TITLE:
Constructional Changes of Chinese Lai/Qu in Serial Verb Constructions
AUTHORS:
Xu Yang
KEYWORDS:
Directional Verbs, Lai/Qu, Constructionalization, Constructional Changes
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Modern Linguistics,
Vol.5 No.3,
June
24,
2015
ABSTRACT: Directional verbs
are widely used in modern Chinese. Their constructional changes can be traced
back to the Directional Serial Verb Construction in old Chinese. In this paper,
we investigate the constructional changes of Chinese lai and qu from the pre-Qin
period to the Medieval period from the perspective of constructionalization. This
research demonstrates the following findings: Chinese Lai changes into directional verbs. The meaning of directional
result constructionalizes the meaning of arrival state, but also persists the
meaning of directional time and the causative meaning. Lai undergoes the changes from time deixis to state of affairs in the
Medieval period. Chinese qu changes
into an intransitive verb and denotes the meaning of getting to somewhere.
After a series of constructional changes, Chinese qu produces a new type node and denotes a new meaning. This research
proposes that the constructionalization of Chinese lai and qu in SVCs is
driven by the principle of economy, and the mechanisms of metaphor and metonymy.