Weirong Chen
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- March 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780198723790
- eISBN:
- 9780191791130
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198723790.003.0010
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Language Families, Syntax and Morphology
This chapter examines comparative constructions of inequality in the Southern Min dialect of Hui’an, a variety of Southern Min spoken in Hui’an County in Fujian province of China. Six structurally ...
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This chapter examines comparative constructions of inequality in the Southern Min dialect of Hui’an, a variety of Southern Min spoken in Hui’an County in Fujian province of China. Six structurally different types of comparative are identified, most of which have a limited distribution in Sinitic languages. These comparatives are next examined in terms of syntactic configuration and semantic properties, mainly based on data from naturally occurring conversations. The investigation shows that the double-marking comparative involving the dependent marker bĭ比and the head marker khaɁ7恰is the most common in the Hui’an dialect, whereas the bĭ comparative, the dominant type in Sinitic languages, is the least frequent. The chapter hypothesizes that the marker khaɁ7 may involve syntactic reanalysis from a degree adverb ‘a bit, fairly’ to a formal marker of the comparative. The sources of other comparative markers used in Hui’an are similarly examined.Less
This chapter examines comparative constructions of inequality in the Southern Min dialect of Hui’an, a variety of Southern Min spoken in Hui’an County in Fujian province of China. Six structurally different types of comparative are identified, most of which have a limited distribution in Sinitic languages. These comparatives are next examined in terms of syntactic configuration and semantic properties, mainly based on data from naturally occurring conversations. The investigation shows that the double-marking comparative involving the dependent marker bĭ比and the head marker khaɁ7恰is the most common in the Hui’an dialect, whereas the bĭ comparative, the dominant type in Sinitic languages, is the least frequent. The chapter hypothesizes that the marker khaɁ7 may involve syntactic reanalysis from a degree adverb ‘a bit, fairly’ to a formal marker of the comparative. The sources of other comparative markers used in Hui’an are similarly examined.
