The Development of the Pragmatic Marker Xle in Chinese: A Constructional Study of the Negative Evaluative Stance

The Development of the Pragmatic Marker Xle in Chinese: A Constructional Study of the Negative Evaluative Stance | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article The Development of the Pragmatic Marker Xle in Chinese: A Constructional Study of the Negative Evaluative Stance Fangqiong Zhan This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7259121/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract This study argues that the development and functions of the Chinese pragmatic marker (PM) Xle are best understood through a constructional approach. In this construction, X (usually a monosyllabic verb or adjective) combines with le , a current relevant state marker, to form Xle , which conveys a negative evaluative stance—such as impatience, frustration, or disapproval—regardless of X ’s original meaning. Repetition of Xle intensifies emotional expression rather than creating redundancy. Focusing on the diachronic development of bale , the earliest attested Xle form, the study shows how it shifted from a syntactic predicate to a stance-taking PM through reanalysis, analogy, and subjectification. Mapping Xle within a constructional network, the paper highlights how form-meaning pairings drive its multifunctionality and alignment with speaker intention. This approach offers broader insights into the emergence of evaluative stance within a dynamic linguistic system. Humanities/Language and linguistics Social science/Language and linguistics Biological sciences/Psychology Social science/Psychology Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-7259121","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":513249248,"identity":"dcd61e83-695f-4f84-9cdc-6f32241f8333","order_by":0,"name":"Fangqiong Zhan","email":"data:image/png;base64,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","orcid":"","institution":"Nanyang Technological University National Institute of Education","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Fangqiong","middleName":"","lastName":"Zhan","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2025-07-31 07:23:14","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7259121/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-7259121/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":91626641,"identity":"465abdc7-903b-4564-a9db-caa5f02ea668","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-09-18 12:16:05","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":564232,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"TheDevelopmentofthePragmaticMarkerXleinChinese.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7259121/v1_covered_b930dbd7-7e39-433b-b997-fc180133201c.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"\u003cp\u003eThe Development of the Pragmatic Marker \u003cem\u003eXle\u003c/em\u003e in Chinese: A Constructional Study of the Negative Evaluative Stance\u003c/p\u003e","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"humanities-and-social-sciences-communications","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"palcomms","sideBox":"Learn more about [Humanities \u0026 Social Sciences Communications](http://www.nature.com/palcomms/)","snPcode":"41599","submissionUrl":"https://submission.springernature.com/new-submission/41599/3","title":"Humanities and Social Sciences Communications","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"stoa","reportingPortfolio":"Nature AJ","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":false},"keywords":"","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7259121/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-7259121/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eThis study argues that the development and functions of the Chinese pragmatic marker (PM) \u003cem\u003eXle\u003c/em\u003e are best understood through a constructional approach. In this construction, \u003cem\u003eX\u003c/em\u003e (usually a monosyllabic verb or adjective) combines with \u003cem\u003ele\u003c/em\u003e, a current relevant state marker, to form \u003cem\u003eXle\u003c/em\u003e, which conveys a negative evaluative stance\u0026mdash;such as impatience, frustration, or disapproval\u0026mdash;regardless of \u003cem\u003eX\u003c/em\u003e\u0026rsquo;s original meaning. Repetition of \u003cem\u003eXle\u003c/em\u003e intensifies emotional expression rather than creating redundancy. Focusing on the diachronic development of \u003cem\u003ebale\u003c/em\u003e, the earliest attested \u003cem\u003eXle\u003c/em\u003e form, the study shows how it shifted from a syntactic predicate to a stance-taking PM through reanalysis, analogy, and subjectification. Mapping \u003cem\u003eXle\u003c/em\u003e within a constructional network, the paper highlights how form-meaning pairings drive its multifunctionality and alignment with speaker intention. 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