The Syntax of Functional Particles in Sichuanese: a Case Study on de (得)

This dissertation presents a fieldwork-based investigation on the post-verbal modal marker DE in Sichuanese, a variety of southwestern Mandarin, which at first glance appears to be highly polysemous across a range of root modal readings. Adopting a cartographic approach to syntax, this study provides empirical support for the view that modals are not intrinsically polysemous; rather, their varied interpretations can arise not only from contextual factors but also through syntactic marking. By defining DE as a marker of basic alethic modality, this study highlights a particular “compositional strategy” employed in the Sichuanese modal system. A close examination of DE’s grammaticalization path further reveals the close relationship between modality and aspect. On a broader level, this study confirms and extends the root modal hierarchy identified by Cinque (1999, 2006), providing new insights into how modality is structurally and universally encoded in the syntax.