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Abstract Modern Chinese changes over time, be it fast or slow, microscopic or macroscopic. Many previous studies of modern Chinese have focused on the diachronic change of words and sentence patterns, but little has been done on the evolution of discourse features over the last 100 years. This study attempts to explore the register change of modern written Chinese over the past century using multidimensional analysis. Results show that the register change of written modern Chinese can be understood in three overarching orientations: 1) differentiation of discourse functions, namely, a transition from intermingled narration-argumentation to separated narration and argumentation. For instance, the post-1978 era sees interaction, argumentation, and narration as relatively stable autonomous discourse functions; 2) proximization of communicative distance. Interactivity has gradually gained prominence in register-related discourse functions since 1950. since 1978, interactivity has stood out as the primary discourse function among others in written modern Chinese. This draws writers and readers closer and renders more readable texts; 3) the discourse functions of modern Chinese registers have strong associations with given historical periods, such as the New Cultural Movement, changes of political power, and the Reform and Opening-Up in Chinese modern history. Essentially, multiple factors have contributed to the register change of modern written Chinese, such as the preservation of classical Chinese and the impact of foreign languages.
Key words: modern written Chinese; discourse functions; register change; register grammar; corpus
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