近代漢語能性動補結構中賓語的位置

Object Position in Verb-Complement Potential Constructions in Early Mandarin

現代漢語能性動補結構的賓語都位在補語之後（即「V 不CO」及「V 得CO」，以下稱作乙式），但在唐宋之時賓語主要是位在補語之前（即「VO 不C」及「V 得OC」，以下稱作甲式）。乙式在唐宋已經產生，並且不斷的成長。到了元代，乙式已成為北方方言能性動補結構的主流。在甲式替換為乙式的過程中，有一個普遍的演變趨勢。那就是賓語往後移的速度以複音名詞及子句最快，代詞最慢，而單音名詞只比代詞稍快一些。我們認為這種發展上的不對稱和賓語語音的輕重以及訊息的新舊有關。複音名賓和句賓的後移所以最早，不但是因為它的語音的承載較重，也是因為它是句子中表示新訊息的部分；代賓最慢是因為既為弱讀，而且通常也是代表舊訊息。

In Modern Chinese, the object is typically placed after the complement in the verb-complement potential construction (referred to as the “type B” construction). But during the Tang and Song dynasties, the object was often preposed (in the “type A” construction). First appearing in Tang and Song times, type B gradually grew in frequency, becoming the main form of verb-complement potential construction among the northern dialects during the Yuan dynasty. There are noticeable tendencies in the course of type B’s replacement of type A: (1) pronouns were slowest to participate in object postposing; (2) monosyllabic object nouns were postposed at a slightly faster rate than the former; and (3) polysyllabic object nouns and clausal objects were postposed fastest of all. This chronological discrepancy manifesting variable rates of replacement is related to an object’s phonetic weight and the nature of its information content. Polysyllabic object nouns and clausal objects took the lead in this development not only because they had greater phonetic weight but also because they imparted new information, factors not applicable to monosyllabic object nouns.