Cover not available

Article published In: Studies in Language
Vol. 39:3 (2015) ► pp.593–633

Get fulltext from our e-platform
JBE logo with link
PDF logo with download linkDownload PDF
authorization required

A comparative study of semantic change in grammaticalization and lexicalization in Chinese and Germanic languages

 | Western Washington University
Published online: 29 October 2015
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/sl.39.3.03xin
This study explores the typological regularity of semantic change in grammaticalization and lexicalization in Chinese and Germanic languages. Earlier studies, mostly done on Indo-European languages (e.g. Heine et al. 1991, Traugott & Dasher 2002), suggest that semantic change follows the cline A>A, B>B. Based on numerous case studies of semantic change in grammaticalization and lexicalization in Chinese, this paper provides evidence that semantic change in Chinese follows a somewhat different pattern: A>A, B>A,B,C. The key factors responsible for this, as it will be argued, are twofold: Chinese grammar is typologically structured without inflections and Chinese words have become increasingly disyllabic. Indo-European languages, which exhibit quite different grammatical and morphological structures and diachronic evolution, therefore show a different tendency.
References (79)
Aikhenvald, Alexandra. 2000. Classifiers: A typology of noun categorization devices. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Allen, Cynthia L. 1995. Case marking and reanalysis: Grammatical relations from Old to early ModE. Oxford: Clarendon Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Bach, Emmon, Eloise Jelinek, Angelika Kratzer & Barbara H. Partee. 1995. Quantification in natural languages. Dordrecht/Boston/London: Kluwer Academic Publishers.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Bader, Markus. 2012. The German bekommen passive: A case study on frequency and grammaticality. Linguistische Berichte 2311.249–298.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Bauer, Laurie. 2009. Typology of compounding. In Rochelle Lieber & Pavol Štekauer (eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Compounding, 343–356. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Baugh, Albert C. & Thomas Cable. 2002. A History of the English Language [Reprint of 4th edn., 1993]. London: Routledge.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Bennett, Paul. 1981. The evolution of passive and disposal sentences. Journal of Chinese Linguistics 91. 61–90.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Brinton, Laurel J. & Elizabeth C. Traugott. 2005. Lexicalization and language change. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Chang, Li-li. 2006. The semantic development from causatives to passives in Chinese. Language and Linguistics 7(1). 139–174.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Chappell, Hilary. 1991. Causativity and the bă-construction in Chinese. In Hansjakob Seiler & Waldfried (eds.), Partizipation: Das sprachliche Erfassen von Sachverhalten, 509–530. Tübingen: Gunter Narr.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Diedrichsen, Elke. 2012. What you give is what you GET? On reanalysis, semantic extension and functional motivation with the German bekommen-passive construction. Linguistics 50(6). 1163–1204. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Diewald, Gabriele. 1999. Die Modalverben im Deutschen: Grammatikalisierung und Polyfunktionalität (Reihe Germanistische Linguistik 208). Tübingen: Max Niemeyer Verlag. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Dong, Xiufang. 2011. Lexicalization: The origin and evolution of Chinese disyllabic words(Revised Edition) [Cihuihua: Hanyu Shuangyinci de Yansheng he Fazhan]. Beijing: Shangwu Yinshuguan.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Enkvist, Nils E. & Brita Wårvik. 1987. Old English Þa, temporal chains, and narrative structure. In A.G. Ramat et al. (eds.), Papers from the 7th International Conference on Historical Linguistics, 221–237. Philadelphia/Amsterdam: John Benjamins. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Feng, Shengli. 2005. Studies on Chinese Prosodic Grammar [Hanyu Yunlu Yufa Yanjiu]. Beijing: Peking University Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Fennell, Barbara. 2001. A History of English. Oxford: Blackwell.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Fischer, Olga. 2007. Morphosyntactic change – functional and formal perspectives. New York/London: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Fleisher, Nicholas. 2006. The origin of passive get . English Language and Linguistics 101. 225–252. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Givón, Talmy & Lynne Yang. 1994. The Rise of the English GET-passive. In Barbara Fox & Paul J. Hopper (eds.), Voice: Form and function, 119–49. Philadelphia/Amsterdam: John Benjamins. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Haspelmath, Martin. 1995. Diachronic sources of ‘all’ and ‘every’. In Emmon Bach, Eloise Jelinek, Angelika Kratzer & Barbara H. Partee (eds.), Quantification in natural languages, 263–382. Dordrecht/Boston/London: Kluwer Academic Publishers.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. 2002. Understanding morphology. London: Arnold.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Heine, Bernd, Ulrike Claudi & Friederike Hünnemeyer. 1991. Grammaticalization: A conceptual framework. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Her, One-Soon. 1991. Historical Development of bă and jiāng in the Tang Dynasty. Language Variation and Change 2(3). 277–294. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Hohenhaus, Peter. 2005. Lexicalization and institutionalization. In Pavol Štekauer & Rochelle Lieber (eds.), Handbook of Word-Formation, 353–370. Dordrecht: Springer. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Honda, Shoko. 2012. On the origin and development of the get-passive with special reference to grammaticalization. English Linguistics 29(1).69–87. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Hopper, Paul J. 1991. On some principles of grammaticalization. In Elizabeth Closs Traugott & Bernd Heine (eds.), Approaches to Grammaticalization, Vol. I1, 17–36. Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Hopper, Paul J. & Elizabeth C. Traugott. 1993. Grammaticalization. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Jiang, Shaoyu. 2003. The origin of gei and jiao’s passive function [Bèidòngshì gĕi hé jiáo de láiyuán]. In Fuxiang Wu & Bo Hong (eds.), Grammaticalization and grammatical studies [Yufahua yu yufa yanjiu], Vol. 11, 202–223. Beijing: Shangwu Yinshuguan.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Joseph, Brian D. 2003. Morphologization from syntax. In Brian D. Joseph and Richard Janda (eds.), Handbook of historical linguistics, 472–492. Malden, MA: Blackwell. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Kastovsky, Dieter. 1982. Word-formation: A functional view. Folia Linguistica 161. 191–198. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. 2006. Typological changes in derivational morphology. In Ans van Kemenade & Bettelou Los (eds.), The handbook of the history of English, 151–176. Oxford: Blackwell. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
König, Ekkehard. 1991. The meaning of focus particles: A comparative perspective. London/New York: Routledge. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Lehmann, Christian. 2002. New reflections on grammaticalization and lexicalization. In Ilse Wischer & Gabriele Diewald (eds.), New reflections on grammaticalization, 1–18. Amsterdam/Philadelphia: Benjamins. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Li, Charles & Sandra A. Thompson. 1981. Mandarin Chinese – A functional reference grammar. Berkeley: University of California Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Lieber, Rochelle & Pavol Štekauer (eds.). 2009. The Oxford handbook of compounding. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Lieber, Rochelle. 2005. English word-formation processes. In P. Štekauer & R. Lieber (eds.), Handbook of word-formation, 375–428. Dordrecht: Springer. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. 2009. A lexical semantic approach to compounding. In Rochelle Lieber & Pavol Štekauer (eds.), The Oxford handbook of compounding, 78–104. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. 2010. On the lexical semantics of compounds; Non-affixal (de)verbal compounds. In Sergio Scalise & Irene Vogel (eds.), Cross-disciplinary issues in compounding, 127–44. Philadelphia/Amsterdam: John Benjamins. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Liu, Danqing. 2010. Hànyŭ shì yīzhŏng dòngcí xìng yŭyán [Chinese as a verby language: On the typological difference between verby languages and nouny languages]. Shijie Hanyu Jiaoxue [Chinese Teaching in the World] 24(1). 1–17.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Liu, Mei-chun. 1994. Discourse explanations for choice of jiù and cái in Mandarin conversation. In P. Li, C.R. Huang & C.-C. Tang (eds.), Chinese languages and linguistics, Vol. 2: Historical linguistics, 671–709. Taipei: Academia Sinica.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Lowrey, Brian. 2012. Grammaticalisation and the Old English modals. Quaderna 11. 1–29.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Lü, Shuxiang. 1955. A study of the usage of ba [Ba-zi yongfa de yanjiu]. In Shuxiang Lü (ed.), Papers on Chinese grammar [Hanyu yufa lunwenji], 125–144. Beijing: Zhonghua Shuju.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Lyons, John. 1977. Semantics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Marchard, Hans. 1969. The categories and types of present-day English word formation. Munich: Beck.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Meisterernst, Barbara. 2015. Tense and aspect in Han Period Chinese: A linguistic analysis of the ‘Shiji’. Berlin/Boston: De Gruyter. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Michaelis, Laura A. 2004. Type shifting in construction grammar: An integrated approach to aspectual coercion. Cognitive Linguistics 151. 1–67. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Neef, Martin. 2009. Indo-European, Germanic: German. In Rochelle Lieber & Pavol Štekauer (eds.), The Oxford handbook of compounding, 386–399. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Olsen, Susan. 2000. Composition. In G. Booij, C. Lehmann, and J. Mugdan (eds.), Morphologie/Morphology, 897–916. Berlin/New York: de Gruyter.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Packard, Jerome L. 2000. The morphology of Chinese – A linguistic and cognitive approach. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Palmer, Frank R. 1986. Mood and modality. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Peyraube, Alain. 1989. History of the passive constructions in Chinese until the 10th century. Journal of Chinese Linguistics 17(2). 335–372.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Plag, Ingo. 2003. Word formation in English. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Priebsch, R. & W.E. Collinson. 1962. The German Language. London: Faber & Faber.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Ramat, Paolo & Davide Ricca. 1998. Sentence adverbs in the language of Europe. In J. van der Auwera (ed.), Adverbial Constructions in the Languages of Europe, 187–275. Berlin: de Gruyter. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Scalise, Sergio & Irene Vogel (eds.). 2010. Cross-disciplinary issues in compounding. Philadelphia/Amsterdam: John Benjamins. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Shen, Jiaxuan. 2002. How to dispose of disposal constructions [Rúhé chǔzhì ‘chǔzhìshì’]. Chinese Language [Zhongguo Yuwen] 51. 387–399.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. 2012. Relections on nouny verbs: Problems and solutions [Míngdòng cí de fănsī: Wèntí hé duìcè]. Chinese Teaching in the World [Shijie Hanyu Jiaoxue] 26(1). 3–17.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Sun, Chaofen. 1996. Word-order change and grammaticalization in the history of Chinese. Stanford: Stanford University Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Tai, James H-Y. 1994. Chinese classifier systems and human categorization. In S.-Y. Wang, M.Y. Chen, & J.L. Tzeng, In honor of William S.-Y. Wang: Interdisciplinary studies on language and language change. Taipei: Pyramid Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Thomas, Claire. 2013. Lexicalization in generative morphology and conceptual structure. In Pius ten Hacken & Claire Thomas, The semantics of word formation and lexicalization, 45–65. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Traugott, Elizabeth C. 2007. The concepts of constructional mismatch and type-shifting from perspective of grammaticalization. Cognitive Linguistics 181. 523–557. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Traugott, Elizabeth C. & Richard Dasher. 2002. Regularity in semantic change. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Trips, Carola & Eric Fuß. 2009. The syntax and semantics of the temporal anaphor “then” in Old and Middle English. In Artemis Alexiadou, et al. (eds.), Advances in comparative Germanic syntax, 171–218. Philadelphia/Amsterdam: John Benjamins. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
van Geleren, Elly. 2014. A history of the English language (Revised edition). Philadelphia/Amsterdam: John Benjamins. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
van Kemenade, Ans & Bettelou Los (eds.). 2006. The handbook of the history of English. Oxford: Blackwell. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Wang, Huan. 1957 The ba construction and the bei construction [Bă zì jù hé bèi zì jù] ( Chinese Language Series [Hanyu Zhishi Jiangzuo] 14). Shanghai: Xin Zhishi Chubanshe.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Wang, Li. 1957. Development of Chinese passive constructions [Hànyǔ bèidòngshì de fāzhăn]. Linguistic Studies [Yuyanxue Luncun] 11. 1–16. Beijing: Shangwu Yinshuguan.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Wiese, Heike, 2003. Numbers, language, and the human mind. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Wu, Yunji. 1999. An etymological study of disposal and passive markers in Hunan dialects. Journal of Chinese Linguistics 27(2). 90–123.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Xing, Janet Z. 2003. Grammaticalization of verbs in Mandarin Chinese. Journal of Chinese Linguistics 31(1). 101–144.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. 2005. Subjectification in grammaticalization of jiù in Mandarin Chinese [Cóng jiù de yŭfă huà kàn hànyŭ yŭyì yŭnbiàn de zhŭguān huà]. Grammaticalization and Grammatical Studies [Yufahua Yu Yufa Yanjiu] 21. 324–339. Beijing: Shangwu Yinshuguan.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. 2013. Semantic reanalysis in grammaticalization in Chinese. In Zhuo Jing-Schmidt (ed.), Increased empiricism: New advances in Chinese linguistics, 223–246. Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Xing, Janet. Z. 2014. Semantic change and grammaticalization of the universal quantifier mĕi in Chinese. In Dan Xu & Jingqi Fu (eds.), Space and quantification in languages of China, 95–116. New York: Springer.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Xu, Dan. 2006. Typological change in Chinese syntax. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Zhu, Dexi. 1985. Grammaticalized verbs and nouny verbs in modern written Chinese. Journal of Peking University 51.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Ziegler, Debra. 2003. Redefining unidirectionality: Insights from demodalisation. Folia Linguistica Historica XXIV1. 225–266.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Cited by (8)

Cited by eight other publications

Sun, Linlin & Walter Bisang
2025. Multifunctionality matters: preverbal yǒu in Mandarin and its aspectual potential. Folia Linguistica 59:3 ► pp. 469 ff. DOI logo
付, 娇娇
2024. The Polysemy and Dynamic Mechanism of the “给我 VP” Structure. Modern Linguistics 12:04 ► pp. 293 ff. DOI logo
Shibasaki, Reijirou
2023. From comparative standard marker to comparative adverb. In Different Slants on Grammaticalization [Studies in Language Companion Series, 232], ► pp. 20 ff. DOI logo
Li, Fanxi
2021. On the conditional marker “zhě”(者). International Journal of Chinese Linguistics 8:2 ► pp. 204 ff. DOI logo
Bisang, Walter
2020. Radical analyticity and radical pro-drop scenarios of diachronic change in East and mainland Southeast Asia, West Africa and Pidgins and Creoles. Asian Languages and Linguistics 1:1 ► pp. 34 ff. DOI logo
Sun, Linlin & David Correia Saavedra
2020. Measuring grammatical status in Chinese through quantitative corpus analysis. Corpora 15:3 ► pp. 317 ff. DOI logo
Kuteva, Tania, Bernd Heine, Bo Hong, Haiping Long, Heiko Narrog & Seongha Rhee
2019. World Lexicon of Grammaticalization, DOI logo
Sun, Linlin & Kasper Boye
2019. The grammatical-lexical distinction in Chinese aspectual markers. Studies in Language 43:3 ► pp. 668 ff. DOI logo

This list is based on CrossRef data as of 3 december 2025. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers. Any errors therein should be reported to them.

Mobile Menu Logo with link to supplementary files background Layer 1 prag Twitter_Logo_Blue