Chinese Localizers: Diachrony and Some Typological Considerations

Localizers (fangwèicí 方位词) express the relative position of objects. Either monosyllabic or dissyllabic in form, they belong to a closed sub-class. The monosyllabic set comprises the following localizers: shàng 上 ‘up’, xià 下 ‘down’, qián 前 ‘front’, hòu 后 ‘back’, li 里 ‘inside’, wài 外 ‘outside’, zuŏ 左 ‘left’, yòu 右 ‘right’, dōng 东 ‘east’, xī 西 ‘west’, nán 南 ‘south’, běi 北 ‘north’, zhōng 中 ‘middle’, jiān 间 ‘in, middle’, páng 旁 ‘side’, nèi 内 ‘inside, within’. In the majority of cases, monosyllabic localizers follow ordinary nouns, changing them into place words (chùsuocí 处所词) as in: zhuōzi shàng (table-on) ‘on the table’. This is especially the case for the two localizers shàng ‘on’ and li ‘in’, the versatility of the others being quite reduced as far as the spoken language is concerned. Disyllabic localizers are formed by adding a suffix (typically biānr 边儿, miànr 面儿 or tóu 头) or a prefix (yĭ 以 or zhī 之). Distinct from the monosyllables, they can be used alone as place words, serve as subjects or objects, or be combined with nouns to express position. Our analysis will provide the general outlines for the evolution of the system of localizers through different stages of the Chinese language (Archaic period, Medieval period, etc.), including their use and meaning in different Sinitic languages. It is shown that the evolution followed the direction of semantic change: dìngxiàngxìng 定向性 > fànxiàngxìng 泛向性, i.e. from a specific and prototype meaning for each localizer to a general one through reinterpretation. We propose that the Prototype model, rather than the Basic Meaning model, can be applied to explain this process of semantic change. Similar processes of syntactic and semantic change which can be observed in modern Sinitic languages (or Chinese dialects) are also briefly commented upon.