Syntactic properties of sin(先)in Cantonese interrogatives

Abstract

本文从句法学的角度探讨粤语疑问句末加强语气的"先"的语法特点,并且提出证据支持句末助词的分析。加强语气的"先"只出现在疑问句的母句里。句法上属于第二类句末助词,跟表示先后的副词"先"并不一样。 This paperdiscussesvariousgrammaticalpropertiesof theparticlesininCantonese interrogatives through a syntactic approach and proposes that sin is a sentence-final particle conveying mood.It is argued that this particle is a type Ⅱ sentence-final particle,occurring in the matrix clause of interrogatives,whose distribution is very different from the adverb sin(先)‘first’ that is related to time and order,although they are apparently homonyms.