本篇論文主要介紹檳城福建話情態詞:「愛(ai3)」。在檳城福建話中廣泛使用的愛主要來自漳州腔，其功能甚是多樣: 一.心理動詞、二.意願類動詞、三.非意願類動詞、四.意欲類情態詞、五.義務類情態詞、六.意欲類情態詞衍生即時未來意、七.動後結構以及八.傾向類副詞。本篇透過跨語言/方言比較，發現愛與台灣閩南語情態詞卜(beh4)在某些功能上重疊，包括:意願類動詞、意欲類情態詞、即時未來意以及動後結構。
另外，本文也探討愛在程度副詞結構的表現。在程度結構中,情態詞愛表達了「喜愛」或傾向類，並且連結程度副詞及一般動詞。情態詞愛因為含有程度化的特徵，在這結構中可以賦予其下層的動詞謂語同樣的程度化特徵，使之能順利地與程度副詞相結合。

This paper explores the distribution of ai3 (愛) in Penang Hokkien. Ai3 in PHK originates from the Changzhou dialect and is widely used in PHK. Ai3 can be applied in various usages. Through cross-dialectal comparison, this study exhibits a broad and distinct range of functions of ai3 in TSM and in PHK. In PHK, ai3 has the following functions: a. a Psych verb, b. a volitional verb, c. non-volitional usage, d. bouletic modality, e. deontic modality, f. immediate future sense derived from bouletic modality, g. post-verbal as an approximator based on conversational implication, and h. as a tendency adverb. Several functions are parallel to beh4 (卜) in TSM, such as to be a volitional verb, a bouletic modality, a modality denoting immediate future sense and the post-verbal construction.
This paper also discusses a specific construction in SM, Degree ADV+ ai3+VP, which uses certain modal verbs such as ai3 as a medium to connect a degree adverb and a verbal phrase. In the [POS Degree ADV+ ModV+VP] construction in PHK and TSM, ai3 denotes an “adore” or tendency meaning. Semantically, certain modal verbs containing gradable features play a key role as operators that can transform verbal predicates denoting events to be measured based on certain standards. Then, it becomes easier for these predicates to connect to the POS degree adverbs.

English References
Biber, D., et al. 1999. Longman grammar of spoken and written English. Edinburgh:Pearson Education Ltd.
Bolinger, D. 1972. Degree words. Paris: The Hague: Mouton.
Bresnan, J. 1995. Lexicality and argument structure. In Paris Syntax and Semantics Conference, Vol. 12.
Bybee, Joan L., William Pagliuca and Revere D. Perkins. 1991. Back to the future. In Elizabeth Closs Traugott and Bernd Heine (eds.), Approaches to Grammaticalization Volume II: 17-58. Amsterdam:John Benjamins.
Carlson, Gregory. 1977. Reference to Kinds in English. PhD dissertation, University of Massachusetts.
Chierchia, Gennaro. 1984. Topics in the syntax and semantics of infinitives and gerunds. Ph.D. Dissertation, University of Massachusetts, Amherst.
ER Luján. 2010. Semantic Change. Luraghi,S., and Bebenik, V. (eds.), The Continuum Companion to Historical Linguistics. New York: Bloombury Published.
Grano, T. 2012. Mandarin hen and universal markedness in gradable adjectives. Natural Language & Linguistic Theory, 30(2): 513-565.
Greenberg, Yael. & Moria Ronen. 2013. Three approximators which are almost/more or less/be-gadol the same. E. Cohen (ed.), In Proceedings of IATL 2012: 51-70. Cambridge, MA: MIT Working Papers in Linguistics.
F. De Haan. 1997. The interaction of modality and negation: A typological study. PhD Dissertation, University of Southern California.
Hopper, Paul J., and Elizabeth Closs Traugott. 1993. Grammaticalization. London : Cambridge University Press.
Hsu, Ting-Ting. 2013. Subjectification and the emergence of deontic modal verbs TIOH8, AI3, and E7 in Southern Min. PhD Dissertation, National Tsing Hua University.
Huang, Shi-Zhe. 2006. Property theory, adjectives, and modification in Chinese. Journal of East Asian Linguistics 15: 343–369.
Kennedy, Christopher. 1999. Projecting the adjective: The syntax and semantics of gradability and comparison. New York: Garland.
__________________. 2007. Vagueness and grammar: the semantics of relative and absolute gradable adjectives. Linguistics and Philosophy 30: 1–45.
Kennedy, C. and L. McNally, 1999. From event structure to scale structure: Degree modification in deverbal adjectives. Tanya Matthews and Devon Strolovitch (eds), SALT IX 163: 1 80, Ithaca, NY: Cornell University.
_______________________. 2005. Scale structure, degree modification, and the semantics of gradable predicates. Language: 345-381.
Kiss, A. 2014. A remark on the Individual/Stage-level Predicate Distinction in English. The Odd Yearbook, 98.
Kratzer, A. 1995. Individual-level predicates. The generic book, 125.
Lee, H. C. 2014. The Modal System in Hainan Min. Language and Linguistics, 15(6), 825-857.
Lien, Chinfa. 2010. Middles in Taiwanese Southern Min: the interface of lexical meaning and event structure. Lingua 120.5: 1273-1287.
__________.2019. The Formation and Constraints of Scalar Structure in TSM. Paper session presented at the 27th annual conference of international association of Chinese linguistics (IACL-27), Kobe, Japan.
Lin, Yu-Chen. 2014. Grammaticalization of beh4 卜 in southern min. M.A. Thesis, National Tsing Hua University.
Liu, Chen-Sheng Luther. 2010b. The positive morpheme in Chinese and the adjectival structure. Lingua 120: 1010–1056.
____________________. 2018. Projecting adjectives in Chinese. Journal of East Asian Linguistics, 27(1): 67-109.
Lyons, John. 1978 (reprint). Semantics. Vol. 2, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Narrog, H. 2012. Modality, subjectivity, and semantic change: a cross-linguistic perspective. Oxford University Press.
Nuyts, J., Byloo, P., & Diepeveen, J. 2010. On deontic modality, directivity, and mood:The case of Dutch mogen and moeten. Journal of pragmatics, 42(1): 16-34.
Nuyts, J. 2006. Modality: Overview and linguistic issues. The expression of modality, 126.
Palmer, F.R. 2001. Mood and modality. Cambridge : Cambridge University Press. Second edition.
Peyraube, Alain. 2001. On the modal auxiliaries of volition in Classical Chinese. In Hilary Chappell (ed.), Sinitic Grammar: Synchronic and Diachronic Perspectives. Oxford & New York: Oxford University Press
Portner, P. 2009. Modality (Vol. 1). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
________. 2018. Mood. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Quirk et al. 1985. A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language. London: Pearson Longman.
Soh, Hooi Ling and Meijia Gao. 2004. Change of State, Presupposition and the Meaning of Mandarin Sentential –le. Manuscript, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities.
________________________. 2006. Perfective aspect and transition in Mandarin Chinese: An analysis of double-le sentences. Pascal Denis et al (eds.), In Proceedings of the 2004 Texas Linguistics Society Conference: 107-122.
Tan, Siew Imm. 2016. Penang Hokkien-English DICTIONARY: With an English Penang Hokkien Glossary. Subang Jaya: Sunway Education Group.
Teng, Shou-hsin. l974. Verb classification and its pedagogical extensions. Journal of Chinese Language Teachers Association, 9 (2): 84-92.
Tsujimura, N. 2001. Degree words and scalar structure in Japanese. Lingua, 111(1): 29-52.
Vendler, Z., 1967. Linguistics in philosophy. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.
Von Fintel, K. 2006. Modality and Language. Donald M. Borchert (ed.), In Encyclopedia of Philosophy – Second Edition. Detroit: MacMillan Reference USA.
Zhang, N. N. 2015. Functional head properties of the degree word hen in Mandarin Chinese. Lingua, 153: 14-41.
Zadeh, L. A. 1965. Fuzzy sets. Information and control, 8(3): 338-353.

Chinese References
張麗麗、 陳克建、黃居仁 (2000)。漢語動詞詞彙語意分析：表達模式與研究方法。Computational Linguistics and Chinese Language Processing, Vol. 5, No.1: 1-18。[Li-li Chang, Keh-jiann Chen and Chu-ren Huang. 2000. A Lexical-semantic analysis of Mandarin Chinese verbs: Representation and Methodology. Computational Linguistics and Chinese Language Processing, Vol. 5, No.1: 1-18.]
張萬禾(2008)。漢語動詞的語意範疇及其句法表現-對自主範疇的再認識。西北師 大學報: 第 45 卷第 1 期，86-90。[Zhang, Wan-he. 2008. On willingness category of Chinese verb and its syntactic form. Journal of Northwest Normal University, Vol.45, No.1: 86-90.]
張誼生(2000a)。現代漢語副詞研究。上海：學林出版社 。[Zhang, Yi-sheng. 2000a. Xian dai han yu fu ci yan jiu. Shanghai: Xue lin chu ban she.]
鄭良偉(1989)。國語常用虛詞及其台語對應詞釋例。台北: 文鶴出版社 。[Cheng, Robert Liang-wei. 1989. Mandarin function words and their Taiwanese equivalents. Taipei: Crane Publishing Co., Ltd.]
顧陽（2007）。時態、時制理論與漢語時間參照。語言科學: 2007年7月第六卷 第四期，22-38。[Gu, Yang. 2007. Studies of tense, aspect and Chinese time reference. Linguistic Sciences, Vol. 6, No.4: 22-38].
許婷婷 (2013)。從語意內涵及方言對比試析華語多義助動詞「要」的功能
分布。華語文教學研究: 10.1，1-30。[Hsu, Ting-Ting. 2013. Disambiguating Mandarin polysemous auxiliary YAO4 with distinctive features and contrastive dialectal analysis. Journal of Chinese Language Teaching, Vol.10, No1: 1-30]
賴沛禎 (2016)。台灣閩南語情態詞「愛」和「欲」的研究。新竹教育大學碩 士論文。[Lai, Pei-Chen. 2016. A study on modal verbs “AI” and “BEH” in Taiwanese Southern Min. M.A. Thesis: National Hsinchu University of Education.]
連金發 (2013b)。 台灣閩南語情態詞的否定類型探索。 語言暨語言學: 14.2，213-239。 [Lien, Chinfa. 2013b. Negative patterns of modals in Taiwanese Southern Min. Language and Linguistics, 14.2: 213-239.]
______ (2015)。 現代閩南語「無」的多重功能：從階層結構入手. 語言暨 語言學: 16(2)，169-186. [______. 2015. Polyfunctionality of Bo5 in Modern Southern Min: a case of its interpretation in tandem with Hierarchical Positions. Language and Linguistics, 16.2: 169-186.]
李貴娘 (1997)。漢語程度副詞。 國立清華大學碩士論文。[Li, Kuei-niang. 1997. Mandarin degree adverbs. M.A. Thesis: National Tsing Hua University.]
李秀珠 (2011)。 現代漢語程度副詞「很」的探討。國立臺灣師範大學碩士論文。 [Li, Xiu-zhu. 2011. The study of adverb of degree “hen” in Mandarin Chinese. M.A. Thesis: National Taiwan Normal University.]
曹逢甫 (1998)。台灣閩南語中與時貌有關的語詞 “有” “Ø” “啊”試析。清華學報新二十八卷，299-334。 [Tsao, Fengfu. 1998. On three aspect－Related morphemes “U”, “Ø” and “A” in Taiwanese Minnan. Tsing Hua Journal of Chinese Studies 28:299-334.]
蔡美慧 (1998)。你明天要不要去台北?” -從答詞觀點探討台灣國語助動詞 “要” 的用法。黃宣範(主編)，第二屆台灣語言國際研討會論文選集。台北 : 文鶴出 版社，329-344。[Tsai, Mei-hui. 1998. Are you going to Taipei or not? Yao as an auxiliary verb in Taiwan Mandarin. Huang, Shuan-fan (Ed.), Selected Papers from the Second International Symposium on Languages in Taiwan: 329-344, Taipei: Crane Publishing Co.]