The Grammaticalization of Hakka, Mandarin and Southern Min The Interaction of Negatives with Modality, Aspect, and Interrogatives by Hui-Ling Yang A Dissertation Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy Approved April 2012 by the Graduate Supervisory Committee: Elly van Gelderen, Chair Karen Adams Carrie Gillon Chaofen Sun ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY May 2012 ABSTRACT The primary topic of this dissertation is the grammaticalization of negation in three Sinitic language varieties: Hakka, Mandarin, and Southern Min. I discuss negative morphemes that are used under different modality or aspect contexts, including ability, volition, necessity, and perfectivity. Not only does this study examine Southern Min affirmative and negative pairs, but it also highlights the grammaticalization of negation and parametric differences in negation among the languages under investigation. This dissertation also covers the reanalysis of negatives into interrogatives. I approach the investigation of Southern Min negation from both synchronic and diachronic perspectives. I analyze corpus data in addition to data collected from fieldwork for the contemporary linguistic data. For my diachronic research of Chinese negation, I use historical texts and etymological dictionaries. Diachronically, many of the negative morphemes originate from full-fledged verbs and undergo an analogous grammaticalization process that consists of multiple stages of reanalysis from V to T (aspect; modality), and then T to C (interrogative; discourse). I explain this reanalysis, which involves head-to-head movement, using generative frameworks that combine a modified cartographic approach and the Minimalist Economy Principles. Synchronic data show that Southern Min affirmative modals are characterized by a certain morphological doubling. These doublings consist of two near synonyms used in sequence, resulting from the loss of features in a verb and a second verb added as a renewal. In the negation paradigm, some negatives i project a negative phrase, while the others serve a dual function, occupying a modal/aspect head as well as a negative head. The latter system is gradually shifting to the former. This study uncovers evidence to counter the long- established paradigm, where negation is tied to its independent modality (abilitive, volitional and necessitive) or aspect (perfective and perfect). I observe a mismatch between the use of interrogatives and their modality/aspect and attribute this phenomenon to feature loss during their reanalysis from negatives to interrogatives. Results however show that consistency occurs in the grammaticalization of negation within Southern Min and intra-linguistically among the three Sinitic languages, and that parametric differences are found at the morphological level. ii DEDICATION I am happy to know that the time to write acknowledgments has come. There are surely too many to whom I would like to express my deep gratitude. I thank Shing-Huei and Wei-Bin for handling my affairs during my absence from Taiwan. I am so fortunate to have a friend like Sonia, who always believes in me and who has been a good listening ear. I thank Virgil for bringing cheer and laughter to my life, and for providing me with an environment that featured English almost exclusively after school for six straight years. I shall never forget about the kindness given by Chu-Yu, who has been a very patient chauffeur. I thank Ben, Li-Chi, Paul, and Laohuang for always being there, however busy they themselves are. I enjoyed the wonderful exchanges on Chinese with George Oliver and Lauren Paschke. I am grateful to have met Daniela Kostadinovska; her many good qualities of character have exerted a positive influence on me. I thank Bonnie Quinn, Christian Thompson, James Berry, Jining Han, Mohammed AlRashed, and Victor Parra-Guinaldo. The many weekends spent in the computer lab alongside Ahmed Gul will always be a fond memory. I owe my parents more than I can repay. I admire my mother’s passion for linguistics; I appreciate my father, who never said no to my educational investment. I thank my siblings, nieces, and nephews, who have provided me with so many happy summers while back in Taiwan. I honor my grandfather, a man of wisdom who spoke five languages in his life time and who taught me what life is about. This dissertation is dedicated to him. iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I am indebted to all four members of my dissertation committee, Drs. Elly van Gelderen, Karen Adams, Carrie Gillon, and Chaofen Sun, for their constant support and insightful comments on my work. My committee chair Elly is my Bole 伯樂, a good judge of talent, as the Chinese expression goes, who knows how to separate the wheat from the chaff. She has provided me with the best guidance by any means. Without the optimism and enthusiasm she has constantly provided, I would not have enjoyed my writing as much as I did. Elly has provided me with the best model of scholarship, and I heartily thank her. Thank you, Elly, for your non-negative feedback on my work on negation. Seven years ago, you planted the acorn of my academic career; thanks to your patient tutelage, it has grown into a vigorous sapling. Perhaps one day it will become, as you have proven yourself to be, a mighty oak. I owe a heartfelt debt to Dr. Adams, who has provided me with academic support in various ways and from whom I have also benefited for her suggestions on my work. My sincere thanks also go to Carrie for her critical and insightful comments on my prior manuscript. I thank Dr. Sun for his invaluable advice, particularly regarding the Chinese data. I owe a debt of gratitude to Paul Jackson for his invaluable annotations on my dissertation draft, and for his constant and timely help. I am grateful for Robert LaBarge’s willingness to spend time proofreading my final draft. My sincere thanks go to my fieldwork consultants for their time and patience. Thanks are also due to Dr. Chinfa Lien at National Tsing Hua University and Dr. Hsiu- iv Fang Yang at National Taiwan University, who have provided me with countless resources on Southern Min as well as invaluable encouragement. I thank the English faculty at ASU, particularly Drs. Claire Renaud, Elenore Long, Karen Dwyer, and Mark James for their encouragement. I appreciate Ruby Macksoud for her heartfelt conversations. My gratitude also extends to Demetria Baker, Manager of the Writing Programs, and to Ruth Johnston, for their years of support during my teaching at ASU. I thank Sheila Luna, Manager to the Graduate Program in English, for her willingness to stop in the middle of her work to answer my questions upon my every visit. I have made the best choice by selecting the Department of English at ASU, from which I have received various kinds of sponsorship, including but not limited to, a five-year scholarship and the University Graduate as well as Katherine C. Turner Dissertation Fellowships during the 2010-2011 academic year. I would also like to thank several faculty members from the Chinese Program at ASU, including Zhang Laoshi (Dr. Xia Zhang) and Liu Laoshi (Dr. Qian Liu) for their support, and Wu Laoshi (Dr. Young Kyun Oh) for his introducing me to the world of Chinese historical phonology, which initiated my thought on researching the multiple Sinitic languages. Last but not least, I appreciate the financial support from the Chiang Ching-Kuo Foundation for International Scholarly Exchange for the Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship for my academic year of 2011-2012. All errors rest entirely with the author. v TABLE OF CONTENTS Page LIST OF TABLES .................................................................................................... viii ABBREVIATIONS ................................................................................................... xii CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION .................................................................................. 1 Purpose of Study ................................................................................. 1 Scope of Research ............................................................................... 2 Languages Investigated ...................................................................... 7 Methodologies .................................................................................. 10 Terminology and Transcription ........................................................ 13 Organization ...................................................................................... 17 2 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORKS .................................................... 18 Generative Grammar ........................................................................ 18 Cartography ....................................................................................... 22 Grammaticalization ........................................................................... 39 Computational Economy .................................................................. 49 Negation Cycles ................................................................................ 53 3 NEGATION AND TAM ..................................................................... 57 Cross-linguistic Negation ................................................................. 58 A Brief History of Chinese Negation ............................................... 64 Southern Min Negation .................................................................... 69 Modality and Aspect ........................................................................