A Diachronic Study Of The Lexicalization Of "Qu-Dao"

This paper aims to expound the lexicalization process of “qu-dao(去-到)” from perspectives of semantics and syntax,and explore the motivations which may cause its lexicalization.Conclusions are as follow.From the semantic perspective,“qu+dao(去+到)”initially means“to leave a place and go to another place”.However,since“qu(去)”referred to“heading toward”,the baisc meaning changed to“go and arrive”,and the structure gradually solidified into“qudao(去到)”.In addition,“qudao(去到)”enjoys three extended meanings,including“reach a certain point or degree”,“apart”or“the starting and ending points of a range”.The deep semantics have changed during lexicalization as well,and we may get different deep semantics according to different contexts,which means the main component is not fixed.From the syntactic perspective,the changes of sentence pattern from“qu+dao(去+到)”to“qudao(去到)”reflects the continuous improvement of its lexicalization,which is manifested in its prepositionalization,its abstract object and its non-predicate usage.Besides,its deep structure also changes from serial verb construction to verb-complement construction during lexicalization.The factors that effects the lexicalizaition can be summed up in four points,which are the semantic relevance of“qu(去)”and“dao(到)”,sharing same object,the grammaticalization of“dao(到)”and the abstract object of“qudao(去到)”.Comparing the usage of“qudao(去到)”in Mandarin of China and Southeast Asian Chinese,it is found that its meaning of"reaching a certain level or degree"is used more frequently in Southeast Asian Chinese,and two sentence patterns-“qudao(去到)+adj.”and“qudao(去到)+subject-predicate sentence”was specifically found in Southeast Asian Chinese.Hence,it is indicated that“qudao(去到)”is more developed in Southeast Asian Chinese,and South China dialect played an important role in its development.