Bei-sentences in early Cantonese
早期粤语中的「畀」字句
Yuk-man Carine Yiu 姚玉敏

Abstract 摘要
This study attempts to explore from both semantic and syntactic perspectives the various uses of bei in early Cantonese, including a verb of giving, a dative marker, an instrument marker, a causative marker and a passive marker. We propose that the above uses originated from bei’s Idealized Cognitive Model of the act of giving. Three features of the act of giving, i.e. benefit, the use of hands and the transfer of possession, motivated the verb of bei to develop into a dative marker, an instrument marker and a causative marker, respectively. The uses of bei as an instrument marker and a causative marker further evolved into a passive use based on different conditions. While the presence of a patient subject caused the instrument marker bei to develop into a passive marker, the loss of control of the subject, especially when a negative sentence and a sensory verb or a non-action verb are involved, easily triggered the causative marker bei to become a passive marker.

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