EXPLORING THE MULTIPLE GRAMMATICALIZATION OF RENJIA IN JIN DIALECTS: A TYPOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE 晋语旁指代词“人家”多重语法化的类型学表现

It is well recognized that "人家" (Rénjiā) has generally evolved from a demonstrative pronoun into a third-person pronoun in northern Chinese dialects. Some previous studies have observed that Rénjiā can simultaneously express deixis and definiteness. Nonetheless, the process through which an anaphoric pronoun transitions into a definite marker, along with the precise conditions facilitating this evolution, remains insufficiently clarified. This study, utilizing data from the Jin dialects, demonstrates that Rénjiā can be combined with other nominal elements to form constructions such as "Rénjiā+pronoun/noun" or "pronoun/noun+Rénjiā." The word Rénjiāhas evolved into a definite marker with a function of emphasis and has been further grammaticalized into a focus marker. In the Jin dialects, Rénjiāhas undergone multiple grammaticalization, a phenomenon also prevalent in the Jilu and northwestern dialects in China. This development holds significant implications in the field of linguistic typology.