@article{ART003237731},
author={Chen, HuanChang and Choi Shinhye},
title={A Study of the Prototype Category of the Plural Marker“们(men)”in Modern Chinese: Perspectives of Animacy and Subjectification},
journal={The Journal of Study on Language and Culture of Korea and China},
issn={1738-0502},
year={2025},
number={77},
pages={123-151},
doi={10.16874/jslckc.2025..77.005}
TY - JOUR
AU - Chen, HuanChang
AU - Choi Shinhye
TI - A Study of the Prototype Category of the Plural Marker“们(men)”in Modern Chinese: Perspectives of Animacy and Subjectification
JO - The Journal of Study on Language and Culture of Korea and China
PY - 2025
VL - null
IS - 77
PB - Korean Society of Study on Chinese Languge and Culture
SP - 123
EP - 151
SN - 1738-0502
AB - This study, grounded in Prototype Theory, offers a systematic analysis of the plural marker men(们) in Modern Chinese and proposes a three-tiered semantic categorization model: core, semi-peripheral, and peripheral. The analysis reveals that the distribution and usage of men are jointly influenced by animacy hierarchy and subjectification processes. Specifically, the semantic trajectory of men evolves from high animacy with low subjectivity to low animacy with high subjectivity.
In the core category, men is predominantly attached to human nouns (e.g., 学生们 “students”, 朋友们 “friends”), reflecting its prototypical usage with maximal animacy and grammatical stability. The semi-peripheral category includes non-human animate nouns such as 狗们 (“dogs”) and 猫们 (“cats”), which retain moderate animacy and show increasing levels of subjectification. In the peripheral category, men attaches to plant nouns, inanimate objects, and abstract concepts (e.g., 花们 “flowers”, 书们 “books”, 瓜们 “melons”), with usage driven primarily by rhetorical effect and subjective interpretation.
By mapping the semantic expansion of men along animacy and subjectivity axes, this study highlights the dynamic interaction between grammar and cognition. The findings contribute to our understanding of grammaticalization, lexical creativity, and the evolving flexibility of plural marking in Modern Chinese.
KW - men(们);Plural marking;Prototype Theory;Animacy hierarchy;Subjectification
DO - 10.16874/jslckc.2025..77.005
ER -
Chen, HuanChang and Choi Shinhye. (2025). A Study of the Prototype Category of the Plural Marker“们(men)”in Modern Chinese: Perspectives of Animacy and Subjectification. The Journal of Study on Language and Culture of Korea and China, 77, 123-151.
Chen, HuanChang and Choi Shinhye. 2025, "A Study of the Prototype Category of the Plural Marker“们(men)”in Modern Chinese: Perspectives of Animacy and Subjectification", The Journal of Study on Language and Culture of Korea and China, no.77, pp.123-151. Available from: doi:10.16874/jslckc.2025..77.005
Chen, HuanChang, Choi Shinhye "A Study of the Prototype Category of the Plural Marker“们(men)”in Modern Chinese: Perspectives of Animacy and Subjectification" The Journal of Study on Language and Culture of Korea and China 77 pp.123-151 (2025) : 123.
Chen, HuanChang, Choi Shinhye. A Study of the Prototype Category of the Plural Marker“们(men)”in Modern Chinese: Perspectives of Animacy and Subjectification. 2025; 77 : 123-151. Available from: doi:10.16874/jslckc.2025..77.005
Chen, HuanChang and Choi Shinhye. "A Study of the Prototype Category of the Plural Marker“们(men)”in Modern Chinese: Perspectives of Animacy and Subjectification" The Journal of Study on Language and Culture of Korea and China no.77(2025) : 123-151.doi: 10.16874/jslckc.2025..77.005
Chen, HuanChang; Choi Shinhye. A Study of the Prototype Category of the Plural Marker“们(men)”in Modern Chinese: Perspectives of Animacy and Subjectification. The Journal of Study on Language and Culture of Korea and China, 77, 123-151. doi: 10.16874/jslckc.2025..77.005
Chen, HuanChang; Choi Shinhye. A Study of the Prototype Category of the Plural Marker“们(men)”in Modern Chinese: Perspectives of Animacy and Subjectification. The Journal of Study on Language and Culture of Korea and China. 2025; 77 123-151. doi: 10.16874/jslckc.2025..77.005
Chen, HuanChang, Choi Shinhye. A Study of the Prototype Category of the Plural Marker“们(men)”in Modern Chinese: Perspectives of Animacy and Subjectification. 2025; 77 : 123-151. Available from: doi:10.16874/jslckc.2025..77.005
Chen, HuanChang and Choi Shinhye. "A Study of the Prototype Category of the Plural Marker“们(men)”in Modern Chinese: Perspectives of Animacy and Subjectification" The Journal of Study on Language and Culture of Korea and China no.77(2025) : 123-151.doi: 10.16874/jslckc.2025..77.005
