Stratification in comparative dialectal grammar: A case in southern Min
方言比较语法的层次问题: 闽南话一例
Anne Yue-hashimoto 余霭芹

Abstract 摘要
The present paper explores the problem of linguistic stratification in syntax by presenting the case of V-not-V question forms in Southern Min as seen in several colloquial Southern Min documents from different historical periods–The Litchi (Mirror) Tale, The Golden Flower Girl, Su Liu-niang and The Schoolmate and Zither Book–as well as in the contemporary Yilan dialect of Taiwan and the Shantou dialect of Guangdong. Our conclusion is that there are at least three different strata of this syntactic form in Southern Min: a premodern colloquial stratum with the form 可/豈 VP-NEG from which may have sprung the modern colloquial ADV-VP form, a standard Southern Min stratum with the form VP-NEG which span several centuries and still survive to this day and a non-native stratum in the form of VP-NEG-VP as a result of contact with Northern dialects. In this new light of syntactic stratification, we can understand why more than one syntactic form exists in Southern Min as equivalents to the V-not-V question form and still support Professor Zhu Dexi's general claim that the two major types of V-not-V question forms are mutually exclusive in distribution among the dialects, although we may think that perhaps there are three, instead of two such major types. What is of paramount interest is that similar kinds of interrogative structures not only exist in other Sino-Tibetan languages and neighboring non-Sino-Tibetan languages, but also seem to indicate the same type of complementary distribution. It will be of immense typological significance to investigate further into the problems of the origination and diffusion of these question types. Then, the problem of syntactic stratification of not only Southern Min dialects or the Chinese dialects but the Sino-Tibetan languages will then come to light.

本文以闽南话的反复问句为例，从历时及共时的层次问题。在分析了这种问句在明清时代的四种戏曲（荔枝记，金花女，苏六娘，同窗琴书记）和现代台湾的宜兰方言及广东的汕头方言以后，我们的结论是：反复问句在闽南方言至少有三个层次–口语层次，标准闽南话层次，北方话层次。建立了层次的观念以后就不难了解为什么反复问句在闽南话包括不止一种结构，同时也可以证实朱德熙先生所出的两种反复问句句型的互补关系。更有意思的是，反复问句的几种句型不但存在于其它汉藏语言，而且保持着同样的互补关系。这个问题值得我们深入研究；如果能弄清楚这种句型的源流，演变和扩散，不但汉语方言的语法层次问题，甚至于汉藏讲法层问题也可以迎刃而解了。

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