From collocation to idiomatic expression: The grammaticalization of hao phrases/constructions in Mandarin Chinese

Some recent studies concerning language use have shown the significance of frequency/routinization and collocation in the evolution of language structure and grammaticalization. Repeated daily (spoken) language use is believed to be the shaping force of linguistic structure. Linguistic contiguity is further proposed as one of the important sources leading to grammaticalization. In response to these interests in the relationship between syntagmatic association and grammaticalization, we conduct a synchronic case study of hao ‘good’ in Mandarin as it is used in modern spoken and written Chinese. Specifically, we examine the ways hao is used as a part of some constructions that convey stance. We argue that in these phrases/constructions hao has de-categorialized from being of a major lexical category (stative verb), and the phrases/constructions have grammaticalized into processing units with fixed prosodic and/or morphosyntactic coding, idiomatic meaning, and specific interactional function. This case study calls attention to collocates, constructions, and phrasal expressions, whose prominent presence blurs the distinction between lexicon and syntax, and demands reconsideration of the model for mental grammar.