HomeDate: 2026-09-10
We are proud to announce the publication of Synchrony and Diachrony in Southern Min: Grammatical Roles of Negation and Other Functional Categories, edited by Dr. Chinfa Lien and ILAS research fellow Dr. Min-hua Chiang. An introduction to this collection of papers is provided below.
In this book the authors cover the new ground in exploring the interlocking relationship between negation, modality and mood and clause types in Southern Min. The novel accounts show the rich and delicate formal distinction of negatives manifesting the lexical and morphological integration of modality and negation which underscores the building of a range of constructions in tandem with types of mood. The important role of such functional categories also impacts the formation of interrogatives, imperatives, causatives and passives as well as the quantificational account of quexistentials and reduplication. The interweaving patterns of functional categories tackled in the book inform the research of language variation bearing on the issues of language universals. The book will be welcomed not only by students of linguistics, but also by those with the background of humanities and science and with an open-minded concern for the sustainability of diversified linguistic ecology. The vintage of the book is its complementary role to the main stream language and the state of the art of the research area presented that will be of enduring value to readers with a zeal to widen their horizon to keep abreast of the rapidly changing world.
This open access volume is available now; please see the following link for full-text downloads and further information:
https://www.ling.sinica.edu.tw/item/en?act=publish_book&code=view&bookID=154
