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Where Do Classical Chinese Nouns Come From?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 March 2015

Christoph Harbsmeier
Christoph Harbsmeier*
Affiliation:
Department of East Asian Studies, University of Oslo, Blindern, Oslo 3, Norway
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Abstract

The hypothesis presented here is that in Classical Chinese syntax, nouns and noun phrases show signs of being, like verbs, capable of functioning as main predications. A definition of the noun and verb in Classical Chinese is offered, based on analysis of passages from pre-Han and Han texts, and it is argued that Classical Chinese can be more precisely understood by application of the principles of formal logic to the study of quantification, negation, conditionals, and pronominalization. This approach contrasts with approaches based on more traditional phonological, etymological, or philological methods.

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Type
ARTICLES
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Early China , Volume 9 , Issue 1 , 1985, pp. 77 - 163
Copyright
Copyright © Society for the Study of Early China 1983 

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