3. Grammaticalized function words in Cantonese and Sixian Hakka
3.1 Minimal tonal neutralization
3.1.1 Non-neutralization in majority of functional classes
國
立 政 治 大 學
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N a tio na
l C h engchi U ni ve rs it y
highly grammaticalized function words, that is, modifier markers and sentence final particles, serve as the trigger, they tend to be invisible to the processing of tone sandhi, therefore the occurrence of underapplication.
Both of phenomena in question illustrate the distinction between the highly grammaticalized function words and the lower grammaticalized ones. They also show that distinct classes of the function words of lower grammaticality are all conflated into the unneutralized one, which is thus not difference from the lexical words in this regard, as diagramed in (1).
(1) Minimal neutralization of functional categories
NUM PHA/CL DIR/PRO ASP MOD SFP
Visible Invisible
Unneutralized Neutralized
In the following sections I give a detailed analysis of the neutralization of sentence-final particles and the non-neutralization of the other functional categories. §3.1.3 argues for the necessity of subclassification of sentence-final particles for the case of Miaoli Sixian Hakka. §3.2 deals with the issue of invisibility, which is followed by a chapter summary.
The data in each section is primarily from my own observation, personal communication and consultation with informants. Part of data are adapted from online disctionaries and previous studies (e.g. H. Cheung 1972 for Cantonese; Luo 1990, 2007; Gu 2005 for Hakka).
3.1 Minimal Tonal Neutralization
3.1.1 Non-neutralization in majority of functional classes
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國立 政 治 大 學
‧
N a tio na
l C h engchi U ni ve rs it y
Cantonese and Miaoli Sixian Hakka have their majority of function words surface with one of the full lexical tones (the only exception being sentence-final particles, to which we will turn next). In this subsection we show this resistance to tonal neutralization by looking over the grammatical categories in the respective language that are potential to have a neutral tone.
Let us begin with Cantonese, the prestige variety of Yue Chinese originating from the city of Guangzhou. Cantonese has six lexical tones in phonemic terms (Yue-Hashimoto 1972, Yip 1980, Bao 1999, among others) — T1, a high level; T2, a high rising; T3, a mid level; T4, a low falling; T5, a low rising; and T6, a low level. On syllables ending in a voiceless stop, the three level tones (i.e. T1, T3, and T6) derive their respective checked tones, or short tones, which are significantly shorter than the non-checked counterparts. The detailed inventory is given in (2).
(2) Cantonese lexical tones
Category T1 T2 T3 T4 T5 T6
Non-checked 55 35 33 21 13 22
Checked 5 3 2
Grammatical words in Cantonese are prescriptively marked as having one of the six lexical tones, based on the dictionary, language learning materials, and computer input system. The following list shows the prescriptive tonal specification of the relevant grammatical categories. The term ‘relevant’ means that function words in these categories may carry a neutral tone in many other Sinitic languages.
(3) Prescriptively marked tones of function words in Cantonese
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ge3 (Adjectival) modifier marker, possessive marker b. Aspect markers
heoi3 ‘away from the speaker’
soeng5 ‘upward’
baa2 for something long and has a hilt or handle
baan1 for a flight, train or bus at a particular time; for a group of people
gaa3 for vehicle
gau6 for a clump or blob of thing that usually has some weight tiu4 for long piece of thing
g. Numerals
jat1 ‘one’
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words of these categories, as instantiated in (4-10).(4) No neutralization for the modifier marker
(5) No neutralization for aspect markers
a. Ngo5 m4 zung1ji3 taai3 nung4=ge3 caa4
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(6) No neutralization for directional complements
(7) No neutralization for object pronouns b. Keoi5 daai3-zyu6 jat1=deng2 tau4kwai1
‘I have never been to Hong Kong.’
a. Keoi5 ngaam1ngaam1 jau4 leon4deon1 gwo3-lai4 S/he just.now from London pass-DIR
‘S/he has just come over from London.’
b. Keoi5 bei2 ging2caat3 laai1-zo2-heoi3 S/he PASS the.police arrest-PFV-DIR
‘S/he was arrested by the police.’
c. Zan1hai6 mou4liu4, ngo5 m4=soeng2 waan2-lok6-heoi3=laa1 Really boring, I NEG=want play-DIR-DIR=SFP
‘(That) is so boring; I do not want to mess around (with it) anymore.’
d. Keoi5-dei6 dat6jin4gaan1 cou4-hei2-soeng5-lai4 S/he-PL suddenly make.noise-DIR-DIR-DIR
‘They suddenly began to have rows with each other.’
a. Keoi5 ho2ji5 gin3-dou2=ngo5 S/he be.allowed.to see-PHA=me
‘They can see me.’
b. Hou2 hoi1sam1 sik1-dou2=nei5 Very happy know-PHA=you.ACC
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(8) No neutralization for phase markers
(9) No neutralization for classifiers
‘Nice to meet you.’
c. Ji5-cin4 jau5=go3 ging1lei5 haam4sap1=keoi5
Before there.is=CL manager sexually.harass=him/her
‘There was a manager who sexually harassed him/her before.’
a. Sik6-jyn4 faan6 sin1zi3 gai3=laa3 Eat-PHA meal not.until to.plan=SFP
‘(I will) have dinner first and then sort it out.’
b. Nei5 haak3-can1-zo2=keoi5 You scare-PHA-ASP=him/her
‘You scared him/her.’
c. Bou6=sau2tai4din6wa2 mou5-saai3 din6
CL=mobile.phone not.have-PHA electric.power
‘The mobile phone is out of battery.’
d. Nei5 hai2dou3-juk1-lai4~juk1-heoi3 ngo5 tai2-m4-dou2 cin4min6=aa3 You PROG-move-DIR~iterative-DIR I see-NEG-PHA in.front=SFP
‘I cannot see the front as you keep moving.’
a. Keoi5 mat1-je5=dou1 paa3, zing3 jat1=go3 mou5daam2guai2 S/he what=FOC fear, really one=CL coward
‘S/he is scared of everything. What a real coward s/he is.’
b. Keoi5 maai5je5 laai6dai1-zo2=baa2 ze1 S/he go.shopping leave.behind=CL umbrella
‘S/he has left his/her umbrella behind while shopping.’
c. Taan2haak1ce1 hai6 jat1=gaa3 jau5 lei5daai2=ge3 zin3dau3ce1 Tank COP one=CL have caterpillar.track=MOD battle.vehicle ‘A tank is a war machine with caterpillar tracks.’
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國立 政 治 大 學
‧
N a tio na
l C h engchi U ni ve rs it y
(10) No neutralization for numerals
Similar patterns are found in Miaoli Sixian Hakka, a subdialect of Northern Sixian Hakka spoken in Miaoli County, Taiwan. Like the other Northern Sixian varieties, Miaoli Sixian Hakka has four lexically contrastive tones (Luo 1990, 2007; Gu 2005; among many others) — T1, a low rising; T2, a low level; T3, a low falling; T4, a high level, as detailed in (11). Again, checked tones are treated here as derived from their non-checked counterparts on a closed syllable which ends in a voiceless stop.
(11) Lexical tones in Miaoli Sixian Hakka
Category T1 T2 T3 T4
Non-checked 24 11 31 55
Checked 2 5
d. Dam3=tiu4 sing2 lok6-heoi3 drop.down=CL rope go.down-DIR
‘Drop a rope down there.’
a. Jat1=deoi6 zuk1kau4deo2 jau5=sap6-jat1=go3 jan4 One-massifier football.team there.be=ten-one=CL person
‘A football team consists of eleven members.’
b. Gei2si4 dak1haan4 jam2=loeng5=bui1=aa1 When have.free.time drink=two=cup=SFP
‘When will you be free to have a drink (with me)?’
c. Zoeng1=toi2 soeng6min6 dak1faan1=saam1=zek3 bui1
CL=table on.top there.be.only=three=CL cup
‘There are only three cups left on the table.’
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All the grammatical categories, except sentence final particles, in Miaoli Sixian Hakka are prescriptively marked as having one of the four lexical tones, just like the case of Cantonese. The list in (12) shows the prescriptive tonal specification of the grammatical categories which are in principle suffixed/encliticized and thus have potential to acquire a neutral tone.
(12) Prescriptively marked tones of function words in Miaoli Sixian Hakka a. Modifier marker
ge4 (Adjectival) modifier marker, possessive marker b. Aspect markers
den3 Progressive marker, continuous marker le2 Perfective marker
go4 Experiential perfect marker c. Directional complements
loi2 ‘towards the speaker’
hi4 ‘away from the speaker’
song1 ‘upward’
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biong1 for a flight, train, or bus at a particular time
toi3 for vehicle prescriptively marked lexical tones, which are shown in the following examples.
(13) No neutralization for the modifier marker a. Lia3=mi1 ng2-e3 han2=he4 sang1=ge4
This=CL fish still=COP raw=MOD
‘The fish remains undercooked.’
b. Siin2mung2 xin1sang1=ge4 zii3-to1 Thank teacher=MOD guidance
‘I am grateful for your guidance, professor.’
c. Ge4 he4 gi2 zui4 zung4i4=ge4 xiong4pien4 That COP s/he most like=MOD photo
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(14) No neutralization for aspect markers
(15) No neutralization for directional complements
(16) No neutralization for object pronouns
(17) No neutralization for phase markers ‘That is his/her favorite photo.’
a. Lia3=liang1 sam1 ga1-den3, zang4 m4=voi4 hon2do3
This=CL clothes add-CONT, just NEG=will to.catch.a.cold
‘Put more clothes on, so you will not catch a cold.’
b. Siid4-le2 fan4, ng2 qiu4 hi4 tug4su1 Eat=PFV meal, you then to.proceed studying
‘You should study once you finish your dinner.’
c. Lia3=bun3 su1 ngai2 zang4 kon4-go4 id3=bai3 This=CL book I just read-EXP one-CL
‘I have only read the book once.’
a. Lia3=tung3 sui3 kuan4-hi3-loi2 This=CL water carry-DIR-DIR
‘Pick up this barrel of water.’
b. Gi2- liong3sa2 da3-hi3-loi2=le2 S/he-couple beat-DIR-DIR=SFP
‘They both came to blows.’
a. Gi2 fad3kien3=ge4ha4, mog4=cab3=gi2
S/he get.angry=when, NEG-take.notice.of=him/her
‘Do not take any notice of him/her when s/he gets angry.’
b. Ng2 zo4ma3ge4 iu4 da3=ngai2=le1
You why again beat=me=SFP
‘Why did you hit me again?’
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In sum, function words within most grammatical categories in Cantonese and Miaoli Sixian Hakka mostly carry distinct leixcal tones, except sentence-final particles, which arguably have no authentic lexical tone like other function word categories. We will discuss this category in the next two subsections.
a. A1po2 co1=do4 den4e2-hong4 soi4-ted3=le1 Grandmother sit=at chair-on sleep-PHA=SFP
‘Grandma fell asleep in the chair.’
b. Sii3ca1e2=ge4 sii2jied3 han1do4lu3 oi4 zog3-ho3-loi2 Driving=MOD moment steering.wheel should hold-PHA-DIR
‘(One) should properly hold the steering wheel while driving.’
c. Gi2 dag3-zag3=ngied4 zo4ded3 con4-do3 ng3-qien1-kieu1 S/he every-CL=month to.be.able earn-PHA five-thousand-dollar
‘S/he is able to earn five thousand dollars per month.’
a. Lia3=toi2 ca1-e2=ge4 en1jin3 he4 ded3gued3 zo4=ge4 This=CL car=MOD engine COP Germany make=MOD
‘The engine of this car was made in Germany.’
b. Lia3=pien1 vun2zong1 iu1 gi3do1=zag3 sii4 This=CL essay have how.many=CL word
‘How many words does the essay contain?’
a. Siid4=le2 liong3=bi1 ca2 zang4 hi4 song1ban1 This=PFV two=CL tea not.until go to.work
‘(I) had some tea before going to work.’
b. Lia3=deu1 gieu3zii3 iu1 sam1=zag3 gieu3gu3e3
This=CL puppy have three=CL male.puppy
‘There are three male puppies in the litter.’