After a brief review of the studies on Chinese function words in the 1980’s and the 1990’s and of their characteristics, this paper makes a systematic summary of the related research published between 2000 and 2018, pointing out how the research has made considerable progress in breadth and depth as well as in strength and clarity. This paper provides a general introduction of this research, and covers the following topics: it presents new explorations and new methods; breakthroughs in the classification of function words; innovative theories and research methods; the strengthening of applied research on function words; and perspectives for future research of Chinese function words.

This paper adopts a semantic grammar and a semantic map approach to describe and verify the distribution of sentence-final particle ma, and discusses its focus and interrogative properties. The paper first groups the hypotheses mentioned in the literature to account for the evolution of ma into three types: negation, a coalescence of me and a or of mei and a, an evolution from wu or me. It is argued that a synchronic study of the grammatical meaning of ma can provide theoretical evidence to support diachronic studies. Then the paper investigates ma’s selectional restrictions in terms of sentence types, empty pronouns, modal adverbs and verbal constructions. Thirdly, based on the distribution of ma and question-answer pairs, the types and optimal order of the interrogative focus is listed as: modal adverbs > modal verbs >verb complement > predicator. In a fourth section, ma questions are defined as modal polarity questions, and it is argued that ma questions are one of the interrogative patterns used when the cognitive status of the questioned event or state is ‘full doubt and zero certainty’.

Although previous studies have examined this theme in terms of declension or emphasis, there is room for further discussion. This study first classifies predicates into event-predicates and state-predicates, and then demonstrates that “wo” is typically used with state-predicates and “wu” with event predicates. Finally, by summarizing the usage of subject, attribute, and object, it clarifies the differences between “wo” and “wu” in old Chinese wherein “wo” was used when a speaker objectively looked at themselves and the situation, while “wu” was used when the speaker subjectively looked at themselves and the situation.

Rai (1953) categorized the guttural endings of Old Chinese into two groups, distinguished by the presence or absence of labiality. This theory has had wide impact. Rai (1956a) then applied the same concept to Middle Chinese, dividing its guttural endings into the same two categories. This paper, based on Hirayama’s (2006) final system discusses whether the labiality distinction can be used for all endings in Middle Chinese, attempts to systematize all finals, and finally propounds a new final system for Middle Chinese.

This paper analyzes the interrogative pronoun “zenme,” which functions to indicate cause and manner. First, I suggest that “zenme” functions as an “event-recognition construction” and works as an “event-reason request” when the speaker re-recognizes an event, and otherwise as an “event-logical request.” Such functions depend on different points of view about an event. Because some language forms are relevant to the speaker’s re-recognition, the former are marked expressions, while the latter are not. Second, “shei/shenme” function as “event constructions.” Finally, these functions, which can be classified as subject and premise, effect word order in conversations.

Academics have not reached a conclusion regarding the causes of the regressive dissimilation between adjacent tones. This paper holds that there exists a connotative premise within the arguments made by previous researchers. The paper examines the focus syllable and the post-focus syllable and designates four levels of prosodic closeness for the two syllables. The analysis showed that the formations of the regressive dissimilation of the two pitch points of the rising tone under focus are in contrast to the premise tacitly approved by previous researchers. In summary, regressive dissimilation is more complicated than what was reported in previous studies.