Debuccalization in a Coordinating Conjunction and a Distal Démonstrative Pronoun

Abstract

Based on Chinese historical texts and modern dialect materials, this paper addresses debuccalization that occurred in a coordinating conjunction and a distal demonstrative pronoun. The research findings are twofold. First, the conjunction xan51 ('and') in Beijing and surrounding dialects very likely derived from the verb bàn ('accompany'). Second, the predicate distal demonstrative pronoun, háng, resulted from the debuccalization of a monosyllable derived from fusion of the disyllabic word nàyang ('like that').