Detecting patterns of change in the development of the Mandarin dative alternation: from attraction to differentiation and the reversal

Abstract The Mandarin dative alternation encompasses four constructions whose changing functions and driving forces of change have not been systematically addressed. Drawing on a large, richly annotated diachronic dataset of Chinese texts (1300s–2000s), this study traces how these constructions evolve, and how language internal and external factors interact to shape their trajectories. Using Multiple Correspondence Analysis (MCA) and Lasso regression, we find that the two ditransitive constructions ([V yǔ/gěi IO DO] and [V IO DO]) shift from attraction to differentiation, while the two prepositional dative constructions ([V DO yǔ/gěi IO] and [ yǔ/gěi IO V DO]) develop from differentiation to attraction and likely substitution. Attraction might be driven by analogy owing to functional overlap, whereas differentiation arises from the interaction of structural, cognitive, and sociolinguistic forces, including iconicity, preverbal/postverbal ordering constraints, Chinese’s shift from synthesis to analyticity, and disyllabification, as well as the Vernacular Movement. This study extends the scope of the present attraction-differentiation model by integrating socio-cultural (Vernacular Movement, regional dialect contact) and typological trends (analytic drift, disyllabification) into the explanation of constructional competition and change, and showing that attraction and differentiation are embedded in socio-historical ecologies, not just in internal constructional pressures. It also offers new insights into the adaptive dynamics of constructional networks. Methodologically, the integration of exploratory (MCA) and confirmatory (Lasso) techniques provides a replicable approach for uncovering emergent patterns in constructional change.