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<i>ɬwa:n⁵</i> as a Marker of the Degree of Expressiveness in the Kam Language
oleh: Hui He
| Format: | Article |
|---|---|
| Diterbitkan: | MDPI AG 2023-11-01 |
Deskripsi
This paper presents an analysis of syntactic collocations that include the constraints on an adjective phrase (AP) and adverbs or final particles (X) in the <i>ɬwa:n⁵</i> + AP + X construction, as well as its pragmatic features and grammatical functions in the Kam language. <i>ɬwa:n⁵</i> functions as an exclamative marker (EM) that conveys the expressive meaning of the speaker’s attitude. The primary lexical meaning of <i>ɬwa:n⁵</i> is ‘to calculate’ or ‘to regard as’, and the word is borrowed from Chinese (算 <i>suàn</i>, ‘to count’, ‘to calculate’, ‘to regard as’). The role of <i>ɬwa:n⁵</i> in the construction <i>ɬwa:n⁵</i> + AP + X will mainly be discussed in this paper. In addition, the adjectives that can collocate with <i>ɬwa:n⁵</i> are subject to a gradeability restriction, that is, only gradable adjectives can collocate with <i>ɬwa:n⁵</i>. In general, the <i>ɬwa:n⁵</i> construction is used to express that the speaker expected an existing situation with a gradable property; in reality, the degree follows a particular scalar and surpasses the expectation.