Pronouns, Plurals, and Diminutives

This chapter discusses changes in pronominal systems throughout history and explores the motivations for the emergence of plurals and diminutives in Modern Chinese. The emergence of the plural morpheme was motivated by the classifier system; the distribution of the plural morphemes was also influenced by classifiers. The earliest uses of these plurals were attested around the eighth century AD, but their widespread use occurred after the tenth century AD.