Mapping temporal evolution through spatial distances: exploring the diachronic variation in Chinese analytic causative constructions across seven centuries

Previous research has extensively discussed the grammaticalisation of Chinese analytic causative markers, yet no study has empirically examined the contextual features that constrain their choice over different historical periods. In light of this gap in the research, this study uses three exploratory quantitative methods, namely Hierarchical Cluster Analysis, Multi-dimensional Scaling Analysis, and Multiple Correspondence Analysis, to analyse 10,817 observations of analytic causative constructions with shi ([Formula: see text]), ling ([Formula: see text]), jiao1 ([Formula: see text]) and jiao2 ([Formula: see text]) as causative markers from the fourteenth to the twentieth century. Our analyses reveal distinct usage patterns of these markers and we effectively delineate their contextual features through the incorporation of eight syntactic and semantic variables. Our findings not only enhance the understanding of Chinese analytic causative constructions from the fourteenth to the twentieth century, but also provide corroborative evidence for previous research on synchronic variation.