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A Study on Various Forms of the ‘了’ in the Min(閩) Dialect
The Journal of Chinese Cultural Studies
2019,
(43), pp.55-74
DOI : 10.18212/cccs.2019..43.003
Publisher : The Society For Chinese Cultural Studies
Research Area : Chinese Culture
DOI : 10.18212/cccs.2019..43.003
Publisher : The Society For Chinese Cultural Studies
Research Area : Chinese Culture
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This study discusses various forms corresponding to ‘le(了)’ in the Min(閩) dialect through the method of literature investigation. In the Mindong(閩東), Minnan(閩南), Puxian(莆仙), Minbei(閩北) and Minzhong(閩中) dialects that belong to the broader Min(閩) dialect, the meaning of ‘le(了)’ is expressed by various forms. They all share a commonality, the Perfect Aspect or the Sentence-Final Particle. However, differences appear in terms of the position and function within a sentence. In addition, they are similar to ‘le(了)’ in modern Chinese as well as other distinct differences. For instance, the object of the transitive verb is placed in front of the verb in the Mindong(閩東) and Puxian(莆仙) dialects and it must accompany the modal particle after the ‘掉’ and ‘了’ in the Minbei(閩北) dialect. These are distinct characteristics from ‘le(了)’ in modern Chinese. It is hoped that the results of this discussion on several markers corresponding to ‘le(了)’ of modern Chinese will help provide greater understanding of the typical development path of the Aspect Marker in terms of grammaticalization.
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