Abstract:

Despite a considerable number of studies concentrating on GIVE verbs, there is still a lack of research on dative markers in Chinese. Additionally, the intricate nature of dative markers in Hunan has not received much scholarly attention. Consequently, this research intends to examine dialects spoken in Hunan as a case study to explore the origins of dative markers and their pathways of grammaticalization.

The study yields three key findings: (i) The lexical items from which dative markers in Chinese dialects are derived tend to exhibit similar semantic characteristics, specifically relating to possession transfer and spatial transformation. (ii) The following grammaticalization pathways have been identified: a. Original giving verbs [+manner] > GIVE verb > Dative, b. [PUT-ALL] > GIVE verb > Dative, c. Directional verb > Dative, and d. Directional verb > GIVE verb > Dative. (iii) The preverbal dative structure emerges as a result of language and dialect contact, which is responsible for the following two evolutionary pathways: dative (postverbal) > dative (preverbal) and target marker (preverbal) > dative marker (preverbal).