A Study On The Affixes In YuanQu

YuanQu consisted of SanQu and ZaJu in a broad sense. Its language was the typical oral Chinese in Yuan Dynasty with the popular, vivid and understandable style and was the direct source of modern Chinese vocabulary and grammar. Polysyllabic words had grown up till Yuan Dynasty. Some complement syllables appeared to meet the requirements of syllables' symmetry and harmonious rhythm and to suit the oral style of language in YuanQu. It is possible to form the mature polysyllabic words because of high frequencies of these complement syllables and its complemented parts with the influence of Chinese rhythm. In addition, some affixes which came into being in mediaeval times became more functionalized and enhanced the ability to form one word. There were many polysyllabic words with one etyma and one affix in YuanQu. The word-building by adding presented differently with the previous dynasties. The author analyzed the part of speech of polysyllabic words and classified the polysyllabic words by adding some affixes to show their existence in YuanQu, which is significantly important to describe the polysyllabic words in YuanQu and even to construct the glossarial system of Yuan Dynasty.In the first chapter Introduction the author firstly expatiates an outlook of affixes from the definition, denomination and criterion of affixes, and then distinguishes complement syllables and affix, affix and auxiliary word, modality affix and configuration affix. Research of the language of YuanQu is less than any other literatures in other dynasties. It is necessary to states the actualities about the research of YuanQu vocabulary and grammar in order to study deeply YuanQu affixes. Finally, the author points out the value and significance on YuanQu affixes research.In the second chapter the noun affixes are discussed. Though there are many controversies about Chinese affixes, the affixes such as A ZI, TOU, ER, LAO are regarded as typical affixes in Chinese. The prefix A derived from the verb A. when the meaning of the word A MU changed, the verb A died out and the prefix A occurred. These words made up of A are more than in contemporary Chinese. It is often placed ahead of family addresses and monosyllabic names to form 27 words totally. The prefix LAO derived from the adjective LAO. There are 160 polysyllabic words with the prefix LAO. Different adding meaning of the affix LAO is the result of different functionalization. It is special in YuanQu for LAO to be added before lifeless words in order to suit the needs of the style. Polysyllabic words with the suffix LAO, NAO, DAO are slang in Yuan and Ming Dynasty. There are 427 polysyllabic words by adding the suffix ZI, which is widely used to form various grammar senses in YuanQu. A lot of three-syllable and four-syllable words clearly show the oral characteristic of YuanQu. ZI can also be added to a verbs, which just appeared in Yuan Dynasty.In the section ER, the author firstly studies the development of the suffix ER and the appearance of the light speech ER and characterizes the affix ER in YuanQu. The author studies 1550 words with the suffix ER. The capability of the suffix ER in forming polysyllabic words is more powerful than any other Chinese affixes in the system of affixes in YuanQu. Historically, the style and subject of YuanQu excites the tempestuous increase of the words with ER. The suffix ER added widely after noun, verb, adjectives, numeral, adverb, and pronoun. It can express, random, friendly sense of YuanQu, which show some evidences of the light speech ER in YuanQu.There are 232 polysyllabic words with the suffix TOU. The usage of TOU is largely restricted by syntax in order to meet the request of the syllabic symmetry. These words adding TOU died away after that. There are 238 words with MEN in YuanQu. The suffix MEN can be used to express the plurality and not. An exceptive use of the plurality is such as: numeral+noun+MEN, and object noun +MEN is also special in Yuan Dynasty. The author researches 167 words with the suffix JIA. The suffix JIA can indicate professional persona, and it can be added after noun and pronoun of names or other nouns. JIA can also be used after nominal and predicative adverbial modifier to strengthen the mood, such as YIHUIJIA, BAN SHANG JIA. It is also written as JIA, JIE. There are a few of words with the suffix GE and LAI in YuanQu. GE and LAI are mostly added after the time noun. The suffix GE was the typical oral. The suffix LAI derived from the verb LAI.The third chapter gives the analysis of the verb affix. The scholar always paid less attention to the verb affixes in Chinese. Actually, since the mediaeval time, the word-building by adding affixes can form not only nouns but also verbs, adjectives, adverbs, pronouns etc.. The verb affixes in YuanQu are such as YOU DONG XIANG SI SUO DANG YU DA QU QUE. Since the premise for the verb to become double-syllable word is not to change the meaning to suit the tendency of polysyllable. The verb affixes are complement syllables to form double-syllable words, and their grammar sense were not more distinct than the noun affixes. The sources of verb affixes are different, which is not the same as nouns with strong functionlized sense. YOU, DONG derived from the complement syllables. There were 21 adding the prefix YOU, whose ability was very strong to form polysyllabic words in YuanQu.The author adopts the syntax and semantic criterion to judge the affix XIANG, SI, YU from the object of verb. The prefix XIANG derived from the pronoun XIANG. There were 72 polysyllabic words adding XIANG. The scholar paid less attention to SI, which was same as XIANG. SI could form more polysyllabic words than XIANG. In YuanQu. There were a lot of polysyllabic words with DA QU QUE in YuanQu. But these affixes are sometimes mixed with the extensive meaning verbs or auxiliary words. After generally analyzing these words, the author recognizes the nature and characteristics of these affixes according to different conditions. Then the author attempts to analyze the affix BA which is with clearly oral style. Dialectologist has regarded them as adding affixes and this phenomenon just appears in the double-syllable adjectives.In the forth chapter the adjective affixes are discussed. RAN is the most representative affix of adjectives and adverbials. There are 122 polysyllabic words with the suffix RAN in YuanQu. RAN can be added to adjective, adverb, noun, verb, onomatopoeia words and so on. Additional Ran can change the speech of words as adjective or adverb. Half of those words adding RAN died out in contemporary Chinese. The suffix ER HU in remote Chinese could not form more polysyllabic words in YuanQu. "KE + the psychology verb" become the adjective, KE was the prefix, but there are few words with KE in YuanQu. The principal types of adjective affixes are double-syllable affix of ABB and ABC in YuanQu. There are a lot of ABB adjective in YuanQu. In the part "The Overlapping Affix of ABB Adjective", the author illuminates the criterion of ABB adjectives with repeated syllables as affixes. 537 ABB adjectives in YuanQu are analyzed from their structure, their forming characteristics, their additional meaning and their pragmatic function. Lastly, the author probes into the development of ABB adjectives in the later time.ABC adjectives present a strong oral style. The author reviews the origin of ABC adjective and regard them as adjectives with double-syllable suffix and then analyzes 57 ABC adjectives from their structure, their function, their notional characteristic and so on.In the fifth chapter the author discusses the affix of adverb and numeral. Sheng and ME could not form many polysyllabic words in YuanQu. But those words adding SHENG and ME had been used frequently, such as ZENSHENG, HAOSHENG, PIANSHENG, SHENME, ZENME, ZHEME. The suffix ME has a strong oral sense, and it source is not clear now. There are a lot of double-syllable onomatopoeia and stimulant words, adverb and pronoun with the suffix DI in YuanQu. Di, Chu are the ordinal words prefix in Chinese.The sixth chapter gives the whole state and the characteristics of affixes in YuanQu totally. The paper has two breakthroughs of the criterion of affixes. Subsequently, the author clarifies the status of the affix in YuanQu word-building, and put forwards some ideas about the word-building research of YuanQu.The studying methods are four aspects: 1). Synchronic and static description and diachronic and dynamic analysis; 2). To combine the quantitative statistics and Qualitative Analysis; 3). To combine microscopic description and macroscopic sum; 4). To combine the affixes in YuanQu and in the contemporary language.The author makes a comprehensive description of YuanQu affixes and has a further analysis of the word-building by adding affix to form polysyllabic words. At the same time the author tries to clarify the variational features of Chinese affixes in the diachronic development. This research may be beneficial to analyze the word-building in YuanQu and in modern Chinese and construct the vocabulary system of YuanQu.