英文摘要 |
Demonstratives in Southern Min fall into two types: (1) proximal demonstratives with the initial ts- and (2) distal demonstratives with the initial h-. This paper aims at exploring the grammaticalization of demonstratives, in particular 只, 拙, 障, 許 and 向, in sixteenth century Southern Min. Grammaticalization denotes a process of changing lexemes into grammatical function words. Demonstratives in recent studies show an inevitable gradual increase of affect or subjectivity, viz., an ever increasing prominence of subjectivity on the part of speakers in grammaticalization. Based on authentic data the paper explores constructions, subjectivity and grammaticalization in terms of the hierarchy of space > time > scale > textual & expressive function epitomizing a tendency to abstractness from concreteness. In sum, it tries to capture semantic aspects of the grammaticalization of demonstratives in Li jing ji 荔鏡記 in the hope that the findings will add further dimensions to the research into demonstratives in Southern Min. |