The multifunctionality of gwo3 in cantonese: grammaticalization and typology

This study examines the five functions associated with the directional verb gwo3 ‘cross’ in Cantonese, including the functions as: (i) a verb, (ii) a comparative marker, (iii) a dative marker, (iv) an experiential aspect marker and (v) an iterative aspect marker. Data from historical texts written in Cantonese and other Chinese dialects spoken in the last two hundred years show that the five functions of gwo3 represent a case of polysemy and have arisen as a result of cognitive, semantic and pragmatic processes. The historical data are also used to delineate the timeframe of the emergence of the functions which independently developed in Chinese dialects. Finally, cross-dialectal and cross-linguistic data demonstrate that the multiple functions of gwo3 are also exhibited by its equivalents spoken in other Chinese dialects and non-Sinitic languages spoken in the neighboring areas, shared features that define Mainland Southeast Asia as a linguistic area.