Temporal information in sentence-final particles: Tse and keh in Modern Shanghai Wu

Jiang, Yan; Wang, Wen

Abstract

This paper scrutinizes the claim that modern Shanghainese has sentence-final particles tse and keh that have tense-marking functions. We review works by Qian (2006; 2009), Chao (1926) and Li, Thompson & Thompson (1982) and analyse Shanghainese missionary texts on the use of these SFPs. Through a functional-discoursal investigation, we identify the IN-cluster use and the END-cluster use of tse. We take the temporal marking function of tse as a consequence of its discourse function, which introduces a current reference time in the discourse. On the other hand, we take keh as an assertion particle, whose occasional sense of recent past comes from its confirmation of a completed event.

Citation

Jiang, Y., & Wang, W. (2021). Temporal information in sentence-final particles: Tse and keh in Modern Shanghai Wu. SOAS working papers in linguistics, 20, 95-120. https://doi.org/10.25501/SOAS.00035585

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: May 1, 2021
• Publication Date: Oct 1, 2021
• Deposit Date: Oct 4, 2021
• Publicly Available Date: Oct 4, 2021
• Journal: SOAS Working Papers in Linguistics
• Print ISSN: 1473-0855
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 20
• Pages: 95-120
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.25501/SOAS.00035585
• Keywords: tense, aspect, sentence-final particle, Shanghainese, missionary linguistics
• Publisher URL: https://www.soas.ac.uk/about/schools-and-departments/school-languages-cultures-and-linguistics/department-linguistics/soas