When I discussed Chinese 都 ‘all’ and 也 ‘also, even’, I mentioned that Cantonese expressed the latter meaning by using some kind of lexical doubling i.e. two synonyms (亦/都) which may be used either independently (亦, 都) or together in forming a double-worded phrase (亦都) e.g.
佢哋 亦/都 嚟咗
kuidei yik/do lei-joh
They also come-COMPLETIVE
‘They also came.’
The same strategy is used in expressing another meaning, namely the inferential particle ‘then’. In Mandarin (and standard Chinese in general), 就 is an adverb which expresses logical inferences of the form: if A, then (就) B e.g.
如果 你 來， 我 就 走
ruguo ni lai wo jiu zou
if you come I then go
‘If you come, I’ll go.’ (notice how English expresses such inferences by using the future tense)
In Cantonese, there are two morphemes which express the same inferential meaning, namely 咪 and 就, both of which can be used either independently (咪, 就) or together in forming a double-worded phrase (咪就) e.g.
如果 你 嚟， 我 咪/就 走
yugwoh nei lai ngoh mai/jau jau
if you come I then go
‘If you come, I’ll go.’
Lexical doubling is a common strategy in Cantonese. Fascinating.
Comments