On the Modal Evolutions and Expression Functions of"Shao/mianbude(少/免不得)"and"Shao/mian/duanbuliao(少/免/短不了)"
The potential verb-complement words"shao/mian bu de"(少/免不得)and"shao/mian/duan bu liao(少/免/短不了)"have evolved from dynamic modality to deontic modality,and from dynamic modality to epistemic modality.The five words vary in terms of modal expressions categories and frequency of use due to the semantic constraints of"shao(少)","mian(免)"and"duan(短)",as well as the structure of"X bude"(X不得)and"X buliao"(X不了)."shao/mian bu de(少/免不得)"appears earlier than"shao/mian/duan bu liao(少/免/短不了)".The former is from more to less,and the latter is from less to more.The number of"duan bu liao(短不了)"has been extremely low."shao bu de(少不得)"mostly denotes the moral modality,"shaobuliao(少不了)"mostly denotes the dynamic modality,and"mian bu de(免不得)""mian bu liao(免不了)""duan bu liao(短不了)"mostly denotes the cognitive modality/epistemic modality."shao bu de"(少不得)and"shao bu liao"(少不了)are mostly followed by neutral components,while"mian bu de"(免不得),"mian bu liao(免不了)"and"duan bu liao"(短不了)are mostly followed by negative components.All five are used for narration,but the difference is that"shaobude(少不得)"is also used for discussion,"mian bu de(免不得)""mian bu liao(免不了)"are mostly used for discussion and narration,and"duan bu liao(短不了)"is mostly used for dialogue.
"shao bu de"(少不得)"mian bu de"(免不得)"shao bu liao"(少不了)"mian bu liao"(免不了)"duan bu liao"(短不了)modality evolutionexpression function