The common origin of diminutives in southern Chinese dialects and Southeast Asian languages

• Main Author: Chen
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: 2024
• Subjects: Arts and Humanities
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/178083
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

In this paper I discuss the evolution of the four types of diminutives in Wu, Min, Gan and Yue dialects step by step. Type I uses the syllabic suffix jian t to express the diminutive; type II appends a glottal stop 2 as the last segment of the syllable, and adds a tonal alternation to carry a diminutive increment of meaning; type III is the diminutive where syllables have the feature of a constricted glottis, plus a tonal alternation; type IV uses only tonal alternations or changed tones to express the diminutive. As far as the relationship between suffixal -2 and tonal alternation is concerned, I argue that it was the disappearance of the suffixal -? that caused tonal change. It is my view that these four types of diminutives can be traced back to one common source, the jian suffixal diminutive. Having compared the jian diminutive in MM dialects with the con diminutive in Vietnamese, I maintain that the jian word and the jian diminutive is related to the Austroasiatic etymon represented by Vietnamese con and the con diminutive. I consider the jian and jian diminutive in some southern Chinese dialects to reflect a substratum of the ancient Baiyue languages.