On Clitic Structure of XDisyllabic Evaluative Adverb+Shi
Abstract
The word
shiin the structure of X disyllabic evaluative adverb +
shihas four types of properties. But only
shi3has the feature of a clitic. Such a clitic does not take an object syntactically and it loses its semantic reference. It has the cohesive and modal evaluative functions pragmatically. And semantic bleaching, syntactic dismatch and postposition are the main causes for the formation of
shi
3. As for the whole structure, rhythmic formation of words and cognitive chunks lead to the normalization of its usage. Accordingly, it cannot be expanded and tested syntactically at will. Its generation is influenced by analogy, reanalysis, rhetoric expression and highly frequent use.
