From ‘See’ to ‘If’: The Grammaticalization of Visual Perception Verbs in Hlai

This study examines the grammaticalization of visual perception verbs in Hlai, a Kra–Dai language spoken on Hainan Island. Based on original fieldwork data, the paper identifies two core verbs of visual perception, zo33 and laai55, which differ systematically in their semantic profiles and diachronic developments. While both verbs encode basic visual perception, zo33 exhibits a broader range of activity-oriented meanings (e.g., ‘watch’, ‘read’, ‘visit’, ‘judge’) and has developed a tentative marker function. In contrast, laai55 patterns as an experience-type perception verb and has undergone a distinct grammaticalization pathway, developing into a conditional conjunction meaning ‘if’ and, in combination with negation, an ‘otherwise’ marker. Adopting a typological framework of perception verbs and a model of semantic extension, this study demonstrates that the two verbs diverge not only in aspectual type (activity vs. experience) but also in their susceptibility to functional reanalysis. A comparative analysis with Mandarin and Hainan Min suggests that the tentative use of zo33 is plausibly contact-induced, whereas the conditional development of laai55 lacks a clear parallel in the contact languages and is more likely to represent a language-internal innovation. The findings contribute to the documentation of Hlai and to cross-linguistic discussions of perception verbs, semantic change, and the typology of conditional marking.