It is reported that the[number+classifer]combination liangge(两个)"two"can be used as comitative prepositions and coordinating conjunctions in the Chinese dialects spoken in Tongjinpu(Chu et al 2006),Xiantao(Jiang 2012),and Gansu-Qinghai(Peyraube 2017).Furthermore,the cross-dialectal investigation conducted by Chan(2020)suggests four stages in the grammaticalization process of liangge:"two"＞"together"＞comitative preposition＞coordinating conjunction.On one hand,the syncretism between"two"and coordinating conjunction is cognitively motivated and thus observable among multiple languages with no direct geographical or phylogenetical relationship(Heine &Kuteva 2012[2002]).On the other hand,it is not yet clearly understood why the polysemous liangge is only attested in Hunan-Hubei and Gansu-Qinghai dialects.This paper presents the following arguments.(ⅰ)The polysemy of["two"=conjunction]is found in Hunan-Hubei dialects and their Tibeto-Burman neighbor,Tujia.(ⅱ)The grammaticalization of liangge in Gansu-Qinghai and Hunan-Hubei dialects is attributed to language contact.More specifically,the polysemous pattern of"two"can be borrowed to the local Chinese dialects through shift-induced interference.In the Gansu-Qinghai region,the local varieties of Chinese are influenced by Mongolian languages,while in the Hunan-Hubei region,the grammaticalization of liangge is triggered by the prolonged contact between Chinese dialects and Tujia.(ⅲ)The grammaticalization of liangge in Chinese dialects is both internally and externally motivated.The internal factor is that liangge in many Chinese dialects are denumeralized and acquire the adverbial function of"together",whereas the external factor is the language contact with neighboring non-Chinese SOV languages.
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