早期閩南語文獻的焦點標記“是”：兼論“是乜”之詞彙化為“甚麼”疑問詞

The Focus Marker Si7 是 and Lexicalization of Si7 Mih8 是乜 into What Wh-words in Earlier Southern Min Texts

本文探討早期閩南語文獻中焦點標記“是＂，兼論構式“是乜＂之詞彙化為“甚麼＂疑問詞。“是＂兼具繫詞和焦點標記兩種角色。“是＂除了充當一系列詞類的焦點標記外還可以標明主語或賓語為句子的焦點，承載新信息。基於信息結構的要求“是＂標明焦點，而主題是前移的成分，反映舊信息。“是＂不是焦點標記就是已經失去獨立性，併入詞彙化的“甚麼＂疑問詞中，失去原有的語意。本文根據早期閩南語文獻的證據提出“是乜＂三階段的演變說並與近古漢語的“是物＂的演變進行比較，閩南語的演變顯然較具存古性。

The paper explores the focus marker si7 是 and lexicalization of the syntagm si7 mih8 是乜 into what wh-words in earlier Southern Min texts. Si7 是 shows a dual role functioning both as copula and focus marker. It can be a focus marker of a wide range of syntactic categories and, among others, a focus marker of subjects and objects expressing new information. As attested in texts, this is due to information structure constraints; focus is marked by si7 as opposed to topic as a dislocated sentence-initial element carrying old information. It is found that context or sentence processing provides a clue as to whether si7 是 is a focus marker or loses its independent status and becomes a desemanticized part of the lexicalized what wh-word si7 mih8 是乜. Textual evidence lends support to a thesis featuring a three-stage development of si7 mih8 是乜 in Southern Min that bears on the development of shi4-wu4 是物 in earlier Modern Chinese. Southern Min shows a measure of conservatism in the lexicalization of 是物.