An Experimental Study On The Tripartite Demonstrative Pronouns In Changshou Dialect

Demonstrative pronouns are used very frequently in language,and it has a wide application in range of vocabulary.The study of demonstrative pronouns is also an indispensable and hot topic in the field of linguistics.From functional perspective,the demonstrative pronouns possess the functions of reference,distinction and replacement.From topological perspective,the type of the demonstrative pronoun in the language can be roughly divided into two kinds:one kind is the binary system,the other is multiple system.The most typical one in multiple systems is trisect system.The demonstrative pronouns in some languages belong to binary system while others belong to tripartite system.It has triggered abundant attention from many linguists all the time whether the demonstrative pronouns in some language belong to binary system or tripartite system.As for the existence of trisection Chinese dialect,many scholars drew conclusions from describing the phenomenon,listing some examples or their senses of the dialects.There was a desperate lack of empirical studies on this topic.Only Jing and Abe(2011)made an empirical study on the demonstrative pronouns in Sichuan dialect.But they took only distance into consideration,while the number of objects was not considered.Based on the empirical study(the influence of distance was considered)carried out by Jing and Abe(2011),and the number of objects(Chu and Deng,2003),22 scenes were set in present study to investigate the effects of two variables(distance and the number of objects)in the actual use of demonstrative pronouns in Changshou dialect.The research questions are as follows:1)What role does distance play in the actual use of demonstrative pronouns in Changshou dialect?2)What role does object number play on the actual use of demonstrative pronouns in Changshou dialect?3)Do the demonstrative pronouns in Changshou dialect belong to binary or tripartite system?The experimental results are as follows:I)The use of demonstrative pronouns is closely related to the distance.There are three demonstrative pronouns in Changshou dialect.Distance is the most important factor that influences the use of the three demonstrative pronouns in Changshou dialect,yi(this)is often used to refer to the proximal,ko(that)is often used to refer to the medial,n(that)is often used to refer to the distal.2)The object number made little difference in the use of demonstrative pronouns in Changshou dialect.When the distance between the subjects and objects is controlled,the participants tend to use the same demonstrative pronouns influenced by the distance to refer to the objects or the objects'place.3).The demonstrative pronouns in Changshou dialect belong to tripartite system.