Syntactic Change in Chinese: On Grammaticalization

語法化（grammaticalization）的過程不能提供語法變化的原因，也不能解釋為甚麼會有重新分析（reanalysis）的產生。不過，它可以告訴我們這些變化的規律性（mechanisms）。本論文討論四種典型的語法化例子，動詞通過語法化後變為介詞或助詞。這四個例子涉及1. 處置式，2. 比較句，3. 雙賓語結構，4. 完成貌句式。本文示出，在所有四個例子裏，動詞演化為介詞或助詞的語法化都經由“V1＋NP1＋V2（＋NP2）”這種連動式（serial verb construction）而產生。這個假設在十五年前就被提出來而受到各種批評。批評這個假設的人認為最後變為介詞的動詞並非在連動式之中，這個說法不一定正確。本論文所討論的語法化過程為內在變化（internal change）的規律性，這些規律性催生了常用的結構。而且語法化過程也可以澄清新的語法符號（marker）的出現，而毋需依賴外語影響（external borrowing）、或單獨的詞滙代替（lexical replacement）等這類解釋，這些解釋對新的詞滙的出現可能有效，但是不大可能用於漢語的語法系統的演變。

The process of grammaticalization cannot furnish the causes of syntactic change; it does not explain why a reanalysis intervenes. However, it may tell us what are the mechanisms of the changes. This article presents four standard cases of grammaticalization of verbs into prepositions or particles; they concern (i) the disposal construction, (ii) the comparative construction, (iii) the dative construction and (iv) the construction with a perfective aspectual particle. It is shown that in all these cases, grammaticalization of verbs into prepositions/particles intervenes in serial verb constructions of the type "VI+NP1+V2 (+NP2)", as it was assumed some fifteen years ago. Those who criticized this point of view, arguing that the verbs which were supposed to become prepositions were not employed in serial verb constusction, may not be right. The processes of grammaticalization studied in this paper are mechanisms of internal change which have created very frequently employed constructions. They can thus account for the appearance of new grammatical markers without necessitating the awkward explanation relying on the external borrowing from foreign languages, or that on the process of single lexical replacement, which may both have contributed to the appearance of new lexical items but probably have not much influenced grammatical system of the Chinese language.