Title

The Formation of the Emphatic Adverb Ke in Mandarin

Author

Chang Li-li

Genre

Article

Pages

1-44

Download

PDF

Language

Chinese

Key words

emphatic adverbs, modal adverbs, modal verbs, rhetorical interrogative adverbs

Abstract

Mandarin ke (可) is an emphatic modal adverb with multiple functions, but its origin has remained unclear. Although there have been different proposals regarding its etymology, they do not paint a complete picture, nor do they account for the differences in strong versus light intonation. This paper provides historical evidence to argue that the two forms of ke have different origins: The strong one originated from a modal verb and the light one from a rhetorical interrogative adverb.