'Why' and 'How' WH-words in Earlier Southern Min Texts: Interface of Inherent Properties of 'why/how' WH-words and their Syntactic Positions

作者：Lien Chinfa^*

来源：Language and Linguistics, 2013, 14(4): 633-661.

• why/how WH-words
• structural position
• interpretation
• earlier Southern Min

The paper examines the interface of inherent properties of 'why/how' WH-words and their syntactic positions in earlier Southern Min texts, hybrid playscripts written in a mixture of Chaozhou and Quanzhou dialects, dating back as early as 16th century (Wu 2001a-d). The WH-words falls into two major types: mih(4) -based WH-words and chai(7) -based WH-words. The meaning of each type of WH-words is partially conditioned by the structural position it occupies. Four dedicated positions are found: force, premodal, preverbal and postclausal. Force, premodal, preverbal and postclausal WH-words are conducive to rhetorical question, cause/reason, manner, and purpose reading respectively. Most of 'why/how' WH-words are headed by cho(3). I propose that starting out as a marker of focus cho(3) is instrumental in turning variable-bearing WH-words into adjunct WH-words.

• 出版日期2013-7
• 单位清华大学