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Diachronic Changes Underlying Synchronic Distribution

Scalar Inferences and Word Order

  • Book
  • © 2018

Overview

Authors:
  1. I-Hsuan Chen

    1. Department of Chinese and Bilingual Studies, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Hong Kong

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  • Offers a new perspective, constructionist approach in the field of historical linguistics
  • Provides empirical evidence from corpus analysis covering a 2000-year time span
  • Offers cross-linguistic comparisons of scalar inferences in the East Asian classifier languages

Part of the book series: Studies in East Asian Linguistics (SEAL)

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Table of contents (7 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xii
    Download chapter PDF

  2. Introduction

    • I-Hsuan Chen
    Pages 1-22

  3. The Diachronic Distribution of Chinese ‘One’-Phrases: Word Order and Minimizers

    • I-Hsuan Chen
    Pages 23-57

  4. The Development of the Polysemous Networks of ‘One’-Phrase Through Constructional Changes

    • I-Hsuan Chen
    Pages 59-93

  5. The Emergence of Scalar Particles dou and ye in the OV Word Order in Mandarin Chinese

    • I-Hsuan Chen
    Pages 95-143

  6. Scalar Inferences of Minimizers in Numeral Classifier Languages

    • I-Hsuan Chen
    Pages 145-188

  7. Synchronic Variations: ‘One’-Phrases as Minimizers in Modern Mandarin Chinese

    • I-Hsuan Chen
    Pages 189-222

  8. A Minimal Quantity with Maximal Effects

    • I-Hsuan Chen
    Pages 223-230

  9. Back Matter

    Pages 231-240
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Keywords

About this book

This book deals with synchronic variation in Chinese through a diachronic lens, based on the evidence from a quantitative, longitudinal corpus study. Departing from the traditional analysis in diachronic changes in Chinese linguistics, the cognitive constructionist approach employed in this book is able to capture incremental changes by combining syntax, semantics, and pragmatics. Topics such as word order, focus, scopes of quantifiers, information structure, and negation have been important issues in linguistics, but they are rarely integrated as a whole. The book makes their diachronic interactions available to the students and researchers in the fields of general and Chinese linguistics.

Authors and Affiliations

  • Department of Chinese and Bilingual Studies, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Hong Kong

    I-Hsuan Chen

About the author

I-Hsuan Chen is currently a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Chinese and Bilingual Studies at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. She received her PhD degree from the Department of Linguistics, University of California, Berkeley in 2015. Before joining the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, she held both research and lectureship positions at the Department of Linguistics and at the Department of East Asian Cultures and Languages, University of California, Berkeley. Her research areas include Chinese linguistics, historical linguistics, and cognitive linguistics primarily based on corpus analysis. She has published journal papers and book chapters covering synchronic and/or diachronic topics in semantics, syntax, and pragmatics in the field of Chinese Linguistics. She is a co-editor of the Cambridge Handbook of Chinese Linguistics, edited by Chu-ren Huang, Yen-hwei, and I-Hsuan Chen. The material for this book is based on her dissertation research, which was funded by the Chiang Ching-Kuo Foundation for International Scholarly Exchange.

Bibliographic Information

  • Book Title: Diachronic Changes Underlying Synchronic Distribution

  • Book Subtitle: Scalar Inferences and Word Order

  • Authors: I-Hsuan Chen

  • Series Title: Studies in East Asian Linguistics

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-0170-4

  • Publisher: Springer Singapore

  • eBook Packages: Social Sciences, Social Sciences (R0)

  • Copyright Information: Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2018

  • Hardcover ISBN: 978-981-13-0169-8Published: 28 May 2018

  • Softcover ISBN: 978-981-13-4348-3Published: 29 December 2018

  • eBook ISBN: 978-981-13-0170-4Published: 17 May 2018

  • Series ISSN: 2522-5103

  • Series E-ISSN: 2522-5111

  • Edition Number: 1

  • Number of Pages: XII, 240

  • Number of Illustrations: 14 b/w illustrations, 25 illustrations in colour

  • Topics: Chinese, Historical Linguistics, Pragmatics

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