The Analysis on the Lexicalization Patterns of Motion Verbs in Chaoshan Dialect

Abstract

The motion verbs: 走 tsau2 ‘run’ and 行 kian5 ‘walk’ in Chaoshan dialect were analyzed and compared to Ancient Chinese and Modern Chinese in this research. We used Leonard Talmy's lexicalization patterns to examine eight path verbs that collocate with this set of motion verbs respectively. The analysis shows that the verbs in Chaoshan dialect, 走 tsau2 ‘run’ and 行 kian5 ‘walk’, are semantically similar to Ancient Chinese but syntactically more inclined to Modern Chinese. It can be concluded that the semantics of Chaoshan dialect preserves ancient meanings well, while the syntax doesn’t keep the structure of Ancient Chinese anymore. Whereas, the syntax of Chaoshan dialect is evolving in the direction of Modern Chinese