The Tense-Aspect System of Qixian Dialect in Shanxi
School of Culture and Communication, Shandong University, Weihai 264209, China
| Abstract: | The temporal-aspectual system of the Qixian dialect, a Jin Chinese variety spoken in Shanxi Province, consists of two interrelated subsystems: a tense system and an aspect system, each exhibiting distinct yet overlapping grammatical functions. The tense system is tripartite, encoding past, present, and future temporal references through dedicated morphological and syntactic markers. This study provides a comprehensive analysis of these tense markers, elucidating their core grammatical functions while also demonstrating their secondary role in expressing modality, particularly in evidentiality and speaker attitude. The aspect system is further subdivided into dynamic and situational aspects, reflecting different dimensions of event structure. The dynamic aspect comprises four primary categories: perfective (denoting completed actions), durative (indicating ongoing states), experiential (marking past experiences), and continuative (expressing sustained or initiated actions). Notably, the continuative aspect bifurcates into inceptive (onset of an action) and persistive (continuation of a state) subcategories. Meanwhile, the situational aspect encodes four distinct event perspectives: the perfect (already realized), past experiential (formerly occurred), prospective (anticipated), and progressive (currently unfolding). A key finding of this study is the systematic interaction between tense and situational aspect in Qixian dialect, wherein grammatical markers frequently serve dual functions across these categories. This functional overlap suggests a tightly integrated temporal-aspectual framework, where tense distinctions often co-occur with aspectual nuances. Furthermore, the analysis reveals that aspectual markers exhibit greater syntactic flexibility than tense markers, allowing for pragmatic extensions into modal and discourse functions. These findings contribute to a deeper understanding of the grammaticalization pathways in Jin dialects and offer comparative insights into the broader typology of Chinese temporal-aspectual systems. |
| Keywords: | Shanxi Dialect; Qixian Dialect; Tense; Aspect |
| DOI: | 10.57237/j.cll.2025.02.001 |
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Received: 23 February 2025
Accepted: 12 April 2025
Published Online: 30 June 2025
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