A Typological Study On The Indefinite Pro-forms In Zhuang Language Under The Perspective Of Zhuang-Chinese Contact

The subject approaches the topic of indefinite pro-forms of five Zhuang dialects(South Zhuang such as Jingxi and Tianyang;North Zhuang such as Wuming,Donglan and Guigang.)Formally,indefinite pro-forms of a language typically occur in several series.Zhuang language has three major series of inde finite pro-forms:the '?ak7+CL+Nou'-series,the classfiers-series and the interrogative-series.Based on the 'Implicational Map' for indefinite pro-forms modified by ZHANG Ding(2013a)and the network of the semantic map methodology.this thesis gives a meticulous description of the aboved indefinite pro-forms.On the basis of what has been mentioned above,this thesis summarizes the features of the distributions of the indefinite pro-forms over the functions on the map.In additon,this thesis applies the theories of garmmaticalization and language contact to propose an exploring of the semantic changes in different indefinite series,and to attempt to explain the possible exceptions occuring in the map.This thesis contains six chapters,chapters 2?chapters 3?chapters 4 and chapters 5 are the main body of the thesis.Chapter 1 is Preface,introducing the project source,the present researches that have already been accomplished,the content of the research,the methods of the research,the definition of the term and the related issues.Chapter 2 provides a detailed review of the 'Implicational Map' for indefinite pro-forms,containing the nine semantic functions,scalar endpoint vs non-scalar endpoint,scale reversal vs non-scale reversal,implicatioal universals and two tendency principles.Then,this chapter gives a preliminary outline of three major series of indefinite pro-forms:the'?ak7+CL+Noun'-series,the classfiers-series(CL+Noun?CL+Noun+one?CL+ CL)and the interrogative-series.Chapter 3 investigates the '?ak7+CL+Noun'-serves.The chapter is divided into four subsections,the first and second sections describe the semantic funtions of the'?ak7+CL+Noun'-series in five Zhuang dialects.The third section summarizes the characteristics of the '?ak7+CL+Noun'-series.The fourth section deals with the functional changes of the '?ak7+CL+Noun'-series from the perspectives of grammaticalization and language contact.Chapter 4 observes the classfiers-series.The chapter is divided into six subsections,the first,second and third sections offer a detailed description of the semantic functions of the'CL+Noun' and the'CL+Noun+one'.The fourth section makes a summary of the 'CL+Noun'and the 'CL+Noun+one' through a functional comparison.The fifth section compares the differences and relations between the '?ak7+CL+Noun'-series,the 'CL+Noun' and the 'CL+Noun+one' over the functions.The sixth section discusses the semantic functions of the 'CL+CL'.Chapter 5 approaches the interrogative-series.The chapter is divided into six subsections,the first,second and third sections present a detailed description of the semantic functions of the interrogative-series.The fourth section summarizes the features of the interrogative-series.The fifth section proposes an investigation of the source constructions and functional extensions of the interrogative-series in Zhuang.The sixth section illustrates the typological natures of the interrogative-series in Zhuang.Chapter 6 is concluded with the major findings,innovations and drawbacks of this thesis.