The origin of the suffix -men [Chinese character] in Chinese
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 2816310 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Robert Iljic (École des hautes études en sciences sociales, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2001 |
| Volume | 64 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 74-97 |
| Publication date | 2001-02-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0041-977X • E-ISSN: 1474-0699 |
| Publisher | Cambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1017/s0041977x01000052 |
| OpenAlex | W2042050180 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 4 |
This article examines the competing theories dealing with the origin of the so-called plural suffix -men in Chinese. Their internal consistency is assessed both diachronically and-in a novel approach-on the conceptual level, that is, with reference to the fundamental value of -men today. As a result, the theses favouring an autochthonous development come out on top, to the detriment of those postulating an exogenous source. -Men is in all likelihood an outcome of the grammaticalization of the notion of 'clan', operating on a substratum of ancient Chinese collectives
Character (mathematics) · Clan · Consistency (knowledge bases) · Grammaticalization · Linguistics · Plural · Sociology · Statistics · Suffix · Value (mathematics) · Artificial Intelligence · Chinese history and philosophy · Computer Science · History · Mathematics · Philippine History and Culture · Philosophy · Swearing, Euphemism, Multilingualism
| Citations per year | 0.24 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2009 - 2024 (16) |
| Highly cited | No |