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Abstract

Abstract

This paper focuses on the origin of a polyfunctional morpheme in Tunxi Hui Chinese, a little-studied Hui Sinitic language with about 140,000 speakers in Tunxi, Anhui Province of China. This versatile morpheme represents a radical syncretism of nine disparate functions, including that between the lexical verb and the allative, locative, and temporal marking, which is seldom reported in the literature. By first-hand synchronic data and the historical comparative method, we propose that originated as a -type verb * ‘pass’ in Middle Chinese, which has extended to a general ditransitive verb in modern Tunxi Hui. During this process, it has developed into two separate grammaticalization clines, one from ‘pass’ to the allative, locative, and temporal markers, and the other from to recipient, beneficiary, purpose, permissive, and passive markers. The polysemy of sheds light on the complex processes of semantic shift from to , and language-internal and contact-induced polygrammaticalization.

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2025-05-02
2025-05-14
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  • Article Type: Research Article
Keywords: grammaticalization ; give ; semantic extension ; polyfunctionality ; Tunxi Hui ; Sinitic languages
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