This research identifies cyclical patterns in causative constructions from Old Chinese to Modern Chinese, suggesting implications for language structure.
Causative constructions, which represent the relationship between the “causing event” (CAUSE) and the “caused event” (RESULT), can be expressed by morphological, lexical, periphrastic, and complex predicate forms (Dixon 2010, 74). This study identifies a cyclical pattern in the evolution of causative constructions from Old Chinese to Modern Chinese, tracing the shift from lexical causatives to complex predicate causatives, and back again to lexical causatives. The cyclical change of Chinese causatives is driven by the interplay between the principles of “Economy” and “Clarity,” as well as by the prosodic shift from monosyllabic to disyllabic structures, a change that began during the Han Dynasty (202 BC–220 AD). The cyclical change of Chinese causatives reflects a typological shift in Modern Chinese, characterized by higher syntheticity and greater morphological complexity.
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Zhang et al. (2026) studied this question.
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