Retrogressive Reduplication in Old Chinese
古汉语中的逆向重叠
Jingtao Sun 孙景涛

Abstract 摘要
This paper aims to provide a description of retrogressive reduplication in Old Chinese. With a comprehensive investigation, it is found that the reduplication of this type is mainly applied for verbs, and the reduplication of a monosyllabic verb gives rise to a disyllabic word, thus creating another meaning, indicating repetition of the action. Although reduplication of this type also gives rise to nouns, the base form is still originally a verb. In terms of phonological alternation, this kind of reduplication presents such a pattern: if the final of the base syllable (including so-called jièyīn ‘medial’) has the feature element [+round], then the reduplicant syllable before the base syllable will obtain the feature element [-round] in the correlate position; however, if the final of the base syllable has the feature element [-round], what we can find is actually not the feature element [+round] in the reduplicant syllable. Instead, the phonological alternation between the reduplicant and base syllables is recognized as a kind of unmarked/marked distinction. Reduplication of this type results from the interaction between morphology and phonology.

本文旨在对古汉语中的逆向重叠作出描写。调查表明，古汉语中的此类重叠主要适用于动词。当一个单音节动词重复为两个音节之后，“动作重复”这样的语义特征便随即产生。此类重叠亦适用于名词，不过就其产生途径而言，其基式原本也是动词。从语音形式来看，一个单音节动词的重叠会带来如下变化：如果基式的韵母（包括所谓介音）对区别特征[圆唇]呈正值，那么，基式前面的重叠部分便会在其相应的位置上呈负值；如果基式的韵母对区别特征[圆唇]呈负值，我们所能看到的却并非所期待的[+圆唇]/[-圆唇]的对立，实际所看到的是一种“无标记/有标记” 的对立。此一类型的重叠实乃语音与语义语法交互作用的结果。

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