DOCSLIB.ORG

Dissertations, Department of Linguistics

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Dissertations, Department of Linguistics UC Berkeley Dissertations, Department of Linguistics Title A Cognitive Approach to Mandarin Conditionals Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/5qw934z5 Author Yang, Fan-Pei Publication Date 2007 eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library University of California A Cognitive Approach To Mandarin Conditionals By Fan-Pei Gloria Yang B.A. (National Taiwan Normal Univeristy) 1998 M.A. (University of California, Berkeley) 2003 A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the Requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Linguistics in the Graduate Division of the University of California, Berkeley Committee in charge: Professor Eve Sweetser, Chair Professor George Lakoff Professor Jerome Feldman Spring 2007 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. A Cognitive Approach To Mandarin Conditionals Copyright © 2007 By Fan-Pei Gloria Yang Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Abstract A Cognitive Approach To Mandarin Conditionals By Fan-Pei Gloria Yang Doctor of Philosophy in Linguistics University of California, Berkeley Professor Eve Sweetser, Chair This dissertation provides a description of some of the common Mandarin conditional constructions, with a focus on describing the contributions of the linking devices to the conditional interpretations and their interactions with other elements in constructions. The analyses are based on corpus data and include studies on the pragmatic uses of conditionals. The discussion endeavors to show how cognitive structures link to linguistic structures and how spaces are built and frames evoked. Consequently, the research does not just provide a syntactic description, but offers an in-depth discussion of epistemic stance and grounding of information indicated by the linking devices. The analysis here shows that cognitive approaches such as Construction Grammar, Theory of Mental Spaces, Gestalt psychology, and Embodied Construction Grammar can successfully describe the subtle semantic nuances of constructional meaning, and the different reasoning processes evoked by different conditional constructions. I examine semantic differences between the variants of particular Mandarin conditional constructions, which have not been captured before in previous analyses. Since English conditionals have been completely analyzed in terms of mental spaces, I systematically contrast Mandarin conditionals with English ones. This analysis includes the 1 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. unambiguous conditional constructions, the exceptive conditional constructions, and the counterfactual constructions. Using Embodied Construction Grammar notation, this research provides the first formalized grammar of Mandarin conditional constructions. In this formalized grammar, the constructions are represented in such a way that semantic features can be separated and linked to cognitive structures such as image schemas and mental spaces and are potentially implementable by computers. Professor Eve Sweetser Thesis Committee Chair 2 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Table of Contents Chapter 1 Introduction........................................................................................................ 1 1.1 O verview.......................................................................................................................l 1.1.1 Characteristics of Mandarin conditional constructions................................2 1.1.2 The importance of studying Mandarin conditional constructions............. 7 1.2 G o a ls............................................................................................................................. 8 1.3 Conditionals...................................................................................................................... 9 1.3.1 From logic structure to cognitive structure......................................................9 1.3.2 The role ofthen ...................................................................................................... 12 1.3.3 Structural issues of the //-clause.......................................................................15 1.3.4 Chinese Conditionals........................................................................................... 18 1.4 Approaches used in the present study...................................................................23 1.4.1 Construction Grammar........................................................................................23 1.4.2 Embodied Construction Grammar................................................................... 26 1.4.3 Theory of Mental Spaces................................................................................... 29 1.5 Data....................................................................................................................................31 1.6 Organization................................................................................................................... 34 Chapter 2 Ruguo Conditionals............................................................................................. 37 2.1 Introduction................................................................................... 37 2.1.1 Past approaches toruguo .................................................................................. 39 2.1.2 G oal...........................................................................................................................41 2.1.3 Organization........................................................................................................... 41 2.2 The meaning of protasis marker............................................................................... 42 2.2.1 Classification of conditionals..............................................................................42 2.2.2 Previous account of protasis marker’s general meaning......................... 45 2.2.3 Contribution ofruguo in Conditionals............................................................. 49 2.3 Topicality and givenness............................................................................................ 56 2.4 Conditionals as figure-ground alignment...............................................................62 2.5 Mental Spaces in the ruguo conditional.................................................................65 2.6 Conclusion................................................................................... 70 Chapter 3 Jiu and Cai in Conditionals................................................................................ 71 3.1 Introduction..................................................................................................................... 71 3.2 The general meaning ofjiu and cai..........................................................................73 3.2.1 Jiu and Cai in mental spaces and figure-ground alignment.....................73 3.2.2 Sufficiency or necessity of conditions.............................................................82 3.2.3 Biconditionality and Conditional Perfection...................................................89 3.2.4 Focus-background structure..............................................................................92 3.3 Scale, quantity, and context.......................................................................................98 3.3.1 Lai (1995, 1996, 1999): Scalar Adverbs........................................................99 3.3.2 Dancygier and Sweetser (2005):only if and scalar inferential context ..............................................................................................................................................103 3.4 Conclusion.....................................................................................................................105 Chapter 4 The Exceptive Conditional Constructions in Mandarin..........................107 4.1 Introduction................................................................................................................... 107 4.2 Semantics of the Mandarin Exceptive conditional Construction..................112 i Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 4.2.1 The meaning ofChufei ...................................................................................... 112 4.2.2 The meaning offouze and buran....................................................................114 4.2.3 The meaning ofcai ..............................................................................................115 4.2.4 Compositionality.................................................................................................. 116 4.3 Analysis of thechufei construction.........................................................................118 4.3.1 The co-indexing phenomenon.........................................................................119 4.3.2 Mental spaces and exceptive conditionals..................................................123 4.4 Uses of thechufei construction.............................................................................. 128 4.4.1 Four instances of thechufei construction....................................................130 4.4.2 Conclusion of uses of chufeithe Construction..........................................
Load more

Recommended publications
  • The Information Status of English If-Clauses in Natural Discourse*
    The Information Status of English If-clauses in Natural Discourse* Chang-Bong Lee 1. Introduction Haiman (1978) once argued that conditionals are uniformly defined as topics. His argument had to suffer from some substantial problems both empirically and theoretically. Despite these problems, his paper was a trailblazing research that opened up the path for the study of conditionals from a discourse point of view. The present paper studies conditionals from a particular aspect of discourse functional perspective by analyzing the information structure of conditional sentences in natural discourse. Ford and Thompson (1986) studied the discourse function of conditionals in the similar vein through a corpus-based research. This paper also attempts to understand the discourse function of conditionals, but it does it under a rather different standpoint, under the framework of the so-called GIVEN-NEW taxonomy as presented in Prince (1992). In this paper, we focus on the definition of topic as an entity that represents the GIVEN or OLD information to be checked against the information in the preceding linguistic context. By analyzing the data of the English if-clauses in natural discourse both in oral and written contexts, we present sufficient evidence to show that conditionals are not simply topics (GIVEN information). It is revealed that the if-clauses *This research was supported by the faculty settlement research fund (Grant No. 20000005) from the Catholic University of Korea in the year of 2000. I wish to express gratitude to the Catholic University of Korea for their financial assistance. The earlier version of this paper was presented at the 6th academic conference organized by the Discourse and Cognitive Ilnguistics Society of Korea in June, 2000.
    [Show full text]
  • Understanding Conditional Sentences
    GRAMMAR AND MECHANICS Understanding Conditional Sentences When a dependent or subordinate clause is introduced by words such as “if,” “when,” or “unless,” the complete sentence expresses a condition. The dependent or subordinate clause states a condition or cause and is joined with an independent clause, which states the result or effect. Conditional sentences can be factual, predictive, or speculative, which determines the form of the condition and the choice of verb tenses. TYPES OF CONDITIONAL SENTENCES Factual In a factual conditional sentence, the relationship between the dependent or subordinate clause and the independent clause describes a condition that is or was habitually true: if the condition applies, the independent clause states the result or effect. Both clauses use simple verb forms either in present or past tense. If you find a blue and white sweater, it belongs to me. When he plays his music too loud, the neighbors complain. Unless there is a question, the class is dismissed. Predictive In a predictive conditional sentence, the relationship between the two clauses is promised or possible but not certain. Use a present-tense verb in the dependent or subordinate clause, and in the independent clause use modal auxiliaries “will,” “can,” “may,” “should,” or “might” with the base form of the verb. If the weather is good tomorrow, we will go to the park. If your roommate decides not to come with us, we can go by ourselves. When the lease on the apartment ends, we may want to move to another building. When she misses one of the meetings, she should notify her supervisor.
    [Show full text]
  • Studies in African Linguistics Volume 46, Numbers 1&2, 2017 Melanie
    Studies in African Linguistics Volume 46, Numbers 1&2, 2017 CONDITIONAL CONSTRUCTIONS IN BUWAL Melanie Viljoen SIL Cameroon Buwal is a Central Chadic language spoken in the Far North Region of Cameroon. This study examines the structure of conditional constructions in Buwal and their functions. Conditionals in Buwal can be divided into four major categories according to how they are marked: possible, counterfactual, necessary and concessive. Possible conditionals include both reality and unreality conditionals. The usual order is for the protasis to precede the apodosis, but the reverse order is also possible. All types of tense/aspect marking are possible in both the protasis and the apodosis with variations arising from semantic rather than grammatical restrictions. The possible conditional marker can also function as a temporal marker in certain contexts. In a conditional construction, the protasis provides a framework or background for the apodosis. Keywords: conditional, Buwal, Chadic 0. Introduction Buwal is a Central Chadic language spoken by approximately 10 000 people in and around the village of Gadala in the Far North Region of Cameroon, Mayo-Tsanaga Division, Mokolo Subdivision. Buwal’s classification according to the Ethnologue (Lewis, Simons & Fennig 2014) is Afroasiatic, Chadic, Biu-Mandara, A, A7. The majority of linguistic research done on this language has been conducted by the author, who completed a description of the grammar to fulfil the requirements of a Ph.D. in 2013. This study, although partially based on this description, goes into greater depth than the description in examining both the structure of Buwal conditionals and their functions. 1. Structure of Buwal Conditional Constructions Conditional constructions in Buwal can be divided into four major categories according to how they are marked; possible (1.1), counterfactual (1.2), necessary (1.3) and concessive (1.4).
    [Show full text]
  • Conditionals in Political Texts
    JOSIP JURAJ STROSSMAYER UNIVERSITY FACULTY OF HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES Adnan Bujak Conditionals in political texts A corpus-based study Doctoral dissertation Advisor: Dr. Mario Brdar Osijek, 2014 CONTENTS Abstract ...........................................................................................................................3 List of tables ....................................................................................................................4 List of figures ..................................................................................................................5 List of charts....................................................................................................................6 Abbreviations, Symbols and Font Styles ..........................................................................7 1. Introduction .................................................................................................................9 1.1. The subject matter .........................................................................................9 1.2. Dissertation structure .....................................................................................10 1.3. Rationale .......................................................................................................11 1.4. Research questions ........................................................................................12 2. Theoretical framework .................................................................................................13
    [Show full text]
  • The Semiotics of Axiological Convergences and Divergences1 Ľubomír Plesník
    DOI: 10.2478/aa-2020-0004 West – East: The semiotics of axiological convergences and divergences1 Ľubomír Plesník Professor Ľubomír Plesník works as a researcher and teacher at the Institute of Literary and Artistic Communication (from 1993 to 2003 he was the director of the Institute, and at present he is the head of the Department of Semiotic Studies within the Institute). His research deals primarily with problems of literary theory, methodology and semiotics of culture. Based on the work of František Miko, he has developed concepts relating to pragmatist aesthetics, reception poetics and existential semiotics with a special focus on comparison of Western and oriental epistemes (Pragmatická estetika textu 1995, Estetika inakosti 1998, Estetika jednakosti 2001, Tezaurus estetických výrazových kvalít 2011). Abstract: This study focuses on the verbal representation of life strategies in Vetalapanchavimshati, an old Indian collection of stories, which is part of Somadeva’s Kathasaritsagara. On the basis of the aspect of gain ~ loss, two basic life strategies are identified. The first one, the lower strategy, is defined by an attempt to obtain material gain, which is attained at the cost of a spiritual loss. The second one, the higher strategy, negates the first one (spiritual gain attained at the cost of a material loss) and it is an internally diversified series of axiological models. The core of the study explains the combinatorial variants which, in their highest positions, even transcend the gain ~ loss opposition. The final part of the study demonstrates the intersections between the higher strategy and selected European cultural initiatives (gnosis). 1. Problem definition, area of concern and material field Our goal is to reflect on the differences and intersections in the iconization of gains and losses in life between the Western and Eastern civilizations and cultural spheres.
    [Show full text]
  • Towards a Pragmatic Category of Conditionals
    19th ICL papers Chi-He ELDER and Kasia M. JASZCZOLT University of Cambridge, United Kingdom [email protected], [email protected] Conditional Utterances and Conditional Thoughts: Towards a Pragmatic Category of Conditionals oral presentation in session: 6B Pragmatics, Discourse and Cognition (Horn & Kecskes) Published and distributed by: Département de Linguistique de l’Université de Genève, Rue de Candolle 2, CH-1205 Genève, Switzerland Editor: Département de Linguistique de l’Université de Genève, Switzerland ISBN:978-2-8399-1580-9 Travaux du 19ème CIL | Travaux 20-27 Juillet 2013 Genève des Linguistes, International Congrès 20-27 July 2013 Geneva of Linguists, Congress International 1" " Conditional Utterances and Conditional Thoughts: Towards a Pragmatic Category of Conditionals Chi-Hé Elder and Kasia M. Jaszczolt Department of Theoretical and Applied Linguistics University of Cambridge Cambridge CB3 9DA United Kingdom [email protected] [email protected] 1. Rationale and objectives The topic of this paper is the pragmatic and conceptual category of conditionality. Our primary interest is how speakers express conditional meanings in discourse and how this diversity of forms can be accounted for in a theory of discourse meaning. In other words, we are concerned not only with conditional sentences speakers utter in discourse (sentences of the form ‘if p (then) q’), but predominantly with conditional thoughts, expressed in a variety of ways, by discourse participants. The category of conditionality has given rise to many discussions and controversies in formal semantics, cognitive semantics and post-Gricean pragmatics. In formal semantics, pragmatic considerations have often been appealed to in order to demonstrate that conditionals in natural language do, or do not, essentially stem out of material conditionals on the level of their logical form.
    [Show full text]
  • Robert C. Stalnaker*
    ROBERT C. STALNAKER* A THEORY OF CONDITIONALS I. INTRODUCTION A conditional sentence expresses a proposition which is a function of two other propositions, yet not one which is a truth function of those prop­ ositions. I may know the truth values of "Willie Mays played in the American League" and "Willie Mays hit four hundred" without knowing whether or not Mays. would have hit four hundred if he had played in the American League. This fact has tended to puzzle, displease, or delight philosophers, and many have felt that it is a fact that calls for some comment or explanation. It has given rise to a number of philosophical problems; I shall discuss three of these. My principal concern will be with what has been called the logical problem of conditionals, a problem that frequently is ignored or dismissed by writers on conditionals and counterfactuals. This is the task of describing the formal properties of the conditional function: a function, usually represented in English by the words "if ... then", taking ordered pairs of propositions into propositions. I shall explain informally and defend a solution, presented more rigorously elsewhere, to this problem.l The second issue - the one that has dominated recent discussions of con· trary-to-fact conditionals - is the pragmatic problem of counterfactuals. This problem derives from the belief, which I share with most philosophers writing about this topic, that the formal properties of the conditional function, together with all of the facts, may not be sufficient for determining the truth value of a counterfactual; that is, different truth values of conditional state­ ments may be consistent with a single valuation of all nonconditional state­ ments.
    [Show full text]
  • An Analysis of Use of Conditional Sentences by Arab Students of English
    Advances in Language and Literary Studies ISSN: 2203-4714 Vol. 8 No. 2; April 2017 Flourishing Creativity & Literacy Australian International Academic Centre, Australia An Analysis of Use of conditional Sentences by Arab Students of English Sadam Haza' Al Rdaat Coventry University, United Kingdom E-mail: [email protected] Doi:10.7575/aiac.alls.v.8n.2p.1 Received: 04/01/2017 URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.7575/aiac.alls.v.8n.2p.1 Accepted: 17/02/2017 Abstract Conditional sentences are made of two clauses namely “if-clause” and “main clause”. Conditionals have been noted by scholars and grammarians as a difficult area of English for both teachers and learners. The two clauses of conditional sentences and their form, tense and meaning could be considered the main difficulty of conditional sentences. In addition, some of non-native speakers do not have sufficient knowledge of the differences between conditional sentences in the two languages and they tried to solve their problems in their second language by using their native language. The aim of this study was to analyse the use of conditional sentences by Arab students of English in semantic and syntactic situations. For the purpose of this study, 20 Arab students took part in the questionnaire, they were all studying different subjects and degrees (bachelor, master and PhD) at Coventry University. The results showed that the use of type three conditionals and modality can be classified as the most difficult issues that students struggle to understand and use. Keywords: conditional sentences, protasis and apodosis, mood, real and unreal clauses, tense-time 1.
    [Show full text]
  • A Note on Conditionals and Restrictors∗
    A note on conditionals and restrictors∗ Daniel Rothschild Introduction Within linguistic semantics, it is near orthodoxy that the function of the word `if' (in most cases) is to mark restrictions on quantification. Just as in the sentence `Every man smokes', the common noun `man' restricts the quantifier `every', in the sentence `Usually, if it's winter it's cold', `it's winter' acts as a restrictor on the situational quantifier `usually'. This view, originally due to Lewis (1975), has been greatly extended in work by Heim (1982) and, most notably, Kratzer (1981, 1986) into a rich theory of almost all uses of the word `if'. I call this the restrictor view of `if'. Despite its linguistic prominence, this view of the word `if' has played little role in the philosophical discussion of conditionals. Fairly recent philosophical surveys such as Bennett's (2003) book-length introduction or Edgington's (1995; 2008) review articles do not even mention the restrictor view. Stranger still, in his seminal work on conditionals and probability, Lewis (1976, 1986) does not mention the restrictor view which he pioneered, despite the intimate relation noted later by Kratzer (1986).1 This paper tries to fill in the gap left by these omissions.2 I make four main points. First, I argue that given the current state of things our best bet is to accept the `restrictor view' and to assume that `if' is not ambiguous, so ∗This paper was written for a conference in honor of Dorothy Edgington at the Institute of Philosophy, London in May 2011. I am grateful to Dilip Ninan, Scott Sturgeon, and Seth Yalcin for useful discussion of this topic, and particularly to Justin Khoo, whose recent draft (cited below) prompted me to think about these issues.
    [Show full text]
  • The Birth of Gilgamesh
    THE BIRTH OF GILGAMEÍ (Ael. NA XII.21) A case-study in literary receptivity* Wouter F.M. Henkelman (Leiden) Rapunzel, Rapunzel, Laß mir dein Haar herunter! 1. Greek and Near Eastern literature 1.1. Das zaubernde Wort – In a letter to Helene von Nostitz, Rainer Maria Rilke wrote about the Babylonian Gilgameß Epic, a translation of which he had just read in the Inselbücherei series. According to Rilke the epic contained “Maße und Gestalten die zum Größesten gehören, was das zaubernde Wort zu irgendeiner Zeit gegeben hat. (...) Hier ist das Epos der Todesfurcht, entstanden im Unvordenklichen unter Menschen, bei denen zuerst die Trennung von Tod und Leben definitiv und verhängnisvoll geworden war.”1 The literary quality of the Gilgameß epic is indeed striking – the celebrated friendship of Gilgameß and Enkidu and the sorrow of Gilgameß over the latter’s death are pictured in a compelling drama of such powerful imagery that it has even outlived its own bold image of eternity, the mighty walls of Uruk. Ever since its rediscovery, now some 130 years ago, the epic has stirred the minds of its many readers and – as is the hallmark of any true work of art – found just as many interpretations. It may come as no great surprise, then, that in the debate on Oriental ‘influences’ or (better) Near Eastern or ‘West-Asiatic’ elements in Greek literature the Gilgameß Epic has continuously held a central place. This is not the place to review the long and, at times, tediously unproductive debate between the modern philobarbaroi and the defenders of the romantic vision of a monolithic Hellas rising from the lowly dusts of time to a sublime state of ‘edle Einfalt’ all by itself and by itself alone.
    [Show full text]
  • Information to Users
    INFORMATION TO USERS This manuscript has been reproduced from the microfrlm master. UMI films the text directly from the original or copy submitted. Thus, some thesis and dissertation copies are in typewriter face, while others may be from anytype of computer printer. The quality of this reproduction is d^endoit upon the quality of the copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bleedthrough, substandard margin^, and inqnoper alignment can adverse^ affea reproduction. In the unlikely event that the author did not send UMI a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these wül be noted. Also, if unauthorized copyright material had to be removed, a note wiD indicate the deletioxL Oversize materials (e.g., maps, drawings, charts) are reproduced by sectioning the original, beginning at the upper left-hand comer and continuing from left to right in equal sections with small overlays. Eadi original is also photographed in one exposure and is included in reduced form at the back of the book. Photographs included in the original manuscript have been reproduced xerographically in this copy. Higher quality 6" x 9" black and white photogr^hic prints are availablea iq rfor photogr^hs or illustrations ^jpearing in this copy for an additional charge. Contact UMI directly to order. UMI A Bell & Howell Information Company 300 North Zeeb Road. Ann Arbor. Ml 48106-1346 USA 313/761-4700 800.521-0600 THE STRUCTURE OF SOCRATIC DIALOGUE: AN ARISTOTELIAN ANALYSIS DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Robert L.
    [Show full text]
  • Dramatic Structure from Aristotle to Modern Times
    Drama Dr. Abdel-Fattah Adel Upon the completion of this section, you will be able to: 1. To define "plot" as an element of drama 2. To summarize the development of the understanding of the dramatic structure from Aristotle to modern times. 3. To recognize the parts Freytag's pyramid of the development of dramatic plot. 4. To state the main criticism to Freytag's pyramid. 5. To apply Freytag's pyramid on a story line. Plot Dramatic structure Plot is a literary term for the events a story comprises, particularly as they relate to one another in a pattern, a sequence, through cause and effect, or by coincidence. It is the artistic arrangement of a sequence of events. Dramatic structure is the structure of a dramatic work such as a play or film. There is no difference between plot and dramatic structure. •Agree •Don’t agree There is no difference between plot and dramatic structure. Plot is related to the arrangement of the events. Dramatic structure is the overall layout of the story. There can be more than one plot in a play. •Agree •Don’t agree There can be more than one plot in a play. The play may contain a main plot a several sub-plots. Aristotle Horace Freytag In his Poetics, Aristotle considered plot ("mythos") the most important element of drama—more important than character, for example. He put forth the idea that ("A whole is what has a beginning and middle and end. This three-part view of a plot structure (with a beginning, middle, and end – technically, the protasis, epitasis, and catastrophe) must causally relate to one another as being either necessary, or probable.
    [Show full text]