"the Story Of A Marriage" Particle Research

Xingshi Yinyuan Zhuan is a novel written around the end of Ming Dynasty and the first start of Qing Dynasty. Since the language used in this book largely shows the grammatical phenomenon of the Middle and West Shandong dialects, it can serve as a database for a grammatical research. The present study has focused on the Auxiliary Words found in Xingshi Yinyuan Zhuan. The usages of these words at both the time of Xingshi Yinyuan Zhuan and at the present stage are investigated and compared. The results found from this study are very interesting, and of great significance either from the perspective of the grammar history of standard Chinese or that of Chinese dialects.This paper consists of seven parts.The introduction part includes a definition of the language used in Xingshi Yinyuan Zhua, a brief review of studies conducted by previous scholars, and an explanation of the significance of choosing this research topic and the methodology used in this study.Chapter 1 gives the whole picture of the Auxiliary Words in Xingshi Yinyuan Zhuan. According to the standard of Pre-modern Chinese, these words are classified into four different types, i.e. dynamic, situational, structural, and mood. A detailed description of the function and distribution of each type is also presented here.Chapter 2 is a discussion of Auxiliary Word le both as dynamic (le₁) and as situational (le₂) in Xingshi Yinyuan Zhuan. The function and distributing environments of le are examined and described. It proves that le bifurcates into either subjective or nonsubjective when used to express a future situation. The variations of le₂ in nowadays in Shandong dialects, either in its function, distribution, or pronunciation actually can be traced back to this bifurcation.Chapter 3 studies the Auxiliary Ward jiang in Xingshi Yinyuan Zhuan. It is found that the grammatical function of jiang has developed out from the verb jiang with the meaning of "carry". Moreover, jiang is primarily used to indicate the extension of an action or a state.Chapter 4 examines the Auxiliary Ward ke found in Xingshi Yinyuan Zhuan. A comparison between ke in Xingshi Yinyuan Zhuan and those in Yuanchao Mishi, Laoqida and in the present Middle West Shandong dialects is conducted. It turns out that all these ke have the same origin. And a reasonable explanation of the origin and nature of ke is given from the viewpoint of language contact of Chinese and Mongolian.Chapter 5 reveals the close relationship between the Auxiliary Words in Xingshi Yinyuan Zhuan and the sentence structure of "VP mei", in both their structures and meanings. The comparison with the same structure in the present Middle and West Shandong dialects further shows that the existence of two different types of "VP mei" sentence structures, i.e. the subjective and objective repeating question sentences in present Middle and West Shandong dialects is also closely related to the development of the function of lai and le.Finally, according to the preceding investigations, a conclusion is made that from the time of Xingshi Yinyuan Zhuan to the present, the Auxiliary Words in the Middle and West Shandong dialects have been undergoing the reduction of dynamic ones, the merging of their functions, and the development of situational ones the complicating of their functions. Some further thoughts are given at last on how to do a joint research, i.e. both synchronically and diachronically, to probe deeper into this promising field of Chinese grammar at last.