EACS-2016. Book of Abstracts

Linguistics 21st Biennial Conference of the European Association for Chinese Studies 18 Basciano Bianca (Ca ’ Foscari University of Venice) Mandarin Verbal Reduplication in Diachronic Perspective Key words: reduplication, verbs, diachrony, cognate objects, syntax This paper aims at investigating Mandarin delimitative verb reduplication (e.g. 看（一）看 kàn (yi) kan ‘look (one) look, have a look’) from a diachronic perpective. Through the analysis of the diachronic development of verbal reduplication in Chinese, we aim at providing evidence for: 1) the substantial identity of the AA and A yi A patterns; 2) the syntactic nature of verbal reduplication; 3) the noun-like features of the reduplicant. To this aim we will present a diachronic overview of the different patterns of reduplication, through the analysis of data from representative works from different historical periods, as e. g. 朱子语类 Zhuzi yulei, 元曲 Yuan Qu, 西游记 Xi You Ji, 红楼梦 Hongloumeng. First of all, we will argue that the appearance of the delimitative A yi A pattern first (Song dynasty) and of the AA pattern later (Yuan dynasty; Ōta T. 1987 [1958]:176) can be explained in functional terms, i.e. in order to avoid overlap and, thus, ambiguity with the AA pattern expressing repetition or continuation, which declined in the Song dynasty (Ōta 1987[1958]:176). Secondly, through the analysis of different patterns of delimitative verb reduplication, we will provide evidence for an analysis of the AA and the A yi A pat- terns as two instances of the same phenomenon. Moreover, we will argue that the possibility to have an object appearing between the base and the reduplicant, such as 救他救 jiù tā jiù ‘save he save’, no longer possible in modern Chinese, supports the hypothesis that verbal reduplication is a syntactic rather than a lexical/morphological phenomenon (cfr. also the position of the perfective aspect marker 了 between the base and the reduplicant). Finally, on the basis of diachronic evidence, we will argue in favor of the nominal/classifier-like fea- tures of the reduplicant, which in many respects resembles cognate objects; above all, the fact that the reduplicant could be followed by the suffix 儿 -er, as e. g. 等等兒 děng děng-r ‘wait wait-SUFF’ (Ōta 1987 [1958]:176–177). Crone Thomas (University of Bonn) “Fault” or “Disaster”? “Regret” or “Sorrow”? The Noun you 尤 in Epigraphic Texts of the Shang and Zhou Dynasty Key words: you 尤 , disaster, fault, lin 吝 , divination The word you 尤 , which is found in more than 3000 charges of Shang Dynasty oracle bone inscrip- tions, remains a controversal issue. Not only has the traditional identification of the relevant character with the word you lead to many different translations ranging from “disaster” and “problems”, to “fault” and “blame”, but also has the entire approach been recently challenged by Chen Jian (2004), who argues that the character should instead be treated as a written form of the words lin 吝 (“regret”) and min 愍 (“sorrow”). It goes without saying that these different semantic options have a profound impact on the reading of the divination charges that they are found in. As a part of the research for my doctoral dis- sertation I have conducted a comparative semantic analysis of the term used in epigraphic texts of the Shang and Zhou Period. While an examination of the relevant oracle bone inscriptions did not lead to any satisfying results, as most of the inscriptions follow a very similar and monotonous pattern, records of the same term in the bronze inscriptions of the Western Zhou Period, however, turned out to yield a surpris- ingly unambiguous answer to these questions. The primary purpose of my presentation is going to be to share and discuss the newly obtained evidence and thereby hopefully establish a more secure reading of the word you. In addition, I am also going to argue that a comparison of the particular social context in which the term you is used according to the bronze inscriptions with that of the Shang Dynasty divination records, can also be used to shed new light on the relationship between religious practices and political culture of the early Zhou Period.