Aspectual properties and grammaticalization of progressive markers as reflected in Cantonese and Hakka corpora
從粵客語語料看進行體標記的特性與語法化
Shin Kataoka 片岡新

Abstract 摘要
"Aspectual markers in Chinese are typically verbal suffixes, and it is often claimed that they are derived from verbs, e.g. Mandarin “LE, ZHE, GUO”. According to corpus data, we find that Guangzhou and Hong Kong Cantonese and many Hakka sub-dialects use a verbal suffix JIN 緊 (GAN in Cantonese, GIN in Hakka) to denote the progressive aspect. Yang (2005) claims that durative markers in southern Chinese dialects are derived from adjectives meaning ‘tight’ or ‘stable’, and suggested that both Cantonese GAN and Hakka GIN should also have followed the same developmental paths. By closely examining the data from concurrent and early corpora, this paper claims that Cantonese GAN and Hakka GIN make a categorical contrast in terms of aspects: While Hakka GIN can denote the durative aspect, Cantonese GAN cannot; GAN, in contrast, can denote an aspect leading up to the telic point of an action, an aspectual property that GIN does not possess. Their categorical differences clearly suggest that they should have derived from different etymons. This paper claims that while Hakka GIN may have developed from a ‘tight’-type adjective as suggested by Yang, Guangzhou and Hong Kong Cantonese GAN is most likely to have evolved from a verb meaning to approach.

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