Abstract

It is common knowledge that the words corresponding to GIVE in serializing languages like hây and gěi in Thai and Mandarin Chinese, respectively, have multiple uses. Owing to the similarities as well as the differences in the synchronic usage and the diachronic development toward grammaticalization exhibited by the same words, they will be examined comparatively in this study, whose objectives are twofold: (i) to identify the similarities and differences in the usage between hây and gěi at the present time and (ii) to argue that these multiple meanings of hây and gěi are related, i.e. they are cases of polysemy. It has been brought to light that hây in Thai has a number of uses like: (1) a main verb use to indicate an action of possession transfer, (2) a dative use, (3) a benefactive use, (4) a causative use, (5) a malefactive use, and (6) a connective use in purposive, jussive, and complementation constructions. Its Mandarin Chinese equivalent gěi too has a range of uses like: (1) a main verb use, (2) a dative use, (3) a benefactive use, (4) a causative use, (5) a passive use, and (6) a ditransitive use. As is typical of serializing languages, these different, multifarious uses of hây and gěi arguably constitute cases of polysemy. It has also been discovered that the metonymic process, which involves pragmatic inferencing, plays a primary role in semantically extending the meaning of GIVE in both the languages.

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