longer)
because she has gone.

63.2.13 par^-ka2^ + to35 + VP

[patf^-ko213^ VP] can combine with [to35 + VP] to yield a hybridised construction
Iparj^-ko^ + to觉 +VP] which conflates the meaning of each form. This structure not

only presents an activity in progress, but also emphasises the intentional and wilful
nature of the event:

(77) i33nag55-ll 如33如， tO35*21 hi05>35 lai35 pag^ko21^

3pl husband, wife at that home PROG

to3521 sio33-men
PROG argue
The couple kept on arguing in the house.

632.2 The Continuous

Smith (1994:122) notes that the continuous viewpoint pr

stable situation without regard to endpoints'. In other
viewpoint focuses on the durative nature of a static situation a

from the progressive. In the Jieyang dialect, the marker fo

tcr^-ko^, which describes neutrally an existing and stable
who or what is responsible for the emergence of this state. Pa
there is also a subset marked by which is used to in
(i) the existing state is seen by the speaker as a result of som

(ii) an agentive involvement to maintain the continuity o

second meaning is manifested in the imperative.

63.2.2.1 Verb + td^-ko05

We have seen in the previous section that to35 derives from a lexical morpheme which

can serve as a locative preposition as well as a locative verb and ko03 is a locative
suffix. As a marker for the Continuous, to^-ko2^ is placed right after the verb, as in

(78):

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152 ASPECT OF CHAOSHAN GRAMMAR

(78) tsia?2 ts'ia33 t'eg55"11 to3521- ko2521

CL vehicle stop CONT
The car is parked.

The primary meaning of the construction [Verb 十 to3521-^213"21] is resultativ

stative. In terms of temporal structure, this means that this verbal conste
focuses on the homogenous state stage after an action as represented by th
terminates. Therefore, verbs that can occur in this constellation must be tho

entail 汪 resulting state which occurs after the action is completed or terminat
group of verbs which display this property are verbs such as tso-" ‘sit (down)',
'stand (up)' and k^u55 ‘squat (down)，. They describe a punctual change of
Together with the marker they describe physical posture and ph
disposition, as illustrated in the following two sentences:

(79) tsek2 ts'o?2 narj55"11 tso35 to^ko2321, tsek2 ts'o?2

one some people sit CONT one some

narj5511 k'ia35 to^ko21321

Some people are sitting while some are standing.

(80) i33 hi5>35hua33 k'u55 to^-ko25"21 tsiak5*2 pug1

3sg like sqaut CONT eat-rice
He likes to eat while squatting down.

Sentence (80) shows that [Verb + to^-kd2^] denoting postures an

disposition can be used in a subordinate clause of a complex sentence t
durative background for the matrix event, which must be also durative.

Other verbs which entail a resulting state associated with the term

activity include two-place verbs such as ‘take’，'put on’，and three-pla

verbs such as 'hang' and ‘put’. The dynamic nature of the activity as r
the verb and its resultant state once the activity terminates can be con
English verbs ‘put on’ and ‘wear’ respectively. In Smitic languages i
two meanings share the same verb but the resultant state is usually g
marked. In Mandarin, for example, na can mean ‘to pick up’ or ‘to h
the static meaning of ‘holding’ is indicated by the Continuous marker
in (81b) (example from Li and Thompson 1981: 220):

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 CHAPTER SIX: THE ASPECT SYSTEM 153

(81) a. ta zai na baozhi

3sg Dur take newspaper
S/he is taking (or picking up) newspaper.

b. ta na- zhe liang ben shu

3sg take DUR two CL book
S/he is holding two books.

In the Jieyang dialect, however, the Continuous marker cannot be placed

after the verb if the verb takes an object, as in (82a). This may be due to the fac

zhe has developed into a post-verbal suffix while its Jieyang equivalent has no

to make the sentence grammatical, the object needs to be placed right after th

as in (82b). If the object is in topic position, the Continuous marker is placed aft

verb, as in (82c)

(82) a. i33 k'iok5"2 (*toa5a ko2353) sag33 p'ue^oi55

3sg take (*CONT) CL leather.shoe
S/he is holding a pair of leather shoes.

b. i33 k'iokw sag33 p'u^oi55 to3521 ko^

3sg take CL leather.shoe CONT

c. i33 sag33 p'ue55"11 oi55 k'iok5"2 to3521 ko20"®

3sg CL leather.shoe take CONT

Existential sentences such as ‘there is a picture hanging on the wall' typicall

describe a state of an entity existing in a certain location as a result of the ac
represented by the verb. In Mandarin, the continuous marker -zhe is again requ
for such type of sentences. But in the Jieyang dialect, no overt marking is requi

Consider the contrasting examples in (83) (sentence 'a' is from Li and Thomp
1981: 221). This discrepancy may be attributed to the fact that -zhe in Mandarin
not locative while the Continuous marker in Jieyang is. In other words, its lexi
meaning of 'be.at there’ is still transparent. Therefore, the presence of the Continuo

maker in an example like (83b) would mean that the clause has two locat
expressions. Instead, one can use the post-verbal Perfective liau53 since the state
affairs presented in the sentence can only occur after the action is completed, or
existential verb u35:

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154 ASPECT OF CHAOSHAN GRAMMAR

(83) "There is a photograph hanging on the wall.”

qiang shang gua zhe yi ge zhaopian
wall on hang DUR one CL photograph

ts'io55"11 terj53
kua咖 (♦to^-ko21^) (liau5335/ u3521)
wall top hang (*CONT) (PERF/have)

tsek5'2 pa?5"2 sio^^p'iag213

one CL photo

A [Verb + RVC] construction typically encodes a resultant state. However, if

such a verbal compound takes an object, the object must be topicalised before they
can be marked by to^-ka235:

(84) "The house has been built but no one has moved in.，’
kal33 ts'u213^3 k'i5"5- hoOT to^-ko21321 ha33 bo55"11
CL house

narj55*11 zip^2 k'ui21^3 kMa35

person enter go live

Similar to the Progressive to35, the Continuous marker tor^-kd

with states which denote intrinsic property or general quality of
'beautiful', ‘clever’，or ‘stupid’. They can, however, be used with c

adjectives to present a current static situation such as ‘to be ali

burning', and ‘(light) is on’，etc. Such states, although on-going and

of speaking, can change over time:

(85) bue5365 hui55 ha33 ua?5 to^-ko21^21

CL fish still alive CONT
The fish is still alive.

(86) kai55"11 lou55 bue11 kue213, ha53 to?5 to^^

CL stove not.yet extinguish still burning CONT
The stove is not yet extinguished and it is still burning.

The Continuous marker to^-ko233 also appears with stative situations which
can be seen as resultative. For example, in (87), the state of feeling frightened is
caused by a prior specific event. In other words, it dose not denote intrinsic states.

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 CHAPTER SIX: THE ASPECT SYSTEM 155

Note, however, that such states are not usually associated with 狂 location, whereas
posture, position and placement states are. AS such, the locative suffix kd05 in the
compound to3621- ka235 is obligatory in contexts where a location is implied but not in

a context such as (87):

(87) t'aij^a53 tsia?2 ts'ia33 sio 咖 sio2^3 ts'u?2 SUI11, i33

just.now CL car almost out matter 3sg

tsl35 ha33 kia33 si53 to抑（-ko咖）

now still frighten dead CONT
Their car almost had an accident just now and she is still feeling
frightened

63.2.2.2 Verb + pa\j7a^'k<P2>

Like the Progressive aspect, there is also a subset of the Continuous aspect which is
marked by Like the other Continuous marker patj^^-ko213
appears post-verbally. [Verb + parj^^-ko1^ can be used in declarative as well as in
imperative sentences. In declarative sentences, the construction indicates that the
state is perceived by the speaker as result of a ‘deliberate’ or 'wilful' action. For
example, in (88), the more common marker used is parj^^-kd223 because the speaker
thinks that the addressee should sit down while eating but the addressee is apparently

doing the opposite: standing while eating, which is against the ‘norm，as perceived by
the speaker. In (89), what the speaker implies is that the door is left open
'intentionally' because normally, one would close the door on a windy day. Note that
these meanings are not possible with the [Verb + tc^-kd^] construction which
only describes a state neutrally, as shown in (90):

(88) lui55 tso21>53ni55 k'ia55*11 pag^^-ko213"21 (? to^-ko213"21) tsiak5

2sg why stand CONT eat
Why are you standing while eating?

(89) hua り33 tsio55"35 tua11, tso213^3^55"11

wind so big why CL door open

pag^-ko細 / (? toRko脚）
CONT

Why (are you) leaving the door open when the wind is so strong?

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156 ASPECT OF CHAOSHAN GRAMMAR

(90) lui55 tso213"53 lui53"35 zip5 km2B6\ kai55"u murj55

2sg just 2sg enter go CL door

tso^ni55*11 k'ui33 to^-ko 細

why open CONT
Just enter the house. The door is open.

[Verb + pau^^-kd233] is mostly used in the imperative, where

agentive involvement so that a state can be maintained. ‘Stay seated!' a
door open' in (91) and (92) are illustrative:

(91) tso35 paij^-ko21^ Cto3521 ko2^3)

sit CONT
Stay seated.

(92) kai55"11 mug55 k'ui33 pag^^-ko2553 / (* to35"21 -ko213"53)，

CL door open CONT

i33 to35"21 pua33 mue?5"2kia35

3sg PROG move thing
Leave the door open. He is moving things

Summary of chapter
The discussion of the aspectual system in the Jieyang dialect has been carried out in
terms of the two main aspectual distinctions: perfective and imperfective. I have
discussed six main aspectual categories in the Jieyang dialect: the Perfective, which
also includes such meanings as the inception of a state; the Experiential; the
Tentative; the Delimitative; the Progressive and the Continuous. Although these
aspectual categories are similar to other Sinitic languages such as Mandarin, the
discussion in this chapter shows that the syntactic means to express the different
aspectual viewpoints, the range of meanings they possess and thus their scope of use
can be different. For example, due to stratification and borrowing, the Jieyang dialect

boasts more syntactic forms to encode the Experiential aspect than in Mandarin.

The discussion also shows that the Jieyang dialect exhibits a lesser degree of
grammaticalisation of aspectual markers than in Mandarin. In many cases, this is due
to the retention of the source meanings of the markers. For example, in the
Experiential, the maker pa/c‘ cannot be used for denoting inferential evidentiality due

to the retention of its basic meaning of ‘to know, have knowledge'. Other evidence

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 CHAPTER SIX: THE ASPECT SYSTEM 157

includes the possibility of aspectual markers to appear after [Verb + Object]

than attached to the verb, as well as the possibility of using the Experiential
pak2 independently as an answer.
The imperfective viewpoints in the Jieyang dialect also display some sa
features. While the basic functions of the Progressive and the Continuous
encode an on-going activity and an on-going resultative state respectively in a
way, both aspectual categories also possess a subset, marked by patf^-kd^,

encodes ‘intentional’ and 'wilful' actions in declarative sentences and ‘ag

involvement，in imperative sentences.

1 Situation is used by Comrie (1976) as a cover term to refer to states, events a

processes. Smith (1991,1994) uses it in a similar way, referring it to the verb
constellations, that is, constellation of a verb and its arguments, adverbials and o
syntactic elements, which yield different situation types. I follow both Comrie a
Smith in using 'situation' to refer to states and events，with the later including
activities, processes, etc.
2 Note the use of the verb ‘say’ as the complementizer here (see Xu and Math
2005 for discussion).

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CHAPTER SEVEN THE PRETRANSTIVE CONSTRUCTIONS

7.1 Introduction

In this chapter, I discuss a set of constructions

pretransitive1 construction. It resembles to a certa
Mandarin, which is one of the most extensively
linguistics because of its unique semantic, synta
discussions in Wang Li 1958; Y. R. Chao 1968; Th
1973; Ying-che Li 1974; Li and Thompson 1981; C
Sebesma 1992; Liu Yizhi 2000; Ziegeler 2000). Ba
grounds, two subtypes of BA sentences have been
of them is often called the ‘disposal’ form while th
form (see, for example, Y. R. Chao 1968; Chen Y
Hashimoto 1993; Fan Xiao 2000 and Liu Yizhi 2
disposal BA sentence while (2) illustrates a case of
Chappell (1991), both types are said to be semantica

(1) haizimen ba zongzi quan dou chi-guang le

children BA rice:dumpling ftilly all ear-bare ASP
"The children ate up all the rice dumplings." (Chappell 1991: 578)

(2) Ba Ping Ping dou kuai ji-si le

BA Ping Ping all soon upset-die ASP
"It just about had Ping beside herself with anxiety."

As can be seen, the first type has a structure [Subj + BA + Obj.

object, ie, the patient augment, is preposed to the topic position a
marked by the morpheme BA. Semantically, this type of sentence

meanings which are subsumed under the notion popularly known

置’ in Chinese, introduced first by Wang Li (1958). The mea
include ‘how a person handled, manipulated, or dealt with the objec

is disposed of; how an affair is conducted' (translated by Li Ying

201). In most cases, this type of BA sentence entails afFectedn
argument which is reflected in a resultative state. As such
semantically transitive predicate with the subject interpreted as t
object the affected undergoer of the action. In fact, BA sentences

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 CHAPTER SEVEN: THE PRETRANSTIVE CONSTRUCTIONS 159

(1) are called the transitive type in Chappell (1991). The causative type, on the other
hand, has a different syntactic configuration altogether, which is [BA - Subj.- VP],
with the BA NP acting as the actor of the verb, or the experiencer, rather than the
affected undergoer. In Chappell (1991), this type is called the intransitive type, as
opposed to the transitive type.

The disposal type of BA sentence contrasts with a SVO sentence both

structurally and semantically. Compare the following two sentences:

(3) a. ta chi le yi wan fan

3sg eat PREF one bowl cooked.rice
He ate a bowl of rice.

b. ta ba na wan fan chi le

3sg BA that bowl cook.ed rice eat CRS
He ate that bowl of rice.

The most salient difference between a canonical disposal type of BA sentence,

such as (3b), and a SVO sentence, as represented in (3a), is that the patient argument

in 狂 disposal sentence has been proposed to a secondary topic position with the
predicate appearing in clause-final position. The BA morpheme, whicn is treated as a
first verb in Y. R. Chao (1968:342), is thus used to disambiguate the direction of
action of the main verb towards the preverbal NP (ibid: 345). As a result, (3a) can be
used to answer 'what did he do?' whereas (3b) can be used to answer 'what did he do
to that bowl of rice?’ In other words, a SVO sentence such as (3a) is a neutral report

of an event, without particular attention being paid to either the agent or the patient.

If any, the semantic focus tends to be laid on the influence of the verb on the agent. A

BA sentence such as (3b), on the other hand, shifts the attention on the fate of the rice

and how it is affected: it is gone because it has been eaten.

In the Jieyang dialect, the pretransitive construction shares certain semantic and

syntactic features with the disposal subtype of BA construction in Mandarin, but

there is no corresponding causative type or intransitive type. Example (4) illustrates a

Jieyang version of a disposal type of BA sentence in which the patient argument is

preposed to the topic position and is syntactically marked, here, by one of the
vernacular forms (see §7.3 for detailed discussion). The sentence denotes what
the agent did to the patient argument with the implication that the patient argument
was thus affected:

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160 ASPECT OF CHAOSHAN GRAMMAR

⑷ tsia?2 giau33 t'ag2^ bue5W5 hui55 tsiak5 k'ui213"21

CL cat PRET CL fish eat go
The cat ate the fish.

Despite the narrower scope of use of the pretransitive const

dialect, it is nevertheless much richer in its syntactic forms, r

stratification. Altogether, there are six markers which ca

preposed object NP and can be said to be functionally similar
the Mandarin BA construction. These markers are tsiarj51,
び33, rwi213, ^ai35*21-/33 in addition to pa53 which is cognate with
Mandarin BA. Except Aai35"21-!33, which appears after the preposed object NP, all
other markers appear before the object NP (see § 7.3 for discussion on their
similarities and differences). Furthermore, the pre-object and post-object markers can

also combine to form a hybridised construction. Thus, there are three structures of the

pretransitive construction, which are shown in Table (7.1).

Table (7.1) Pretransitive Constructions in the Jieyang Dialect

(a.) Subj. + tsiag33 / pa53 / pa5^35 tsiag33 / fag213 / tui213 + Obj.NP + VP

(b.) (Subj.) + Obj.NP + kai5"1- i33 + VP
(c.) Subj. + tsiag33 / t'ag213 / tui213 + Obj. NP + kai55"11- i33 + VP

A can be seen, the first structure is very similar to the disposal type of BA
sentence. Pattern (b) has the marker occurring after the object NP, which is in the
topic position. The third pattern combines the first and the second, which is not very

commonly found in other Sinitic languages. It will be shown that the second and the

third structures may come from a Southern Min source. It will also be shown that the

six syntactic markers are not altogether free variants. They are distinguished either by

register, literary vs. spoken, or based on semantic grounds such as high or low degree
of transitivity, as well as on syntactic grounds, such as their position in the sentence
(as shown in the above table). In the following sections, I first describe the semantic
functions of the pretransitive construction (§7.2) before explaining the differences
and similarities of the syntactic forms in relation to the semantic properties (§7.3).
Two other features associated with the pretransitive construction, namely, the
definiteness of the object NP (§7.3.1) and the complexity of the VP (§7.3.2)，will also

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 CHAPTER SEVEN: THE PRETRANSTIVE CONSTRUCTIONS 161

be touched upon. It will also be shown that the pretransitive construction can co
occur with the passive. This is typical of cases when only part of an entity is being
affected (§7.4).

7.2 The semantic functions of the pretransitive construction

The pretransitive construction is used to denote meanings similar to those which are

defined by Wang Li (1958) as ‘disposal’ for the Mandarin construction (see previous
section). Primarily, it is used when the speaker wants to emphasise a particular action
made upon a known entity, expressed as the direct object in a pretransitive sentence,
with the focus on the affectedness of the direct object as a result of the action. In
other words, a change of state is expected in a prototypical pretransitive sentence.
However, there is a subset which lacks this semantic component. Rather, it denotes
what is done with the direct object (I use the present tense for convenience of
discussion even though a pretransitive sentence often encodes a past or future action),

with the entailment that there is a potential achievement of a goal. This interpretation
derives from the predicates in this latter category, which are telic situations.
According to Trask (1993: 276), a telic situation has ‘a recognisable goal the
achievement of which would necessarily bring the activity to an end’. While the first
subcategory can be exemplified by (4) above where the object, 'the fish’，is affected
by being eaten and is thus gone, the second type can be exemplified by (5) below
(note the use of two sets of markers here. See § 7.3.5):

(5) lui53 lau^-nag^ke33 k'ui21^53 pa5H5tsiaij33 hai21553 tsui53

2sg old-person go PRET sea water

kai55"u- i33 nio55 tsek5*2- e11.

PRET measure DEM
[He said to the old man] '(Please) go and
(from Folk Story: The Three Measures)

As can be seen in (5), the ocean is not affe

However, once the activity terminates, the rig

following sections, I explore the properties o

For lack of better terms and for the conven

will call the first type the resultative type and

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162 ASPECT OF CHAOSHAN GRAMMAR

7.2.1 Resultative type of pretransitive sentence

As noted before, the semantic focus of the resultative type of pretransitive sentence is

on the influence or effect of the agentive action on the patient argument and the result

thereof. In other words, this type of sentence must entail a change of state, either
physically, intrinsically or in terms of change of location. As such, there are several
grammatical features which are associated with the resultative type of pretransitive
sentence: (i) a semantically transitive verb; (ii) a formally definite pre-verbal NP, and
(iii)狂 complex VP. Furthermore, (iv) this type of pretransitive sentence encodes
adversity on the part of the patient argument. It should be noted, however, that the
telic type of pretransitive sentence also exhibits the second and the third features. As

such, I will discuss these two features, namely, the definite reference of the preposed
NP and a complex VP with respect to the two subtypes together. In what follows, I
will just focus on the first and the fourth properties of the resultative type of
pretransitive sentence.

7.2.1.1 Semantically transitive verbs

The semantic function of the resultative type of pretransitive sentence places some
constraints on the verbs: they must be transitive in meaning rather than in syntactic
valency. In other words, verbs such as a!213 (‘to want') and VdP (‘to see/read'),
although syntactically transitive, are not transitive in meaning in terms of interpreting

the post-verbal NP as an affected patient, and are thus incompatible with the
pretransitive construction. Compare the two sentences in (6) where (a) is
ungrammatical using the pretransitive construction because the agentive action of
‘reading’ does not affect the object, but in (b), the book is affected by being torn apart.

In (7), the action of 'wanting' does not cause the object to undergo a change of state
either. It is therefore not possible to appear in the pretransitive construction. Note that

even though the pretransitive marker used here is tyarjD2>, which denotes strong
disposal meaning (see section 7.3.2), to use the other markers in this context would
still be impossible for (6a):

(6) * a. i33 t'ag21^® pug5H5 tsui33 t'ol5>35- ho5>35 lau53"213.

3sg PRET CL book read- RVC CRS
S/he has finished reading the book.

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 CHAPTER SEVEN: THE PRETRANSTIVE CONSTRUCTIONS 163

b. i33 t，叫咖 pUg5H5 tsui33 li2l>53. tiaull lau5K13

3sg PRET CL book read- RVC CRS
S/he has torn the book apart.

(7) * ua53 t'ao21^ pui)5W5 tsui33 al2^3 kau213^3 m

lsg PRET CL book love EXT not. want-say
Tnere are no words to describe my liking of the book.

In Mandarin, however, verbs such as 4to read’ and ‘to love’，although not ab

occur in a BA sentence by themselves, as shown in (8a), a quantiiymg phras

make the sentences grammatical，as shown in (8b). This is because one o
important semantic criteria for any VP to be BA compatible is perfectivi
Hopper and Thompson 1980:275; Chen Yuchin 1991:179).

(8) * a. Wo BA shu kan

lsg BA book read
I read the book.

b. Wo BA shu kan yi bian

lsg BA book read one time
I read the book once.

(9a) and (10a) (from Sybesma 1992: 122) are two more BA sentences which do
not denote that the patient undergoes change of state of any kind. Therefore, they
cannot be rendered into a resultative type of pretransitive sentence in the Jieyang
dialect, as can be seen by the ill-formed sentences of (9b) and (10b), which are the
Jieyang equivalents. Note that even by using markers other than pa53 which is
cognate with BA in Mandarin, the Mandarin sentences still cannot be rendered into
the pretranskive sentences in the Jieyang dialect:

(9) ‘He looked at me twice.’

a. ta ba wo kan le liang- yan

3sg BA lsg look-at -LE two eye

*b. i33 pas» /tsiag^/t'ao^/tui21^ ua掷 t'ol5H5 liau5>35

3sg PRET lsg see PERF

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164 ASPECT OF CHAOSHAN GRAMMAR

no3^21 eu.
two time

(10) “I hate him deeply."

a Wo ba ta hen-si- le
lsg BA him hate-dead- LE

* b. ua53 pa5535 / tsiaij33 / t'ag咖 / tui咖 heij^-si.

lsg PRRT hate-dead

It is noted in Xing Zhiqun (1994) that man

marker are more common in Min and Yue th
(11a) which is possible in Mandarin is not co
further supports the claim by Yue-Hashimo

the BA construction, is ‘essentially a constru

143).

(11) a. "He is wearing the coat.’’

ta ba dayi chuan- zhe
3sg BA coat put-on- Zhe

b. p (♦pa5"5/ tsiao33 / fag21355 / tui21553) kia35'21 la

3sg (* PRET) CL coat

ts'er)11 to^ko213-21
wear CONT

7.2.1.2 The adversity semantics

Another salient semantic feature of the resultative type of pretransitive sentence is
that in many cases, they are correlated with the notion of adversity, that is, it encodes

that the change of state with regard to the referent as represented by the proposed NP
is of adverse nature, as shown below in the (a) sentences:

(12) a. i33 t'ag215® ua53*35 ts'o?2"3 tsui33 ka?5"2- ka?w - tiau11

3sg PRET lsg CLpi book throw-throw-away
S/he threw away all my books

(13) a. i33 t，叫2D53 kai5Hi pue33 k'a^-p'ua^-k'ui21321

3sg PRET CL cup break-broken-R V C
S/he broke the cup.

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 CHAPTER SEVEN: THE PRETRANSTIVE CONSTRUCTIONS 165

(14) a. i33 t'aij213® tsia?2 tsiau5B5 -kia53 mue?5"2-si53-k'ui213"21.

3sg PRET CL bird -SUF do-dead-RVC
S/he killed the little bird.

In this respect, resultative pretransitive sentences are closest in meaning to t

passive in the Jieyang dialect, which is often used to express that the patien
adversely affected (see Chapter 8). It can thus be said to be the active counterpart
the passive. For example, the above three sentences can all be easily transformed
the passive, illustrated in (12b) to (14b):

(12) b. ua53 ts'o?2"3 tsui33 k'e?2 i33 ka?5"2- ka?5"2 - tiau11

lsg CLpi book PASS 3sg throw-throw-away
My books were thrown away by her/him.

(13) b. kai55*11 pue33 k'e?2 i33 k'a^-p'ua^-k'ui2

CL cup PASS 3sg break-broken-RVC
The cup was broken by her/him.

(14) b. tsia?2 tsiau5H5 -kia53 k'e?2 i33 mueT^-si^-k'ui213*21.

CL bird -SUF PASS 3sg do-dead-RVC
The little bird was killed by her /him.

However, one important thing which sets the pretransitive and the passive apar
is the agent: in the passive, while the semantic focus is on the patient with the age
NP no longer in the topic position (even though formally, agentless passiv
constructions, or short passives, are not allowed in the Jieyang dialect, see Ch叩ter

In the pretransitive, on the other hand, the agent's role is stressed. As a matter of fac

the agent is often blamed for being responsible for the affectedness of the object. For

example, in (15), the first clause shows the cause of the shirt being torn apart and
(16), the speaker clearly places the blame on the agent who stole the money:

(15) F k'i213^ k'i5H5-lai55 kia35"21 sa33 tiau11

3sg angry INC PRET CL shirt tear -RVC
He got so angry that he tore the shirt apart.

(16) i33 tsiag33 i33 pe^bo53 seq33-seg33 k'ou^k'ou5555 tse?2'3

3sg PRET 3sg parent laborious save

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166 ASPECT OF CHAOSHAN GRAMMAR

ko213"53 tsl55 t'au33 k'io?5"2 kui215"53 pua?5

CL money steal take go gamble
He stole the money which his parents saved through mere hardship to
gamble.

The emphasis on the agent's role in carrying out an action so as to bring about a
change of state with regard to the semantic patient accounts for the fact that the
pretransitive construction, in particular, the telic type of pretransitive sentence (see

next section for discussion), is frequently used in the imperative, giving direction or
command for the addressee to carry out an activity. However, it should be pointed out

that an imperative pretransitive sentence may or may not signal an unfortunate or

pejorative situation. For example, in (17), all the speaker wants the addressee to do is
to bring the dog inside the house, which does not affect the dog adversely at all (note

that imperative sentences of this type often use the compound marker kav^-i^ (see §
7.3.4 for further discussion):

(ロ） guaupal55 lo?5"2hou35 tsia?2"3 kau53 kai&u- i lia?5-zip5'2 lai55"11

outside rain CL dog PRET catch-in-come
It is raining outside. Bring the dog in.

122 The telic type of pretransitive sentence

Tms subclass of pretransitive sentence shares the same syntactic constellations with

the resultative type, that is,

[Subj. + Pret + Obj. + VP] or [Subj. + Obj. + Pret + VP]

The predicates appearing in this subtype are aspectually telic, which, as

explained before using the definition given by Trask (1993: 276)，have a recognisable

goal the achievement of which would necessarily bring the activity to an end. For
example, 'measure the ocean' in (5) above and 'check the car，in (18) below all have
a well-defined termination point, which is the goal achieved. In other words, one
cannot say ‘I have checked the car' if one stops midway. It is clear that in the telic
type of pretransitive sentences, the entity represented as the syntactic object is not
affected.

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 CHAPTER SEVEN: THE PRETRANSTIVE CONSTRUCTIONS 167

(18) tsia?2*3 ts'ia33 lui5>35 kai55"11-!33 ts'e^-t'ol5365 e11

CL car 2sg PRET check-TEN DEL
Give the car a check.

As the telic type of pretransitive sentence is about achievin

from an agentive action, it is most often used in the imperative m

encoded by the post-object NP marker A'fli55"11-/33, as illustrated

This contrasts with the resultative type which is often in the de

past action and its effect on the patient.

(19) kai55"11 nou^kia53 k'ui21^ kaPn-P t'ol53 tso^ni55*11

CL child go PRET see why PROG cry
Go and see why the child is crying.

Contrary to the resultative subcategory of pretransitive senten

does not signal adversity in general, as can be seen from the abo
turn to the discussion of the syntactic markers and will show how
the different semantic functions of the construction.

73 Syntactic makers of the pretransitive construction

It was mentioned in the introduction that there are six forms which can all mark the

preposed object NP. The co-existence of a large number of markers for this
construction can be attributed to syntactic stratification: pa53, tsia(f33and pa^tsiarj31

come from the literary stratum, while t'atj211, tuP2 and 人，“/35*21-/33 are local forms.

73.1 tsiarj^, pa53 and pa035 tsiarj^

Both tsiaij^ and p(P are cognate with their counterparts jiang and ba in Mandarin, A
brief account on the origins of jiang and bd will no doubt shed some light on tneir
Jieyang cognates (for detailed discussion on the origins and development of the
disposal markers in Chinese, see Huang Shuanfan 1986; Sun Chaofen 1994;
Peyraube 1996; among others). The present-day use of marking a preverbal patient
argument of jiang and bd developed from their lexical use of ‘taking or holding a
physical object' to their use in instrumental serial verb constructions (see Ziegeler
2000 for a detailed review). In Middle Chinese, jiang and bd existed alongside their
predecessor yl, an instrumental marker in Old Chinese (Huang Shuanfan 1986: 48)，

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168 ASPECT OF CHAOSHAN GRAMMAR

which was eventually ousted. During Middle Chinese, jiang was more frequently
used than bd but at the end of this period, the use of jiang decreased, 'yielding many

of its functional roles to present-day bd’ (Ziegeler ibid: 816). Although jiang survives
in modern day Mandarin, its use is mainly confined to written and more formal
literary texts.

It is clear that tsiarj^md p(P are cognates with jiang and bd and have been
borrowed from the literary stratum. The compound form pa®35 tsiarj^ is apparently a

combined form of pa53 and tsiarj^. The existence of this form in the Jieyang dialect is

quite unique in that it is not commonly found in present-day Mandarin or other

Sinitic varieties. A survey of some early 20th century rhyming scripts or chapbooks,

commonly known as kutP3 - isfe?22 written in the dialect, perh叩s can help shed some

light on its development. The chapbooks surveyed constitute a story which comes in

56 volumes altogether. The survey reveals that tsiarj^, pa53 and pcP35 tsiafj^ all
functioned as preverbal object markers in the chapbooks surveyed. However, it is
interesting to observe that in the earlier volumes, tsiarj^ was the primary marker used.

There were some occasional occurrences of the compound marker pa5335 isiaロ33. As
the number of the volumes goes up, so does the increase of the frequency of the
marker pa53 and the decrease of pa5^ tsiarf0. uiven the circumstances in which
multi-volume series of kua33 - ts'e?2 were produced, often over a relatively long
period, it is plausible to conjecture that earlier volumes may represent an earlier stage
in the language, while later volumes may represent later stages. Based on this
conjecture, in this collection of 56 volumes of song scripts, three stages of the
occurrence of the three markers can be speculated although the exact time span
between the different stages is difficult to determine.

stage 1 tsiarj^
stage 2 tsiarj^
stage 3 tsiarj^, pa53, p(P^ tsiarj^

It can be speculated that in the first stage, tsiarf^ was the primary

in the second stage it was joined by the compound por^5 tsiarf3,

p(P was not used on its own right at the outset but had to be used in

tsiarj^. The third stage sees the three markers exist alongside on
preliminary evidence needs support from further investigation.

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 CHAPTER SEVEN: THE PRETRANSTIVE CONSTRUCTIONS 169

evidence is any indication of the history of the two markers from the literary stratum

it seems to be in accord with the history of jiang and ba. Scholars are general
agreed that jiang is an earlier form than ba (see Huang Shuanhuan 1986; Mei Tsu-li
1990, among others).
In terms of their functions in the chapbooks surveyed, all three forms wer
found to be equally productive and used in semantically strong disposal contexts in
terms of affectedness, as shown in (20-22):

(20) hequhegu bu^sui35 tsiag33 ua5H5 tsam53.

real warrior PRET lsg chop
1 felt my head being chopped off by a warrior [how come I am still a

(21) pa^tsiaij33 iu5541 tsiu33 ts'uaq55"11 me?5"2buag55

PRET YOU state completely destroy
I wish to destroy the entire YOU state. is a name of a state)

(22) t'ai35"21 ua5H5 pa035 tV3 k'im^-tsu?23 -lai55

wait lsg PRET 3sg catch-out-come
Wait for me to catch him.

The three forms also occurred in contexts where affectedness is not the key

meaning encoded. Rather, they were mainly used with verbs of communication such
as ‘speak’，‘explain’，‘say’ and ‘report’，etc., as illustrated in (23) and (24):

(23) mo11 pa^tsiag23 sek^-ts'eg55 tui213^3 uag5H5 t'eg55

hope PRET real-matter towards lpl state
I hope you will tell us the truth [of what happened].

(24) tsiag33 ts'eq55 kaq11 i33 ta21^3 tsaPki33.

PRET matter to 3sg say know
He told her the matter

It is interesting to note that monosyllabic verbs were allowed, as in (20) an

although in modern day use, the predicate of a pretransitive sentence does

single verb (see § 7.3.2.2). In this case, it is likely that the monosyll
something to do with stylistic constraints, since all the verses were written i

syllable meter.

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170 ASPECT OF CHAOSHAN GRAMMAR

An examination of more contemporary literary writings such as local operas

published in the 1960s reveals that the pretransitive sentences were encoded by
tsiaff35 and pa53, indicating that these two forms are still used in the literary register.

However, while both markers can be used for the resultative type, illustrated in (25)
and (26), the marker p(P also often occurs in sentences which do not encode
affectedness, as in (27) and (28). Like the song scripts illustrated above, this latter
case often involves verbs of communication such as ‘mention’，‘remind’，‘scold’，
‘confess’，etc, as well as non-control event verbs such as ‘forget’ or ‘lose’ (the
following examples are from various local operas published in the 60s). This use of
pa53 is apparently an influence from Mandarin as the BA construction in Mandarin is
often used with verbs of communication:

(25) mo5H5 tsiag33 ua5>35 tsog21>53-nag5:

p'au^sia213
cannot PRET lpl^ 丨 mass-people desert
Do not desert us!

(26) pa®35 lui5WS tsek5"2 nag55 boiulai 抑 pue55."

PRET 2sg one person sell come compensate
Even if we sell you to compensate for this,....

(27) t'aq^zia?5"2 si35, pa5535 sui33ts'eg55

hua^^ua55 t'o?2ts'u?2
if COP PRET matter totally confess
If it is the truth, confess every detail of the affair.

(28) pa®35 ts'i33 ti33 eg33ts'eg55 tsek^tag55*11 tou33

PRET wife LW love if all

buaq&nk'ia?2 liau53*213
forget PERG/CRS
What if you will have forgotten the loving kindness of your wife?

In their contemporary usage, only tsiarf^ and pa53 are still used in form
registers such as TV, radio or newspapers, but not pcP^5 tsiarj^. In the sp
language, however, although all the three forms can be used, their function
mainly confined to contexts denoting displacement of the object. This may be d
the retention of the lexical meaning of tsiarj^ and pa53 in the sense of ‘take，in

original instrumental usage in serial verb constructions. However, while tsiaf

often used in denoting placing a physical entity, as in (29), pa53 and pcP^5 tsiarj2

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 CHAPTER SEVEN: THE PRETRANSTIVE CONSTRUCTIONS 171

more often used in the abstract or metaphorical sense of displacement, with

predicates such as 'treat-as', 4translate-into' and 'think-as', as illustrated in (30) to
(32)：

(29) P tsiaij33 tio2"3 sio11 kua2^3 to35"21 tsM655-u, tef-ko21321

3sg PRET CL photo hang at wall top-SUF
He hung the photo on the wall

(30) peg11 pu?2 si35"21 pa^tsiaij33 i33 tuig^^-tso21^ t

and not COP PRET 3sg treat -as one

tseg 掷 gui5W5garj^u giag^kiu213 kai55"11 tui^sia

kin language research LW object
(You >eノ not treating this as an object for your linguistic research.

(31) so5H5"i53 nag53 tsu35*21 pa^tsiag33 ‘tog33si33, ek^-tso2

so lplinC| then PRET ‘dongxi， translate-as

'mueT^kia35'
'mue?5^35'
So we translated ‘dongxi (‘thing ’ in Mandarin) as 'mue? kid ’ (in the Jieyang
dialect).

(32) lm 掷 mo5>35 tiam35-2i pa5« ka»kill sio^-tso2^ si35*21

2sg not.can always PRET self think-as COP

nou^kia53
child

You can't always think of yourself as a child.

In Mandarin, verb compounds such as those in (32) to (34) can o

translated into a BA sentence, which suggests that the Jieyang usage is
Mandarin influence.

The above examples illustrate that the extended meanings still encode 汪
of state. For example, in sentence (33)，the meaning of transfer from one
another is quite clear as the act of translating is in effect transforming on
another, that is, from one language to another.

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172 ASPECT OF CHAOSHAN GRAMMAR

73.2 Varj^
This marker is a vernacular form used only in the spo
not yet attested. Whether it is related to the com
Taiwanese Southern Min which can function as a p
Zheng and Tsao 1994) is yet to be investigated. The m
the preposed patient NP:

(33) i33 t'ag21353 ts'o?2 pua55"11 ua53

lorj5H5 k'a^-k'a21353 -tiau
3sg PRET CL plate bowl all break-break-RV C
She smashed all the crockery

(34) j33 t'ai)2^3 ts'ia33 toi53 ko213"53

tsl55 lo り213“53 k'io?5"2
3sg PRET car inside CL money all take

k'ui21353
RVC
He took away all the money inside the car.

t'arf2^ denotes strong transitive meaning in terms of total afFectedness and in the

form of physical and intrinsic change of state such as from being alive to being dead
or from being intact to being broken. As such, it can only be used when the preposed
NP represents a concrete physical entity. Furthermore, a t9arjm pretransitive sentence

is always used to report an unfavourable rather than 狂 favourable event, as well as

implying that it is the agent who is responsible for the affectedness of the patient.
This can also be seen clearly from the above examples.
The marker Va^ is less commonly used to encode displacement. Even though
(34) above can be argued as a case of displacement, it nevertheless denotes a stronger
disposal sense because what the speaker emphasises here is that the money was
affected by being stolen. The following examples illustrate that in terms of
displacement, tsiaロ35 is more preferred than However, a VO sentence without
overt marking of the preposed NP is also possible, as in (35c):

(35) ‘She put the money in the bank.’

？ a. i33 t'ao21^ ko213"53 tsl55 par,2^3 to3521 rjeg^hag55
3sg PRET CL money put at bank

i33 tsiag33 ko213"53 tsl55 pag213"53 to35'21 qeg55Uhag55

3sg PRET CL money put at bank

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 CHAPTER SEVEN: THE PRETRANSTIVE CONSTRUCTIONS 173

c. p ko213"53 tsl55 pag213^ to35"21 ijeg^haij55

3sg CL money put at bank

Note that sentences with (as well as tuF3, see next se

by itself, that is, when not co-occurring with the post-object m

7.3.5), seldom occur in the imperative, no matter whether t

disposal or displacement. Imperative sentences are often
marker (further discussion of this marker in § 7.3.4) or often hav

again demonstrates that Varj2^ marks a high degree of transitivit

rather than irrealis, is one of the parameters of transitivity (see

(36) 'Kill the chicken.’

t'ag 咖 tsia?2"3 koi33 tai^u-si53
PRET CL chicken kill-dead

tsia?2*3 koi33 kai抑-P tai^-si53

CL chicken PRET kill-dead

733 to 严
This is another vernacular marker for the pretrans

fatf35, it is less commonly used in the Jieyang dialec

the primary form used in the spoken language (alth

forms for written and formal contexts):

(37) lui53 tui213® ua5H5 sag33 oi55 mue?5

2sg PRET lsg pair shoe do towards where go
Where did you put [hide]my shoes? (Shi Qisheng 1996a: 152)

(38) me?2kai55 au? tui21^53 ua5H5 kai55"11 seq33li53 zui5H5tseq53

what PRT PRET lsg POSS business mess.up
What? You tried to ruin my business? (from the comic skit ‘The Five
Legends')

Even though tut03 can be used in place of t*arjm in the Jieyang dialect, there is a

slight semantic difference between the two markers: sentences marked by tuf^ may
imply that the action is intentionally ‘directed’ towards the patient, as can be seen
clearly in (38). This intentional implication of tuF5 may come from the directional

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 174 ASPECT OF CHAOSHAN GRAMMAR

meanings of the source word tuF32: 'facing, towards’. For example, in (39a)’ iuF3 not
only serves as the pre-object marker but implies towards what direction the action is

directed. (39b) is ill-formed if we use tsiarj^ or pa53 in place of tuf°. (39c) on the
other hand is not ungrammatical because the sentence denotes strong affectedness.
However, the use of here is not common:

(39) ‘He sloped his face.’

a. i33 tuj2M i33 kai55"u ki?2ぅ kau33 tsu35"21 piaij^-lo?5-2 k^ui213"21
3sg PRET 3sg CL cheek then slap-down-go

i33 tsiag^/pa53 i33 kai5H1 ki?23kau33 tsu35"21 piarj^-lo?5"2 k^ui21321

3sg PRET 3sg CL cheek then slap-down-go

i33 t'ag2的 i33 kaPu ki?23kau33 tsu35*21 piag^-loT^k'ui213-21

3sg PRET 3sg CL cheek then slap-down-go

73.4 ka^-P

Another common syntactic device to mar

the compound marker ka^-t3 which is
the VP. The basic pattern is as below and

(Subj) +Obj.NP + kai^'t33 + V

(40) kai55"11 mug55 kai5"1- i33 kue3

CL door PRET close come
Close the door.

73.4.1 The lexical and grammatical usage of

The two morphemes of the compound marker ka
counterpart: f33 is the third person singular pronoun
mark the benefactive, the source and the goal:

(i) marking the benefactive:

for 3sg do matter

work for him/her

(ii) marking the source:

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 CHAPTER SEVEN: THE PRETRANSTIVE CONSTRUCTIONS 175

kai55"11 i33 tsio?2 tsl55

for 3sg borrow money
borrow money from him/her

(iii) marking the goal;

kai®"n i33 tau^k'iam53

for 3sg aplogise
apologise to him/her

As topic-comment type of sentences are prominent in the Jieyang dialect, and

given that kaf5 can mark the benefactive, [obj. NP + + VP] can potentially
have two readings: pretransitive and benefactive, as can be seen in (41). However,
discourse and speech contexts are usually sufficiently clear to distinguish the
pretransitive from the benefactive reading. It is also worth noting that since kaf^-i33
with a pretransitive reading is only possible with an OV order, sentences with [Subj.
+ + VO] structure can only have the goal, source and benefactive readings:

(41) ts'o?2 sa33k'ou213 kai55"11- i53 k'^-k'ui213^3 soi53

CL clothes PRET take-go wash
Pretransitive reading: Wash these clothes.
Benefactive reading: Wash these clothes for hi

In the above two examples, if the sentence receives the

pronominal Z33 after kar6 is referential: it only refers to a

which is the benefactor, while in the pretransitive reading,

evidenced in (42) where the preposed NP is plural in

convincing example is (43) (from Shi Qisheng 1996: 153
object is a second person reference (note the co-occurre
discussion):

(42) ts'o?2 nouuia53 kai^-i33 ziauH-ts'i^-k'ia213"53

CL child PRET drive-out-go
Get those children out of here.

(43)tui21^3 lui5W5 kai5H1- i33 poiMiau11

lsg PRET 2sg PRET sell-RVC
I will sell you! [a teasing remark rather than a real threat]

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176 ASPECT OF CHAOSHAN GRAMMAR

Perhaps the kaf^-P construction is an extension of 汪 benefactive construction

with the pretransitive sense, and the pronoun is invariant because of this fossilisation

In other words, the two morphemes have become a single invariant expression
such，the two morphemes receive one gloss and are linked with a hyphen). T
conjecture can be supported by evidence from a closely related dialect, Taiwan
Southern Min. In this language, similar functions are found with a morpheme
which not only marks the benefactive, the source and the goal, but also functions as 狂

grammaticalised marker to indicate the disposal meaning, as in (44) (from Zheng an

Tsao 1994: 37. The gloss and translation are mine):

(44)册 ka 提来
book ka take come
把书拿来(Bring me the book)

In Xiamen, another closely related Southern Min variety, t

disposal construction (equivalent to the pretransitive construc
also derives from a preposition meaning ‘to, for, from’ (see L
cognate pretransitive construction in Xiamen, a third person sin

present after the object marker 该，as in (45) (from Li Xit

gloss and translation are mine)

(45) Le Lt i L 2：
Wash the clothes (clean). ’

In Taiwanese Southern Min, it is suggested that ka come

contraction of the preposition ka and the third person pro
1995:12), which is said to be coreferential with the propose
shared by Zheng and Tsao (1994: 34). In Xiamen, it is also c
person pronoun i is coreferential with the object in the topic pos
Jieyang dialect, it has been shown that the pronominal in
VP] construction, in its present-day usage, cannot be corefere
object NP. However, despite the different analysis of th
difference in the surface structure, [NP + ka + VP] in Taiwan

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 CHAPTER SEVEN: THE PRETRANSTIVE CONSTRUCTIONS 177

该(kai) + /+ VP] in Xiamen, and [NP + + VP] in the Jieyang dialect may
have come from the same source and represent a common Southern Min feature.

73.4.2 The functions of kar^-f^ pretransitiye sentences

kaf^-P pretransitive sentences are most commonly used in the imperative, giving
commands to the listener to carry out some activity with regard to the object NP. It
can be used with the resultative as well as the telic types of pretransitive sentence and

encode both affectedness and displacement semantics:

(46) tsio5H5 ts'ai213 kai^-i33 tsiak^k'ui213^

CL dish PRET eat-RVC
Eat up the food.

(47) tsafii hue33 kaPn-P sai11 pai)21^ ts’ 岡55^tqf-ko213"21

CL dish PRET put.down place table-top-SUF
Put the plant on top of the table

(48) no35"21 tsia?2 kau53 kaPn-P t'oi5"5 tui5知 tPko213"21 k'ui213

two CL dog PRET see towards where go
Go and see where the two dogs have gone.

Like t'atj235 and tui05, verbs of communication cannot be used in the

pretransitive sentences, as illustrated in (49b). For this kind of verb, a
without any overt object marking is often preferred, as shown in (49c), whic
confirms the view that OV without overt marking is indeed more pro
Southern dialects (see Xing Zhiqun 1999):

(49) 'Tell me what h叩pened，.

a.
t'ag 咖 / tui kia35*21
咖 SUI11 p'ue?5"2 lai55" tia33

PRET CL matter tell come listen

b. kai^-i33
kia35"21 tsui11 p'ue?" lai55"11 tia33

CL matter PRET tell come listen

c. kia35*21 tsui11 p'ue?5"2 lai55 tia33.

CL matter tell come listen

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178 ASPECT OF CHAOSHAN GRAMMAR

Although the position of ka^n- i33 is after the object NP, it does not have to
follow the object NP immediately. For example, in the following three examples, the

preposed object NP in each sentence does not appear in the kaf6^1- P clause (the
three examples are all from a conversation recorded with local consultants in 1999):

(50) i33 ts 'i33-ts' i^-ts 'am5H5-ts 'am5535 t'aq213^3 u35*21 kua5335 kai&u
3sg miserably earn have several CL

tsl55 i33 li33 hau213^ pua?5, log53"35 kai^-i33

money 3sg PRT like gamble all PRET

su33 kau213"53 pe?5^?5—

lose EXT white-white-RVC
He had a few hard-earned dollars, but because he was addicted to gambling,
he gambled them away.

poiu zio?52-tsoiu
tsl55 mo33 tsu35"21 k'io?5*2 laiKU
sell how-much money PRT then take come

hai55 ua5H5 i33 li33 tsu55*11 kai^-i33 tsiak^-tsiak52 k^ui213'21

return lsg 3sg PRT then PRET eat-eat-RVC

kai^-i33 nim33 ko2^3 tsiu53 k'ui213-21

PRET drink CL wine go

Whatever amount of money he got [by hawking], he should have paid me back,
but instead he spent (it) on dining and drinking.

(52) hia5H5 na^^u55 hio53 tua11 tsaq55 i33 tsu35"21 kai55^33

that.kind aloe so big CL 3sg then PRET

sai11 lo?5"2^^213-21
put down-go
Those aloe plants were so big, but he[ held one up and] put it down onto the
floor with ease.

From the above examples, it can be seen that the kaf^-i33 device is very useful
in oral discourse because it allows the speaker to clarify the relationship between the
main verb and the distant patient argument(s). This anaphoric function can be the
residue of f33 in referring to an antecedent, even though r33 is not strictly co
referrential with the fronted patient NP in terms of agreement in number or person.

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 CHAPTER SEVEN: THE PRETRANSTIVE CONSTRUCTIONS 179

7.3.5 The co-occurrence of pretransitive markers

As noted in the introduction, the Jieyang dialect also employs a 'double-marking'
strategy which combines a pre-object marker (any of the five) with the post-object
kai^-i33 to yield a combination form as shown below:

(Subj) + tsiag33/ t'ag213/ tui213 / pa53 / pa^tsiag33 + Obj. NP + kai55"11-!33 + VP

This type of ‘double marking' construction is very productive in the Jieyang

dialect, and in fact, in Chaoshan dialects as a whole. It is also found in Taiwanese
Southern Min. The following two sentences in (53) and (43) above are illustrative
(Taiwanese Southern Min example from Hong Su-zhen 1995:13):

(53) a. lui53 t'ag21^ kaPu tiarj^nau53 kai^-i33 tso^ni5^

2sg PRET CL computer PRET how

mue?52-tiauu?
do-RVC
What have you done to my computer?

b.
chiong mng ka koain- khi-lai
CfflONG door KA close-PART

Close the door (Taiwan Southern Min)

The data provided above show that that sentences with double ma
differ semantically from those that have single markers and are thus

in many cases, at least in the Jieyang dialect. So, why is there a n

markers? Shi Qisheng (1996:154) claims that the use of two forms is
in conveying the disposal meaning3. However, this claim cannot be sa
all cases. In sentences where there is no disposal meaning conveyed, a

in (5) which is repeated here as (54), it is still perfectly sound to

marking strategy:

(54) lui53 lau^-narj^ke33 k'ui2l>53 pa掷tsiag33 hai213"53

2sg old-person go PRET sea water

kai55U- i33 nio55 tsek5"2- e11.

PRET measure DEM

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180 ASPECT OF CHAOSHAN GRAMMAR

[He said to the old man], ‘(Please) go and measure the ocean
(from Folk Story: The Three Measures)

In Taiwanese Southern Min, where ‘double marking' is also possible, as shown

in (53b), it is pointed out by Zheng and Tsao (1994: 36) that because the object
marker ka has grammaticalised into a verbal prefix, when the direct object is
preposed, it can thus be marked by another marker. However, my observation about
data from the Jieyang data is that the use of two markers can be motivated by stylistic

considerations. For example, when the direct object NP is 'heavy', with modifying
elements, as in (55) or when there is more than one object NP, as in (56), it is more
common to use the double marking strategy. This is because there is a long interval
between the pre-object marker and the VP. Thus, it is desirable or even necessary to
have another marker closer to the VP to indicate the action upon the direct object
NP(s):

(55) i33 \im^ ts'u?2 ko?2 tsal55 tsiarj33 [kui5H5 tsap5"2

3sg just exit country before PRET several ten

ni55"11 lai55 to卸 ts'uarj55"11 kok2 ka?2 ti11 siu33ts'ag55

year come at entire country each place collect

ka” kou^oq53]lor)5H5 kai卸-i33 k”。?5.2 k'ui21^3 boi11

CL antiques all PRET take go sell

Before s/he migrated overseas, s/he sold every piece

s/he has been collecting from all over the count
decades.

(56) i33 tsiag33 [i33 nam5511 p'eg^iu53 kai5H1 sio^^p'iag213,

3sg PRET 3sg boy friend POSS photo

i33 boi55"35 k'e?2 i33 kai55"11 li5>35mue?5 ka?2 tsek5*2 ts'o?2

3sg buy to 3sg LW gift and one CL

log53* B kapli33
ts'erj^ser)213], sio33 -sioi33-tiauu
love-letter all PRET burn-bum-RVC

She burnt her boyfriend's photos, the gifts he bought her and all the low
letters [he sent her].

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 CHAPTER SEVEN: THE PRETRANSTIVE CONSTRUCTIONS 181

7.4 Other grammatical features: definite NP and complex VP

It was noted in 7.2.1 that both the resultative and the telic types of pretransiti
sentence share two grammatical features, that is, both must have a formally defini

NP and a complex NP. I next discuss each of them in turn.

7.4.1 Definiteness of the object NP

As the pretransitive construction is about what is done to or with a known entity,
there is no doubt that the object NP must be definite in reference. This feature is
similar to the Mandarin BA construction, although Mandarin also allows formally
indefinite NPs to appear in BA sentences, as illustrated by (57) and (58). It is noted in
Sybesma (1992: 130) that a formally indefinite BA NP can be interpreted as specific
or generic. For example, in (57), the clock cannot be just any one clock but must be
one which is known to the speaker. Teng Shou-Hsin shares the same view. He holds
that as long as the BA NP is 'actual', it is BA-construction compatible. By this, he
means that the reference of the BA NP must be available to the speaker, or the
addressee or both (1975: 103). In his example (his 6a, quoted below as (58)), the
patient NP is indefinite in form, but Teng explains that it is ‘actual’ at the moment of
speaking for the speaker when he realised what he forgot (109):

(57) Wo ba yi ge zhong nong-huai-le

lsg BA one- M clock make-broken-LE
I broke a clock, (from Sybesma 1992: 129)

(58) Wo ba yi- jian shi wanng-le

lsg BA one- M matter forget-asp
I forgot something.

In the Jieyang dialect, however, the preposed direct object NP must be formally
definite, often expressed by the [CL + NP] construction, as evidenced by various
examples throughout this chapter (This fact further confirms our analysis in Chapter

5 that [CL + N] is indeed a very productive means to mark a definite entity in the

spoken language). To express similar semantics as the above two sentences, the
Jieyang dialect would use the SVO order instead.
The case of a generic reading of a BA NP in Mandarin can be when the kthe BA
sentence refers to a habitual event' (see also Chen Yuchin 1991:162), as exemplified

in (59):

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182 ASPECT OF CHAOSHAN GRAMMAR

(59) Ta xihuan ba pinguo zhu

3sg like BA apple cook ee c e hiat
She likes to eat cooked apples.

A bare noun with generic reading such as that m (59) is also possib
Jieyang dialect, as in (60)，but not common as it has a strong translation flav

Mandarin. Note that when denoting a generic event, the markers used must

since t'arf235 or tut05 can only denote a past and specific event:

(60) i33 hi5H5hua33 tsiar)33 p'eq^kue53 tsui5H5 lai5H1 tsiak

3sg like PRET apple cook- le eat
She likes to eat cooked apples.

A bare noun appearing in the BA-sentence in Mandarin can als

reading, as in (61a). This is not possible in the Jieyang dialect, as

make the sentence grammatical, we can either mark the NP denn
classifier or by topicalizing the NP with zero marking, as shown i

(61) a. ‘How come you gave him the book?'

ni zenme ba shu gei le ta

2sg how.com BA book give PERF 3sg

lui53 tso^ni55*11 tsiaq33 *(puり5描） tsui33 k'e?2 |3>11

2sg how.com PRET *(CL) book give 3sg

pur)5>35 tsui33 lui53 tso^ni55*11 k'e?2 j3>ll

CL book 2sg how.com give 3sg

However, when the sentence involves a contrast, a bare noun appearing in a

topic position in the Jieyang dialect can be interpreted as a definite referent, as in (62).
Note that since it is common for OV sentences in the Jieyang dialect to have no overt
marking, the use of the marker is optional:

(62) hui55 (kaPM33) par)21^3 tsio53 ts'ai213 (kai55"u-i33) pag213"53 hio53

fish (PRET) put here vegetable (PRET) put there
Put the fish here and the vegetable there.

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 CHAPTER SEVEN: THE PRETRANSTIVE CONSTRUCTIONS 183

7.4.2 Complexity of the VP

A grammatical feature of the pretransitive construction which is similar to that of

BA construction is that the predicate of the pretransitive construction mus

complex. This syntactic requirement is closely related to the semantics of
construction in question. Y. R. Chao (1968)'s view on why a bare verb is not possi
with the BA construction is that ‘since a pretransitive is employed to advance
position of the object and get it out of the way, something more elaborat
presumably meant to be said than can be expressed by just one morpheme, wh
would have the effect of an anticlimax' (p. 346). Yue-Hashimoto (1993: 144) h
similar views on this issue, noting that since the BA construction is about what
done to a known entity, the action must be specific. Since a bare verb does not h

specific reference, it cannot occur in the BA construction. The observations of b

authors can be rightly applied to the pretransitive construction as well.

For the resultative type of pretransitive sentence, as a change of state is expected

the main verb must be modified by post-verbal syntactic elements which can ref
this new state. Post-verbal elements which can indicate a resultant state include

resultative complements, directional complements, locative expressions and phase

markers. To try to minimise repetition, I recapitulate some of the predicates, rather
than whole sentences from earlier examples for illustration:

(i) with resultative complements

(63) a sio^-sio^-tiau11
burn-burn-RVC = burnt completely

b. mueT^-si53
do-die = killed

(ii) with directional complements

(64) a. liak52-zip52- lai55*11

catch-in-come = take (the dog) in

b. zia^-ts'uT^k'iH21^3
drive-out-go = get (the children) out

(iii) with locative phrases

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184 ASPECT OF CHAOSHAN GRAMMAR

(65) ^ kua213"53 to35' ts'io^-teri^ko213-21

hang at wall-top-SUF :hang (the picture) on the wall

b. pag咖 tos qerj^haij^-ko213-21

put at bank-SUF :put (the money) in the bank

(iv) with RVCs as completive phase markers

(66) tsiak5 k'uia3a

eat- RVC = ate (something) up

(v) with serial verb construction

(67) k'io?5"2- kuia>s- pua?5

take- go- gamble = take (the money) to gamble

(68) uag53 tsu35"21 log5"5 kai5H1- i33 siu33ts'eg55*u lai55"11 tsiak5

lpl^xci then all PRET collect
We then collected all (the leftover food) to eat.

It should be pointed out that although a resultative expression is a

perfective, perfectivity may not necessarily entail a resultant state. This di

important because while Mandarin allows perfectivity to be a maj

criterion for a VP to be BA construction compatible (see Chen Yu
perfectivity alone is not enough to determine the grammaticality of a VP

the resultative pretransitive construction in the Jieyang dialect. Rather

resultativity. For example, in (69a), the presence of the perfective marke

the bare verb to be BA compatible, but in (69b), a resultative complem

called for before the verb can appear in the pretransitive:

(69) 'The cat has eaten the fish.’

a. mao ba yu chi le
cat BA fish eat PERF

b. tsia5: rjiau33 t'orj213'53 pue诚 hui55 tsiak5 kui55 lau213

CL cat PRET CL fish eat RVC PERF/CRS

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 CHAPTER SEVEN: THE PRETRANSTIVE CONSTRUCTIONS 185

(vi) with Tentative and the Delimitativemarkers

For the telic type of pretransitive sentence, although a resultative state is not entailed,

the predicate must be telic and perfective. A telic predicate appearing in this subclass
of pretransitive sentence usually consists of a verb which is aspectually durative but
which is delimited by either the Tentative or the Delimitative marker to imply an end

point, which is the achievement of the goal.

(70) nio55 tsek5"2- e11

measure DEL = have (the ocean) measured

(71) ts'e55"11 t'ol5^

check TEN = give (the car) a check

7.5 The pretransitive construction and the passive

In §7.2.1, it was noted that the resultative type of the pretransitive construction can be

said to be the closest ‘active’ counterpart of the passive construction in the sense that

both emphasise the ‘fate’ of the direct object. In other words, they virtually describe
an event of the same nature even though the syntactic marker of each construction
marks a different argument: the pretransitive marks the patient while the passive the

agent. Some minimal pairs of passive-pretransitive sentences (examples 12-14) were

given in §7.2.1.2.
The pretransitive construction often co-occurs with the passive construction,
forming a combined construction like the following:

Obj NPj + PASS + Agent + Pret, + Obj NP2+ (Pret2) + VP

This construction is often used when NPj and NP2 form a part-whole relation.

For example, in (72), NPj is related to the preposed pretransitive NP2 as whole and

part, that is, 'the car' and4the car lamp'. The same situation applies to sentence (73):

(72) i33 tsia?2 ts'ia33 k'e?2 nag55"11 t'arj21353 kai5H1 s'ia33-t'au55*u

3sg CL car PASS people PRET CL car-head

teg33 mueV^-mueT^-tiau11.
lamp do-do-RVC

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186 ASPECT OF CHAOSHAN GRAMMAR

His car had its headlight smashed (or: Someone smashed the headlight of his
car).

(73) tsia?2 k'a33 ts'ia33 pug33 nag55"11 tui213® kai55"11 tseg33

CL foot car PASS people PRET CL car-head

t'ia?2 tsau53-k,ui213'21
dismantle away - RVC

The bell of his bike was dismantled and taken away by someone.
(Shi Qisheng 1996:157. Note the different passive and the pretransitive
markers used in this Shantou example.)

Summary of chapter
The pretransitive construction resembles to some extent the much studied BA
construction in Mandarin both semantically and syntactically. However, the
pretransitive construction is by no means an equivalent of the BA-construction. Its
range of functions is much more limited, which is evidenced by the absence of an

equivalent of the causative or intransitive type of BA sentences in the Jieyang dialect

and in the fact that many transitive type of BA sentences cannot be replicated in the
pretransitive construction if the sentences do not denote physical or intrinsic
affectedness of the thematic undergoer. The Jieyang data also show that OV topic
comment order without overt marking is quite common, which also accounts for the

more limited use of the pretransitive construction in the Jieyang dialect.

Based on semantic functions, the pretransitive construction can also be

subdivided into two subclasses. While both types are about an agentive action carried

out with regard to a known entity, the first type encodes a change of state on the part

of the undergoer brought about by the agentive action. This change of state can either

by physical or in terms of change of location. The second type does not encode this
meaning but rather the potential achievement of a goal. This meaning derives from
the telic situations which occur in the second type.

Except for sentences which denote displacement in the metaphorical sense, the
direct object of a pretransitive sentence must represent a concrete and physical entity,
which must be syntactically realised as a definite NP (except for a generic NP). As
with the BA construction, it has also been shown that the pretransitive construction
requires a complex VP in the form of post verbal modification and other elements

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 CHAPTER SEVEN: THE PRETRANSTIVE CONSTRUCTIONS 187

such as locative expressions, aspectual markers and purposive clauses to ind

resultativity and perfectivity.

A unique feature associated with the pretransitive construction in the Jiey

dialect is the rich repertoire of markers, six in all, resulting from synt
stratification: tsiarj^ and pcP are cognate with jiang and ba from Mandarin and
from the literary stratum. They are mainly used in the formal and written reg
The existence of a hybridised form paP^tsiarj^ is typologically very interesting,

is not commonly found in other Sinitic languages. It may represent a stage

paP was introduced to the dialect before it became fully independent.
The local forms t'aij235, tu?3 and A'ai5^11-/33 on the other hand can only be us

in the spoken language. Among them, further division of labour is observed: t'ar
can only be used in the resultative type of pretransitive sentence. In particular
encodes physical and intrinsic affectedness. tu?^ (even though not a common ma

in the Jieyang dialect) tends to denote ‘intentional action', whereas kaf^-i^c

used in both types of pretransitive sentence and in particular, in imperative senten

Finally, it has also been shown that the source meanings of some of
pretransitive markers also influence their compatibility with certain typ
pretransitive sentences. For example, tsiafj於 and po^/sia^33, having derived
an instrumental usage of 4take hold of [object]’ in a serial verb constructio
classical Chinese, are most commonly used when displacement, especially in
metaphorical sense, is involved, whereas tuF3, with its lexical function
preposition ‘to, towards', is used when direction of an action or intention of an
is implied.

l.The term ‘pretransitive’ is used by Y.R. Chao (1968: 342) to refer to the BA
morpheme in the BA construction. As there is more than one morpheme in the
Jieyang dialect which can be a functional equivalent to the BA morpheme, it seems
plausible to use 'pretransitive’ as an overarching term for the corresponding Jieyang
constructions.
2 kua^-ts'e?1 (literally 'song-volumes') are written in a seven-syllable meter and
rhyming style. For a detailed description of kucfi-ts'e?1, see Wu Kuixin (1999). The
scripts used for analysis in this chapter were printed in the early 20lh century in
Shantou. The 56 volumes were all hand bound.
3 A similar construction in Mandarin is observed. For example,

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188 ASPECT OF CHAOSHAN GRAMMAR

"Ni BA zhe xie shu gei ta reng chu qu"

2sg BA these book give it throw out go
Throw those books away!
I am grateful to Professor Ma Zhen from the Chinese department of Beijing
University for providing this example sentence and for discussing related topics with
me.

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CHAPTER EIGHT PASIVES AND THE k V?2-*33 CONSTRUCTION

8.1 Introduction

Passive constructions are widespread in the wor

Functionally speaking, a passive construction s
argument which is not normally in the topical p
sentence such as ‘John was slapped ’ in English rep
passive in Keenan and is said to be the most comm
247). Characteristic of basic passives is that the mai
an activity, taking agent subjects and patient obj
present. However, the agent phrase can also be pres
status (ibid: 250). Passives of non-transitive verbs a
in the world (see Keenan 1985: 272-280). In
constructions in the Jieyang dialect which can b
functional definition of Keenan given above)
morphosyntax but is built on intransitive verbs
2005). The syntactic structures of these constructio
in the following three schemata:

(i) Patient NP + k'e?1 + Agent NP + VP”

(ii) Patient NP! + k 'e?2 + Agent NP + VPvt + Patient NP2

(iii) Subject NP + k'e?2 + /33 + VPvi

Schema (i) represents a construction which will be called the 4long pas
following terminology used for Mandarin grammar. According to James
(1999:2), a long passive in Mandarin is one in which the agent phrase is presen

opposed to short passive where the agent phrase is not present. The Jieyang
only exhibits the long passive (see § 8.3). It is based on transitive verbs, tak
agent and a patient argument, and the passive characteristic is analytically mar

the morpheme k'e?1.

Schema (ii) has two patient arguments, one preposed to preverbal position
the other retained in postverbal position. I call this construction ‘indirect passi
(§ 8.4), a term used in Mandarin grammar, but which is in turn borrowed fr
literature on passives in Japanese (James Huang 1999: 34) where ana

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190 ASPECT OF CHAOSHAN GRAMMAR

constructions exist. The two NPs in the indirect passive typically represent a part
whole or possessor-possessed relationship.
The third pattern is typologically interesting in that although it bears
morphosyntactic similarity to the first pattern, the long passive, it is nevertheless
based on intransitive verbs. Paradoxically, the slot after the marker kfe?2, which in
the prototypical passive would be the agent slot, is filled by an invariable pronominal
Z33. It will be shown in § 8.5 that this construction is not passive in meaning but the
marker has become overt marking of unaccusativity, encoding a change of state,
typically an adverse change of state. This construction differs syntactically and
semantically from 'impersonal passives' found in some Indo-European languages,
which also derive from intransitive verbs (§ 8.5.4). For lack of a better term and
parallel constructions cross-linguistically, I will call the construction represented in
schema (iii) above the construction.

8.2 The marker kfe?2

The morpheme kfe?2 in the Jieyang dialect has a range of functions,
as well as grammatical ones. It is a lexical verb ‘give’； a permissiv
marker ‘let/allow’； a marker of the semantic role goal ‘to’，an
perspective/stance (terminology from Lord et al. 2002: 222). This ran
is illustrated below:

⑴ ua53 k'e?2 i33 liap5"2 kiu55.

lsg give 3sg CL ball
I gave him a ball (lexical)

(2) ua53 k'e?2 i33 k'ui21353 pa?5*2 kiu55

lsg let 3sg go play ball
I let him go and play ball. (permissive)

(3) ua53 poi11 liap5"2 kiu55 k'e?2 i3>u

lsg buy CL ball for 3sg
I bought him a ball. (goal)

(4) k'e?23 ua53 t'oi5355 lai55*11 p'a?2 kiu55 siag35 ho53,

give lsg see come play ball most good
In my opinion, playing ball is the best. (perspective/stan

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CHAPTER EIGHT: PASIVES AND THE k，e ^-i33 CONSTRUCTION 191

The above functions of the morpheme k'e?2 parallel those found in some West
African and East and Southeast Asian languages as noted in Lord et al. (2002).
According to these authors, data from the African and Asian languages they
investigated suggest two possible pathways of diachronic development for the
morpheme 4give' (p. 232):

a. With NP objects (nouns or nominalisation)

Perspective/Stance
Lexical verb — Goal/Benefactive 一 Purpose
Reason

b. With clausal objects

Lexical verb —>• Permissive — Causative

Purpose / Consequence

In the Jieyang dialect, the morpheme k'ef1 has also gone 狂 step further in its
path of grammaticalisation to develop a function to mark the passive meaning, as
noted in Matthews, Xu and Yip (2005), and as illustrated in (5):

lexical verb permissive-causative passive

‘give， — ‘allow， —► ‘by，

(5) Hap5"2 kiu55 k'e?2 ua5H5 ka?5*2-tiau11-k,ui213'21.

CL ball PASS lsg throw-away-RVC
The ball was thrown away by me.

This hypothesised pathway of the passive marker k'e?2 is supported by parallel

examples cross-linguistically. For example, Xu Dan (1994) identifies twenty three
Sinitio languages which make use of ‘give’ verbs as agent marking in the passive
construction. Hashimoto (1988) also notes that in many southern minority languages

of China such as Dong, Zhuang, Buyi, Maonan, Yao and Dai, the passive markers are
'curiously related to the verbs for "to give" or ‘‘to give back’，’(p. 344). In various
northern dialects in China, the direct use of causative markers as passive markers is

also very productive (Hashimoto 1988: 350). In Keenan (1985), it is shown that
Korean has a causative-passive development and in Yap and Iwasaki (1998), various
Tai and Austroasiatic languages are also noted for their use of causative morphemes

to express passive meanings.

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192 ASPECT OF CHAOSHAN GRAMMAR

The putative give-causative-passive pathway in the Jieyang dialect helps to shed

light on why the constructions marked by kfe?2 all require an agent argument (or a
dummy agent for the k9e?2"P construction. See § 8.5). It is argued in Matthews et
al.(1999; in press) that the agent requirement feature may be due to the
subcategorization of the source verb ‘to give’. I will return to this point in § 8.3.1.

S3 The long passive construction

The long passive has similarities to as well as differences from the ‘basic’ passives as
defined by Keenan (see introduction). Like the basic passive, it is constructed on
transitive activity verbs taking two arguments: the agent NP and the patient NP. What

it differs from the basic passive is that the agent argument must be present (further

discussion to follow). The subject-patient mapping can be illustrated by the following

pair of sentences which show that in the active sentences, the agent appears as the
sentence subject but in the passive sentences, the patient becomes the sentence
subject:

(6) a. lau5355sui33 kim^zek5 p'oi^p'er)55*11 i3"1

teacher today criticise 3sg
The teacher criticised him today.

b. i33 kim33zek5 k'e?M lau5H5sui33 p'oi33p'eg55

3sg today PASS teacher criticise
He was criticised by the teacher today.

(7) a. i33 k'a?2*3^^213^3 kai®"n hue^-p'eg55

3sg break-broken CL vase
She broke the vase.

b. kai&n hue^-p'eg55 k'e?H i33 k'a?2^^213^^213"21.

CL vase PASS 3sg break-broken-RV C
The vase was broken by her.

In the following sections, I discuss in more detail the syntactic and sem
features of the long passive, in particular, the agent requirement and the mean
adversity associated with the passive.

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CHAPTER EIGHT: PASIVES AND THE k'e^-i33 CONSTRUCTION 193

83.1 The agent requirement

Keenan (1986) claims that ‘if a language has passives with agent phrases, then i
them without agent phrases' (p.249). The Jieyang dialect presents a counter ex
to Keenan's generalisation as it does not allow ‘agentless，passive at all, wh
illustrated in (8a) and (9a) where the absence of an agent NP makes the sent
ungrammatical:

(8) * a. k'e?2 t'a?2 tsek5"2 eu

3sg PASS kick one time
He was kicked.

(9) * a. i33 tiam55"11 k'e?2 p'a?2

3sg always PASS beat
He always got beaten.

The ungrammaticality of 'agentless passive，in the Jieyang dialect can also be

illustrated by the fact that if the agent is unknown or unspecific, an indefinite
morpheme na^55, meaning 'person', must be used after the object marker kfe?2 to
represent the agent, as shown in (8b) and (9b),

(8) b. i33 k'e?2 nag5"1 t'a?2 tsek5"2 e11

3sg PASS person kick one time
He was kicked by someone.

(9) b. i33 tiam55"11 k'e?2 nag5"1 p'a?2

3sg always PASS person beat
He always got beaten by people.

Matthews et al. (1999; 2005) suggest that the agent requirement is due to the
subcategorization properties of kfe?2\n each of its lexical and grammatical functions,
which can be sketched below:

(i) As a lexical verb meaning 'to give', kfe?2 requires two objects,
representing a recipient and 汪 theme/patien、as in (1):

人，ぶ2‘ give，： [_NP NP]

くrecipient〉 <theme>

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194 ASPECT OF CHAOSHAN GRAMMAR

(ii) In the case of k'e?2 meaning ‘allow’，the causee must be overtly realised in
order for the 'giving of permission' to be interpretable. The recipient of such
permission corresponds to the recipient role of the lexical verb ‘give’，as in (2):

A:’ど？2‘ let’： [一NP VP]

<causee>

いlリ In the case of the passive as in (4)，the requirement for the agent
carried over from the lexical and permissive ftinctions:

k'ef1 passive: [ NP VP ]
<agent>

As can be seen, what is constant across these subcategorization frames is the

presence of the NP immediately following the morpheme kfe?2, although the
thematic role assigned to it varies from recipient to causee and to agent. Thus, it
seems plausible to say that the requirement for an agent in the passive (and the
construction' with intransitive predicates for that matter) can be seen as a
consequence of the subcategorization of the source verb kfe?2 ‘give，as a three-place
predicate.

83.2 The adverse connotation

Keenan (1985) points out that ‘distinct passives in a language ma

degree of affectedness of the subject and whether it is posit
affected' (p. 269). For example, the passive constructions of vari
including Sinitic languages, J叩anese，Vietnamese and Thai, a
'adverse passive’ (p. 270), as they are typically used to express ad

Mandarin, for example, the passive construction marked by bei

limited to verbs with unfavourable meanings (Y. R. Chao 968: 70
the event as expressed by the predicate is adversative and un
semantic patient (see Li and Thompson 1981; Hashimoto 1988;
others). In Chappell (1986), colloquial adversative forms which
and rang are also noted. These colloquial passives forms are sai
semantic features such as ‘unavoidable events’ and 'unexpected n
respectively (p. 1025).

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CHAPTER EIGHT: PASIVES AND THE k'ef-i33 CONSTRUCTION 195

As in Mandarin, adversity is also a major semantic feature in the passive

constructions (as well as in the construction') in the Jieyang dialect. This
usage implies that the surface subject is interpreted as negatively affected or that the

event is an unfortunate one, as demonstrated in examples given so far. Even for verbs

which have neutral semantics such as ‘to buy’，when used in the passive sentence,
they can indicate adversity. For example, in (10a), the book having been bought is
perceived as an unfortunate event to someone who may want the book desperately.
Compare with (10b) which merely reports a neutral event: the person in question has
bought a book:

(10) a pur,5"5 tsui33 k'e?2 nag5H1 poP-k'ui213"53 lau53"213

CL book PASS person buy-RVC CRS
The book has been bought by someone.

b. i33 poi5H5 liau识5 pug5H5 tsui33

3sg buy PERF CL book
S/he bought a book.

More illustrative examples come from sentences with verbs of pe

cognition which are generally neutral by themselves but which can con
meanings when used in the passive. Thus, while (11a) simply means that
in question know about the content of the exam, (lib) implies that the c
exam should not have been made known. In other words, the sentence
the content of the exam was leaked and that the action may have a detrim

(11) a. ko213^3 ha?5'2seg33 oi55"11 tsai33 k'au5>35tsM213 kai55"11

CL student can know exam LW contend
The students know what the exam is all about.

b. k'au^ts'i213 kai55"11 lai^ioq55 k'e?2 ko213"53 ha

exam LW content PASS CL student

tsai33 lau53"213
know CRS
The content of the exam has been leaked to the students.

In Mandarin, it has been noted that there is an increasing number of passive

constructions which do not express “adversity’. This phenomenon has been attributed
to be generally a Western influence due particular to the increasing amount of

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196 ASPECT OF CHAOSHAN GRAMMAR

translation of foreign languages into Chinese (Y. R. Chao 1968: 703; Li and
Thompson 1981: 496; Hashimoto 1988:341). The trend in Mandarin has influenced
other Sinitic varieties, as can be attested in the Jieyang dialect where non-adversity
usage is also observed: verbs with favourable and neutral meanings such as 'praise',
'promote' and ‘invite’ can also occur in the passive. This use of the passive has
resulted in the role of the patient, that is, the grammatical subject, being generalised
into a ‘recipient’：

(12) i33 k'e?2 lau5H5sui33 suag 诚-tso213"53 par)33-tsiag53.

3sg PASS teacher select-as class-monitor
S/he was selected as the class monitor by the teacher.

(13) tsau33me55 k'e?2 nar)55"11 ts'ia5355 k'ui21353 tsiak^to?2.

last.night PASS person invite go eat.banguet
I-was invited to a banquet last night.

8.33 Lexical strategy: tek^kau2^ and siu35

In the Jieyang dialect, there are two lexical forms tek2kaum 'obtain' and siu35 ‘suffer,

which can also denote passive meanings, as illustrated in (14) and (15). However,
these two verbs are not entirely interchangeable with the grammaticalised passive
marker k^e?1 in the sense that they only occur with certain verbs. For example,
te^kau213 is often collocated with 'appreciate', ‘support’，‘praise，while siu55 can be
used with ‘welcome’ and ‘respect’：

(14) i33 te^kau213® / (* k'e?2) lau5>213pag53 sio5>35sek2

3sg obtain / (.PASS) boss appreciation
S/he is held in high regard by the boss.

(15) p k'ui2^3 kau21^ tiuko213 to33 si55"11 siu3521 /(*k'e?2)

3sg go arrive where all COP receive / (*PASS)

nag55"u tsug33keq213
person welcome
Wherever s/he goes, s/he is always respected

However, with its basic meaning as ‘suffer’，siu35 can also be used to expres
‘adversity’. For example, in sentence (17)，the adverbial demonstrative phrase 'this
way’ is short for 'treated this way’. It refers back to the adverse experience th

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CHAPTER EIGHT: PASIVES AND THE k'ef-i33 CONSTRUCTION 197

speaker suffered under the Japanese military occupation during the War of
Resistance:

(16) i33 tel^kau233 / (* k'e?2) lau^^pag53 sio5H5sek2

3sg obtain / (*PASS) boss 印 preciation
S/he is held in high regard by the boss.

(17) uag5553 siu3521 tsio5H5 zek52pug53 tsio5H5se

lpl suffer this.kind.of Japan this, way
We were treated this way by the Japanese.

Unlike k'e?1, the usage of te^kau^ and siu55 as exemplified above are not
grammaticalised passive constructions. They can perhaps be analysed as instances of
serial verb constructions, similar to those found in some Southeast Asian languages
such as Vietnamese (see Keenan 1985: 261), which employs a verb as the passive
marker, as shown in (18):

(18) Quang duoc Bao thuong

Quang 'enjoy' Bao love
'Quang is loved by Bao'.

8.4 The indirect passive construction

Shi Dingxu (1997) notes that the ‘indirect passive’ in Mandarin is an important
feature of Chinese passive (p.51). It is characterised as having retained a patient NP
when one patient NP is already in the topic position. An example from Mandarin is
illustrative (from James Huang 1999: 59):

(19) tamen bei qiang-zou-le zui xihuan de wanju

they BEI rob-away-PERF most like DE toy
They had their toys that [they] liked most robbed [from them].

In the indirect passive, the subject patient NP is called 'moved object' (even
though from a basic linguistic point of view, it is a sentential topic) while the one
following the verb is called 'retained object' (Shi Dingxu 1997: 51). What is
characteristic of the indirect passive, as can be seen from the example above and (20)
below, is that ‘the experiencer adversely affected by the action is the subject of the
sentence,... but is not understood as the direct object of the verb' (Matthews and Yip,

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198 ASPECT OF CHAOSHAN GRAMMAR

1994: 151). The following is an example from Cantonese (from Matthews and Yip
1994:151):

(20) Keuh bei yahn tau-jo chin

s/he by person steal-PFV money
'He had some money stolen (from him).'

The indirect passive is also present in the Jieyang dialect, as can be seen from

examples below:

(21) i33 k'e?2 nag5541 t'au^-k'io?5*2 ho?2tsoiu tsl55

3sg PASS person steal-take much money
He got a lot of his money stolen [by people].

(22) tsia?23 k'a^ts'ia33 ke?2'3 nag55*11 t'ia?2'3-tiauu kai55"11 tseij33

CL bike PASS person dismantle-RVC CL clock
The bike 's bell was stolen.

(23) tsia?25 kau53 k'e?2"3 i33 p'aTMuig3521 tsek5*2 tsia?23 k

CL dog PASS 3sg break-broken one CL keg
The dog got one of its legs broken by his beating.

Note that in chapter seven, k is remarked that when the two NP arguments f

a part-whole relationship, the construction used most commonly is the p

together with the pretransitive. However, the pretransitive marker is often left o

An area of particular interest associated with the indirect passive is the qu

of what relationships the two patient NPs can form. In Mandarin, according

Dingxu (1997: 52), the relationship between the moved object, ie, the topic, an
retained object cannot be a random one, but it is not restricted to possession, k
or part and whole either, as has often been noted. Shi points out that there a
cases where the retained object is treated as something done to the moved ob
in (24); the moved object is a tool and the retained object a goal, as in (25), an
moved object is the location of the action and the retained object is the patient
action, as in (26), etc. (the three examples are from Shi Dingxu 1997: 53):

(24) hua bei wo jiao le shui

flower PASS lsg jiao le water
I watered the flower.

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CHAPTER EIGHT: PASIVES AND THE i'eグCONSTRUCTION 199

(25) Na kaui rou bei wo chao le qingjiao

that CL meat PASS lsg stir.fry ASP green-peper
I stirred fried that piece of meat with green pepper.

(26) Naxie mianhua bei women zhuang le madai

those cotton PASS lpl put ASP gunny-bag
We put the cotton wool into the gunny bags.

In comparison with Mandarin, indirect passive is used in more restric

contexts in the Jieyang dialect. This is evidenced from the fact that case
exemplified in (24-26) are not possible in the Jieyang dialect. What do seem pos
in the Jieyang dialect with an indirect passive are sentences where the topic and

post-verbal argument form a possessor-possessed relationship, as in (21), or a

whole relationship, as in (22-23) above.

8.5 The A： •戶 construction

The structure of the 'k'ejfi-P3 construction' is repeated in the following sc
can be exemplified in (27) to (30):

Subject NP + kfe?2 + 戶 + VPvi

(27) tsag 抑 hue33 k'e?2. j33 sP-k'ui2^21

CL flower PASS- 3sg die-RVC
The flower has died (has become dead).

(28) tiau55"u k'ou213 soi5H5- ho53 k'e?2 i33 kiu^-k'ui21521

CL trousers wash -RVC PASS- 3sg shrink-RVC
The trousers had shrunk after being washed.

(29) i33 bo5H1 la?5 t'ua33 ko21^3 t'i?2 k'UJ2i>53 kau213,

3sg not.have strength drag CL metalgo arrive

kai55"11 nag55 tsu35"21 k'e?2 -i33 pua?w toM hio5H5-k'o

CL person then PASS- 3sg fall at that-river-SUF
As he was so weak, when he was dragging the metal, he fell into the river.

(30) m55"11 tsai33 ti11 tiau55"u tiaり35"21-sui213"53 k'e?2-iB

not know which CL electric-wire PASS-3sg

to^lo^-k'ui213"21
short.circuit-RVC
...(I) don't know which electric wire short-circuited.

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200 ASPECT OF CHAOSHAN GRAMMAR

The existence of the A'V?2-/33 construction in the Chaozhou dialects has been

noted briefly in several Chinese sources (Li Yongming 1959: 258; Yue
Hashimoto 1993: 139; Shi Qisheng 1996a: 156)，but it has not been analysed in detail.
Li Yongming has been the first to describe the phenomenon and calls this type of
sentences "zidongju" ("self-induced sentences"). Li gives the following example to
illustrate (original example in Chinese. The gloss and translation are mine):

(31) ts'i655 k'e?2- i33 to53- lo?2 - k'ui2521

wall PASS- 3sg fall- down-RVC
The wall fell down.

Examples (26) to (31) exhibit two notable features, which seem paradoxical: (i)
it is based on intransitive predicates, specifically, those that lack agent control, and
yet (ii) the construction has two arguments: apart from the sentential subject, an
invariable pronominal 戶 is required in the slot after the morpheme kfe?2, which, in
the long passive structural frame, would be the agent slot. However, the above
sentences clearly illustrate that the construction does not express passive meanings
but is active in meaning: it encodes an incipient state. It will be shown in ensuing
sections that, firstly, the semantic function of the kfe?2-P construction derives from

the predicates, which belong to the unaccusative subcategory of intransitive verbs. As

such, the surface subject is semantically neither an agent nor an actor but a theme and

patient. The invariable P3 does not play any agent role. It is at best an expletive.
Secondly, the k'e?2-?3 construction encodes adversity, just like the passive, as well
as implies causativity. These semantic properties distinguish the kfe?z-i^
construction from other syntactic devices which also encode change of state, such as

the Perfective liau53 with stative verbs or adjectives. Finally, although deriving from

intransitive predicates, the k'e?2'^ construction differs from what is known as

'impersonal passives' based on unergative intransitive verbs found in some European
languages. I next explore each of these features in more depth.

8.5.1 Unaccusative predicates and the semantic roles of the two

arguments
Intransitive verbs may be divided into two subclasses: unaccusative and unergative
verbs (see Perlmutter 1978). The principal difference is that in the case of unergative

verbs, the subject has the role of agent or actor (implying volitional control over the

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CHAPTER EIGHT: PASIVES AND THE k'e^-i33 CONSTRUCTION 201

action), while in unaccusatives the sole argument of the verb has the role of theme or

patient (lacking volitional control). Unergative predicates include those that describe
'willed or volitional acts' such as play, sing，speak and ‘certain involuntary bodily
processes' such as sleep and cry (p. 162). Unaccusative predicates, on the other hand,
lack volitional control and typically encode a change of state and a resultant state.
The unaccusative class include achievements such as fall down; verbs of existing and
happening such as disappear and vanish; inchoatives such as redden and darken;
non-voluntary emission of stimuli that impinge on the senses such as shine and glow,
etc. (see Perlmutter 1978).

While individual predicates in the Jieyang dialect many or may not behave
exactly as they do in English, this distinction between unergative and unaccusative
predicates is crucial for the discussion here, because the k'e?2-?3 construction only
allows predicates which are non-volitional and which encode a change of state and a
resultant state, as shown above. This restriction to unaccusative predicates can further

be demonstrated by the fact that when an unergative predicate, such as 4sing', is used

in the k^e?1-^ construction, it only yields a permissive reading.

(32) a kai55"11 nou33kia53 k'e?2 i33 ts'iaり213"53- ko33.

CL child let 3sg sing- song
Ungrammatical reading: The child sang.
Grammatical reading: Let the child sing.

The permissive reading of (32a) is possible because: (i)

denotes an agentive act; (ii) the morpheme k'e?2 ha
allow/let', and therefore, (iii) the pronominal r° can be int
which is in situ but is coreferential with ‘the child’ in the to

hand, with an unaccusative predicate such as ‘fall down’，

the permissive reading at all, as exemplified in (32b):

(32) b. kai55"11 nou33kia53 k'e?2 i33 pua?5- tio

CL child let 3sg fall-RVC
Ungrammatical reading: Let the child fall over.
Grammatical reading: The childfell over,

A second piece of evidence to support the restriction of only

volitional unaccusative predicates in the A'V?2-/33 construction can b

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202 ASPECT OF CHAOSHAN GRAMMAR

testing adding adverbs which denote agency, such as in (33) where the adverb
'deliberately' is incompatible with the unaccusative predicate ‘to catch a cold，：

(33) ua53 Cku^i23®) k'e?2- i33 kua55tio?2.

wall (*accidently) PASS- 3sg cold-RVC
I caught a cold deliberately.

Unaccusative predicates are further divided into alternating and non-alternating

ones. Alternating unaccusatives are those which have a transitive counterpart while

non-alternating ones are those without (see Levin and Rappaport 1995: 108). For
example, ‘break’ alternates between an intransitive verb, as in ‘the window broke’，
and a transitive verb, as in ‘he broke the window’. This distinction also turns out to

be relevant in the discussion here because the construction in question can only have
non-alternating unaccusatives. When alternating unaccusatives are used in the kfe?2
i'33 construction, there are two possible readings, as shown below:

(34) ki33 hou^-tsia33 k'e?2 i33 m^kiaii^-k'ui213-21

CL umbrella PASS 3sg lose-RVC
Unaccusative reading: The umbrella got lost.
Passive reading: The umbrella was lost by him.

In (34)，the passive reading is possible because the verb m^kiarj2^ can als
transitive, with the meaning 'to lose'. Thus, with the passive reading in (34)
pronominal f3 is interpreted as the agent who is responsible for the loss o
umbrella.

As unaccusative predicates denote non-volitional change of state, the sur

subject cannot be the underlying object of the verb，nor can it play the themati

of an agent or actor. Rather, it is a semantic patient or theme (implying lac

volitional control) which undergoes change of state, including change of location
What about the role of the pronominal Z33 after the morpheme k9e?2l It occur

the slot which, in the passive, is where the agent NP should be. But does it really
an agent role? When asked this question, the intuitive response from native spe
is that 戶 represents an implicit 'agentive' force. However, the non_transitive n
of the predicates rule out the possibility of Z33 being semantically an agent
analysis is that it is veiy much like an expletive (Matthews et. al. 2005). It is th
only to fill the syntactic position of an agent NP and is therefore a ‘dummy

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CHAPTER EIGHT: PASIVES AND THE k'ef-i33 CONSTRUCTION 203

obligatory presence can also be attributed, just like the long passive, to the
subcategorization of the source verb of the marker k9e?2 as 狂 three-place predicate (cf

§8.3.1).
In speech, the glottal stop of the passive marker k'e?2 may be lost as it is
contracted with the pronoun 产 following it, so that the fused form is pronounced as
which carries the same tone as the second syllable, the pronominal r33. This
further supports the analysis that r33 is devoid of any concrete meaning and is at best

an expletive:

(35) k'a?2*3 ku5>35 bo55*11 narj^-k'e?2 tsu35"21 k'e33 m35"21

too long not.have guest then PASS not

tsai33 lo?5"2 zioT^tsoi11 bi53

know put how.much rice
We haven't had visitors for a long time and so 1 forgot how much rice I
should have cooked [for lunch].

Empirical support for the suggestion that i33 is non-referential can also be
provided by the pretransitive construction (see Chapter 7) in which f33 in one of the

syntactic forms, [object NP + kai^-P3 + VP], also plays a dummy role to fill the
object position after the object NP has been moved to the topic position. This analysis
is based on the fact that i33 cannot be coreferential with the preposed object (ie, the

topic) since the preposed object concerned can be a non third-person referent such as
a plural or second-person referent. It can thus be said the k9e?2-P construction has
become a syntactic device to overtly mark unaccusativity in the Jieyang dialect.

Although the use of passive morphosyntax with unaccusative predicates in the

Jieyang dialect (and Chaozhou dialects as a whole) appears rather unusual within
Sinitio languages, in 壮 typological perspective, however, formal resemblances
between passives and the structures used for unaccusative verbs are not uncommon
(see Levin and Rappaort 1995). However, it should be pointed out that the k'e?2- Z33
construction does not simply encode inchoativity of a new state or resultant state, it

also denotes adversity as well as implies causativity (see further discussion in 8.5.3).

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204 ASPECT OF CHAOSHAN GRAMMAR

8.5.2 The formation of unaccusative predicates in the Jieyang

dialect

The unaccusative predicates appearing in the A'V?2-/33 construction are formally

complex in the Jieyang dialect, such as toa- lo?2-/^2021 (‘fell down’）(cf example
30) andpua?5- tiof1 ([people] ‘fell over’] (cf example 32b). In other words,
unaccusative verbs alone cannot appear in the k'e?2-^ construction, but must be
formed by combining with a resultative element to indicate the completive phase.

This may be due to the fact that A'V?2-/33 can have lexical meanings ‘allow him /her',

and given that topic-comment is pervasive in the Jieyang dialect, a constellation

[topic + + verb] can lead to a permissive reading. For example, the verb die
is 汪 prototypical unaccusative telic verb in English, but in the Jieyang dialect, the
verb sP 'to die，needs the addition of a resultative complement in the k'e?2-!33
construction to indicate a resultant state, that is, become dead，as indicated in (36a).

Without the RVC, the morpheme k'e?2 must be interpreted as ‘allow’ or ‘let’ and the
sentence means ‘let the patient die’，as shown in (36b):

(36) a. kai55"11 peunar)55 k'e?2- i33 si53-k'ui咖

CL patient PASS- 3sg die - RVC
The patient died.

b. kai55"11 p^nag55 k'e?2 i33 si53

CL patient allow 3sg die
Let the patient die.

Examples throughout this section show that even though the main verb in
of the sentences is unaccusative and telic, it still needs to combine with a post

resultative element or a resultative complement. They also instantiated one of t

major classes of unaccusative predicates to appear in the k'e?2-^ construction,

are Achievement situations, such as died, fell down, short-circuited, caught a

Another class of change-of-state predicates are typically created by combi

stative verb (such as know / frighten) or an adjective with a resultative compleme

For example,

(37) ko21^ tia^t'ou55 k'e?2 i33 ku^Wui^21

CL battery PASS- 3sg old-RVC
The battery became too old.

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CHAPTER EIGHT: PASIVES AND THE k'e^-i33 CONSTRUCTION 205

(3S) mar)uau35 tsu35"21 hua?2hegu ta21^53 ko55"11 p'ue55 tso^^i55"11

later then discover say CL skin how.com

k'e?2 i33 peT^k'ui21321

PASS- 3sg white-RVC
Later, I suddenly discovered that the skin [on my elbow] turned white.

(39) uag53 kai55*u lau^tsou53 tsu35*21 k'e?2- i33 m35*21 ts

lplgcn POSS ancestor then PASS- 3sg not know

toM tiuko213 k'ai21^1.

at where RVC
The whereabouts of our ancestors ’ tombs thus became unk

The above examples show that the most productive RV

form the verb 'to go, (cf Ch即ter 6 for its function as 狂 phr

completion). The combination of [stative verb /adjective +

of state. For example,

a. ou33 ‘black’ — ou33 k'ui213"21 'to become dark/black'

b. sag53 ‘thin’ — sag53 k'ui213'21 'to become thin'
c. iar)5>35i6u ‘ugly’ — iag5>35ion k'ui213*21 ‘to become ugly’
d. ts'e33me55 ‘blind’ _ s'e33me55 k'ui213"21 'to become blind'

A notable feature of the above phrases is that they all carry the negative
meaning. This is because the k'e?2^ construction in the Jieyang dialect is associated
with adverse effect on the grammatical subject, which is a very important point,
because only a change of state that results in adverse effect on the subject calls for the

k'ef2-!33 construction, while a natural change of state or one that is considered

desirable does not. For example, the predicate ts'au213 ‘bad-smelling’ allows the
unaccusative construction meaning ‘become smelly，，but its antonym pfarjil
‘fragrant’ does not, because 'becoming fragrant' is not normally an adverse effect
(further discussion in next section):

(40) bue53^5 hui55 k'e?2- i33 ts'au213- k'ui213"21

CL fish PASS- 3sg smelly- RVC
The fish turned smelly.

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206 ASPECT OF CHAOSHAN GRAMMAR

(41) * ts叫55hue33 k'e?2- i33 p’叫33- k'ui213"21

CL flower PASS- 3sg fragrant- RVC
The flower became fragrant.

8.53 Other semantic properties of the k'e?2-^ construction

The k9e?2-P construction not only resembles the passive in its surface structure,
semantically, it also shares one important property with the passive: that of signalling

adversity. In other words, the change of state encoded by aA:V?2-f33 sentence is of an

unfortunate, unfavourable and undesirable nature. Furthermore, it also implies that

this undesirable state is a result of some previous cause, which is either explicitly
encoded in the discourse or is implied in the context. It is precisely these meanings
which set the kfe?2'f° construction apart from other syntactic devices which also
express change of state, such as the Perfective /wii53 (phonologically reduced to lau乃
in sentence final position) when combined with stative verbs or adjectives. In other
words, [stative verb / adjective + lau53] does not carry any implication of adversity
but neutrally reports a change of state. This is why (42), which signals a natural
change of state, ‘the weather has turned cold' (a natural cycle), can only be encoded
by /an53, but in (43a), 'the soup turned cold’ is seen as undesirable and therefore calls

for the use of the A'V?2-/35 construction. Consider (43b) which does not carry any
adverse connotation because the second clause clearly shows that the soup becoming
cold is a good thing:

(42) tn33si55 (fe?2-i33) gag55 lau®213

weather (*PASS-3sg) cold PERF/CRS
The weather has turned / become cold.

(43) a ko213^3 t'uirj33 parj213^3 k'a?2 ku53 k'e?2- i33 gag55- k'ui21^
CL soup put too long PASS- 3sg cold- RVC
"he soup has turned cold because it has been left there for too long.

b. ko213"53 t'uir,33 gag55- lau5幼3 ho53"35 tsiak5 lau5幼3

CL soup cold- CRS can eat PERF/CRS
The soup is cold now. You can drink it now.

We have seen that with Achievement situations which entail 狂 resultant

resultant state is seen as ‘adverse’ and 'unfortunate'. But more importantly

Z33 construction with this type of predicate also indicates that the ‘adver

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 CHAPTER EIGHT: PASIVES AND THE k'e^-i33 CONSTRUCTION 207

state is caused by some prior action or event. For example, in (43a), the soup turned
cold because it has been left for too long. In (44) below the speaker clearly implies
that if his motorbike got a puncture, it would have been due to sabotage. In (45) also,
the person in question got electrocuted because the electric wire was broken and the
floor was flooded:

(44) hequtsai35 sia^hue35"21 tiuua33 ho?2tsap5, bu?2tsek5'2tia11 to35'21

now society order complex maybe at

mou5;B5se33 ts'eg^k'uag213^3 e55, lui53 tio33 m

some circumstance under 2sg CL motor-bike

pu?2-merj55"u-pu?2-pe?5 k'e?2- i33 p'ua^^ni55- k'ui21^ hue?5*2t

not-bright-not-white PASS- 3sg puncture- RVC or

ぼ!>53 k'e?2 naデ！！ tsi岡卸-tiau11 kai5541 kiミ213….

say PASS person hit- RVC CL mirror
The social situation is very complex. You never know when your motor- bi
suddenly get a puncture or mil have the mirror damaged by someone.

(45) e35 lo?5*2 hou35, tsl55'11 kau21^53 ti11^35,

PRT fall rain crawl arrive land-below land-below

log5H5 ts'io^tsui53, k'ui213^3 cu mue?5 tsu35"21 k

all flood go TEN thing then PASS-3sg

pua?w -to53, k'e?2-P ts'o?2-siB

fall-down PASS-3sg electrocute-dead
...it was raining. The electric current (from the broken wire) went through the
floor which was flooded. And the moment (she) came out (to the balcony) (to
put her washing out), she fell down. She was electrocuted.

In many cases, the 4cause-effect' implication is apparent from the use of the
conjunction 'therefore', as shown in (46):
(46) ...so035!53 tsio5H5 mue?5 tsu55"u k'e?2-P tsio^^e33- k'ui213"21
...so this.CL thing then PASS-3sg this.way- RVC
...so, this [matter] turned out this way.

Perfective liau53 can also take Achievement predicates, which can either be
telic (with a resultant state) or atelic (without a resultant state). Furthermore, even
though [Verb + liaua] may be used to report an adverse event, ‘adversity’ is not the

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208 ASPECT OF CHAOSHAN GRAMMAR

main communicative function. Rather, the construction is related to the tempora

structure of the encoded event.

8.5.4 The k fe?2-P construction in discou rse

The k'e?1-^ construction is highly productive in oral discourse and is often used in
contexts where the entity in question, that is, the grammatical subject of a A 'eP2-/33

sentence may not always appear in the k'e?2-?3 clause. Instead, it can be a constituent

in a previous clause or stretch of discourse. In other words, the identity of the entity

in question can be traced from the context. For example, in (47) and (48) the referents

in question do not appear right in the k'e?2^23 clauses but have been established
earlier in the context:

(47) zek5 li33 tsek^me55 mo33 tsu3521 tio?5"2 k'e?2-!33 kia^-si^-k'ui213'21

day PRT night PRT then must PASS-3sg frighten-die-RVC
Day time! If it was at night, [they] would have been frightened to death (the
speaker was talking about people who stole from graves).

(48) ua53 tsu35"21 tso213"53 ua5>35 k'ui33, hul33 tuiq53"35

lsg then to.one's heart's.content lsg drive turn back

lai55, k'e?2-!33 siu33 bo^-to35- k'ui5>213.

come PASS-3sg pack nothave-at RVC
..../ then drove away. When I returned (to the same spot), (those people) had
packed and disappeared (the speaker was talking about 'fake' police who set
up checkpoints to issue traffic fines).

This feature is a mirror image of the ka产n- Z33 pretransitive construction which

is also used productively in oral discourse when the object NP is not immediately
preceding kaf^1- Z33 (cf § 7.3.1.4.2).

8»5.5 The k'e?2-P construction and the ‘impersonal passive'

In English, unaccusatives are said to disallow 'passivization' but unergative often
permit (pseudo-)passivization (Trask 1993: 292). The Jieyang k 'e?2 Z33 construction
certain diverges from English, and in fact, many other languages in the word which
also allow unergative intransitive verbs to be used in the passive forms. For example,
Dutch and German are noted by Keenan (1985) as having the impersonal passives'
(see also Payne 1999: 206), which are constructions involving 4an overt passive

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CHAPTER EIGHT: PASIVES AND THE k，e ？'-i33 CONSTRUCTION 209

inflection on the verb and no lexical subject', and which are derived from intransitive
verbs (Trask 1993: 136). The following examples are illustrative:

(49) Er wordt (door de jongens) gefloten (Dutch: Keenan 1985:275)

there became by the young men whistled
"There was some whistling (by the young men)."

(50) Gestern wurde getanzt (German: Trask 1993: 136)

"Yesterday there was dancing" (Lit. "Yesterday [it] was danced.")

However, the k'e?2-i° construction differs from the impersonal passives in

several aspects:

impersonal passives the ‘k'ef1 P construction’,

(i) subject is null or impersonal subject is obligatory and is a theme

(ii) the agent phrase is optional the agent phrase is obligatory
(iii) the predicates are agentive the predicates are non-agentive

Another fundamental difference is that the kfe?2-P construction in the Jieyang

dialect primarily expresses change of state with strong sense of adversity, which
not a semantic feature of the impersonal passives.

Summary of chapter
This chapter describes two passive constructions and the k'e?2-?3 construction whic

has similar syntactic frame with the passives in the Jieyang dialect. The two passive

are the long passive and the indirect passive, both of which are based on transitive
verbs, taking agent and patient arguments and that the passive character is overtl
marked by k'e?2, which appears before the agent NP. Like other Southern dialec
such as Cantonese or Taiwanese Southern Min, the Jieyang dialect does not hav
agentless passives, or short passives. The indirect passive is characterised as having
retained two patient NPs, one in topic position and one after the VP, whos
relationships are typically those of whole-part and possessor-possessed.
The passive marker k'e?1 in the Jieyang dialect has grammaticalised from a
lexical verb ‘to give'. It is also a marker for the dative and the causative. Th
argument structure of the source verb ‘give’ seems to be retained in its
grammaticalised use as a passive marker, as is evidenced from the absence of short
passive in the Jieyang dialect. This ‘agent requirement’ feature also accounts for th

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210 ASPECT OF CHAOSHAN GRAMMAR

fact that the third construction covered in this chapter, the non-transitive炎’e?2-/33

construction, also has two overt NP arguments.

The 人，’ぶ2-/33construction is shown to be typologically unusual in that it allows

agentless and non-volitional unaccusative predicates to appear in a morphosyntactic

form parallel to the passive. It has been shown that this construction is not passive in
meaning. Rather, it encodes that the subject NP, which is the thematic theme or
patient, undergoes 狂 change of state. The morphemes k'e?2-133 have thus been
analysed as an overt marker for unaccusativity in the Jieyang dialect. This
phenomenon of using a passive marker to indicate unaccusativity is not common
within Sinitic languages, but cross-linguistically, it is pointed out by Levin and
Rappaport (1987) that there are syntactic and morphological phenomena that class
unaccusative verbs and passive verbs together (p. 11).
Although the k'e?1^ construction does not express the passive meaning, it is
interesting to note that k exhibits semantic properties very similar to real passives. In
particular, like the passives, it carries a strong sense of adversity. Furthermore, the
炎’於?2-/33 construction also implies that the adverse change of state is caused by some

circumstances or a prior event. It is these properties which make theA'V?2-/33

construction distinct from other syntactic devices in the Jieyang dialect which also
encode the inception of a new state.

1 See Xu, Hui Ling (2005) for the discussion on the grammaticaJisation of 'say，into
a complementizer.

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CHAPTER NINE NEGATION

9.1 Introduction

As in many other languages in the world, negation

divided into two types: clausal and constituent, the di
According to Trask (1993), scope refers to the portion

is interpreted as being affected by a certain operato

(note: the bold font is in the original). In clausal negat
element takes an entire clause in its scope and asserts
state of affairs does not hold’ (Payne 1997: 282). Const
hand, takes only certain constituents of the clause un
grammatical element.

In terms of operations to express negation, thr

identified in the world's languages: lexical, morpholog
282). In the Jieyang dialect, only lexical and analyt
former means that negation is part and parcel of the l
word, such as bo55 ‘not.have’，whereas the latter empl
nt35 in m3521 tsaP (‘not - know').

The negation system in the Jieyang dialect is a com

in a number of aspects. The most noteworthy featur
particles or negative markers in comparison with
example, Mandarin has three forms, bu, mei and bie
while Jieyang employs about ten negative forms (see
negative markers are also negative modal auxiliary ver
contains a negative morpheme and a modal auxiliary,
9.1 Further discussion of the structures of the negative

map5 ‘not.want， = neg. + at03 ('want to，

boP5 ‘not.can， = neg. + of5 ('can')

As a result, negation is closely related to modality in t

it is manifested in portmanteau forms which express

rather than pure negation. Thirdly, with a large stock of

functional diversity. It will be shown that the choice o

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212 ASPECT OF CHAOSHAN GRAMMAR

only modality, but also categories of verbs, temporal reference and aspect. The
following sentences serve to give a preliminary glimpse of this complexity. For the
meanings intended, the markers cannot be substituted for one another. For example,
in sentence (2), the negator for gradable adjectives is the negative modal verb boi35
which signifies epistemic modality, rather than the pure negative m35.1 will discuss
:he functions of each of the negators in relevant sections to follow:

1) i33 m3521 si35 hak2seq33

3sg not COP student
S/he isn，t a student.

2)户 boi3521 kul55

3sg can tall
S/he isn ’t tall.

3) F boM tox lai35

3sg nothave be.at home

S/he isn 't home.

4) boM al5525 kui2^3

3sg nothave want go
S/he doesn 't want to go. Or: S/he isn 't going to go.

5)户 kui21>53
3sg not go
S/he doesn 7 want to go [volition].

6) i33 bueu kui213"53

3sg notyet go
S/he hasn 't gone yet.

7) kui21H3
3sg not.need go
S/he needn 't go.

8) i33 mo035 kui213^

3sg not.good go
S/he shouldn't go,

9) p boSHlpi叫21«3 kui21>53
3sg not.can go
S/he can 't go [due to circumstances].

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 CHAPTER NINE: NEGATION 213

(10) j33 boi3521 kui21W3

3sg not.can go
S/he can 't go [doesn't know how].

(11) 133 m^a.hau2^ kui21>53

3sg not-willing go
S/he won 't go [not willing to].

In the ensuing sections, I discuss lexical negation (§ 9.4.1); clausal negation

(§ 9.4.2), including negation of verbal complements (§ 9.4.2.6); indefinite negatio
(§ 9.4.3)，and negation of modal meanings (§ 9.4.4). However, since most of
negative markers are also negative modal verbs, as noted above, a description of
negative system in the Jieyang dialect would be incomplete without first providing

inventory of the common modal auxiliaries and the meanings they encode (§ 9.2

9.2 Modal auxiliaries and their negative counterparts

Table (9.1) lists the common modal auxiliaries, or modal verbs, together with their

corresponding negative counterparts in the Jieyang dialect. Note that the meanings
are only given for the affirmative modal verbs because it is to be understood that the

opposite meanings are true of the negative modal counterparts.

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214 ASPECT OF CHAOSHAN GRAMMAR

Table
Tabic (9.1)
(9.1)
ModalModal
Auxiliary
Auxiliary
Verbs in theVerbs
Jieyangin
Dialect
the Jieyang Dialect
Affirmative
Affirmative Negative

possibility:
oi35
boi35 // bo®"11
boi35 bo55"3 -- piaij213
piarj33

-conjecture/
- conjecture/prediction
predictionon
onpossibility:
possibility:(‘will’，'would'
('will', 'would'
'should')
‘should’）

-ability,
- ability,capability,
capability, aptitude:
aptitude: (‘can’，‘be
('can', 'be able to',
to’，4be
'be
good at')
u^piag23
u353 piag33 bo353- piarj33
bo3521- piag213

•- capability
capability (‘can
('can // be
be able
able to’，‘be
to', 'be capable of)
--circumstantial
circumstantial possibility
possibility
bo53
ho53 mo53

•- an
an eventuality
eventuality may
may occur
occur (‘it
('it is
is possible'
possible' // ‘feasible’/
'feasible'/
'can')
'can’）
Dermissibilitv:
permissibility:
ho53 / k'o5^5!53
k'o5335!53 mo53
mo53 // m3521
m35"3k'o53*!53
k'o5335!53

- giving
-giving or or requesting
requesting permission
permission ('can', 'may')
(‘can’，‘may’）
willingness:
hau33
hau213 m^hau213
m353 hau33

--to
to be willing
willingtoto('will')
(‘will’)
volition:

ai33
ai213 mai33 //bo55"11
mai213 bo55"11ai33
ai33//m35
m35

•- wish,
wish, desire,
desire, intention:
intention: (‘want’，‘will’）
('want', 'will')
obligation /necessity:
obligation /necessity:
tio?5 meg53
met)53

-• indicating obligation
obligation in
in terms
termsof
ofrequirement
requirement('should')
('should')
tio?5 / ei)u
egu meg53

- indicatingnecessity
-indicating necessity(‘have
('haveto’，‘must，’
to', 'must,' 'should',
'should', 'need
‘need
to')
to，）

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 CHAPTER NINE: NEGATION 215

9.3. Negative markers • an overview

As noted earlier, the negative forms in the Jieyang dialect are quite numerous, a
feature shared among Southern Min dialects (see Li 1992 and Teng 1992) and is said
to have inherited from Old Chinese (OC) (1700BC-25AD). For example, there were
nearly twenty negative morphemes used in OC for different syntactic and semantic
contexts (see Zhou Sheng Ya 1997: 171; Pullybank 1984: 103; Li Ying Che 1992:
438). However, most of the archaic negatives have disappeared in modern-day Sinitic
languages, as evidenced by the fact that the usual number of negative markers in
most Chinese dialects is three (see Hashimoto 89). In Li's point of view, the
reduction of negative markers in modern Sinitic languages can be due to "lexical
neutralisation and syntactic compression" (1992:438).
A salient feature associated with the negative forms in the Jieyang dialect

concerns their underlying structures: there are mono-morphemic (i), bi-morphemic (ii)

as well as compound forms (iii), as shown below.

mono-morphemic form: nr5

bi-morphemic forms: bo^, bof5, bu^1, mcP, meび53,
compound forms: bo^upiarj20, bo^1 of33

The bilabial and nasal negative m5 mainly occurs with non-event type
predicates, although it can also interact with activity types. When it occurs with non
event predicates, it is a pure negative, meaning ‘not’，but with activity predicates, it

also implies volition, ie, ‘not.want’. I will distinguish the two functions of nr" by
glossing them as and m"2 respectively (note, however, that this by no means
implies that there are two homophonous forms). Thus, w35/ displays the semantic

feature of [-volition] and m35^ has the semantic feature of [+ volition].

The second group presents an interesting case as they are fused forms,

equivalent in meanings to two morphemes. For example, bo55 and bue^1 respectively
mean ‘not.have’ and ‘not.yet’. These fused forms are quite similar to their

counterparts in TSM. Teng Shouxin (1992: 336) analyzed them as deriving from

contracting the negative m35 and the affirmative counterpart of the negatives (the

glosses are mine):

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216 ASPECT OF CHAOSHAN GRAMMAR

m + u — bo (‘not.have’）
m + e — be (‘not.can,: inability)
m + ai 一 mai (‘not. want’）
m + ho — mo ('notcan': impossibility)

reng argues that /ml is denasalised into /b/ when preceding vowels with some
exceptions, which may relate to a different kind of juncture and may reflect the fact

that historically, nasality has been a rather unstable feature. Despite this, he points out

that the derivation shown above is semantically plausible because the meanings of the
negative elements are entirely predictable from their positive counterparts. Given that

Taiwanese Southern Min and Chaoshan dialects are closely related genetically,
Teng's analysis can be plausibly applied to account for the fused negative forms in
the Jieyang dialect.

The compound forms bo^11 of3 and bo^n piatj^ each consists of a fused form
and another morpheme. While in ba6 af^ is a free morpheme ‘want / want to',
the morpheme piaf in bc^1 piarj235 is not attested.

9.4 Types of negation

9.4.1 Lexical negation
As mentioned in the introduction, lexical negation means that the mea
negation is part and parcel of the word. In the Jieyang dialect, there is a class

negative words, mainly predicative adjectives, which are derived by two ne

with adjectives, verbs and nouns and which have become highly lex
synchronically, such as ‘not-free’ = ‘busy’ These two negatives are the ne
simplex m35 and the existential negative bo55 (‘not.have’). The following a
examples:

m35^ adjective m35 + verb

m35"21 • ai55 m35*21 - hiau5355- sui11
not - free = busy not-know-matter = rude，disrespectful

m35"21 • su33ho?5 m35"21 • k'ui33 - ts'ui213

not - comfortable = unwell, sick, not -open - mouth = silent
disgruntled

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 CHAPTER NINE: NEGATION 217

m35"21 - tiauseg55

not — conscious = muddled-headed

bo" _+ nouns
bo55*11-liar)53
not.have-money = poor not.have-face = shameful

bo^-ia53 bo55"11 - sim33

not.have-shadow = untrue not.have-heart = insincere / cruel

The negative words listed above should be distinguished from clausal negation
with m35 and bo^ in two respects. Firstly, the meaning of the negative words is not
simply that of the word negated. In many cases, the negative word has an idiomatic

meaning, such as m^-su^ho?5 (‘disgruntled’）from 4not -comfortable'. Secondly, in

the case of clausal negation, either by m36 or by bo55, the predicate will not change its

part of speech when negated, but the negative words may result in different lexical

categories. For example, k'uP-ts'ut20 (‘open-mouth’）and hiau^-sw11 ('know

matter') are VO predicates but nv^-k 'uP-ts fuP^ and m3521 - hiauae5-swn are two
adjectives, meaning ‘silent’ and ‘rude’ respectively. The list with the negative bo55
provides further convincing evidence.

It should also be noted that m35 and bo55 cannot be used freely to create negative
words. In other words, words which are prefixed with these negatives are idiomatic
expressions, forming a more or less bounded set.
Syntactically, negative words can ftinction as attributive modifiers or as
predicates.

9.4.2 Clausal negation

It is noted in Payne that "negative particles may vary for kind of negation, cl
[...], tense, aspect, etc."(284). Sinitic languages seem to conform to this obs
as evidenced from as far back as OC when different sets of negators were
different clause types, such as declarative, imperative and interrogative
lexical categories (Li Yingche 1992: 438; Zhou Shengya 1997: 172). How
modern Sinitic languages, the complexity of functional diversification corre

much with the number of negative markers which exist in any particular dial
the large array of negative markers in the Jieyang dialect means that each neg

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218 ASPECT OF CHAOSHAN GRAMMAR

have more specialized uses, which, as remarked in the introduction, interacts with
various syntactic categories, such as modality, temporal reference and aspect, as well

different verb types.

9.4.2.1 in35! in negating copula verbs

The copula verb in the Jieyang dialect is si35. It only appears in copula clauses which
express identity, equation and possession between the copula subject and the copula
complement. For these types of copula clauses，the negator is the negative simplex

Hi35! (wi35, and the copula verb sP5 are often contracted to mt" in speech):

(12) J33 siM a33 h^^hou^-lai55

3sg not COP PREF Xia-Yu -Lai
He isn'tXia Yulai

(13) tsi5365 pug5365 tsui33 m3521! si5335 ua53*35 kai55

this CL book not COP lsg LW
This book isn 7 mine.

In the Jieyang dialect, as in other Sinitic languages, ther

which do not involve the copula verb si35 but copula-like verbs.
kid05 (4be.called') and se05 Cbe.surnamed') are used to expre
these types of clauses, the negator m35! need to combine with the
combination of which can be taken to mean ‘it is not the case

m3521! s/35 is used to correct errors or false assumptions esta

discourse:

(14) A: lm53 si»2i.II1»arSi»a kio2i^3 a33七’ ia デ

2sg COP-not-COP be.called PREF-Qiang
Are you called A-Qiang?

B: ua53 m^rsi3521 kio213"53 a33-k'iar)55

2sg not-COP be.called PREF-Qiang
lam not calledA-Qiang (or My name is not A-Qiang.)

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 CHAPTER NINE: NEGATION 219

9.4.2.2 /ii35! in negating stative predicates

/w35! is also used to negate stative predicates such as verbs of cognition, opta
verbs as well as ungradable adjectives (see next section for discussion). Sta
predicates are not large in number. The following are some examples:

tsai33 'to know (facts)'

pak2 (a) ‘to know (knowledge,
person)'
(b) Experiential aspect marker
siaq33serj213 ‘to believe'

hi^hua33 ‘to like，

hi33mou 4to hope'

ka53 'dare'

Sentences (15) and (16) exemplify the use of w35! with some of the stative verbs from
the list:

(15) ua53 in3521! siag^seg21353 tsi53*35 kai55*11 nag55

2sg not believe this CL person
I don，t believe this person

(16) p tsek^me55 m3521! ka®35 ts'u?2- k'm213"21

3sg night not dare out-go
S/he is afraid to go out at night.

As shown above, pak2 is also an experiential aspect marker and it is neg

m35! because the experiential aspect is semantically a form of resultative
(Comrie 1976). Its emphasis is not on the event itself but rather on the
relevant state of a past action/event. It is precisely this static nature which

compatible with the negator nfx. The state of affairs encoded in (17) is tha
never tried longan and don't know what they taste like’：

(ロ）ua53 ua53 m3521! pak2 tsiak5"2 kue213*53 ne?5"2al53

2sg lsg not EXP eat EXP longan
/ have never tried longan.

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 220 ASPECT OF CHAOSHAN GRAMMAR

9.4.2.3 bof5 and m35! negating adjectives

In negating predicative adjectives, the Jieyang dialect makes a distinction between
gradable and ungradable adjectives. Gradable adjectives are those which semantically
can vary in degree or grade and thus can take degree modifiers such as ‘very’ and
‘extremely’. Adjectives such as ffia53 ('beautiful'), Ami55 (‘tall’）and tuan
(‘big’）belong to this category. Ungradable adjectives express the presence of their
associated characteristics in an absolute sense. Adjectives such as tuP2 ('correct'),
ha^lP (‘reasonable’）and korj^p'eif55 (‘fair，）belong to this group (note, however,
that whether adjectives with 牡 particular meaning are gradable or ungradable is often

language specific). With gradable adjectives in the Jieyang dialect, not only do they
have a lexical antonym to express the opposite meaning, the positive form can also be
syntactically negated to yield a negative meaning. For example, instead of saying
‘ugly’，one can also say ‘not beautiful'. On the other hand, ungradable adjectives do
not have a lexical antonym and their negative meanings can only be syntactically
expressed. For example,

gradable adjective uoeradeable adjective

gia53 ia5H5iou kog33p'eg55 m35-21 kor)33p,ei]i

beautiful ugly fair not fair

^ 35-21
kui55 oi53 pe55 m 1* .pe55
tall short level not level

An important point worth noting is that in the interrogative with either gradable

or upgradeable adjectives, the epistemic oP5 is usually used before the adjective, as
shown in (18) and (19) respectively (note that boi35, the negative of of5 is used here

as interrogative particle. See ch叩ter 10 on the interrogative). However, in the

negative answer, boP5 should be used to negate upgradeable adjectives while w3521
should be used for upgradeable adjectives, as shown in the next two sub-sections.

(18) p of5 tfia53 boi35

3sg can beautiftil not.can
Is she beautiful?

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 CHAPTER NINE: NEGATION 221

(19) i33 tsio2l>53 se33 tso213 of5 kog33p'eg55 boi35

3sg this-way do can fair not.can
Is what s/he did fair?

9.4.23.1 bof5 negating gradable adjectives

Gradable adjectives are negated by boi35, as in (20), (see § 9.4.4.
functions), which is a modal auxiliary expressing epistemic moda
modality expresses the speaker's knowledge, belief of possibility,
certainty (Trask 1993:92). It thus seems plausible that boP5 is employ

gradable adjectives because the characteristics or semantics ass

gradable adjective are 'relative' to some norm or standard or some pe
words, it is quite subjective. For example, ‘hot，is a gradable adjective
certain temperature is considered hot or less hot can vary in rel
demonstrated in (21) where the first speaker thinks today is really
second speaker, it is not hot at all:

(20) a i33 boiM r)ia53

3sg notxan beautiful
She is not beautiful.

* b.户 m»2i gia53

3sg not beautiful

(21) A kim33zek5 zua?5"2 si53

today hot dead
Today is really hot.

B kim33zek5 ti?^kia53 to33 boi3521 zua?5

today a.bit all not.can hot
It is not at all hot today.

9.4.23.2 Hi35! negating ungradable adjectives

Ungradable adjectives, on the other hand, are negated by m35^ which encodes a pure
negation. For example,

(22) hegutsai35 nam55"n nui り53 p'eg^eg53 m3521, tio?5 tsu35"21 pai5:
now man woman equal not right then put

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222 ASPECT OF CHAOSHAN GRAMMAR

lai55*11 ts'uig55"11- teg53 p'ue?5*2 kau21>53 tek5.

come table- top talk till straight
Nowadays, men and women are equal. If there is any dispute,
then they should put it on the table and solve it.

(23) ko が3si33 tsio^-se33 ts'u^li55^ kia35"21 suiu m3521, h

company this-way deal, with CL matter not reasonable
The way the company dealt with the matter is unreasonable.

It is to be noted that although ungradable adjectives do not take adverbs of

degree, as in (24a), their negative counterparts seem to be able to, as in (24b). This
means that while the meaning expressed by an ungradable adjective is absolute in the
affirmative, the negative forms somehow seem to have ‘scalar’ senses. Consider
parallel examples in English where it is correct to say ‘This is so unfair' but not
common to say ‘This is so rair'.

(24) * a tsio213"53 se33 kue21553 kog33p'eg55

this-way over fair
This is so fair

b. tsio213"53 se33 kue213® m3521 kog^p'eg55

this-way over not fair
This is so unfair

9.4.2.4 The functions of bo55

The morpheme bo55 is the negative counterpart of ii35, which is an existential and
possessive verb meaning 'there is / are, to have', as illustrated in (25a) and (26a). u"
is also used to affirm the existence of an entity in a location and the occurrence of an

event (cf Chapter 6), as in (27a) and (28a) respectively.

(25) a. ua53 u3521 tio^sua33 tua11 zintiaq53

lsg have Chaoshan big dictionary
I have got the Chaoshan dictionary.

(26) a. ka^sek2 lai35 u3521 nar,55

classrom inside have person
There are people in the classroom.

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 CHAPTER NINE: NEGATION 223

(27) a. ua53 ma^zek5 u3521 to35"21 lai35

lsg tomorrow have be.at home

/ will be at home tomorrow

(28) a. ua53 kim^zek5 u3521 k'ui213^3 ka?5*2hau35.

lsg today have go school

I went (br: did go) to school today.

Naturally, btr6 negates all these meanings, as will be shown below.

9.4.2.4.1 bcr5 negating possession and existence

The following two sentences are the negative counterparts of (25a) and (26a) which
encode the negative of possession and existence:

(25) b. ua53 bo5"1 tio^sua33 tua11 ziutiag53

lsg not.have Chaoshan big dictionary
I haven ’t got the Chaoshan dictionary.

(26) b. ka^sek2 lai35 bo純 —5

classroom inside not.have person
There aren，t any people in the classroom.

Note that when the NP negated by bo" is not quantified, that is, when there is no

numeral, as in (26b), the meaning denoted is 4not any'. However, when the numeral
‘one’ is used, as in (26c), it is an emphatic usage. In other words, it does not mean
that there is more than one person in the classroom. The more common way to
express (26c) is (26d) where the NP is pre-posted:

(26) c. ka21H3sek2 lai35 bo55"11 tsek2 kai5541 nag55

classroom inside not.have one CL person
There isn V a single person in the classroom.

(26) d. ka21>53sek2 lai35 tsek2 kai55"11 nag55 to33 bo5"1

classroom inside one CL person all not.have

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224 ASPECT OF CHAOSHAN GRAMMAR

9.4.2.4.2 bcr6 negating locative clauses

The morpheme to35 is both a locative preposition as well as a locative verb, indicating

presence and location. In the affirmative, it goes with the existential verb w35, serving

as an auxiliary to affirm the speaker's view on the truth of the proposition, as

illustrated in (27a) above. Its negative counterpart bo55 is thus used to negate the
presence of an entity in a certain location or to indicate absence, as shown in
(27b).and (29) respectively:

(27) b. ua53 ma^zek5 bo抑 to班1 lai35

lsg tomorrow nothave be.at home
I will be at home tomorrow

(29)丨33 boM to35

3sg not.have be.at
She isn't in.

9.4.2.43 bc^ negating the occurrence of an event

In Chapter 6, we have shown that the existential w35 is also used to express the
speaker's affirmation of the occurrence or realization of an event. Even though this
meaning is related to the perfective aspect, it is not an aspect marker. Rather, it
functions as an auxiliary. However, it can sometimes imply emphatic meaning,
similar to the emphatic use of ‘do’ in English as in ‘He did go’. Example (28a) above
is illustrative. The negative counterpart bo55 is employed to negate the occurrence or
realisation of an event, as in (28b), but its use does not carry any emphatic overtone:

(28) b. ua53 kim33zek5 bo55 k'ui21353 ka?52hau35

lsg today not.have go school
I didn ’t go to school today.

Note that to negate a verb compound which contains a verb and a resu
complement such as tsom5i-uatfi (‘do-finish’ = ‘finish doing’)，bo》in effect
only the result rather than the whole event (see also § 9.4.2.6 on negating po

complements). In other words, the scope of negation is only over the compl
Thus, what (30) expresses is that the agent did attempt the homework, but
finish it:

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 CHAPTER NINE: NEGATION 225

(30) p ko2i>53 tsak2r)iap5 bo55 tso21^ - uag55

3sg CL homework not.have do-RVC
He didn ’t finish his homework.

9.4.2.4.4 btf6 negating progressive and habitual events

bo*1 is also used to negate an event /action in progress at a certain reference time.
Note, however, that in the affirmative, the existential n55 is not used, as shown in (31)

(31) i33 bo55"11 to35'21 tso33 tsa?2r)ip5 to3521 t'ol55"11 tiaq^si35.

3sg not.have PROG do homework PROG watch TV
S/he ’s not doing the homework. S/he ’s watching TV.

Note that if the VP takes a locative expression, such as (32), it can be potentially
interpreted in two ways depending on the scope of the negator: either the negator
negates the entire clause or just negates the locative expression. However, the context
can always help to disambiguate the meanings, as in (33) where the second clause
helps to make the meaning clear:

(32) i33 bo55"11 to35*21 tou^^ui^kuaq53 t'ol^-tsui33

3sg not.have PROG library read-book
Reading One: She's not reading in the library [but may be doing other
things elsewhere].
Reading Two: She ’s not reading in the library [but somewhere else]

(33) i33 boM to35*21 tou^tsui^kuag53 t'ol^-tsui33

3sg not.have PROG library read-book

i33 to3521 ka?23sek2 t'ol5H5-tsui33

3sg PROG classroom read-book
She ’s not reading in the library, she's reading in the classroom.

The negator can also be placed after the locative expression and before the main

verb to negate just the main verb, as in (34):

(34) i33 to35*21 tou^^ui^kuaq53 bo&n to35"21 t'ol5H5-tsiu33

3sg PROG library not.have PROG read-book

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226 ASPECT OF CHAOSHAN GRAMMAR

i33 to35"21 ka?2'3 nag55"11 t茨53"35ue11

3sg PROG with people say-word
She's not reading, but chatting with people in the library

bar6 can also be used before an event verb to indicate habitual meanings, as in
(35a) and (36):

(35) (Declining a cigarette presented to the speaker)

a. ua53 bo55"11 tsiak^-hug33
lsg not.have eat-cigarette
I don't smoke.

(36) j33 tsiak5*2 tse33 bo5"11 tsiak5"2 nek5

lsg eat vegetarian (food) nothave eat meat
He's a vegetarian. He doesn 't eat meat.

Habitual meanings can also be expressed by which expresses ‘volition’

(see § 9.4.4.4). Thus, bo55 and can be used interchangeably, as in (35b). However,
while functionally similar, the use of bo" is more common, as sounds more
abrupt. This is because m352 carries the 'volitional' meaning and the nr"2 clause can
be taken to mean ‘I don't wish to smoke', rather than 汪 habitual meaning.

(35) (Declining a cigarette presented to the speaker)

t>. ua53 tsiak5"2-hug33
lsg not eat-cigarette
I don 't smoke.

9.4.2.5 bu^1 indicating that an event has not yet occurred

While the post verbal Perfective liau53 indicates that an event is a complete one and
in many cases a completed one (cf Chapter 6), the fused form bue?1 ‘not yet’，is used

to signal that an event has not yet occurred at a certain reference time, as in (37).
Note that like all other complex negative forms, bu(^ is able to occur as a question
particle as well as an independent answer (see chapter 10 on the interrogative
constructions), as shown in (38B):

(37) i33 ha33 bueu lok52-pag33

3sg still not.yet finish-shift
S/he hasn 't finished work.

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 CHAPTER NINE: NEGATION 227

(38) A: ts'ia33 lai55 bueu

bus come not.yet
Has the bus arrived yet?
B: bueu
not.yet
Not yet.

9.4.2.6 Negating verbal complements

As in other Sinitic languages, the Jieyang dialect employs post verbal complements

to express various meanings such as result, extent, potential and direction. Resultative

complements follow the verb directly, as in (39), but potential and extent
complements are marked by two markers tek1 and lav" respectively, as in (40) and
(41)：

(39) ua53 tsiak5- pa53 lau53*213

lsg eat-full PERF/CRS
I've eaten my fill. (result)

(40) ko53 ts'ai213 tsiak5 tek2 uag55

CL food eat POT finish
We can finish the food, (or: The food can be fin

(41) ko53 ziu siaM lai55 giaM si53

CL word write EXT beautiful dead
The handwriting is very beautiful (extent)

Negation of verbal complements involves constituent negation as the nega

only has scope over the post-verbal complement, rather than the whole event.
negatives can be used for negation of verbal complements: bue?1, m35ト boP5 and

which are not functional variants. Again, the choice of the negative markers dep
on various factors including aspect, modality and semantics of the complements.

(i) bue11
bu^ is used to negate result complements and it indicates that the result has not be
reached. For example, bue^1 pa^ in (42) means the person did eat but not yet full:

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228 ASPECT OF CHAOSHAN GRAMMAR

(42) ua53 tsiak5"2 bueu

lsg eat not.yet
I haven't eaten my fill.

(ii) bop5 and

Post-verbal complements of extent and potential are usually served by adjectives, as

can be seen in (40) and (41). As such, they can be negated by either bof5 or w35. The

choice of either two negator is that if the verbal complement is a gradable predicate,
boi35 is used, but if it is ungradable, m35! is called for. (43) and (44) show this
difference between bot^dnd m35! when negating complements of extent:

(43) ko53 zi11 sia5535 lai55 boi35 gia5335

CL word write EXT not.can beautiful
The handwriting is not beautiful.

(44) ki 巨3521 suiu ts'u^^lP35 lai55 m3521, koij^p'eij55

CL matter deal.with EXT not fair
This matter wasri V dealt with fairly.

When negating potential complements, however, there is al

difference between the two negators: hi35! is used to describe
assessing a future situation, but the use of boi35 is only used
situation (note the optionality of the marker of the complement

(45) kio21553 k'a?2"3 tsoi11 ts'ai213 log53"35 tsiak5"2 m35

order too much food all eat mot (POT) - finish
[We] ordered too much food and couldn 7 finish it all.

(46) kio213"53 k'a?26 tsoiu ts'ai213 k'eg5H5tiau tsiak5"2 m3521/ boi35

order too much food eat mot not.can

(tek2) uag55
(POT) finish
[We] ordered so much food. [I am sure we] can ’t finish it all.

(iii) bfr6

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 CHAPTER NINE: NEGATION 229

bo^ can be used to negate result complements. Unlike the other three negator
boP5 and which appear between the verb and the complement, bo55 occurs
the Verb + RVC compound, as shown in (30) above and (47) below:

(47) geg53 tso21353^11 ko213"53 ts'ai213 bo5"1 tsiakH -uag55

2pl how.come CL food not.have eat-finish
Why didn ’tyou finish the food?

Note that only when the complement is a RVC does [bo^ + Verb + RVC]
constitute a constituent negation. It should therefore be distinguished from clausal
negation involving bor6. For example, even though the VP in (48) consists of a
directional complement, the scope of negation is the whole verb phrase:

(48) geg53 tso^^ni11 bo55"11 zip5-k'ui21>s

2pl how.come not.have in-go
Why didn 'tyou go in?

A unique feature of bo55 is in the construction [Verb + bo55 + NP] where bo55
negates the following NP which is the patient argument of the verb. Together,
[bo^5 + NP] serves as the result complement of the verb. For instance, in (49), it is not

that the activity of looking for a teacher never occurred, but rather, the process
resulted in not finding one. In (50), it is not that the speaker didn't look, but due to

his poor eyesight, he couldn't see anything. Note that the object is pre-posed to topic
position for emphasis (further discussion in next section):

(49) ts'ue11 bo5"1 lau^sui33 kai55"11 k'ue213 bo^ia^ tsio35.

look.for not.have teacher CL class not.can run
[We] didn't find a teacher. The course can ’t go ahead

(50) ua53 mak5 hue33 me?23kai55*u to33 t'oi®35 bo55,

lsg eye blur what all see not.have
Because I 'm far-sighted. I couldn 7 see anything.

9.43 Indefinite negation

Question words such as ‘who’，‘what，，‘where’ and ‘when’ can be used as indefinite
expressions, meaning 'whoever', ‘whatever’，‘wherever’，‘whenever’ etc. (see also
Chapter 10). Indefinite expressions of this kind can be negated by various negators

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230 ASPECT OF CHAOSHAN GRAMMAR

depending on what meaning is intended, as illustrated in all the examples in (51). The

negative of indefinite expressions are translated as ‘not".any.’，as can be seen in the

examples:

(51) a ua53 kim33zek5 bo^-al213® k'ui21>53 ti^ko213

lsg today not.-want
I'm not going anywhere today.

b. ua53 kim33zek5 bue11 k'UI213^ tFko23

lsg today not.yet
1 haven V been anywhere today.

k'UI21^ tPkom
c. ua53 kim^zek5 meg5335
lsg today not.need
I don't have to go anywhere today.

A more common way of negating indefinite expressions involves topicalizmg

the indefinite expression, followed by the adverb to33 ‘all’. The construction can be
translated as 4not...any...(at all)’ in English, as shown in (52) and (53):

(52) ua53 tiutiag55 to55 m35*21 pa?2

lsg who all not know
I don't know anyone at all.

(53) lui53 tsl35 me?2 suiu to33 meg5535 tso213

2sg now what matter all not.need do
You don ’t have to do anything at all right now.

9.4.4 Negating modal meanings

9.4.4.1 Negating epistemic modality

The meanings of possibility, probability and certainty can all subsumed under
epistemic modality (see Trask 1993: 92). In the Jieyang dialect, there are three
negatives which can be used to negate possibility: boi35, bo^11 piarj^ and mo53, all of
which can be translated as 'cannot' in English. However, there are functional
differences among them which are related to different kinds of impossibility.

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 CHAPTER NINE: NEGATION 231

9.4.4.1.1 boP5

boP5 has two main functions: to express prediction about impossibili

impossibility due to factors such as lack of skills, talent or aptitude.

(i) Prediction of impossibility

This usage expresses the speaker's conjecture or prediction that s
possible. As such, adverbs which express degrees of commitment to
such as 'definitely' and 'probably', and sentence final particles w
speaker's attitude can be used. For example, in (54), the sentence fi
is often used to express subjective views:

(54) kai55"u qeg55 no35"21 liap5 tsia21553 boi3521 pui)

one dollar two CL then not.can PASS people

p'ia ぐ-k，，
cheat- RVC
Two for a dollar. In this way, (I) won ’t be short-changed by people.
(from comic skit: "Two for a dollar")

(55) i33 ta213^3 kim33zek5 k'eg5H5tiagu boi3521 lok5*2 h

3sg say today definitely not.can fall rain
He said that it definitely wouldn V rain today

(ii) Inability
Inability is agent-oriented (see Bybee et al. 1994: 177). It is not concerned with th
degree of commitment of the speaker towards what he or she says, but rather, wi
the existence of interna] conditions pertaining to the agent with respect to t
predicate action:

(56) boi3521 ta213^ tio^iu^-ue11

3sg not.can say Chaozhou-word
He can ’t speak Chaozhou dialect

(57) ua53 boi35"21 k'ui33 ts'ia33 qpui55"11 m35*21! pak2 o?5

lsg not.can drive car because not EXP learn
/ can 7 drive because I've never learned to drive

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232 ASPECT OF CHAOSHAN GRAMMAR

Inability can also be attributed to intrinsic factors such as personality traits, a

illustrated in (58), or lack of talent, as in (59), which clearly shows that the person
question cannot speak any foreign language not because of his or her lack of trainin
but because he or she simply doesn't have the necessary aptitude:

(58) kui掷 kai55"11 nou^ukia53 si35"21 i33 siaq35*21 boiM t'a2^3-uen

several CL child COP 3sg most not.can say-word
Among the several children, he is the most tactless.

(59) ua53 bo55"11 gui^gaq55"11 tMag33ts'ai55 o?5"2 me?2

lsg i not.have language talent learn what

guau-bug55 log 掷 boi35"21 ta213

foreign-language all not.can say
I don't have any language aptitude. No matter what language I learned, I
can't speak any of them.

9.4.4.1.2 bc^pia^
piaff20 consists of bo55 and the morpheme piat^33, which, accor
dictionary by Cai Junming (1991:24), is written as 变，meaning ‘change
it should be pointed out that the etymology of some of the negative mo
needs further investigation. As bc^n p/aひ233 is used to negate possib
syllabic form will be glossed as ‘not.can’，the same way as boi節，rather

<not.can-change,. This compound negator is used to express (i) impo

inability due to circumstantial factors, and (ii) incapacity / incapability.

(i) Denoting circumstantial impossibility I inability

bcr6^ piarf^ denotes that something is generally possible, but due to so
factors or circumstances, it is impossible or unlikely to occur:

(60) tsi5W5kue213 tiam35"21 lo?5*2 hou35 kal33 ts'u213 bo^piai

recently always fall rain CL house not.can month

lai3Ml kM5M5.ho53
inside build-RVC
It's been raining all the time and the construction of the house won't b
completed by the end of this month.

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 CHAPTER NINE: NEGATION 233

(61) ts'ue11 bo55"11 tso5>35si55 kai5H1 murj55"11 bo^piag213 k'ui33

look.for not.have key CL door not.can open
[I] couldn ’t find the key. The door can 't be opened.

Circumstantial factors can also prohibit one's ability to do somethin

instance, in (62), it is not that the person referred to does not have the ability
but that she is unable to sing due to her sore throat. This difference can be see

the ungrammaticality of using bot35 for this meaning:

(62) i33 kim33zek5 au55 t'ia213 bo^piag213 / (* boi3521) ts'iag^

3sg today throat sore not.can /(*not.can) sing-song
She can 't sing today because she has a sore throat.

Note that there is another negative expression, bo^ef^ur5, which is also

used to talk about inability due to circumstances, but is only confined to the meaning

of ‘cannot afford (to spend money)’. It is not used, however, to mean 'cannot afford
(the time)’. The etymology of ler^uP is not certain, but what is known is that these

two morphemes only appear in two compounds: bo^n leif^ui*' and its affirmative
counterpart a3521 lef^uF 'can afford’，as shown in (63). In other words, they are not
a free lexical word:

(63) i33 u35a|eg55-nujSMi 如沾5"2 hug33 bo5"1 leg^ui55 poi5H5 tsui33

3sg can.afford eat cigarette cannot.afford buy book
He can afford to buy cigarettes but not the books?

(ii) Incapacity / incapability

bor^piatf^ is also used to denote incapability, which refers to one's state of being
unable and incapable of doing something, often due to physical handicap or lack of
resources:

(64) j33 mak5 hue33 bo^piag213 t'di^ soi2^ kaPu ziu

3sg eye blur not.can read small LW word
He's far-sighted and can 7 read small print.

(65) seq33li53 k'a?2 tua11 tsek5*2 narj55 bo^piarj213 tso53"213

business too big, one person not.can do
The business is too big. It can 't be run by one person.

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234 ASPECT OF CHAOSHAN GRAMMAR

Incq>acity or incapability can also relate to one's physical ability or intrinsic

power to do something, as illustrated below:

(66) j33 uMpia02i>s tse^ najj55 tsek5-2 ビ山加 tsiak5"2 no35*21

3sg can one person one time eat two

ki33 tsiu53 ua53 i33 bo^piag213

bottle alcohol lsg PRT not.can
He can drink two bottles of wine by himself, but I can't.

9.4.4.13 mc^

Sometimes the occurrence of an event is not likely or po

deemed to be favourable or feasible. In this case, the negator
contraction of w35 (the negative simplex) and the modal auxi

the word meaning 'good, well，. As hcP can also function as a

expresses possibility in terms of feasibility (other function
will be covered in § 9.4.4.2.2)，its negative form mo5
impossibility due to unfavorable circumstances or infeasibilit

(67) hou35 lo?5 tsio213^3 tua11 tiau35"21 lou11 mo5335 k'ui33- ts'ia33
rain fall so big CL road not.can drive-vehicle
It ’s raining heavily today. It ’s not possible to drive on this road (tha
it ’s not good/safe to drive on the road).

(68) ko213"53 keg33tsio33 bue11 sek5 ha33 mo5335 tsak5

CL banana not.yet ripe, still not.can eat
The bananas aren ’t ripe. They are still not ready (to be eaten).

9.4.4.2 Negating deontic modality

Deontic modality is concerned with necessity, obligation, permission or prohibition
(see Trask 1993:76). In the Jieyang dialect, there are three markers which can be used
to negate these meanings: merp, mo^ and mat233, merj55 negates necessity and
obligation, while mo53 and map13 negate permission and hence express prohibition.

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 CHAPTER NINE: NEGATION 235

9.4.4.2.1 meff53 negating necessity and obligation

merf^ is a fusion between m35 (the negative simplex) and erj53 ('need to'), which
one of the two affirmative counterparts of m印53. The other affirmative counterpart

merp is tio?5 (‘should’）：

necessity: egu 'need' eg. eg11 soi53

need wash = ‘need to wash’
obligation: tio?5 ‘should’ eg tio?5"2 lai55
need come = ‘have to come, should come'

meff53 thus expresses non-necessity, ie, ‘not necessary to and non-obligation,

ie, ‘not obliged to...' on the part of the agent and can be translated as 'need not，and
'not have to’, as shown below:

(69) ua53 meg5^6 egu i33 tio33 k'a^-ts'ia33

lsg not.eed use 3sg CL foot-vehicle
I don't need to use his bike.

(70) nar)53 meg5^ tsai213^3 hal5355 i33 tsl55

lpl not.need again return 3sg money
We don't have to give him any more money.

In the above two sentences, it can be seen that the modal auxiliary meij55
before the main verb and after the subject. There is an emphatic usage whe
occurs before the subject, which expresses strong prohibition with the mea
‘shouldn't’：

(71) tuau narj55"11 kai55"11 sui11 meg5365 lui5H5 kuag53

big person LW matter not.need 2sg intervene
This is a matter for adults to deal with. You shouldn 7 intervene.

9.4.4.2.2 mo53 and map5 negating permission / prohibition

As mentioned in § 9.4.4.1.3, moa is a fused form of m" and the modal auxiliary hoa.
map5 on the other hand is a fusion between m35 and the modal auxiliary dp5 'want
to’ (see § 9.4.4.3 for further discussion on other functions of mai213). These two

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236 ASPECT OF CHAOSHAN GRAMMAR

negators express non-permission or prohibition, with ma53 denoting stronger non

permission and mat213 weaker prohibition.

(i) ma53 negating permission and prohibition

(72) A: ua53 ho5H5 k'tu21363 t'e?2t'o55 me11

lsg can go play QPRT
Can I go and play?

B: tsak2 り iap5 tso^^-ho53 tsu55"11 ho53, bu

homework do -RVC then can notyet then not.can
You can if you have done your homework but not if you haven 7.

mo53 is also often used in the imperative to indicate non-permission, as shown

in (73), and prohibition as in (74):

(73) mo®35 tiam55"11 t'ol5H5 tiaq^si35

not.can always watch television
You shouldn't watch TV all the time

(74) ka21>S3sek2 lai35 mo5"5 tsiak5*2 hug33,

classroom inside notcan eat cigarette
It is prohibited to smoke in the classroom.

Sometimes, prohibition does not come from human intervention. In fact, it can

be the properties of things that prohibit people from doing something. For example,

in sentence (75), it is not that the speaker does not allow the son to eat beef. Rather,

it is the fact that beef does not agree with the son's metabolism that prohibits him

from eating it. As for (76), even though the sentence is active in form, it in fact

carries the passive meaning: ‘Broad-beans should not be eaten raw’. To paraphrase it,
it means ‘People should not eat broad-beans raw':

(75) uag5H5 kia53 mo5135 tsiak5"2 gu55U-nek5

lplexi. son not.can eat cow -meat
My son can ’t eat beef.

(76) piag^-tau11 mo5335 ts'e33 tsiak5

broad - bean not.can raw eat
Broad-beans can 7 be eaten raw.

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 CHAPTER NINE: NEGATION 237

(ii) maP^ denoting weak prohibition

map3 is used mainly for negating desire / volition (see § 9.4.4.4). In imperative
sentences, however, it can also be used to place a command for the listener not do
something, similar to bie (‘don't) in Mandarin, as in (77):

(77) lui53 mai213® k'ui21^ tsi6^u-pag33 lai55"11 tsio5W5 lai35

2sg not. want go attend-shift at this home

ts'ap2 ua53'213, ho53 me11

accompany lsg can QPRT
Don 7 go to work. Stay home to keep me company. Is it ok?

This usage differs from mo53 in that it is much weaker in its prohibiti
meaning and is more like a suggestion rather than a command. This is becaus
mo53, the source of ‘will，comes from the speaker who imposes it ont
addressee but with map5, the source of ‘will’ comes from the addressee. In o

words, although the speaker may tell the addressee not to do something, it is
the addressee to comply. Thus, with coercive mat^, a tag meaning 'is it ok
be used, as in (77).

9.4.43 Negating futurity and volition

According to Bybee et al.(1994)，one of the lexical sources for marking futures is
from markers of desire (p. 244). In the Jieyang dialect, this seems to be the case
because the morpheme dF3 which is both a verb ‘to want [NP]，and a modal verb ‘to
want to / to desire to’ is used to indicate volition and futurity, as in (78) and (79)
respectively:

(78) u35"21 nag55"11 ai21353 k'ui bo5^

have people want go not.have
Does anyone want to go?

(79) ua53 me5W1ni55 ai213® k'ui21353 kuiq5>35tsiu33 kaq33za?2

lsg next.year want go Guangzhou work
I'm going to Guangzhou to work next year.

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238 ASPECT OF CHAOSHAN GRAMMAR

However, the distinction between desire /volition and futurity is not always that

clear-cut. As such, depending on the contexts, both sentences above can have two
readings, desire and futurity. A future sense is more apparent when the sentence
subject is a non-animate referent, as shown in (80), or in typical topic-less sentences
such as (81):

(80) tiaq^ia53 ai21353 lai55*11 tsio5J35 iar)213

film want come here show
The film will be shown here.

(81)沿咖 lo?5*2 hou 卸 lau53*213

want fall rain PRT
It is going to rain soon.

9.4.43.1 Negating futurity

To negate futurity, there are two negatives: and ma?33. is a
compound form which consists of the fused form bo純(‘not.have’）and dp5. While
both and maP^ are used to negate futurity, as can be seen from (82B)
where they co-occur in the same clause, only can be used with non
animate subjects, as in (83):

(82) A: lu,53 ai2i>53 k'm2i«3 ビぷ掷 tiarj^ia53 me11

2sg want go see film QPRT
Are you going to see the film?

B： maP ua53 bo^aP k'ui213

not. want lsg not.have-want go
No. I ’m not going to.

(83) tiarj^ia53 bo^ai213 / (*mai) lai55"u tsio5>35 iag213

film not.have-want /(*not.want) come here show
The film isn 7 going to be shown here.

9.4.4J.2 Negating desire / volition

For negating desire / volition, there are three negators: m35^ ntaf^ and bcr^ai^.
They are ftinctionally similar, as shown in the three sentences in (84):

(84) ‘He doesn't want to go no matter how hard we tried to ask [him to]. ’

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 CHAPTER NINE: NEGATION 239

a. kio213 to33 k'UI213.

i33 m 2
how ask, 3sg all not go

b. tso21>53ni55"11 kio213 P to33 mai咖 k'ui213.

how ask, 3sg all not.want go

c. tso^ni55"11 kio213 i33 to33 bo^ai213 k'ui213.

how ask, 3sg all not.have-want go

However the three forms are slightly different semantically: the use of m161
denotes the strongest volitional meaning, often implying an 4 intentional/deliberate
act’. In many cases, it is close in meaning to 'refusal'. Thus, what (85) implies is that
the speaker may have asked the referent 'you' to study hard but he never had the
desire to do so, which almost equates to refusing what he was told to do:

(85) tiam55-ll ^ ho5B5ho5H5 tsu,33 lu,5H5

2sg always not diligently study-book see 2sg

tso213^3!^55"11 k'au5H5 tai^ha?5

how sit.exam university
You never study hard. How can you pass the university entrance exam?

In the Chaozhou variety, the negative n^i also often implies that the speaker
refuses to do what he or she is told to do (see Zhang Xiaoshan 1994: 5).
The use of maF3 and on the other hand, does not necessarily have
this 'intentional' implication (unless used with adverbs which overtly express
intention such as ‘intentionally’ or ‘deliberately’). In other words, they tend to just
encode the lack of wish, desire or intention to do something on the part of the agent.

However, there exists a syntactic difference between these two negators: while maF°
can stand alone as an answer, as in (86B), bor^dF5 cannot, as shown in (86C):

(86) A: ai21553 tsiak te55 me11

want eat tea QPRT
Do you want some tea?

B: map13 ua53 tsiam55"35 tsiak5'2 io?5

not.want lsg just eat meaicme
No. I just took some medicine

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240 ASPECT OF CHAOSHAN GRAMMAR

* C. bo^ai213 ua53 tsiam5B5 tsiak5"2 io?5

not.have-want lsg just eat medicine

Finally, w352» but not map35 and bc^dP^, can have a habitual reading,
(87a) (cf. bo^5 with the same function in § 9.4.2.4.4). (87b) shows that with the
verb, wifli213 and bc^1 aV33 render a volitional meaning:

(87) a. i33 m35a2 t siak5-huq33

3sg not eat-cigarette
S/he doesn ’t smoke. (habitual)

b. roai 咖 /5osmiぶ咖 tsiak5-hurj33

3sg not. want /not. want eat-cigarette
She doesn，t want to smoke. (volitional)

9.4.433 Negating willingness

The notion of 'willingness' can be subsumed under4desire / volition'. In the Jieyang
dialect, 'willingness' is expressed by the modal haum while its negative meaning is
n^haum:

(88) hau213 si35"21 nag^ts'eq55 m3521 hau21353 si35*21 purj5B5teq53.

willing COP favour not willing COP obliged
It is a favour ifpeople are willing to help as they don ’ t have the obligatio
is a common saying in the dialect].

(89) i33 hau2"3 sio^-hu35 ua53*213.

3sg not willing help lsg
She 's not willing to (won ’t) help me.

As the meaning of ‘willingness’ is related to desire / volition, somet

question with haum ('be willing') can have maF3 (‘will.want’）as the
answer, as shown in (90) in which speaker A asks whether the referent is willin

has the inclination to work for the factory but speaker B's answer indicates
referent has no such intention:

(90) A: i33 hau21353 lai55"11 kai55'11 naq5>35 p'a?2kaq33 m

3sg willing come for lplinc| work QPRT
Will he come to work for us (ie. Is he willing to come)?

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 CHAPTER NINE: NEGATION 241

B i33 mai21^53 i33 hiam55"11 karj33tsl55 k'a?2 kiam53

3sg not. want 3sg complain income too little
He won't. He thinks the pay is too low.

9.4.4.4 Summary of section

Table (9.2) summarises negation related to modal meanings.

Table
Table (9.2)(9.2)
Negation
Negation
of Modal Meanings
of Modal Meanings
Negativeforms
Negative forms Functions
bop
boP5
won't
won't/ wouldn't
/ wouldn't (i)
(i)conjecture
conjecture and and
prediction
prediction
of impossibility
of impossibility
cannot
cannot / couldn't
/ couldn't (ii)
(ii)inability
inability
(lack(lack
of skills,
of skills,
talent, intrinsic
talent, intrinsic
traits)

b^piatj2^
bo^piag233
cannot /couldn't
/couldn't (i) circumstantial impossibility
incapable of (ii) inability due to circumstances / external
factors
incapacity /improbability
(iii) incapacity /improbability

mtP
mo53
cannot
cannot // couldn't
couldn't circumstantial
circumstantial impossibility
impossibility(not
(notfavourable
favourable
/feasible)
b^le^uP
b^le^ur*
cannot
cannot/couldn't
/couldn'tafford
afford inability due to lack of money
(money)
mey55
meg53
needn't, not have to non-necessity and non-obligation
non-obligation
n^hau^
w35"2 haiP3
not willing
willing willingness
willingness
mo53
cannot/ couldn't / shouldn't denoting non-permission and prohibition
mat^
maP
will
willnot
not/ /
not.want to to
not. want (i)
(i)denoting
denotingweak
weak
prohibition
prohibition
(suggestion)
(suggestion)
(ii)
(ii)negating desire
negating / volition
desire / volition
(iii)
(iii)negating
negatingfuturity
futurity
bcPnaP
be
benot
notgoing
going
to / will
to / notwill not (i)
(i)negating
negatingfuturity
futurity
(ii)
(ii)negating
negatingdesire/volition
desire/volition
n^2
m352
will not
not negating
negating volition
volition

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 242 ASPECT OF CHAOSHAN GRAMMAR

Summary of chapter
In this chapter, I have discussed five types of negation: lexical negation, clausal
negation, negation of postverbal complements, indefinite negation and negation of
modal meanings.
What has been shown in this chapter shows that the Jieyang dialect has a
relatively complex negation system which is reflected in several aspect: first of all in

its large array of negative markers. Among them, the majority are fused forms which

are contracted from a negative element and a modal auxiliary verb. Thus, negation is
closely related to modality. For example, gradable adjectives, whose characteristics
or semantics are ‘relative’ to subjective views, are negated by bot35 which expresses
epistemic modality.
Related to the first feature is the wide diversification of functions of the negators.

As can be seen, the negators are task-oriented in the sense that different negators are
called for different functions and purposes, which has been shown to closely interact
with various factors. Apart from modality, as mentioned above, aspectual properties,
temporal references and types of predicates also play an important role in the choice

of negators. This clear division of labour, which is a feature shared by other Southern

Min dialects such as Taiwanese, is not surprising because, as L.L. Chen (1991:1) puts
it, 'the greater the number of contradistinctive negatives in a language, the more
specialised each negative is in its function'.

lit is well known that negatives in many Sinitic languages fall into two series, one
with an unaspirated bilabial and one with a bilabial nasal, for example, Mandarin bu
and mei. Zhang Xiaoshan (1994:2) notes that for the equivalents of Mandarin bu (for
neutral negation) and mei (for negating the perfective aspect), Wu, Xiang and Gan
dialect groups all have b- and m- respectively. Hakka, Yue and Min dialect groups
have the opposite systems: their equivalents of Mandarin bu all begin with m•，and
those of mei all start with b- in Southern Min dialects.

2 The story teller here is from Shantou and usesthe passive marker used in
Shantou, which is functionally the same as kfe?2 in the Jieyang dialect (see Chapter
8).

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CHAPTER TEN INTERROGATIVE

10.1 Introduction

In this chapter, I discuss three basic types of inteuogative

Wh-questions (§ 10.2.), Yes-No questions (§ 10.3)

questions (§ 10.4). It will be shown that syntactical
Alternative questions show close similarities to oth
Mandarin, the second type, that is, Yes-No questions, e
are more characteristically Southern Min. The mo
interaction between question and negation. As discus
turn is closely tied to modality and aspect.

10.2 Wh-questions
10.2.1 Question words in questions
As in many languages in the world, Wh-questions in the Jieyang dialect employ
question words to seek information. Syntactically, this type of question in the Jieyang

dialect bears close resemblance to those of other Sinitic languages, especially in the
word order: the question words are not preposed, as in English, but stay in situ with
the word order in the question the same as in a declarative sentence. For example, the
question word ‘who’ can have two positions in the question depending on whether it
serves as the topic or the patient argument. As topic or sentence subject, it appears
sentence-initially and as a patient argument, post-verbally, (la) and (lb) are
illustrative:

(1) a. ti11tiai)55-11 si35"21 nia33 pa55?

who COP 2sggcn father
Who is your father?

b. lui53 hi5H5hua33 t^tiar)55*11

2sg like who
Who do you like?

In the Jieyang dialect, the question words employed are shown

As can be seen from the table, a few question words are formed wi
tF (底)，which, according to Li Rulong (1999: 282), dates back to

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 244 ASPECT OF CHAOSHAN GRAMMAR

when it meant ‘what’ and appeared frequently in literary writings. It is synchronically

used as a question word and in forming other question words in various Southern Min
dialects.

Table (10.1) Question Words in the Jieyang Dialect

ti11 'which' kui5B5 tiam53 ‘what time’

tiutiag55 ‘who’ me?2kai55 ‘what’

tPko213 'where' tso215"53!^55 ‘why’ / ‘how,

tiutiaq33si55 ‘when’ zio?2 tsoi11/

'howkui
much'/ ‘how many'

10.2.1.1 if1 • ‘which’

Syntactically, tf1 can never appear on its own. It can only be used
classifier noun phrase consisting of a classifier, a numeral and the head
(2). However, in a classifier phrase, if the numeral is ‘one’，it is often
head noun can also be left out if the context is clear. This means that a classifier

phrase must contain at least the classifier, as in (3):

⑵ tiu sa33 kai55"u ha?2seq33 ai213^3 k'ui213 ？

which three CL student want go
Which three students want to go?

(3) tiu (tsek5*2) tiau55"11 (k'ou21^3) si35'21 ts'eij^k'i?2 kai55U?

which (one) CL (pants) COP clean NOM
Which pair of pants are clean?

It is to be noted that in the Jieyang dialect, while time words such

“day’ can serve as measure nouns, others such as 'month' and 'we
therefore can directly precede the words ‘year’ and 'day’ but requires a

preceding 'month' and ‘week’，as shown below:

ti11 ni55 'which year'

tiu zek5 'which day'
ti11 kai55"11 gue?5 ‘which month'

ti11 kai55"11 ts'^k'i55 'which week'

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 CHAPTER TEN: INTERROGATIVE 245

10.2.1.2 t^tiarj55 -'who'

Although tFtiaif55 means 'which person', the morpheme tiarf55 is not synchronically

the word for ‘person’ in the Jieyang dialect. The free morpheme for ‘person，is natj55.

However, in a closely related Southern Min dialect, Yongchuan, which has tiatj55 as
‘who’，it is suggested by Li Rulong (1999: 282) that tiaff55 is a contraction of tP1 and

naif55, that is, ‘which + person’. Perhaps tiarj55 in the Jieyang dialect has also evolved

in the same way, but through the course of its development, it has come to require the

question word tf1 'which’ to go with it.

t^tiaiy5 functions as a full-fledged noun, but not as a modifier. As noted earlier,

its position in the sentence varies according to the grammatical function it plays.
tfltiarj^con be used with the possessive marker or linking word kaf5 (see Chapter 4)
to denote the meaning ‘whose’，which can then be used to modify an NP, as in (4) or
as a nominal, as in (5):

⑷ lui53 siag35*21 hi5H5hua33 tiutiag®"n kai5"1 ko33?

2sg most like who POSS song
Whose songs do you like the best?

(5) tsi 掷 pug 诚 ko33 tFtiag5"1 kai&n

this CL song who POSS
Whose song book is this?

10.2.13 t^tia^sf5 ‘when’，kuP35 tianf1/zioT^tsc^ tian

sometimes shortened to tiai/^si55, is the general qu
'when'. While the etymology of tiarf23 is not certain, si55 mea

clock time, the question words used are kuP^ tiarrP, or zioT
tiarj^sf5 is also possible), kuf^ and uof2 tsof1 both mean
much' (see discussion on their differences in § 10.2.1.7) while t
4dot':

(6) lui53 tFtiao^si5^11 al21^ k'ui213

2sg when want go
When are you going?

(7) lui53 kui5>35-tiam5W5 al21>53 k'ui213

2sg what-time want go
What time are you going?

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246 ASPECT OF CHAOSHAN GRAMMAR

10.2.1.4 ti^ko233 - ‘where’

ti^ko235 is made up of tf1 (‘which’）and ka03, a locative suffix which can be att

to 汪 noun，pronoun or demonstrative to turn it into a locative phrase. For exam

tsP^6 kd2^ ‘this’ + ka^ = ‘here’, ti^ko05 is used to ask about location, position
direction. It occurs after directional verbs such as lav5 (‘come’）or kywm (‘go’）
well as the locative verb to35 (‘be.in /situated'), as shown in (8) and (9):

(8) lui53 kim33zek5 k^ui213"53 tFko213?

2sg today go where
Where did you go (are you going) today?

lui53 to3521 tFko23? tsor-k^k^

2sg today where work
Where do you work?

As a locative noun, can also occur in the sentence-initial position a

topic, as in (10):

(10) ti^ko21^ si55"11 tarj33 tiuko2l>53 si55"11 sai33

where COP east where COP west
Where is the east and where is the west?

10.2.1.5 me^kaf5 -‘what’

The question word ‘what，in various southern and northern dialects involv

morpheme. For example (first four examples from Li Rulong 1999:3):

Mandarin: tf^nma]

Cantonese: [maet7je3]

Hakka [mak7 ke4]

Xiamen
[sim3 mi?7]

Jieyang [mas?2 kai55]

According to Li Rulong (1999:3), this may suggest a common source of

development: from the question word ‘是物’，or sometimes written as ‘甚物’(note

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 CHAPTER TEN: INTERROGATIVE 247

that the author didn't provide the romanisation of the morphemes) ‘what’，where the

second morpheme is said to be a bilabial in Middle Chinese, which was commonly

used during the Tang and Song periods.

In its present-day usage, me?2kafs is a complete NP, as in (11). It cannot act as

a modifier. To modify aNP, only the first morpheme me?2 is used, as shown (12):

(11) me?2kai5H1 eg11 tsio53"35 kui213

what need so expensive
What needs to be so expensive?

(12) lui53 u55*11 me?2(*kai®'11) sui11

2sg have what matter
What can I do for you?

The above examples show that kaf5 is a nominal element. Parallel e

found in the nominal demonstratives tsia^5 kaf5 ('this kind of [thi
kaf5 'that kind of [thing]') in which kav6 serves to replace whateve
being referred to (see § 4.3.4):

(13) A: lui53 ai21353 me?2kai55

2sg want what

B： ua53 ai21^3 tsia5^ kai55.

lsg want this
A: What do you want?
B: I want this [kind of thing].

10.2.1.6 tsd^nf5 4whyV4how'

The question word isomsnf5 can mean both ‘why’ and ‘how’ (i.e. ‘in what manner',
‘in what way’)，and thus can cause potential ambiguity, especially when it is placed
before an action verb, as shown in (14).

(14) lm53 tso^nP11 erju tsia5>35 pe?2

2sg how/why use this.kind pen
Why / how do you use this kind of pen?

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248 ASPECT OF CHAOSHAN GRAMMAR

However, contexts or some syntactic elements can help to eliminate possible

ambiguity between ‘why，and ‘how’，as shown in (15), where the modal verb at213
(‘want to’）before the VP helps to render an 'intention' meaning rather than a
4manner’ meaning:

(15) lui53 tso^nf5-11 al21^ tuirj53lai5H1

2sg why want return
Why did you want to come back?

As adverbs of manner modify the verb phrase, tso^^ni55 appears before the

when it means ‘in what manner', as in (16). The ‘how’ meaning of tso^^n
unequivocal in topic-comment sentences where the topic is the preposed object N

(16) tsia5H5 pe?2 lui53 tso^nP11 eg11

this.kind pen 2sg how use
How do you use this kind of pen?

If the VP takes a temporal expression, tso2iy5inf5 should be placed after the

expression, as in (17a). If it is placed before the temporal expression, it means

as in (17b):

(17) a. lui53 tsau33zek5 tso^^nP11 tui り53lai55"u

2sg yesterday how return

How did you return yesterday?

b. Iuj53 tso21>53ni55'n tsau33zek5tuig53lai55U

2sg why yesterday return

Why did you return yesterday?

When tso^^nf6 means ‘why’，it can occur before or after the topic, but after the

topic is more common:

(18) lui53 tso^ni5^11 bo55U al21>53 ta213

2sg why not.have want say
Why didn 'tyou say it?

(19) tso^nP11 lu,53 sid3521 erj11 tsia阴5 pe?2

why 2sg not.have want this.kind pen
Why do you want to use this kind of pen?

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 CHAPTER TEN: INTERROGATIVE 249

10.2.1.7 zio^tsoF/ kuP ‘how many/much’

ziof^tsof1 is made up of ziof (‘how, i.e., ‘to what extent', eg.: zio?5"2 kul55
tall’) and tsoin ('many, much’). This compound word means 'how many，and
much’. kuP on the other hand only means 'how many’, jiof1 isof1 can mo
noun phrase or serve as a pronominal. This is exemplified in (20a) wher
classifier and the head noun modified by zioT^tsof1 can all be left out. kuP can
function as a modifier of a classifier phrase, which must at least consist of a class
as in (20b):

(20) a. lui53 ai21363 zio?Mtsoiu (kai55"u) (peg^kue53)

2sg want how.many (CL) (apple)
How many (apples) do you want?

b. lui53 ai213^3 kuP® kai55*11 (p'eij^kue53)

2sg want how.many CL (apple)
How many apples to you want?

As zio?5'2 isof1 means 'how many，and ‘how much’，it can take both mass (n
discrete) and concrete (discrete) nouns whereas kuP can only take discrete entiti
This can be seen in the following two examples where in (21a), zio^tsof1
directly take the mass noun tsiu5^ 'alcohol', but (21b) must take a measure word
link with the head noun:

(21) a i33 tsau33me55 tsiak5"2 zio?wtsoiu tsiu53

3sg last.night eat how.much alcohol
How much did he drink last night?

b- i33 tsau33me55 tsiak5"2 kui®* pue33 tsiu53

3sg last.night eat how.many cup alcohol
How many glasses of wine did he drink last night?

There is another difference between zio^isoFand kuP : zio^tsoP1 can be

used with numbers and amounts of any size while 人！!/53 is commonly used with a
number less than ten. Thus, to ask the number of books in a library, the appropriate

question word would be zioJ^tso^TSthcr than kuP:

(22) tou55Utsui33kuaq53 u35'21 zioy^tsoi11 tsui33

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250 ASPECT OF CHAOSHAN GRAMMAR

library have how.many book

How many books are there in the library?
This difference also explains why although both can combine with
Awe213 ('years of age') to ask about a person's age, zio?5"2 tso11 hue235 (‘h
can be used for any age group but kuP^5 hue20 can only apply to young ch

10.2.2 Question words as indefinite pronouns

As in other Sinitio languages, question words can be used as indefinite pronouns to
express such meanings as 'whoever', 'wherever', 'whenever', 'anyone', 'anything'
etc. There are several situations where the question words can be so interpreted in a
sentence. Firstly, the sentence must consist of two clauses in which the Wh-phrases

are typically coreferential, as shown in (23). However, sometimes the Wh-phrase in

the second clause is not overtly expressed but the co-reference is implied, as in (24).
As can be seen, in this usage, the two clauses tend to be connected by the conjunction
isu35 (‘then’)：

(23) lui53 ^dag^si35"11 huai)33piag35 (tsu35*21) tiutiaij33sis^11 lai55.

2sg when convenient then when come
You can come whenever it is convenient for you.

(24) ti^tiao^11 ai21^ k'ui213 (tsu35"21) kiau53"35 tsl55.

who want go who (then) hand, in money
Whoever wants to go, whoever needs to pay the money..

The second situation is an emphatic usage which requires the quest

be in a topic position of the clause. An adverb to35, meaning 'all’，

before the predicate. The question words in this construction denote t

‘any...’，or ‘every...’，such as 'anyone', 'anywhere', 'everywhere', et

below:

(25) lui53 tiutiag33si55"n to33 ho5355 lai55.

2sg when all then come
You can come anytime.

(26) i33 me?2kai5M1 to33 hi5H5hua33

3sg what all like
S/he likes everything.

(27) ua53 tPko213 to33 pak2 k'ui213

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 CHAPTER TEN: INTERROGATIVE 251

lsg where all EXP go

I have been everywhere.
A third case when Wh-question words can serve as indefinite pro
Wh-phrases in the negative contexts (cf Chapter 9). When occurri
sentence such as (28) and (29)，two meanings can be possible. The
sentence is a normal Wh-question. The second is that the ques
indefinite pronoun (cf § 9.4.3). The intended meaning of such sente
be obtained from the context. However, the preferred reading of th

sentences tends to be the indefinite reading:

(28) p kim33zek5 bo55*11 ai21>53 k'ui2053 tFko213

3sg today not.have want go where
Reading One: Where is he not going to today?
Reading Two: He is not going anywhere today.

(29) lui53 tsi35tsug55 meq5>35 tso?2*3 me?2kai55.

2sg now notneed do what
Reading One: What don 't you have to do right now?
Reading Two: You don 't have to do anything right now.

103 Yes-No questions

While many languages in the world employ distinctive intonation pa
inversion of word order in forming Yes-No questions, Sinitic languages on
employ grammaticalised constructions and sentence final question particle
Yes-No questions. Yes-No questions can further be distinguished bet
subtypes: non-presumptive (or neutral) and presumptive questions
presumptive question is neutral in presupposition while a presumptive ques
affirmation or negation of an expressed assumption about a proposition
subtypes are formed differently in the Jieyang dialect. In the following s
look at the different ways to form each type as well as the application
different forms.

10.3.1 Neutral (non-presumptive) questions

A common feature among Sinitic languages with regard to Neutral questions is that
many employ forms which are of disjunctive structure, that is, an affirmative

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252 ASPECT OF CHAOSHAN GRAMMAR

predicate and its negative counterpart are put in disjunctive coordination, which can

be illustrated by the following Mandarin example:

(30) ni qu bu qu
you go not go
Are you going?

This feature is said to date back to Archaic Chinese (AC) wh

questions had ‘a dominant disjunctive structure' (Li Ying-che 1992:439)
in a common AC pattern [VP/NP-Ncg] (where Ncg represents the neg
of the VP or NP). What is salient about this type of disjunctive qu
negators play an important role. According to Li Ying-che (ibid), as m
negatives (many of which were fused forms composed of two morphem
AC, and different sets of negatives were used in conjunction with dis
sentences such as declarative, imperative and interrogative (p.438). I
Chinese dialects, many of the archaic negative forms have disappeared
as half a dozen of the AC negative forms as well as the [VP-Neg] ne
pattern are well preserved in Taiwanese (p. 438). Li's observation ab
preserving a large array of archaic negative forms, particularly those w

forms and using them in forming neutral questions with the AC pattern
by and large a Southern Min feature. This can be demonstrated by
Jieyang dialect (see discussion to follow), Xiamen and Quanzhou.
following examples from four Southern Min dialects (examples
Crosland 1996; example 32 from R.し Cheng 1997: 240). Note that sy
the element Ncg in the Southern Min dialects represents a fused form
for discussion):

(31) P oi35*21 k'ium boi3521

3sg can go not.can
Can he go (ie, ‘know how to..')? (Jieyang)

(32) Im3 ba
you go not yet
‘Have you gone yet?' (Quanzhou)

(33) be?5 k'i5 bo

want go not have
'Have you gone yet?' (Xiamen)

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 CHAPTER TEN: INTERROGATIVE 253

(34) p u sim- mih -choho-go bo

3sg have whatever- error not have
'Did he commit any error?' (Taiwanese)

Indeed, it is noted in several typological studies (see Yue-Hashi

and Zhu Dexn 1991) that [VP-Neg] is the predominant neutral q
Southern Min dialects, whereas in many other dialects in China, n
particular, it is the non-fused form: [V-not-V] and its variants [V
not-VO] (see Zhu Dexi 1991) (where ‘V’ is a single verb and
simplex). Questions bearing [V-not-V] and similar structures are g
to in Chinese linguistics as A-not-A neutral questions (wher
'affirmative' and ‘not-A’ the negative of the verb).

The [VP-Neg】 pattern is a major neutral question form in the Jie

the fused negative forms can serve as the Ncg element (see Tab
with certain complex negatives, an overt disjunctive marker, a33,
pattern becomes [VP-DIS-Neg]. The [VP-Neg】 and the [VP-DIS-N
a free variant form [Aux-Ncg-VP] where the affirmative count
element is placed before Neg. Apart from these three forms, t
patterns: [V-Nol-VP] and [VP-QPRT] where V stands for a sing
negative simplex and QPRT an interrogative particle other than t
negatives. Thus, in the Jieyang dialect, there are four major neutral

(i) V-Not-VP
(ii) VP-(DIS)-Neg or Aux-Neg-VP
(iii) VP-DIS-Neg or Aux-Neg-VP
(iv) VP-QPRT

As can be expected, the choice between the [V-Not-VP] pattern and the [VP

(DIS)-Neg] pattern or the [VP-DIS-Ncg] pattern is mainly determined by whether

the verb can be negated by the negative simplex or by the complex negatives (further

discussion to follow). Pattern (iv) uses a sentence final question particle me11 which

is functionally similar to ma in Mandarin. This pattern has the widest scope of use in

the sense that it can be used to replace some other patterns. In what follows, I look at

each of these patterns in more detail.

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254 ASPECT OF CHAOSHAN GRAMMAR

103.1.1 V-Not-VP

Although bearing a close structural similarity to the A-not-

Mandarin, [V-Not-VP] does not have as wide a scope of
Mandarin in that not every verb can occur in this pattern. How

this form is very similar to other Southern Min dialects su

limited to words which can be negated by the negative sim
1996 and Yue-Hashimoto 1993 for discussion of other S
These words include the copula verb si35, verbs of cogniti
Experiential aspect marker pak2, two auxiliaries ka53 (‘dare，

as well as ungradable adjectives (cf § 9.4.2.2).

In the [V-Not-VP] form, the ‘heavy’ part is skewed to
sentence, as the first disjunct, represented as 4V', tends to
verb or adjective, as in (35) and (36):

(35) lui53 si^-m班1-sP21 lau^sui33

2sg COP-not-COP teacher
Are you a/the teacher?

(36) j33 sio^-se33 ta213 tuP-m^-tuF a33

3sg this, way say right-not-right PRT
Was what he said correct?

If the verb or adjective is disyllabic, the first morpheme occurs in the 'V'
disjunct and the entire verb or adjective occurs in the ‘VP’ disjunct, as in (37) and
(38) (for the convenience of description, the first morpheme of a split word is given

the same gloss as the whole word):

(37) lui53 siag^-m^-siaii^seg213 ua53*213

2sg believe-not-believe lsg
Do you believe me?

(38) i33 sj02i>53.sg33 hay^-m^-ha?5"2!!53

3sg this, way reasonable-not-reasonable
Is he reasonable in doing so?

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 CHAPTER TEN: INTERROGATIVE 255

10J.1.2 [VP-Neg] and [VP-DIS-Neg]

The salient feature of these two question forms is that they use complex negatives as

question particles, as noted earlier. Many of the complex negatives are negative
modal auxiliaries (see Chapter 9). According to R. L. Cheng (1997: 233), this
linguistic feature, common in Southern Min, has historical significance as it provides
evidence that final question particles in Chinese tend to be etymologically related to
negated modal verbs.

The negatives listed in the following table all can serve as the Neg element.

Table
Table (10.2)
(10.2) Complex
一Complex Negatives
Negatives in Dialect
in the Jieyang the Jieyang Dialect
bo55 negative of existence (possessive / existential / occurrence of events)
boi35 negative of possibility (including ability, circumstantial possibility) /
gradable adjectives
bue11 negative of perfective aspect (ie. ‘have
'have / has not yet happened')
mai213 negative of desire / volition / futurity
mo53 negative of
of circumstantial
circumstantial possibility
possibility (feasibility
(feasibility/favourable
/favourablecondition)
condition)and
and
permission
meg53 negative of obligation / necessity

The choice of the complex negative is determined by the modality as well as

aspect involved in the question. It should be noted also that if the complex negative
has a corresponding affirmative form, the affirmative form must occur before the VP,

NP or adjective. Thus, with the six complex negatives and their affirmative
counterparts (except bu^1), six question patterns can be generated which are listed in
Table 10.3.

Table (10.3) IVP-(DIS)-Ncg] Patterns with Different Negatives

(0
(i) u^-NP/VP
U35-21 -(DIS)
_ NP / VP -(DIS) •- bo55'11
bo5541
(ii)
(<i) oi卸-VP-VP
oi35'21 / Adj - (DIS)
/ Adj - (DIS)• -boi35*21
boi35"21

(iii) -VP --(DIS)

0 -VP (DIS)- -bue11
bue"
(iv.) aj21>53.Np/Vp.DIS.mai213
ai213-53 - NP/VP - DIS - mai213

(v.) ho5放-VP
ho53"55 - DIS
- VP - DIS- -mo53
mo53

(vi.) eg11 - VP - DIS -- meg53

meg53

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256 ASPECT OF CHAOSHAN GRAMMAR

As can be seen from Table (10.3)，when the negators are bo55, boP5 and bue^1
the disjunctive marker is optional but is obligatory when the negatives are mat05
mo^ and me^p. In speech, the negatives receive neutral tones when the disjunct
marker is not present but in citation tone if it is present (which might suggest that

two disjuncts constitute two separate tone groups). In the following, I look at t
application of each of the six patterns in detail.

(i) u3521- NP/VP-(DIS) -bo5"1

The negative used in this pattern bo55 is distributionally paired with its affirmati

form u35 which is the verb of possession and existence as well as an auxiliary wh
is used to affirm the occurrence of events and existence of states (see Chapters 6 a

9). When used as 狂 verb of possession and existence, u35 takes an NP as its argume

as illustrated in (39) and (40):

(39) lui53 u 抛 tio^ua33 ziutiar)53 bo 卸

2sg have Chaoshan dictionary not.have
Do you have a Chaoshan dictionary?

(40) hio 掷 lai35 u3521 nat)55 bo 抑

that home have person nothave
Is there anyone in the house?

When w35 functions as an affirmative marker of occurrence and existence of

events or states, [u55 ...bo"^n] pattern takes a verb phrase, as in (39) to (40):

(41) lui53 kim33zek5 uM k'ui2^3 ha?52hau35 bo&u

2sg today have go school not.have
Did you go to school today?

(42) i33na り55*11 u3521 to35"21 ha?5"2 sip5 bo55"11

3pl have be.at school not.have
Are they at school?

In Chapter 3, it was shown that the morpheme n35 can be a prefix which der
adjectives from nouns. The words which are prefixed with w35 such as (‘tru
and u^erf1 ('useful') also occur in the [u35 ...bo55*11] question pattern, as illust
in (43):

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 CHAPTER TEN: INTERROGATIVE 257

(43) tsio5H5mue?5 u^-eij11 bo5"1

this.thing useful not.have
Is this thing useful?

(ii) oi3521 - VP / Adj - (DIS) - boi3521

As the modal auxiliary oi35 expresses epistemic possibility and ability and its negative

counterpart oP5 negates these modal meanings (cf § 9.4.4.1), [oi35*21... boi3521] pattern

is used to seek information related to these modal meanings:

(44) kim33zek5 oi3521 lo?5'2-hou35 boi3521

today can fall-rain not.can
Is it going to rain today?

(45) lui53 0i 放ほ伽 tio^iu^-ue11 boi3521

2sg can speak Chaozhou-word not.can
Can you speak Chaozhou dialect?

[oi35"21...^!3521] pattern is also used with gradable adjectives because they are
negated by bop5 (see § 9.4.2.3.1). For example,

(46) i33 tsMar)213"53 lai55 oiM ho5W5t'ia33 boi3521

3sg sing MAN can beautiful not.can
Does she sing beautifully?

(47) ko213^3 pug11 oi3521 la35 boi35"21

CL rice can enough not.can
Is there enough rice?

As ungradable adjectives are negated by m35 (cf Chapter 9), in the inter

they are expected to occur in the [V- m^-VP] pattern (cf § 10.3.1.1).
ungradable adjectives can also occur in [oi3521 -VP/ Adj - (DIS) - boi3521 ] p
in (48), but with some difference in meaning:

(48) a. tui213 m3521 tuim

3sg correct not correct
Is he correct?

b. j33 oi3521 tui213 boi3521

3sg can correct not.can
Is he correct?

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258 ASPECT OF CHAOSHAN GRAMMAR

The difference between the two sentences is that the former is simply seeking an

affirmation or negation on the state as represented by the adjective, while the latter is

seeking affirmation or negation on a subjective judgment on the state and thus can be

interpreted as "Do you think he is correct?”. In other words, when epistemic modality

is the semantic focus of the question, ungradable adjective can also be used in the
question pattern [oP^.^boi3521】 form. A few stative verbs such as hp35 hua^ (‘to
like'), tsai33 (‘to know’ [information]) and puA2 (‘to know' [a person]) can also occur
in either the [V-m^-VP] or [oi^H.boi3521] form, as illustrated in (49) and (50)
below. The difference between the ‘a’ and ‘b’ sentences again lies in the absence or
the presence of modality: the 4a' sentences purely seek affirmation or negation of the

state of 'knowing' and ‘liking，respectively, while the 'b' sentences are about
modality: (49b) asks about the likelihood and (50b) subjective judgment:

(49) a. i33 tsai^-m^-tsai33 tsi5描 kia35"21 sui11

3sg know-not-know this CL matter
Does he know about this?

b. i33 oi 班1 tsai33 tsi5H5 kia35"21 suiu boi3521

3sg can know this CL matter not.can
Does he know about this (ie.，‘Do you think there is this possibility')?

(50) a. iu!» hi^-m^-hi^hua33 i3>u

2sg like-not-like 3sg
Do you like her/him?

b. lui53 oi3521 hi5H5hua33 i3>u boi3521

2sg can like 3sg not.can
Do you like her/him?

The pattern [oP^... bor621] can also be used before a post-verba

of extent to ask about the extent of an action. Post-verbal complem
served by gradable adjectives:

(51) zek^tau213 tsiak5"2 oi3521 pa53 boi35"21

noon eat can full not.can
Did you have enough for lunch today?

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 CHAPTER TEN: INTERROGATIVE 259

(52) he?2pai53 kai55*11 zi11 t'oi53"35 oi3521 ts'eg^ts'o53 boi3521

blackboard LW word see can clear not.can
Can you see the blackboard clearly?

(iii) VP-(DIS)-bucu
bu^1 is the only negative which does not have a corresponding affirmative modal
verb. When attached to the end of a positive statement with event predicates, bue11
turns the statement into a neutral question and asks whether an even / activity has
occurred or has been completed / realised, as shown in (53a). Note the answer in
(53b): although in the interrogative, the affirmative part of the VP does not require
the presence of the perfective marker /iaw53 to pair with bue11, when answering the
question in the affirmative, it does. (53c) shows that bu^1 can stand alone as an
answer in the negative or with the adverb ‘still’：

(53) a. k'ui21^3 bue11

3sg go not.yet
Has he gone?

b. k'ui213 lau&2U
go PERF/CRS
He has gone.

c. (ha33) bue11
(still) not.yet
Not yet

(iv)苗咖-NP/VP-DIS-mai213
a/213 has two functions: as a main verb meaning ‘to want，and as a modal auxiliary

meaning ‘to want to’，‘would like to’ and ‘intend to'. As an auxiliary, it can also
indicate immediate future: ‘to be going to’. Thus, both noun phrases and verb phrases

can occur in this pattern. With noun phrases, the pattern is used to ask if someone
wants something, as in (54), but with verb phrases, it seeks information on desire /
volition and intention, as in (55). In this pattern, the disjunctive marker a33 is
obligatory:

(54) lui53 ai21^ tsi53"35 tiau55"u kur)55 a33 mai213

2sg want this CL skirt DIS not. want
Do you want this skirt?

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260 ASPECT OF CHAOSHAN GRAMMAR

(55) lm53 aP355 kWu a33 mai213

2sg want this DIS not. want
Do you want to go?

It is to be noted that aP2 has two negative counterparts: maF3 and bo^n ai233
(see § 9.4.4.3). It was shown in Chapter 9 that when denoting volition, map3 carries
a stronger meaning than bcr^1 dF5. Thus, the negative answers to (54) and (55) can
either be maF3 or bo^n di233, depending on what meaning the speaker wants t
convey.

(v) ho5335-VP-DIS-mo53
hcP is the modal auxiliary denoting circumstantial possibility in terms of feasibility
and favourable conditions as well as permission (see Chapter 9). The pattern
[ho5535... mo53] is thus used to ask about circumstantial possibility and permission, a
shown in (56) and (57) respectively:

hou35 lo?5"2 tsio5M5 tua11 tiau5541 lou11 ho掷 kia55*11

rain fall so big CL road can drive

ts'ia33 a33 mo53

car DIS not.can

The rain is so heavy. Is it possible to drive on this road?

(57) A: pa55 a3>n ua53 h05H5 k'm2i>53 t>ek2to55 a33 mo53

father PRT lsg can go play DIS not.can

can PRT
A: Father, can 1 go and play?
B: Alright.

[ho5H5...mo53] can be potentially ambiguous between

permission reading, as shown in (58a):

(58) a. tsio53 keg33tsio33 ho5^ tsia?5 a33 mo53

these banana can eat DIS not.can
Reading One: Is it possible to eat these bananas
Reading Two: Am I allowed to eat these banana

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 CHAPTER TEN: INTERROGATIVE 261

However, discourse contexts can always help to disambiguate such utterances,

as illustrated in (58b) where the first clause provides the background information on
why the speaker wants to know whether it is possible to eat the bananas:

(58) b. tsio53 keg^tsio33 tsio213"53 ts'e33 ho5^ tsia?5 a33 mo53

these banana so green can eat DIS not.can
The bananas are so green. Can I eat them? (Possibility)

(vi) eou-VP-DIS-meg53
erf1 expresses deontic modal meanings such as necessity and obligation (cf § 9.4.4.2).
This question pattern is therefore used to seek information on whether or not one has

the obligation, or is it necessary for someone to carry out the predicate activity. Like

the previous two patterns, the disjunctive marker cannot be omitted in this pattern:

(59) lui53 kim33zek5 egu kiu21^3 tsio^-pag33 a33 meg53

2sg today need go attend-shift DIS not.need
Do you need to go to work today?

(60) neg53 piaT^qiap5"2 au35 eg11 tuig33 pia33 a33 meg53

2pl graduate after need work.as soldier DIS not.need
When you graduate, do you have to join the army?

10.3.13 Aux-Ncg-VP
In this form, the affirmative auxiliary and its negative counterpart are place

each other before the predicate, as illustrated in (61) and (62). This patter
variant of the [VP-(DIS)-Ncg] and the [VP-Ncg] patterns. The only patt
cannot be replaced by [Aux-Ncg-VP] is [0…bu^1], because bue11 does n
affirmative auxiliary counterpart:

(61) "Do you have some tea?"

lui53 u3521 te55 bo^u
2sg have tea nothave

lui53 u3521 bo^n te55

2sg have not.have tea

(62) "Do you need to go to work today?"

lui53 kim53zek5 erju tsio^-paq33 a33 meg53
2sg today need attend-shift DIS not.need

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 262 ASPECT OF CHAOSHAN GRAMMAR

b. lui53 kim53zek5 eg11 meg53 tsio^^paq33

2sg today need not.need attend-shift

It is worth pointing out that the underlying structure of the [Aux-Neg-VP】 form

is similar to the A-not-A pattern in Mandarin. This may suggest that the use of this
variant form is perhaps a Mandarin influence.

103.1.4 VP-QPRT
The third neutral question form is [VP-QPRT] which employ
question particle m^1, similar to the sentence final question partic

(63) lm53 ai213 me11

2sg want QPRT
Do you want (it)?

As mentioned earlier, among the four major neutral question forms, [VP
QPRT] has the widest scope of function because it can be used interchangeably with
the first pattern [V-Not-VP], as shown in (64) and (65), as well as the third pattern
[VP-DIS-Ncg] pattern, as illustrated in (66):

(64) "Are you a teacher?"

a.丨 ui53 si3521 -m3521- si35"21 lau5H5sui33
2sg COP-not-COP teacher

b. lui53 si3521 lau5H5sui33 meu

2sg COP teacher QPRT

(65) "Do you like the shirt?"

a lui53 hi55*- m^-hi^hua33 kia35"21 sa33
2sg COP-not-COP CL shirt

b- lui53 hi^hua53 kia35"21 sa33 meu

2sg like CL shirt QPRT

(66) "Can she come with us?’’

a.
iJ3 ho5535 ka?2 uar)5>35 k'ui213 a33 mo53
3sg can with lpl go DIS not.can

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 CHAPTER TEN: INTERROGATIVE 263

b. i33 ho5^ ka?2 uag 诞 k'ui213 me11

3sg can with lpl go QPRT

However, the [VP-QPRT] form cannot be used in place of th

where the negative is either bo55, boi35 or bue^. Thus, the ‘b
used in place of the fca’ sentences in (67) to (68):

(67) "Do you have the Chaoshan encyclopedia?"

lui53 u 城 tio^ua33 tuau ziutiaq53 bo抑
2sg have Chaoshan big dictionary not.have

lui53 u3521 tio^ua33 tua11 ziutiaq53 me11

2sg have Chaoshan big dictionary QPRT

(68) “(Do you think) it is worth your while going on this way?’’
a. lui53 tsio^-se33 tso2U oi3521 tak52tek2 boiM
2sg this-way do can worth not.can

b. lui53 tsio21>53-se33 tso2D oi3521 takwtek2 me11

2sg this-way do can worth QPRT

(69) "Has he gone?"

a.户 k'ui213^3 bueu
3sg go notyet

* b. i33 k'ui213^3 me11

3sg go QPRT

Note however, that (69b) is grammatically incorrect for the intend

but correct with a different meaning, which is “Does he want to go?’’

Finally, the question particle me?1 can be preceded by the adjective

as a question tag to turn a statement into a suggestion or request, as in (70

(70) nag53 k'ui21363 t'ol5>35 i3>u ho53 meu

lpl go see 3sg, good QPRT
Shall we go and visit her?

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264 ASPECT OF CHAOSHAN GRAMMAR

103.1.5 Responses to Neutral questions

There is no single word such as ‘yes’ or ‘no’ as in English to reply to neutral
questions. For [V-not-VP] questions, the normal way to reply is by repeating the
affirmative of the verb for an ‘Yes’ answer, as in (7 IB), but using the negative of the

verb as a negative answer, as in (72B):

(71) A: i33 si^-m^-si3521 kot)33si33 kai55"11 kei)33li53

3sg COP-not-COP company LW manager

B: si35.
COP
A: Is s/he the company manager?
B: Yes.

(72) A:ピ ka^-m^-ka5^ sio33-su33

2sg dare-not-dare mutual-lose

B： ka53.
not dare
A: Do you dare to bet (with me) ？
B: No.

With [VP- (DIS)-Neg] questions, one can use the affirmative modal
negative counterpart as ‘Yes’ and ‘No’ answers respectively. The
optional after the modal auxiliary or after the negative, as shown in (7

(73) a. i33 eg11 k'ui213 a33 meg53

3sg need go DIS not.need
Does he need to go?

b. egu (k'ui213)
need (go)
Yes.

c. meg53 (k'ui213)
not.need (go)
No. (note that meデ remains in citation tone if the verb after it is not
present)

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 CHAPTER TEN: INTERROGATIVE 265

It should be noted that in oral discourse, ‘Yes’ and ‘No’ answers can often b
accompanied by sentence final particles which can either express certain attitudes
the speaker or make the answer less abrupt or direct.

103.2 Presumptive questions

When posing a presumptive question, the speaker makes an assumption about a
proposition or view and invites the addressee to give the affirmation or negation of
the given assumption. In the Jieyang dialect, presumptive questions can be formed by

using the sentence final particle h?1; or a question tag sP5 mi1 formed with the
copula verb si35 and the question particle which expresses the meaning of ‘is it
the case that...?', as well as with a disjunctive construction formed with the copula
verb st35 and its negative counterpart m35"21 sf5, that is sf671 nt3521 sP5, before the main

predicate:

(i) Proposition + h?1 /

(ii) sP^-nr^-sP5 + Proposition?

(74) “You aren't going, right?，’

a lui53 bo55"11 k'UI2^3 hen
2sg not.have want go PRT
b. lui53 記1H3 k'ui21353 si35 -mu

2sg not.have want go COP-QPRT

c. lui53 si35 -mu-s i35 bo55*11 ai21^3 k'ui

2sg COP-QPRT-COP nothave want go

To give an affirmative answer to a presumptive question, one can use either the
particle he11 or sf5. For a negative answer, one can use m3521 si35, often contracted as
mP5.

10.4 Choice questions

The third major type of interrogative in the Jieyang dialect is Choice
involving two (or more) choices or alternatives. This category of qu
connected by a33, the disjunctive marker, or o33^/35 which consists of the di

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266 ASPECT OF CHAOSHAN GRAMMAR

marker and the copula verb sP5, similar to hdishi (‘or’）in Mandarin. Compare the
examples from Mandarin and Jieyang below,

(75) “Are you going or is he going?"

a. Im53 k'ui21553 a33- si3521 i33 k'ui21>53
2sg go DIS- COP 3sg go

b. Ni qu haishi ta qu
2sg go or 3sg go

The Choice questions should be distinguished from neu

disjunctive nature (ie, V-not-VP and VP-(DIS)-Ncg) in one impo
disjunctive type of neutral question, the affirmative and the n
word order with the affirmative always preceding the nega
questions, the word order is reversible, that is, choice one can b
two or vice versa. Thus, (76a) can be changed to (76b). If, howe
affirmative and negative in a disjunctive neutral question is rev

as in (77b):

(76) "Do you want coffee or tea?"

1 lui53 tsiak5"2 kia^hui33 a33 sP21 te55
2sg want eat coffee DIS COP tea

b. lui53
a121353 tsiak52 te55 a33- si35*21 kia^hui33
2sg want eat tea DIS- COP coffee

(77) ‘‘Are you going or not going?"

丨 lui53 k'ui213 a33 maF (k'ui213)
2sg want go DIS not. want (go)

* b. lui53 mzim k'ui213 a33 al213*53 (k'ui213)

2sg not. want go DIS want (go)

Note that in (76) above, the choices refer to the objects of the verb while in (78
below, the choices refer to the subjects of the verb. In both sentences, even thoug
the verb in the second constituent is identical with that of the first, it tends not to b
omitted:

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 CHAPTER TEN: INTERROGATIVE 267

(78) lui53 al213^3 boi53"213 a33- si35"21 i33 al21>53 boi53"213

2sg want buy DIS- COP 3sg want buy
Do you want to buy or does he?

Sometimes, however, it seems possible for the second verb to be omitted

object noun phrases in the two constituents are more complex, as in (79) wh
second verb ‘to buy’ can be left out:

(79) lui53 al2^3 boi53*213 ka33kiu k'ui213"53 tso213 kai55*11 a33- s

2sg want buy self go do NOM DIS- COP

(boi5335) tso^^peq11 kai55"11

(buy) ready-made NOM
Do you want to buy do-it-yourself ones or ready-made ones?

When the alternatives refer to different verbs but the objects of the verbs are the

same, as in English ‘Do you fry or steam this vegetable?', it is grammatical to have
just one object noun in the question, just like English. However, the object must then

be preposed to the topic position, as shown in (80a) and illustrated by the

ungrammaticality in (80b) if it is left in post-verbal position. This differs from
Mandarin, where one of the object nouns can also be omitted without changing any
sentence word order, as illustrated in (80c) (example from Li and Thompson 1981:
533):

(80) "Do you want to fry or steam this vegetable?"

a- ko213® ts'ai213 ai21W3 ts'a?2 a33- si35'21 ts'ue33
CL vegetable want stir.fry DIS- COP steam

b. ai21353 ts'a?2 a33- si35"21 ts'ue33 ko咖 ts'ai213

want stir.fry DIS- COP steam CL vegetable

c. ni chao haishi zhen zhe ge qingcai

2sg stir.fry or steam this CL vegetable

The two conjoined constkuents of a Choice question can also be two

propositions. In such cases, the first proposition must be preceded by the copula verb

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268 ASPECT OF CHAOSHAN GRAMMAR

si35 and the second by a33- si35. The construction [si55 proposition! d^-si35 proposition」

means ‘Is propositioni or proposition2 the case?. (81) is illustrative:

siM i33 ka33kiu k'ui213 kaPu a33 nag55"11

COP 3sg self want go PRT DIS COP people

kio咖 i33 k'ui35*21 kai55*11

call 3sg go PRT

Is it that he wanted to go himself or that someone asked him to go?

Summary of chapter
In this chapter, I have discussed three basic types of interrogative in the Jieyang
dialect: Wh-questions, Yes-No questions and Choice questions. It has been shown
that one of the major features of Wh-questions in the Jieyang dialect, which is also a

common feature in other Sinitic languages, is the position of the question words: they
are not placed at the beginning of the sentence like English, but remain in situ as in a
declarative sentence. This means that their position in the sentence depends on what
syntactic role they play. Question words can also serve as indefinite pronouns,
expressing such notions as 'whoever', 'whatever', 'anything', 'everything', etc.
The Yes-No questions further distinguish two subtypes: Neutral and
Presumptive questions. Neutral questions have been shown to share certain
characteristics that are pan-Sinitic, such as employing the technique of juxtaposing
the affirmative and the negative of the predicate as a way of posing a question, such

as the [V-Not-VP] and the [Aux-Neg-VP] forms. But Neutral questions in the
Jieyang dialect also display some features which are characteristically Southern Min,
such as using negative modal auxiliaries as question particles in the [VP-(DIS)-Neg]
form, which has a history dating back to Archaic Chinese. As a result of using
negative modal verbs as sentence final question particles, it has been shown that there
is a close relation between interrogatives, negation, modality and aspect.
The Choice questions are shown to be different from the neutral question
patterns of disjunctive nature in that the order of the disjoined constituents in a
Choice question is flexible but that of the neutral question forms is fixed.

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CHAPTER ELEVEN CONSTRUCTIONS OF COMPARISON

In this chapter, I describe constructions of comparison which include

comparatives and the superlative. The syntactic structures and the markers used

the comparatives are one of the areas which are known to have a Northern v
Southern distinction (see Yue-Hashimoto 1993: 158; Ansaldo 1999). However
to the increasing influence from Mandarin, many Southern dialects have come t
a pattern borrowed from Mandarin as a secondary choice (Ansaldo 1999: 103)
observation can be applied to the Jieyang dialect, which not only has two forms
the local stratum but also a loan stratum. Furthermore, the form modelled on

Northern pattern has become increasingly productive, reflected in its func

versatility.

In the following sections, I fist look at prototypical comparatives, followed by a

brief description of other schemes of comparative constructions. The superlative

constructions will be discussed last.

11.1 Prototypical Comparatives

A prototypical comparative construction is one involving ‘two participants in te
of the degree of some gradable property relating to them' (Dixon 2004:2).
grammaticalised comparative scheme, therefore, there are four crucial elements
the known Standard against which (2) the Comparee is compared; (3) th
Parameter (Dixon 2004:2), sometimes also known as the Quality (see Payne 19
89), by which the Comparee is compared with the Standard, and (4), a Mark
which signals that the clause is a comparative construction (for the convenience
description, the Comparee, the Standard, the Parameter and the Marker wil
shortened to COM, STA, PARA and CM respectively). The following exam
which represents one of the three forms to express the comparative construction
the Jieyang dialect, illustrates a prototypical comparative sentence where i33 is
COM, wo53"213 is the STA, Ai/i55 is the PARA and kue21^ is the CM.

(1) i33 kui55 kue 咖 ua53*213

3sg tall SURP lsg
He is taller than me.

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270 ASPECT OF CHAOSHAN GRAMMAR

11.1.1 Four degrees of comparison

As the comparative is concerned with the relationship between the COM and the STA

with respect to the different degree in terms of the PARA, different degrees of
comparison can be identified. Following Y. R. Chao (1968: 680), Sinitic languages
commonly divide comparatives into four degrees of comparison: superiority,
inferiority, equality and equalling. The comparative construction of superiority (§
11.1.1.1) indicates that the COM has more of the specified quality than the STA; the
inferiority comparison (§ 11.1.1.2) indicates that the COM has less of the specified
quality than the STA. In the literature on the comparative constructions, the
superiority and the inferiority degrees are often subsumed under the comparative of

inequality (see for example, Stassen 1985; Huddleston 2002). The equality degree (§
11.1.1.3) indicates that the COM has similar or identical quality as the STA while
the comparison of equalling degree (§ 11.1.1.4), a term commonly used in Sinitic
comparatives, indicates the speaker's estimation that the COM is approaching or at
least equal to the STA (see Y. R. Chao 1968; Yue-Hashimoto 1993; Cheung et
al.1994 for discussion of the Mandarin data). In the Jieyang dialect, these four
degrees of comparisons are also identified and will be discussed next.
Comparative constructions in Sinitic languages in general are analytically
marked, as opposed to using morphological elements or suffixes to indicate
comparisons. Despite this shared feature, there are differences between the Northern
and Southern dialects in terms of syntactic structures and markers used (see Yue
Hashimoto 1993 and Ansaldo 1999).

11.1.1.1 Comparative constructions of superiority (CCS)

In Ansaldo's (1999) typological study of Sinitic comparatives of superiority, three
basic types of constructions are said to be characteristic of three areas within China
(p. 184):

(A) Surpass Type: the South, south of the Y angtze and west of Fuj ian
(B) Similarity Type: the North, north of the Yangtze
(C) Double-marking: the Southeast (southern Fujian, the area Southeast of the
Yangtze estuary, and Taiwan

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 CHAPTER ELEVEN: CONSTRUCTIONS OF COMPARISON 271

The first type is characterised by a postverbal marker grammaticalised fro

lexical word meaning '(sur)pass' or 'exceed', such as kue23 in the Jieyang dialect
gwo in Cantonese. This type of comparative was found to belong to one of the
major comparative types in a typological study of comparative constructio
Stassen (1985: 42), who calls it the ‘Exceed Comparative'. The second type
markers which are derived from words meaning ‘comparatively’ or compar
such as bi in Mandarin and bei in Cantonese. Markers of this type are semantic

neutral, ie., they do not suggest inequality (Ansaldo 199: 64). The third typ
structurally defined by having two markers and is often considered a hybrid o

Northern and the Southern type (Ansaldo 199: 185), such as [...pi...k'a?..
Taiwanese Southern Min (see Li and Lien 1994: 72).
Applying Ansaldo's typology, both the Surpass type and the Similarity type

employed in the Jieyang dialect. However, unlike Taiwanese Southern Min,

Jieyang dialect does not have the Double-marking type. Instead, what is
particularly characteristic of Chaoshan dialects as a whole is the ‘Absent-mar
type, which, as the name suggests, has no overt marking of the compar
characteristic. This strategy is said to be attested as early as Middle Chines
Ansaldo 1999: 106).
The three ways to express the comparative constructions of superior
(henceforth CCS): the Absent-marking, the Surpass type and the Similarity typ
be schematised respectively below:

(i) COM + PARA + STA (Absent-marking)

(ii) COM + PARA + CM (kue^) + STA (Surpass type)
(iii) COM + CM (pi53) + STA + PARA (Similarity type)

In the following, I look at each of the three CCS forms in turn in more detail. It
will be shown that although the three forms co-exist in the Jieyang dialect, there are
certain functional differences among them.

11.1.1.1.1 Absent-marking constructions

Schema (i) above shows that the Absent-marking construction is built on only three
elements: the COM, the STA and the PARA without any overt marker. It is noted in
Ansaldo (1999) that Absent-making constructions only play a marginal role in the

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272 ASPECT OF CHAOSHAN GRAMMAR

typology of the comparative construction of inequality in contemporary Sinitic

languages (p. 43). However, they are well preserved in the Chaoshan dialects and
form a common syntactic strategy to express the CCS in the spoken language. The
following examples are illustrative:

(2) P tua11 ua分213

3sg big lsg
S/he is older than me.

⑶ ua33 pa55 oi5355 ua33 ma55

lsggcn father short lsggen mother
My father is shorter than my mother.

The CCS without any overt marker is also found in some other Sinitic varieties,

including Cantonese, Hakka, Xiamen, Shanghainese and Taiwanese. However, in

these languages, the Absent-marking strategy is slightly different from that of Jieyang
in that it is typical of cases where the dimension of comparison or PARA 'is
expressed through a measure phrase' (Ansaldo, 1999:106). This requirement is not
obligatory in the Jieyang dialect. Compare the following two sentences where the
Cantonese example (from Ansaldo, ibid: 106) is ill-formed if the measure phrase is
left out but not so in the Jieyang example:

(4) Keoi daai ngo *(saam cyun)

He big lsg *( 3 inches)
‘He is three inches bigger than me’ (Cantonese)

(5) i33 pui55*11 ua53213 (tsap52 keg33)

3sg fat lsg (ten catty)
He is ten catties heavier than me. (Jieyang)

Although common in spoken Jieyang, the Absent-marking form is nonetheless

the most limited in its use: it is mainly used in NP-comparatives when the COM and
the STA are two simple NPs and the PARA an adjective, in particular, a
monosyllabic one, as exemplified in (1) to (3) and (5). It can also be used when the
PARA is an adverb, as illustrated in (6) and (7), both of which have a simple
structure (note the different positions of the different adverbs in the sentence:

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 CHAPTER ELEVEN: CONSTRUCTIONS OF COMPARISON 273

temporal adverbs usually occur before the verb). Adverbs are usually derived from
adjectives in the Jieyang dialect:

(6) ua53 tsa?23 lai55 i3>u

lsg early come 3sg
I came earlier than he

(7) ua53 kia5541 me?M i33"u

lsg walk fast 3sg
I walk faster than he.

11.1.1.1.2 Surpass type

The maker for the Surpass type (glossed as SURP) derives from a lexical word
meaning ‘to cross, to pass, across.’ As mentioned earlier, the Surpass type is a major

type of comparative constructions in Ansaldo's typology (1999) of Sinitic

comparatives of inequality and is found mainly in the South, South of the Yangtze
and west of Fujian. The following examples show that kue233 is used both as a
lexical verb and as a CCS marker:

(S) a. lui53 kue21355 hui5>35 tiau55"u lou11 tio?2 siau5M5sim33

2sg pass that CL road should careful
You should be careful crossing that road

b. i33 ho53 kue21353 ua53*213

3sg good SURP lsg
He is better than me.

The kue233 construction is considered a colloquial and basic form in t

Chaoshan dialect (see Chen Chuanjia 1999: 25; Li Yiyan and Weng Jingquan 19
93). Like the Absent-marking form, k is mainly used in the spoken language and
functionally the same as the former: However, compared with the Absent-markin
the kue213 construction is functionally more versatile in the sense that it can also

used with more complex structures, such as when the NPs have relative clauses:

(9) a. ua53 tsiak5 kai55"11 iam55 tsoi11 kue215® lui5H5 tsiak5 kai55"11 bi
lsg eat LW salt more SURP 2sg eat LW rice
I've eaten more salt than you've eaten rice [in your life] (lit. ‘The amount

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274 ASPECT OF CHAOSHAN GRAMMAR

of salt I've consumed is more than the amount of rice you've eaten’）(A
common saying in Jieyang).

？ b. ua53 tsiak5 kai55*u iam55 tsoi11 lui5H5 tsiak5 kai55"u bi53

lsg eat LW salt more 2sg eat LW rice

The Surpass type can also be used when the comparative clause involves
complement structures. In Sinitic languages in general, apart form pre-verb
verbal adverbs, post-verbal complement structures expressing adverbial mea

quite productive (see Lamarre 2001). (10) and (11) illustrate two common
post-verbal complement structures:

(10) i33 (ts'iaij21^53- ko33) ts'iai)21353 lai55 ho^-t'ia33

3sg (sing-song) sing MAN good-hear
She sings beautifully.

(11) i33 (ta^ uell)铉2放 kau21>53 he?H が3

3sg (say-word) say EXT tired dead
She got terribly tired from talking too much"

In (10)，functions as a complement of manner of action, and

he?25 si53 serves as a complement of extent of action. In the Jieyang
complement of the manner of action is marked by lar5 and that of th
marked by kaum, as shown above. They denote in what manner and to w

an action is carried out respectively. A notable feature of a postverbal co

structure is that if the verb takes an object, the verb has to be copied
complement marker. However, the VO part can be omitted when it is clea
context The following schema is illustrative:

NP, 土 (V-0) + V + lap / kau^ 土 Adj

Thus, when the COM involves a verbal complement structure, the pattern
Surpass type of comparative is as below:

NP, 土 (V-0 ) + V + lafs / kau111 土 Adj. 土 kuem 土 NP2

For example,

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 CHAPTER ELEVEN: CONSTRUCTIONS OF COMPARISON 275

(12) p (ts'iarj^-ko33) tsMai)213^3 lai55 ho^-t'ia33 kue2353 uaM

3sg (sing-song) sing MAN good-hear SURP lsg
She sings more beautifully than I.

(13) ua53 (tsiak^-tsiu53) tsiak5"2 kau213"53 tsui23 kue21553 Pu

3sg (eat-wine) eat MAN good-hear SURP lsg
I got more drunk than he.

Note, however, that when the PARA is a transitive verb’ typically a descriptive
quality verb such as ‘like，or ‘love’，as in 4I like films more than he does，and ‘He
loves to talk more than I’，the Surpass type is not possible. Thus, (14) and (15) ar
both ill-formed:

(14) * ua53 hi53a5hua33 tiaij^ia kue213® i3>u

lsg like film SURP lsg
I like to see films more than he/she does

(15) * ua53 ai2^ ta^-hue11 kue21抱 i识1

lsg love say-word SURP lsg
I love to talk more than he/she does.

Transitive constructions of this kind call for the Similarity type with pi53, which
now turn to.

11.1.1.13 Similarity type

The Similarity type is predominantly 狂 Northern Sinitic form, but due to the influenc

from Mandarin as an official language as well as from the written language, k also
exists alongside the other two local forms in the Jieyang dialect. The Similarity typ

uses pfz (glossed as SIM to stand for 'Similarity'), cognate with the Mandar
comparative marker bi, to mark the CCS. The marker pP occurs after the COM, as
shown in the following schema:

COM + CM (pi53) + STA+ PARA

Like bl in Mandarin, the morpheme pi53 is also derived from a lexical word ‘to
compare'. The following examples from the Jieyang dialect (16) and Mandarin (1

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276 ASPECT OF CHAOSHAN GRAMMAR

demonstrate the use of pr53 and bias a lexical verb as well as a marker for the CCS in
the respectively language:

06) a. lui53 mo5H5 ka?2 i33 pi53

2sg not.can with 3sg compare
You can't compare with him. (lexical verb)

b. lui53 pi53 i33 kul55

2sg SIM 3sg tall
You are taller than him (CCS Marker)

(17) a. ni buneng gen ta bi

2sg cannot with 3sg compare
You can 7 compare with him. (lexical verb)

b. ni bi ta gao
2sg BI with tall
You are taller than him (CCS Marker)

It is noted in Ansaldo (1999) that the bei comparative construction of superior

in Cantonese, a cognate form with the Mandarin bi construction, tends t
reinforced by either the morpheme di (‘little’）or by some adverbial intensiflers

as zunggang ‘even more’ or gangga ‘more’. The reason for this, accordin
Ansaldo, is that the Similarity type is built on lexical items ‘that originally im
neutral comparison, not an operation that clearly indicates inequality…’（p.
Thus, an extra element helps to strengthen the sense of inequality in the construct

The data from the Jieyang dialect seems to support this in that the pP construc

tends to be reinforced, before the PARA, by adverbs such as zw53, huS23, ha35
keif233, all of which roughly mean ‘even’ or4even more’1:

(18) saT^o213^ ka33kiu pi5"5 oia^o^uag55 ha33 li^hai11

3sg thought self SIM devil still formidable
He thought that he was more formidable than the devil.

(19) tsi53 kai55"11 baT^kag33 pP35 hui53 kai肺 zu5535 lau^se?5

this CL carpenter SIM that CL even honest
This carpenter is even more honest than that one

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 CHAPTER ELEVEN: CONSTRUCTIONS OF COMPARISON 277

The pP Similarity type exists in the Jieyang dialect as a formal form of the CCS
for the written language such as newspapers and TV news. However, it also
frequently appears in local comic skits or folk stories, as in (20). This may be due to
the fact that they are based on written scripts or perhaps it is an indication of the
increasing influence of the Mandarin stratum:

(20) A: lui53 kai55"11 tiau^kia35 si35"21

2sg POSS condition COP
So, what are your requirements [for a potential spouse]?

B: ni55"uleg55 pi035 ua5H5 ke33 tsek5*2 tiam213 seg^ts'ai53

age SIM lsg more one bit physic

pi5535 ua诚 kui55 tsek5"2 tiam213 siu^zip5 pP35 ua5H5

SIM lsg tall one bit income SIM lsg

tsoi11 tsek5*2 tiam213 tsu^pag55 pi5535 ua5H5 k'ua?2

more one bit house SIM lsg spacious

tsek5"2 tiam213
one bit
[He must be] a bit older than I; a bit taller than I with a bigger inco
bigger house than mine, [from the comic skit: "Looking for a P
Partner"]

In the previous two sections, it has been shown that both the Absent-marking
and the Surpass type have limitations in their application. The Similarity type,
however, is the most versatile in the sense that not only can it be used in place of the

other two forms, it can also be used when the other two forms are not possible, such

as when the PARA is a transitive predicate (cf examples 14 and 15). This functional
versatility again shows that the borrowed form has played an increasingly important
role in the Jieyang syntax.

(21) “I like films more than he does.’’

* a. ua53 hi5H5hua33 tia^ia i3>u
lsg like film lsg (Absent-marking)

* b. ua53 hi5H5hua33 tiag^ia kue2133 i3>u

lsg like film SURP lsg (Surpass type)

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278 ASPECT OF CHAOSHAN GRAMMAR

c. ua53 pi21^ i3M1 hi5>35hua33 tiarj^ia

lsg SIM lsg like film (Similarity type)

11.1.1.1.4 Comparative clauses with implicit COM and STA

In oral discourse, the COM is often not explicitly stated in the clause
either implied in the context or has been mentioned before in the d
example, in (22), the COM in the comparative clause is absent, but it can

t9au5^n'keS3-nio*' in the first clause. The same can be said about (23) (t
two examples are taken from the comic skit "The New Legend of the F
Note that when the COM is not overtly stated, the preferred comparativ

the Surpass type:

(22) t'au^-ke^-nio55 a3>u lui53 tsui213 a33 bue11 ua53! tsui213

head-house-woman PRR 2sg drunk DIS notyet INT drunk

kue213® tsia?2 si5"5 tui33

SURP CL dead pig
My dear Madam, have you had enough to drink? Oh, goodne
drunker than a dead pig.

(23) lui53 tso^'ni55"11 tsio5H5 pe?2zeg55 na11 ha33 pe?2zeq55

2sg how.come so stupid PRT still stupid SURP

ua33 tsau^kia53
lsggcn daughter
How can you be so stupid? [You are] more stupid than my daughter

Contrary to the cases where the COM is not stated within the comparative clause

in oral discourse, the STA can also be implicit in a comparative clause, resulting in
structure referred to as the ‘short comparative’ (see Ansaldo 1999:40). This again is
only possible if the STA has been mentioned before in the immediate discourse. In
the Jieyang dialect, the ‘short comparative’ is syntactically indicated by markers su
as iau53, /au53 and zu53^ all of which can mean ‘even’ or 'even more
appearing before the PARA. They serve to turn the PARA into an explicitl
comparative expression. While the first two markers wi#213 and laum are used whe
only two entities are being compared, the third one zuM (kerj2^) is used to refer t
the third entity, as illustrated in (24C):

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 CHAPTER ELEVEN: CONSTRUCTIONS OF COMPARISON 279

(24) A: ti11 kia55"11 iau5^/ Iau5^ ho53

which CL even good
Which is better*?

B: tsi53 kia55"11 iau5335 / lau035 ho53

this CL even good
This one is better.

C: hui53 kia55"11 zu53 (kcij21353) ho53

that CL even good
That one is even better.

11.1.1.1.5 Extent of comparison

Comparative constructions can be modified by additional elements which specify the
extent of the comparison, for example, by a measure phrase such as ‘three years
younger' or 'two centimetres shorter', as illustrated in (25) and (26), or by adverbs
such as ‘much’，as in (27). Note that these adverbials must appear at the end of the
sentence no matter which syntactic form is used for the comparative:

(25) p Soi^ ^ huem

3sg small lsg three year.of.age
He is three years younger than I.

(26) P pi5» uaSHs oi5H5 noM ko^hug33

3sg COM lsg short two centimeter
He is two centimeter shorter than I.

(27) j33 sia5H5 lai55 ho5355 kue21^53 ua5365 ho?2tsoiu

3sg write MAN good SURP lsg much
He/She writes much better than I.

11.1.1.1.6 Lexical strategy

In the Jieyang dialect，two verbs which often appear in the CCS are id55 and
sw33. Although they literally mean ‘win’ and ‘lose，respectively, they may take the

place of the quality word, serving the function of the Marker in a comparative clause.
In other words, io55 means 'better than’ and sm33 means ‘worse than', as descriptive

words are inherently comparative. The following examples are illustrative as

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280 ASPECT OF CHAOSHAN GRAMMAR

exemplified below (note that example 29 is a double negative sentence which yields
an affirmative meaning):

(28) ts'i11 tsau^kia5^5 ia55"11 ts'i5H5 ta33pou33kia53

raise daughter win raise son
Having daughters beats having sons, (from a conversation with Auntie Luo
Sydney in 2003)

(29) ka?2 huaq33megu, tsiak5'2 kai55"11 me?2 kai55"11 ha33

various aspect eat NOM what NOM still COP

boi35"21 su33 hia5H5 k'ia^k'i53 kai55"u.

cannot lose that.kind live NOM
(I think) various aspects (of living): food, whatever are bet
living (conditions), (from a conversation with Auntie Du
was making comments on migrating to Australia)

However, ia55 and su23 can also co-occur with the grammat
comparative constructions. In such cases, they mean ‘good’ and

(30) lau^nag55 kiau33 nou^kia53 to33 si35"21 pp

old.people raise child all COP COM play.with

tsiau5H5 ia55 li33

bird win PRT
It is a better life for older people to take care of their gra
raise pet birds, [from the comic skit 'Sundays']

11.1.1.1.7 The negative and the interrogative of the

To negate the comparative construction of superiority, CCS, th

which is used to negate gradable adjectives (see § 9.4.4.1.1). In t

different positions depending on which syntactic form of the

both the Absent-marking and the Surpass type, it occurs befor

the Similarity type, it occurs before the Marker pi53:

(31) ‘She's not taller than I.’

a. i33 boiM kui55 ua53"213
3sg not.can tall lsg (Absent-marking)

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 CHAPTER ELEVEN: CONSTRUCTIONS OF COMPARISON 281

b. i33 boi35"21 kui55 kue咖 ua53213

3sg not.can tail SURP lsg (Surpass type)

i33 boi3521 pP35 ua5H5 kui55

3sg not.can COM lsg tall (Similarity type)

It should be pointed out that the negative of the CCS does not semantically
express the comparative of inferiority, which happens to be structurally a negative
construction. In other words, the comparative of inferiority employs a negator as the
marker (see next section for discussion).

For the interrogative of the CCS, since the PARA is a gradable element, the
pattern used is [oi35"”!)。?5] (cf § 10.3.1.2) with the affirmative modal auxiliary oP5
occurring after the sentence subject while the negative in sentence-final position, as
illustrated below with the Absent marking:

(32) i33 oi3521 kui55 ua53*213 boi3521

3sg can tall lsg not.can
Is he/she taller than I?

11.1.1.2 Comparative construction of inferiority (CCI)

The comparative construction of inferiority (henceforth CCI) indicates that the COM
possesses the quality as measured against the PARA to 汪 lesser degree than the STA.
Structurally, the CCI is a negative construction. In other words, the meaning of
‘COM is less than STA’ is encoded through a negator, which renders the meaning of
‘COM is not as ...as STA，. This feature is common across Sinitic languages. The
negator used for the CCI is bo55, the negative counterpart of the existential /
possessive verb w35. The negator bcr6 occurs before the STA. The basic pattern of the

CCI can be schematised below and can be exemplified in (33) and (34):

COM 4 bo55 PARA

STA ]+ [tsio 分35/hio53"35 (‘so’）

(33) ua53 bo^u i33 hio5H5 kui55

lsg not.have 3sg so tall
I'm not as tall as he (ie. ‘rm less tall than him’）

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282 ASPECT OF CHAOSHAN GRAMMAR

(34) 133 bo^n ua53 tsio掷 tea?2 lai55.

3sg nothave lsg so early come
He didn 't come as early as 1. (ie. ‘He /she came less early than I)

In the CCI, the PARA is often modified by an adverb meaning 4so', evi
from the above two examples. In the Jieyang dialect, both tsio53 and hio53
However, the use of either adverb is not random. This is because the
nominal demonstratives with deictic meanings (cf Chapter 4). tsio53 has
reference of ‘near the speaker' or 'near in distance and time’，and hio5
opposite deictic meanings. Thus, the general rule is that tsicr^ would be
when the STA is considered ‘near’ spatially or temporally, but vice versa w

For example, in (33), as the third person 'he' is deictically ftirther, the dis
hio^ is used while the reverse is true for (34).

Semantically, the CCI denotes the opposite meaning of the CCS. How
noted earlier, it is not syntactically the negative counterpart of the CC
evidenced from the fact that the negator used for the CCS is different
Marker for the CCI. Further demonstration is that the negative of a CCS cl

or may not entail inferiority. For example, (35b) only negates the trut
proposition Tm older than he’. It may imply ‘I'm younger than he’ or ‘both
are of the same age’.

(35) a ua53 bo 织1 i33 tua11

lsg not.have 3sg tall
I'm not as old as he (ie. Tm younger than he’). (CCI)

b. ua53 boi3521 tua11 kue23® i33

lsg not.have big SUPR 3sg
I，m not older than he. (negative of CCS)

The possible syntactic elements which can fill the slots of the COM, the STA
and the PARA of the CCI are the same as those of the CCS. Sentences (34) and (35)
illustrate the cases of the PARA being an adjective and an adverb phrase respectively.
However, when the COM in a CCI sentence involves a post-verbal complement
structure, the negator ^Kcan appear in two positions:

(i) NP, + (V-O) + V + lai55 / kau213 + bo55 + NP2 + (tsio53 / hio53) + Adj

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 CHAPTER ELEVEN: CONSTRUCTIONS OF COMPARISON 283

(ii) NPji + (V-O) + bo55 + NP2 + V + lai55 / kau213 (tsio53 / hio53) + Adj

Although the two patterns differ structurally, they are functionally

interchangeable, as shown below. The choice of one pattern over the other is perhaps
an individual preference:

(36) “I do not write (ie. hand writing) as well as my father"

a- ua53 (sia5365-ziu) sia5>35 lai55 bo55"11 ua33 pa55 ho53,
lsg (write-word) write MAN not.have lsggcn father good

b. ua53 (sia5H5-ziu) bo55"11 ua33 pa55 sia5H5 lai55 ho53,

lsg (write-word) not.have lsggen father write MAN good

(37) "He doesn't study as diligently as you.’’

a. i33 (t'akw-tsui33) t'ak5"2 kau213^3 bo55"11 lui5H5 tsio035 giap5
3sg (study-book) study EXT not.have 2sg sOp^ diligent

b. i33 (t'ak^-tsui33) bo55"11 lui5535 t'ak5"2 kau213"53 tsio035 giap5

3sg (study-book) not.have 2sg study EXT soprox diligent

For comparing a transitive verbal predicate, the pattern is:

(iii) NP, + bo55 + NPt+ tsio53/hio53 + VP

(38) i33 bo抑 ua5365 tsio213^ hi^hua33 tiag^ia53.

3sg not.have lsg soprox like movie
She doesn 7 like movies as much as I do

11.1.13 Comparative constructions of equalling degree (CCEQL)

The term ‘equalling degree' is from Y. R. Chao (1968: 682) for Mandarin, but is
widely used in Chinese linguistics, as analogous constructions exist in various Sinmc

languages. Basically, this construction is used to express the speaker's judgement or

estimation of the COM in comparison with the STA in terms of the PARA. It implies

that the COM is approximately as equal as the STA but not more than the STA.
Although the construction is often translated as ‘COM is as ...as STA’，it should be
distinguished from the comparative construction of equality (CCEQ) where identical

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284 ASPECT OF CHAOSHAN GRAMMAR

or similar quality is also encoded as ‘COM is as ...as STA’. To make the distinction
clear, I use 'at least' in English before the quality word for the CCEQL.

The semantics of the CCEQL can be schematised below with the arrow showing
X (the COM) is 'approaching' Y (the STA) and can be at least equal to Y. The
construction, however, does not imply that X is more than Y:

X Y

The CCEQL uses the existe

placed before the STA, as sh

(39) P u»21 ua5H5 tsio21>S kujSS

3sg have lsg so tall
He 's (at least) as tall as I.

(40) p u»a ^ tsioa«3 lai55

3sg have lsg so early come
He came (at least) as early as I

The Marker w35 in the CCEQL is the affirmative counterpart

bo^of the CCI. The two markers have the exact distributions
construction. Furthermore, like the CCI, the PARA of the CCE
modified by the degree adverb ‘so’. Compare the following two sent

(41) a. u3Ra lu,5>35 tsio2i>s

3sg have 2sg soprox old
She 's at least as old as you. (CCEQL)

b- i33 bo&n lui5H5 tsio21^ tua11

3sg not.have 2sg soprox old
She 's not as old as you. (CCI)

It can thus be said that the CCI and the CCEQL are syntactic counte
such, like the CCI, the marker of CCEQL u35 can also have two posi

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 CHAPTER ELEVEN: CONSTRUCTIONS OF COMPARISON 285

sentence and the syntactic patterns of the CCI can all be applied to the CCEQL and
will therefore not be repeated here.

As the CCI and the CCEQL are syntactically the opposite, the interrogative form
for both would be the pattern [u35... bo55] (see § 10.3.1.2), as illustrated below. As
can be expected, the affirmative answer is a CCEQL while the negative is 狂 CCI.
However, as can be seen from (42B), one can also use the comparative construction

of superiority to indicate that the COM is more than the STA:

(42) A: i33 u3521 ua5H5 tsio213^3 tuau bo5"1

3sg have lsg soprox old not.have
Is she as old as 1 am?

B: u35, i33 U3521 lui掷 tsio2^3 tua11

have 2ag SOprox

old

k'o^neg55" ha53 tua11 kue咖 lui5H13

maybe still old SUPR 2sg

Yes, she is. She may even be older than you.

C: bo55 i33 bo5"1 lui5365 tsio21^ tua11

not.have 3sg nothave 2ag soprox old
No. She is not as old as you (ie. 'She is less old than you.’).

Semantically, however, the CCEQL should be distinguished from the

comparison of equality (see next section) which denotes that that the two items being
compared are the same or identical even though in most cases, exact equality may not
always be implied unless exact measurements or quantities are being compared.

11.1.1.4 Comparative constructions of equality (CCEQ)

11.1.1.4.1 The positive form
The comparative constructions of equality (henceforth CCEQ) denotes that the two
entities being compared have the quality in the same degree or are identical (hence it
is also called Identical degree in Cheung et al. 1994: 326). However, as remarked
above, unless precise measurements such as weight and height are involved, most
sentences cannot be taken to denote exact equality. For example, it makes no sense to

ask whether ‘singing' is exactly as interesting as "dancing'.

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286 ASPECT OF CHAOSHAN GRAMMAR

Syntactically, the structures of the CCEQ in Sinitic languages are quit

homogenous, although the markers used may or may not be cognates, as noted
Yue-Hashimoto (1993: 157). In the Jieyang dialect, the comitative conjunction kaf
(‘with’）and the di-syllabic word ‘same’ are makers of the CCEQ. ka?2 is
placed before the STA, while iff1 occurs before the PARA. The basic pattern
the CCEQ is schematised below and is exemplified in (43) to (46). The COM and
STA can be noun phrases, as in (43), or verb + complement constructions, as in (4
Note that in (46), the shared elements between the COM and the STA can be omit
in the STA. The PARA can be adjectives, as in (46), adverb + verb constructions
in (44) or verb + object constructions as in (45). Note that the PARA can be omitt
when there is no need to specify the feature or quality the COM and the STA shar
as in (43).

COM + ka?2 + STA + + (PARA)

(43) tsi5H5 pur)5W5 tsui33 ka?2 hui53 pe&ni6u

pug5}
this CL book with that CL
This book is the same as that one.

(44) i33 tsau33me55 ka?2 ua5555

-,35 pS554^11
3sg last.night with lsg same late sleep
She went to bed as late as me last night.

(45) i33 ka?2 ua5H5 pe^^o11 hi^hua33 hui55

3sg with lsg same like fish
She /he likes fish as much I do

(46) i33 sia5H5-zi11 sia5H5 lai55 ka?2 ua5H5 pe^io11

3sg write-word write MAN same lsg same ugly
She/he writes (ie. hand writing) as poorly as I.

In a CCEQ clause, the sentential subject can be just a plural noun phrase,
indicating both the COM and the STA, as shown in (47). Note that the second
morpheme iff1 can be left out when the PARA is present, but the full form /7^u idn
must be present if there is no overt dimension of comparison:

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 CHAPTER ELEVEN: CONSTRUCTIONS OF COMPARISON 287

(47) tsP35 no35"21 pug5335 tsui33 pe55'11 (iou) kui213.

this two CL book same expensive
These two books are equally expensive

11.1.1.4.2 The negative and the interrogative forms

The negative of the CCEQ involves two negators. If the PARA is not sp
negator used is m35. This is because m35 is used for negating ungradable
§ 9.4.2.2) of which (‘same’）is an example. (48) is illustrative:

(48) tio^^iu33 ts'ai213 ka?2 kuiq5B5tsiu33 ts'ai213 m3521 pe^

Chaozhou food with Guangzhou food not same
Chaozhou cuisine is not the same as Guangzhou cuisine.

If the PARA is specified, the negator used is the epistemic modal bot35
(‘not.can’)，which is used to negate gradable adjectives (cf § 9.4.2.3.1). bof5 can
occur in two positions in the sentence: one before as in (49a), the other
before the comitative conjunction ka?2, as in (49b). The two patterns are functionally
the same:

(49) "This child and that child are not of the same age."

this CL child with that CL not.can

pg&Ujgii tuaii
same big

b. tsl53"35 kai55"11 nou^kia53 boi3521 ka?2 htu53 kai55*11

this CL child not.can with that CL

pe^io11 tua11
same big

The interrogative of the CCEQ uses the pair [oi^.^boi35] (cf § 10.3.1.2
question markers. There are three patterns, illustrated respectively in the
sentences of (50):
(i) [COM 十 oi3521 boi35 十 ka?2 十 STA 十 p 产n/が1 十（PARA】]
(ii) [COM + ka?2 + STA + oi3521 + (PARA) boi35]
(iii) [COM + oi3521 + ka?2 + STA + p^nion+ (PARA) boi35]

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 288 ASPECT OF CHAOSHAN GRAMMAR

(50) "Is this child of the same age as that one?”

a. tsl掷 kai55*11 nou^kia53 oi節boi卸 ka?2 hui53
this CL child not.can with that

kai5H1 pgss-iii^ii tua11

CL same big

b. tsl掷 kai55"11 nou55-ukia53 ka?2 hiu53 kai55"u oi3521

this CL child with that CL can

pg55-iijgii も助11 boi3521

same big not. can

c. tsl掷 kai55"11 nou55-ukia53 hui53 kai5M1

this CL child can with that CL

pg55-Uj^n 她11 boi3521

same big not. can

11.1.2 Summary of section

The following tables summarize the constructions of prototypical comparatives.
that the schemata represent only the basic forms. In other words, some variant for
which have been covered in respective sections are not included here.

Table
Table (11.1) Comparative
(11.1) constructionconstruction
Comparative of superiority- CCS
of“more than’’
superiority- CcS “more than’’
Positive
Positive (a)Absent-marking:
(a) Absent-marking: [COM
[COM + PARA + ST+A]PARA + ST A]
(b)Surpass
(b) Surpass
type: type: [COM
[COM + PARA + PARA
+ kue213 + kue213 + STA]
+ STA]
(c)Similarity
(c) Similarity type:
type: [COM [COM
+ pi53 + STA++ pi53
PARA] + STA + PARA]
Negative (a) COM + boi35 + PARA + STA
STA
boi35 ++ PARA
(b) COM + boi35 PARA ++ kue213
kue33 ++ STA
STA
(c) COM + boi35 + pi53 + STA
STA ++ PARA
PARA
Interrogative oi35 ++ PARA
(a) COM + oi35 PARA ++ STA
STA ++ boi3521?
boi353?
STA+ boi3521?
(b) COM + oi35 + PARA + kue23 + STA+ boi353?
COM ++ oi35
(c) COM oi35 ++ pi53
pi53 ++ STA
STA ++PARA
PARA++boi
boi333?
务a?

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 CHAPTER ELEVEN: CONSTRUCTIONS OF COMPARISON 289

Table (11.2)
Table (11.2)Comparative
Comparative construction
construction of inferiority
of inferiority - CCI
- CCI “less “less tha
than’，
Negative COM + bo55 + STA +十(so)
(so) ++ PARA
PARA

Interrogative COM ++ u35

u35 ++ STA
STA ++ (so)
(so) ++ PARA
PARA++bo5"1?
bo**?

Table (113) Comparative construction

Comparative of equaling
construction - CCEQL
of equaling “(at “(at
- CCEQL least)
least)
as...as.••”
.as..“

Positive
Positive COM
COM++u35
u35+ STA
+ STA
+ (so)
十(so)
+ PARA
+ PARA

Interrogative COM
Interrogative COM++u35
u35+ STA
+ STA
+ (so)
+ (so)
+ PARA
+ PARA
+ bo*31?
+ bo5"1?

Table
Table (11.4)
(11.4)Comparative
Comparativeconstruction of equality-
construction CCEQ CCEQ
of equality- “the same as’’same as”，
“the
‘‘as
‘as."as"/*
…as …”

Positive COM ++ ka?23

COM ka?» + STA
STA 十
+ pe&uion
pe&uiott + (PARA)
(PARA)

Negative (a) COM ++ ka?23

⑷ ka?H + STA + m
m35"21 + pe^io"
城 + pe&nion
COM ++ ka?23
(b) COM ka?H ++ STA
STA + boi3521
boi35"21++pe^uion
pc^io11 ++ PARA
PARA

Interrogative (a) COM

(a) COM ++ka?M
ka?» ++ STA
STA++oi3521
oi3521+ +pe&uiott
pe&uioB+ +(PARA)
(PARA) + boi*3?
+ boi2521?
or
or

(b) COM
COM ++ oi35"21
oi3^21 + ka?H
ka?26+ +STA
STA+ pe^o" + (PARA)
+ pe&niott + boi353?
+ (PARA) + boi3521?

11.2 Other schemes of comparison

The prototypical comparative constructions involve two participants being compared
in terms of one property. There are other schemes of comparison such as those which
involve two properties with one participant as in 4He is more hard-working than
clever', in which the compared properties are expressed by adjectives. In the Jieyang

dialect, comparison involving two properties and one participant cannot be rendered

in the prototypical comparative structures which are described in § 11.1. This is

because, as in other Sinitic languages, the COM in the prototypical comparative
constructions must involve sentence subjects or topics (see Li and Thompson 1981;
Yue Hashimoto 1993). For example, Li and Thompson (1981:569) note the constraint

of comparing direct objects using the standard comparative structure [X +

comparison word + Y + (adverb) + dimension] where X stands for the COM and Y
the STA:

(51) * a gou bi mao wo xihuan

dog COMP cat I like
I like dogs more than (I do) cats.

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290 ASPECT OF CHAOSHAN GRAMMAR

According to Li and Thompson, to make sentences such as (51a) expressible in

Mandarin, one must state the sentence syntactically ‘in terms of the subject or topic'

(1981: 569). Thus, ‘I like dogs better than cats' can be changed to comparing 4my
liking of the dogs' and ‘my liking of the cats' along the dimension of dud 'much’ (p.
570) (note that CSC stands for complex stative construction in Li and Thompson
1981:206):

(51) b. wo xihuan gou bi wo xihuan mao de duo

1 like dog COMP I like cat CSC much

In the Jieyang dialect, it appears that when comparing two properties i

to one participant, whether the properties are direct objects, coverb

different predicates, the sentences must also be stated syntactically in such

the COM and the STA involve two grammatical subjects or topics. For
sentence such as ‘I eat more fish than meat’ should be changed to com
fish’ and ‘(I) eat meat’ in terms of4more', which is the PARA. Note that f
of comparative sentences, the syntactic form is usually the Surpass typ
some also allow the Similarity type. The following are some exam
prototypical comparatives:

Comqarin^ direct objects:

(52) ua53 p'a?2"3 na^kiu55 ho5^35 kue21553 (ua53) p'a?2"3 pe

lsg play basketball good 5URP (lsg) play table-tennis
I play basketball better than table tennis.

Comparing coverb phrases

(53) to35"21 lai35 ts'ia^-k'e?2 pi33 kite，to35"21 tsiu5H5lau55

at home invite-guest cheap SURP at restaurant

(ts'ia^-k'e?2)
(inivite-guest)
It ’s cheaper to shout the guests at home than in the restaurant.

Comparing different verbs

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 CHAPTER ELEVEN: CONSTRUCTIONS OF COMPARISON 291

(54) ta^-ue11 tsoiu kue2^ (i35)

3sg say-word more SURP (3sg) do-thing
He talks more than he takes action.

Comparing two adjectives

With this type of comparison, there is no single construction which can fit all
cases. For example, when comparing one participant in terms of two properties such
as 'He is more hard-working than he is intelligent', it is usually rendered in a bi
clausal construction, as in (55), which translates literally as 'He is not so intelligent

but he is hard working.'

(55) i33 boP21 ts'ori^mei)55 tarj^si35"21 oi3"1 lak25lo?

3sg not.can clever but can hard-working
He is more hard-working than intelligent.

However, with sentences such as 4The box is wider than it is deep', the COM
and the STA are usually stated syntactically in terms of two NPs: 'the box's width'
and 'the box's depth', as in (56). Note that the PARA is the word ‘big’ rather than
‘more’. This is because the word ‘more’ can only be used when the objects can be
quantified:

(56) kai55*11 sio33 kai55"11 k'ua?23touu tuau kue21553 i33 kai55"11 ts'im33touu
CL box LW width big SURP 3sg CL depth
The box is wider than it is deep.

Comparing whole clauses

(57) ua53 kia55"ulouu me®35 kue23® i33 pau5H5pouu

lsg walk fast SURP 3sg run
I walk faster than she runs

In English, one can also construct very complex comparative sentences w

two sets of participants plus two sets of properties, such as 'The box is longe
the car is wide’ and 'Noise annoys Mary more than insincerity angers Joh
Dixon 2004: 29). However, such sentences cannot be easily translated
comparative sentences in the Jieyang dialect. Instead, the common way is by
other syntactic strategies such as bi-clausal constructions, as in (57).

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292 ASPECT OF CHAOSHAN GRAMMAR

11.3 The superlative degree

As in Sinitic languages generally, the superlative degree in the Jieyang dialect
analytically encoded. While most dialects usually have only one marker for th
superlative degree, such as zui (‘most’）in Mandarin, the Jieyang dialect emplo
several morphemes which all serve the same function. The formal one is tsue
which is the reading pronunciation of the cognate zui in Mandarin. Other form
which are colloquial expressions, include siarj35 (‘above，)，fau55 (literally: 'hea
and ek2 (‘first’). It is worth pointing out that the morpheme siarf35 originally com
from Ancient Chinese and is still used in the Jieyang dialect as a vernacular form.

All of the markers of the superlative, formal or informal, are placed before th

PARA. The following are some examples of the superlative degree in Jieyang:

(58) tsi5H5 ke33 haT^hau35 tsio?2liag tsue213®/ siai)3521/ t'au21553 ho53

this CL school quality most good
This school has the best quality (in education).

The colloquial expressions siarf35 and /'an55 are often suffix

literally means ‘top’，to form two compound markers. Such

purpose. For example:

(59) tsiが5 kai55"11

nou^kia53 t'au^-teg5^ mo53 ua53
this CL school most bad lsg

siarj^-teg5535 lou53 i3>u

most dislike 3sg
This child is the naughtiest and 1 dislike him the most.

The superlative can be used to modify a stative verb, similar to Eng

(60) ua53 siaij3521 hi5H5hua33 t'ol^35 tia り35"21ii53.

this most like see film
1 like watching films the most

Summary of chapter
This chapter has described the prototypical scheme
participants and one property as well as other more
involving one participant in terms of two properties.
constructions. Four degrees of comparison in r

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 CHAPTER ELEVEN: CONSTRUCTIONS OF COMPARISON 293

comparatives are identified in the Jieyang dialect. They are the comparative
constructions of superiority (CCS), inferiority (CCI), equalling (CCEQL) and
equality (CCEQ). Semantically, the CCS is the contrary to the CCI, but syntactically,
the CCI is the negative counterpart of the CCEQL. The CCEQL is a unique category
in the Jieyang dialect (and Sinitio languages as a whole) in that it expresses
approximation, which can be translated as ‘X is at least as...as Y’. The CCEQL is
thus semantically distinct from the CCEQ which expresses equality and identical
properties. In other words, the CCEQ is about whether or not the two participants are
the same or identical or what identical feature or quality the two compared entities
share.

In terms of syntactic means to express the comparative constructions of

superiority, it has been shown that the Jieyang dialect not only has close affinity with

other Southern dialects in having the Surpass type, but also has preserved the very

ancient form of the comparative: the Absent-marking construction. The CCS in the

Jieyang dialect is also expressed through the Similarity construction, which is a

cognate form with Mandarin.
The co-existence of the three forms is a clear indication of syntactic
stratification, with the local forms being used for syntactically simpler) structures
while the borrowed form, the pi53 construction being the most versatile in terms of

function. This might reflect a trend similar to those observed in other dialects where
the Northern pattern is playing an increasingly prominent role (see Yue Hashimoto
1993:160; Li and Lien 1994:85).
Comparison of one participant and two properties cannot be expressed using the
prototypical comparative structures. In many cases, the sentences have to be stated in
terms of comparing subjects or topics or through bi-clausal constructions.

The comparative constructions have been shown to interact with negation

(which is also observed in the interrogative constructions. See Chapter 10). This is
reflected in the different negators used depending on whether ungradable or gradable

adjectives as PARA are involved.

The superlative degree is the most akin to other Sinitic languages in terms of its

syntactic structures. Although it uses a cognate form with Mandarin as the marker,
there exist several colloquial words which also serve as markers for the superlative.

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294 ASPECT OF CHAOSHAN GRAMMAR

1 Data elicited from my informants show that even though the example sentences in
Mandarin (taken from Yue-Hashimoto 1993) used for eliciting the Jieyang dialect
equivalents may not have the adverbial intensifiers, the informants tend to produce
the dialect sentences with the adverbs.

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