Synchronic variation, grammaticalization and language contact

: the development of the FINISH morphemes in the Yue-Chinese and the Zhuang languages in the Guangxi Region

Abstract

Language change is simply a fact of life; it cannot be prevented or avoided (Campbell 2013: 3). When asked to identify the causes of language change, historical linguists usually give us internal explanations (Lass 1997: 209), while contact linguists specifically focus on external factors such as borrowing, interference, metatypy and others (Weinreich 1963, Ross 1999, Thomason 2001). Among these external factors, the contact-induced grammaticalization theory pioneered by Heine & Kuteva (2003, 2005) is particularly well-suited to explain the grammatical changes undergone by the languages in South China (F. Wu 2009a, Kwok 2010, D. Qin 2012, Y. Huang & Kwok 2013, Kwok et al. forthcoming, etc.). The present thesis investigates how a particular internal factor (grammaticalization) and external factor (language contact) interact to produce the polyfunctionality of the peculiar 'FINISH' morpheme 晒/ɬai33/ in the Yue dialect spoken in Nanning (henceforth: NNY), in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. My investigation reveals that while 晒/ɬai33/ (< *sai) is clearly a Yue word, certain of its grammatical functions have been borrowed from Zhuang through language contact. These borrowed functions are not found in other members of Yue outside Guangxi. This case study provides not only first-hand data on the language contact situation in the Nanning region, but also a theoretical explanation for the linguistic situation found. Additionally, this study will deepen our understanding of the corresponding postverbal morpheme 晒/sai33/ in Cantonese, the grammatical functions of which have been debated for decades (cf. Mo 1993, T. Lee 1994, Tang 1996, Cheung [1972] 2007, P. Lee 2012a; among others). The thesis contains six chapters: Chapter 1 provides a preliminarily review of the literature on language contact phenomena in China, introduces the methodology used in across this study, and addresses the importance of the present topic. Chapter 2 provides an introduction to the linguistic background of the Guangxi Region. First, I describe the social and economic factors that give rise to the diversity of languages in Guangxi. After that, I present concise linguistic profiles for each language and make a comparative survey of their linguistic properties. Chapter 3 offers a detailed grammatical description of my target morpheme. First, I describe the polyfunctionality of 晒/ɬai33/ in NNY from a synchronic perspective. Second, I compare the grammatical properties of NNY 晒/ɬai33/ with its counterparts in Cantonese and other Yue dialects, arguing that 晒/ɬai33/ in NNY possesses various grammatical functions which are not found in other members of the Yue family. Chapter 4 extends my observation to the Zhuang languages in Guangxi, and illustrates that, in most of these languages, the native 'FINISH' morphemes possesses a rich array of functions that are comparable to those of 晒/ɬai33/ in NNY. After analyzing the grammatical properties of five Zhuang dialects, I tentatively propose a polygrammaticalization model of the 'FINISH' morphemes in Zhuang. The validity of this model will be examined by using data from some other languages. Chapter 5 deals with the functional changes in NNY 晒/ɬai33/ induced by contact with Zhuang. Rather than directly borrowing of certain linguistic elements, the "Zhuang shifters" replicated the use patterns of the 'FINISH' morphemes, attributing the familiar grammaticalization processes in Zhuang to the development of the NNY 'FINISH' morpheme, 晒/ɬai33/. By imposing the Zhuang process on the Yue morpheme, speakers of the NNY dialect ultimately produced a polyfunctional variant of 晒/ɬai33/ which is atypical in the Yue group. Based on the contact-induced grammaticalization model, this chapter paints a clear picture of the contact process between NNY and Zhuang, taking into full consideration certain areal features of the Guangxi Region. After evaluating the weight and value of several areal features, a putative linguistic area - the Central Southern Guangxi Area - is established. Chapter 6 summarizes the findings of this study, and discusses certain cautions and drawbacks inherent to the application of migration theory in the study of language contact. Finally, I emphasized the need for further observation and a broader-ranging investigation into this topic in the future.

Date of Award	3 Oct 2014
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	City University of Hong Kong
Supervisor	Bit Chee KWOK (Supervisor) & Matthias GERNER (Co-supervisor)