Comparative study of lexicalization patterns in Motion Events among early Wu dialects : Based on the study of translated versions in Wu dialects of the Gospel of Luke

Based on the data of Wu dialects translation of the Gospel of Luke, we investigate the lexicalization patterns in Motion Events in Early Wu dialects, including Soochow dialect, Shanghai dialect, Ningpo dialect, Taichow dialect and Wenchow dialect. Our statistical work on data shows that although the lexicalization patterns in Motion Events in early Wu dialects are combined with Equipollently-framed or Verb-framed and Satellite-framed pattern in general, motion events in Wu dialects are dominantly encoded as Satellite-framed languages. what's more, it is obvious that Wu dialects in Zhejiang province are more typical Satellite-framed languages than Soochow and Shanghai dialects. The difference between Wu dialects in Zhejiang province and Soochow and Shanghai dialects proves that there is a correlation between the typicality of Satellite-framed pattern and the topicalization of syntax in dialect. Topicalization in Wu dialects in Zhejiang province is stronger than that in Soochow and Shanghai dialects, so Wu dialects in Zhejiang province are the more typical Satellite-framed languages than Soochow and Shanghai dialects. This correlation shows that topicalization is one of the important mechanisms to make Verb-framed and Equipollently-framed patterns in motion event in Chinese evolve into Satellite-framed patterns.