“以来”與“来”的词汇化、语法化溯源

The location noun “Yilai” expressing temporal meaning comes from the cross-level lexicalization of the “Zi……Yi Lai” structure. The elision of prepositions in the Han Dynasty has promoted the reanalysis of the syntactic hierarchy and syntactic relationships of this structure, which has had a significant impact on the lexicalization of “Yilai”. During the Sui, Tang, and Five Dynasties periods, the word “Yi” was omitted, and “Lai” tended to be attached to non-precise temporal expressions. Since then, the time structure of “X (Yi) Lai” has evolved into two variants, and this trend has continued into modern Chinese.