Reconstructing the development of the aspect marker te 'to acquire' in Southwestern Yuè: A missing link between Yuè and Hakka

This paper provides a synchronic description and reconstructs the developmental pathway of the aspect marker te in four Southwestern Yuè dialects of Chinese, located in far western GuǍngdōng. Synchronically, te functions as a perfective aspect marker and a perfect aspect marker (similar to Mandarin Chinese le but different from Cantonese zo). Diachronically, te is believed to have been transferred from the neighboring Hakka dialects through substratum influence. We argue that te is grammaticalized from the verb dé 'to acquire,' of the Hakka dialects. This study reveals that the aspectual use of te is an essential part of a missing link between Yuè and Hakka.