UPSI Digital Repository (UDRep)
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UPSI Digital Repository (UDRep)
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| Abstract : Perpustakaan Tuanku Bainun |
| This study aims to delineate the developmental trajectory of modal semantics in Mandarin-speaking young children, to map the relationship between modality and its formal expressions, and to reveal the cognitive mechanisms of subjectification in acquisition. Drawing on the Chinese Children_s Multimodal Speech Corpus, it analyses longitudinal data from three children aged 1_4 to investigate the acquisition of modal verbs, modal adverbs, and modal particles with respect to onset age, frequency distribution, and semantic functions. A mixed-methods approach is employed, combining quantitative and qualitative analyses, comparison, statistical examination, and exemplification, as well as static distribution and dynamic investigation. The findings indicate that children_s acquisition of modality is comprehensive, with the order of development progressing _from outside to inside_: modal particles > modal verbs > modal adverbs. The direction of semantic growth is also clear: from root modality to epistemic modality, and from possibility to necessity. Modal verbs are most fully acquired and may be regarded as the prototypical modal category. By contrast, children show weaker sensitivity to semantic type in adverbs and particles, but stronger awareness of scalar distinctions. Moreover, modality develops in close coordination with other grammatical categories. Root modality aligns with dynamic predicates, epistemic modality correlates with static predicates and aspect markers, whilst the negative marker _bu_ functions as a filter on polysemous modal verbs. Co-occurrence patterns among modal forms conform to grammaticalisation and subjectification pathways. Based on the findings, it can be concluded that Mandarin children_s modal development is systematic and regular, and is closely tied to cognitive and linguistic growth. The implications of this study include highlighting the potential of applying the theories of subjectification, grammaticalisation, and prototype categorisation to modality acquisition, advancing research on the ontology and typology of Mandarin modality, and offering valuable insights for early childhood language education and clinical intervention. |
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