Action-Motion Expressed by Serial Verb Constructions in Standard Mandarin Chinese and Jinjiang Southern Min

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Action-Motion Expressed by Serial Verb Constructions in Standard Mandarin Chinese and Jinjiang Southern Min ls ia er at M ed ht ig yr op : C ss e The r © 2020 by the Journal of Chinese Linguistics. ISSN 0091-3723/ Action-motion expressed P by serial verbJournal constructions of Chinese in Linguistics Standard Mandarin Chinese and Jinjiang Southern Min. g By Ying Fan. All rights reserved. on K g on f H ACTION-MOTION EXPRESSED BY SERIAL VERB o CONSTRUCTIONS IN STANDARD MANDARINvol.48, no.1 (January 2020): 97 ty si CHINESE AND JINJIANG SOUTHERN MIN er iv ABSTRACT n This paper focuses on the phenomenon that the same combination of U verbs denoting the meaning of action-motionFujian University can occurof Technology, in two different Fujian e syntactic subtypes of Serial Verb Construction, i.e., the nuclear s – e 146 in serialization and core serialization, based on the general distinction made h in studies that adopt a variety of theoretical frameworks. Despite the similar meaning expressed by the two constructions andYing their Fan C e instantiations that share the same component verbs, the nuclear and core h serializations can be distinguished from each other in terms of their T argument structure and constituency structure. In this paper, I attempt to offer an adequate description of the properties of these syntactic subtypes of action-motion SVC attested in two Sinitic varieties: Standard Mandarin Chinese and Jinjiang Southern Min. In addition, I argue that only the directional verb (V2) in the core serialization can be optionally followed by a locative noun phrase due to its partly independent argument structure Acknowledgements the University of Manchester for their continuous discussions with me regarding this topic. The Jinjiang Southern Min data were collected during two fieldwork trips sponsored by the School of Arts, Languages and Cultures at the University of Manchester. I am also indebted to Dr. Tiansong Lin for checking the Jinjiang Southern Min data presented in this article. I appreciate all the helpful comments and suggestions given by the anonymous reviewers on different versions of this paper. All errors are my own. I would like to thank Prof. Eva Schulze-Berndt and Prof. John Payne at Ying Fan Technology, Tian Jia Bing Building, 33 Xuefu Nan Road, Minhou, Fuzhou, Fujian Province, 350118, P. R. China; ( 㤳㧩 ) [[email protected]]; School of Humanities, Fujian University of https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8316-3224 97 ls ia er at M ed ht ig yr op : C ss 98 JOURNAL OF CHINESE LINGUISTICS VOL.48, NO.1 (2020) re P in the core serialization, a characteristic not observed in the nuclear ng serialization. While both syntactic subtypes of action-motion SVC can be o found in Mandarin Chinese, in Jinjiang Southern Min, the meaning of action-motion can only be encoded by the core serialization. The use of K g contrasting structures to encode action-motion expressions in Mandarin on Chinese and mainland Southern Min also indicates the diversity of H grammar found in different Sinitic varieties (also see Chappell 2015; f Chappell and Li 2015). o ty KEYWORDS i S rs erial Verb Construction ve ni U e properties of a particular semantic type of Serial Verb Construction es (hereafter SVC),In this the paper, action-motion I aim to offer SVC, an adequateby adopting description a theory-neutral of the syntactic in approach to the data of two Sinitic varieties, Standard Mandarin Chinese h (hereafter Mandarin) and Jinjiang Southern Min (hereafter Jinjiang) E C vent Fusion e include Mandarin, Wu, Min, Yue, Hakka, Xiang, Gan, Jin, Hui and h Pinghua mainlyThe Siniticon the languages basis of can their be classifiedphonological into andten brancheslexical that T characteristics, according to Min variety can be divided further into five sub-varieties, including Southern Min, Northern Min, Central Min, Eastern Min and Puxian (Yuan A rgument Coindexation 2001, 235), and they are not mutually intelligible (Chappell and Li 2015, 618). Southern Min is the largest group of the Min sub-varieties, the speakers of which in mainland China amount up to 27 millions; in mainland China, it is mainly spoken in the southeast of coastal Fujian province in China, including cities such as Xiamen, Zhangzhou and Quanzhou, northeastern and southern Guangdong and on Hainan Island Language Atlas of China (Chappell 2018). city is a county-level city of Quanzhou. Jinjiang is a variant of Quanzhou Southern MinThis (Lin paper 2009, discusses 15). As otherthe action-motion Southern Min SVC dialects, in Jinjiang. it shows Jinjiang distinct linguistic features in phonology, morphology and syntax, by means of which they can be distinguished from other Sinitic varieties. For 1 2 (Zhang 2012). The . 146 JOURNAL OF CHINESE LINGUISTICS VOL.48, NO.1 (2020) ≹䈝Პ䙊䈍оᱻ⊏䰭ই䈍ѝ 㺘䘠“ࣘ֌-ս〫”᜿ѹⲴ䘎ࣘᔿ 㤳㧩 ⾿ᔪᐕ〻ᆖ䲒 ᪈㾱 ls ᵜ᮷สҾཊ亩⹄ウѝᱮ⽪ⲴޣҾ䘎ࣘᔿⲴа㡜ᙗ४࡛ˈ䳶ѝ᧒䇘⭘ԕ ia er 㺘䘠“ࣘ֌—ս〫”ѹⲴ⴨਼Ⲵа㓴ࣘ䇽ਟࠪ⧠൘ਕ⌅㊫࡛н਼Ⲵ䘎ࣘat ᔿ(ণབྷǃሿṨᗳ䘎ࣘᔿ)ѝⲴ⧠䊑DŽ㲭❦བྷǃሿṨᗳ䘎ࣘᔿਟԕ㺘䗮 M ⴨լⲴ䈝ѹф⴨਼Ⲵ䘎㔝ࣘ䇽ਟԕࠪ⧠൘㔃ᶴн਼Ⲵ䘎ࣘᔿѝˈնᱟd te ᆳԜ൘䇪ݳ㔃ᶴ઼㓴ᡀ㔃ᶴᯩ䶒㺘⧠н਼DŽᵜ᮷䈅മѪ≹䈝Პ䙊䈍઼h ig ᱻ⊏䰭ই䈍ѝ㺘䘠“ࣘ֌—ս〫”᜿ѹնਕ⌅㔃ᶴн਼Ⲵ䘎ࣘᔿᨀ׋ݵyr ࠶Ⲵ᧿߉DŽ↔ཆˈᵜ᮷䇪䇱ˈ↓ᱟഐѪަ䜘࠶⤜・Ⲵ䇪ݳ㔃ᶴˈਚᴹop བྷṨᗳ䘎ࣘᔿѝⲴᯩੁࣘ䇽(V2)᡽ݱ䇨ަਾ䘹ᤙᙗࠪ⧠ൠ⛩਽䇽⸝: C 䈝ˈ䘉а⢩⛩൘ሿṨᗳ䘎ࣘᔿѝࡉ㿲ሏнࡠDŽ൘≹䈝Პ䙊䈍ѝˈབྷǃss ሿṨᗳ䘎ࣘᔿ൷ਟ⭘ԕ㺘䘠“ࣘ֌—ս〫”ѹˈ㘼ᱻ⊏䰭ই䈍ਚ⭘བྷṨre P ᗳ䘎ࣘᔿ㺘䘠⴨լⲴ᜿ѹDŽ≹䈝Პ䙊䈍о޵䱶䰭ই䈍⭘н਼Ⲵ㔃ᶴ㕆ng ⸱“ࣘ֌—ս〫”ѹҏ㺘᰾Ҷ≹䈝ᯩ䀰䈝⌅Ⲵཊṧᙗo (ҏ৲㿱 Chappell K 2015; Chappell and Li 2015) DŽ g on ޣ䭞䇽 f H 䘎ࣘᔿ һԦ㶽ਸ 䇪 oݳ਼ḷ ity rs ve ni U se ne hi C e Th .
Recommended publications
  • Standard and Variation in the Use of Sentence-Final Particles: a Case Study Based on Speakers of Mandarin and Min Varieties
    DOI: 10.26346/1120-2726-166 Standard and variation in the use of sentence-final particles: A case study based on speakers of Mandarin and Min varieties Chiara Romagnoli,a Carmen Lepadatb a Università Roma Tre, Italy <[email protected]> b Università di Roma La Sapienza, Italy <[email protected]> Sentence-final particles are widely used in spoken Chinese and have been analyzed from different theoretical perspectives. This study aims at investi- gating the influence of a speaker’s dialectal background on their selection of SFPs in Mandarin Chinese. Two types of sentence completion questionnaires were submitted to 86 undergraduate and graduate students enrolled at Fuzhou University, roughly half of whom use – to varying degrees – one of the Chinese varieties spoken in Fujian Province. Data collected from the 72 valid question- naires were analyzed with results showing that dialectal background is a signifi- cant factor in the close-ended item type questionnaire. Keywords: sentence-final particle, Standard Mandarin Chinese, Min varieties. 1. Introduction While all languages display elements labelled particles, the peculiarity of Chinese lies in the diversity of these items both across different varieties and in how an individual particle is employed. Widely used in spoken language, Chinese sentence-final particles (henceforth SFPs) have been investigated from different perspectives and have been described in several works (among others Lü 1942, Chao 1979, Li & Thompson 1981, Chu 2009). While there is no lack of studies on SFPs in Cantonese, Taiwan Southern Min and some other varieties of Chinese (e.g. Fung 2000, Law 2002, Li 2006), less attention has been paid to the influence of regional varieties on the standard language in the selection of SFPs.1 The present study aims to fill this gap by presenting and discussing the data collected from a sample of 72 participants, all native speakers of one or more varieties of Chinese.
    [Show full text]
  • THE MEDIA's INFLUENCE on SUCCESS and FAILURE of DIALECTS: the CASE of CANTONESE and SHAAN'xi DIALECTS Yuhan Mao a Thesis Su
    THE MEDIA’S INFLUENCE ON SUCCESS AND FAILURE OF DIALECTS: THE CASE OF CANTONESE AND SHAAN’XI DIALECTS Yuhan Mao A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts (Language and Communication) School of Language and Communication National Institute of Development Administration 2013 ABSTRACT Title of Thesis The Media’s Influence on Success and Failure of Dialects: The Case of Cantonese and Shaan’xi Dialects Author Miss Yuhan Mao Degree Master of Arts in Language and Communication Year 2013 In this thesis the researcher addresses an important set of issues - how language maintenance (LM) between dominant and vernacular varieties of speech (also known as dialects) - are conditioned by increasingly globalized mass media industries. In particular, how the television and film industries (as an outgrowth of the mass media) related to social dialectology help maintain and promote one regional variety of speech over others is examined. These issues and data addressed in the current study have the potential to make a contribution to the current understanding of social dialectology literature - a sub-branch of sociolinguistics - particularly with respect to LM literature. The researcher adopts a multi-method approach (literature review, interviews and observations) to collect and analyze data. The researcher found support to confirm two positive correlations: the correlative relationship between the number of productions of dialectal television series (and films) and the distribution of the dialect in question, as well as the number of dialectal speakers and the maintenance of the dialect under investigation. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The author would like to express sincere thanks to my advisors and all the people who gave me invaluable suggestions and help.
    [Show full text]
  • Serial Verb Constructions in Mandarin Chinese and Jinjiang Southern
    SERIAL VERB CONSTRUCTIONS IN MANDARIN CHINESE AND JINJIANG SOUTHERN MIN A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MANCHESTER FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN THE FACULTY OF HUMANITIES 2016 YING FAN SCHOOL OF ARTS, LANGUAGES AND CULTURES TABLE OF CONTENTS GLOSSING CONVENTIONS..............................................................................9 ABSTRACT..........................................................................................................11 DECLARATION..................................................................................................12 COPYRIGHT.......................................................................................................13 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS.................................................................................14 PART ONE INTRODUCTION ..................................................................17 CHAPTER ONE: AN INTRODUCTION OF THE STUDY ...........................17 CHAPTER TWO: THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK AND DIAGNOSTICS24 2.1 DEFINITION....................................................................................................24 2.2 CLAUSE STRUCTURE ......................................................................................26 2.3 ARGUMENT STRUCTURE.................................................................................32 2.4 ARGUMENT STRUCTURE IN SVCS AND BI-CLAUSAL STRUCTURES ..................34 2.5 INTER-CLAUSAL DIAGNOSTICS .......................................................................42 2.5.1 Negation.................................................................................................43
    [Show full text]
  • Hilary Chappell Abstract in This Analysis, I Use a Typological Perspective to Compare Certain Grammatical Features of Modern
    DIALECT GRAMMAR IN TWO EARLY MODERN SOUTHERN MIN TEXTS: A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF DATIVE KÎT 乞, COMITATIVE CÂNG 共 AND DIMINUTIVE –GUÌA 仔 Hilary Chappell Abstract In this analysis, I use a typological perspective to compare certain grammatical features of modern Southern Min dialects such as Taiwanese and Amoy (Xiamen) with those found in the Southern Min translation of the Doctrina Christiana (ca. 1607) and a Southern Min grammar written in Spanish: Arte de la lengua Chiõ Chiu (1620). The specific grammatical constructions and categories which are investigated are dative, causative and passive constructions formed with kît 乞 (khit ), ‘to give’; comitative, ablative and benefactive constructions formed with câng 共 (kā) ‘with’ and the development of the diminutive marker -kìa,-ìa and -nìa 仔(-a) from the lexeme ‘son’. The objective is to ascertain if these syntactic and morphological constructions have undergone any major grammatical changes over the last 4 centuries in Southern Min. In fact, some functions of these markers prove to be similar to Taiwanese Southern Min, such as certain uses of comitative câng 共 (kā) , while other markers appear to be distinct but are found elsewhere in Min dialects such as the passive and causative marker kît 乞 (khit). The findings illustrate examples of grammatical renovation as the consequence of competing forms, phonological attrition and polysemous conceptual shift as the outcome of different paths of grammaticalization.1 1. Introduction Early 17th century missionary texts on Southern Min (or Hokkien) dialects provide an invaluable source for the diachronic study of the grammar of their modern counterparts as they are largely written in the special dialect characters for vernacular Hokkien and have romanized versions.
    [Show full text]
  • “Regularities” and “Irregularities” in Chinese Historical Phonology
    “Regularities” and “irregularities” in Chinese historical phonology Tianrang (Quain) Bu Honors Thesis Department of Anthropology Oberlin College April 2018 Advisor: Jason Haugen 1 ABSTRACT With a combination of methodologies from Western and Chinese traditional historical linguistics, this thesis is an attempt to survey and synthetically analyze the major sound changes in Chinese phonological history. It addresses two hypotheses – the Neogrammarian regularity hypothesis and the unidirectionality hypothesis – and tries to question their validity and applicability. Drawing from fourteen types of “regular” and “irregular” processes, the thesis argues that the origins and impetuses of sound change is far from just phonetic environment (“regular” changes) and lexical diffusion (“irregular” changes), and that sound change is not unidirectional because of the existence and significance of fortifying and bi/multidirectional changes. The thesis also examines the sociopolitical aspect of sound change through the discussion of language changes resulting from social, geographical and historical factors, suggesting that the study of sound change should be more interdisciplinary and miscellaneous in order to explain the phenomena more thoroughly and reach a better understanding of how human languages function both synchronically and diachronically. KEY WORDS: Chinese, historical, phonology, sound change 2 Table of contents List of abbreviations and keys…………………………………………………… 5 Index of tables and figures………………………………………………………. 8 1. Introduction…………………………………………………………………… 10 2. Backgrounds………………………………………………………………….. 14 2.1. Overview of historical linguistics……………………………………………... 14 2.1.1. A brief history of historical linguistics………………………………………… 14 2.1.2. Neogrammarian regularity hypothesis and the comparative method………….. 16 2.1.3. Unidirectionality hypothesis and its application in phonology…………........... 19 2.2. Overview of historical Chinese phonology……………………………………. 21 2.2.1.
    [Show full text]
  • Mutual Intelligibility of Chinese Dialects Experimentally Tested Tang, C.; Heuven, V.J
    Mutual intelligibility of Chinese dialects experimentally tested Tang, C.; Heuven, V.J. van Citation Tang, C., & Heuven, V. J. van. (2009). Mutual intelligibility of Chinese dialects experimentally tested. Lingua, An International Review Of General Linguistics, 119(5), 709-732. Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/1887/14919 Version: Not Applicable (or Unknown) License: Leiden University Non-exclusive license Downloaded from: https://hdl.handle.net/1887/14919 Note: To cite this publication please use the final published version (if applicable). Available online at www.sciencedirect.com Lingua 119 (2009) 709–732 www.elsevier.com/locate/lingua Mutual intelligibility of Chinese dialects experimentally tested Tang Chaojua,b, Vincent J. van Heuven a,* a Phonetics Laboratory, Leiden University Centre for Linguistics, PO Box 9515, 2300 RA Leiden, The Netherlands b Foreign Language School, Chongqing Jiaotong University, Xuefu Road 66, Nan’an District, Nanping, 400074 Chongqing, PR China Received 3 April 2008; received in revised form 8 October 2008; accepted 8 October 2008 Available online 21 November 2008 Abstract We argue that mutual intelligibility testing is an adequate way to determine how different two languages or language varieties are. We tested the mutual intelligibility of 15 Chinese dialects functionally at the level of isolated words (word-intelligibility) and the level of sentences (sentence intelligibility). We collected data for each dialect by playing isolated words and sentences spoken in 15 Chinese dialects to 15 listeners. Word-intelligibility was determined by having listeners perform a semantic categorization task whereby words had to be classified as one of ten different categories such as body part, plant, animal, etc.
    [Show full text]
  • Language Policy, Dialect Writing and Linguistic Diversity Hongyuan Dong
    Proceedings of the 29th North American Conference on Chinese Linguistics (NACCL-29). 2017. Volume 2. Edited by Lan Zhang. University of Memphis, Memphis, TN. Pages 463-480. Language Policy, Dialect Writing and Linguistic Diversity1 Hongyuan Dong George Washington University This article studies the challenges encountered in the promotion of linguistic diversity in the context of Chinese dialects by examining the meta-data on Wikipedia sites written in major varieties of Chinese, with a focus on the type of writing systems used. The current language policy in China does not allow the explicit promotion of non-standard forms of Chinese in any official or national media. Therefore, online Wikipedia communities and sites of Chinese dialects have been flourishing. The choice of writing systems on these wiki sites to write Chinese dialects, including character-based and phonetic systems, is an important contributing factor to the success of these sites. I argue that the creation and practical use of an effective writing system conducive to literacy is a key issue in promoting dialects in the Chinese context. 1. Introduction In this article, I study the effects of language policy and new collaborative technology on dialects from the perspective of the writing systems used by virtual linguistic communities. My focus here is on the different varieties of Chinese.2 In order to understand the current situation of linguistic diversity in terms of Chinese dialects and language policy making in China now, we need to take a historical perspective. The origins of modern language policy in China can be traced back to the year 1728 of the Qing Dynasty during the reign of Yongzheng Emperor, when an imperial edict was issued to order the establishments of local Mandarin schools in the Fujian and Guangdong areas (Dong 2014: 131; Wang 2014: 106).
    [Show full text]
  • Language Policy, Dialect Writing and Linguistic Diversity Hongyuan Dong
    Proceedings of the 29th North American Conference on Chinese Linguistics (NACCL-29). 2017. Volume 2. Edited by Lan Zhang. University of Memphis, Memphis, TN. Pages 463-480. Language Policy, Dialect Writing and Linguistic Diversity1 Hongyuan Dong George Washington University This article studies the challenges encountered in the promotion of linguistic diversity in the context of Chinese dialects by examining the meta-data on Wikipedia sites written in major varieties of Chinese, with a focus on the type of writing systems used. The current language policy in China does not allow the explicit promotion of non-standard forms of Chinese in any official or national media. Therefore, online Wikipedia communities and sites of Chinese dialects have been flourishing. The choice of writing systems on these wiki sites to write Chinese dialects, including character-based and phonetic systems, is an important contributing factor to the success of these sites. I argue that the creation and practical use of an effective writing system conducive to literacy is a key issue in promoting dialects in the Chinese context. 1. Introduction In this article, I study the effects of language policy and new collaborative technology on dialects from the perspective of the writing systems used by virtual linguistic communities. My focus here is on the different varieties of Chinese.2 In order to understand the current situation of linguistic diversity in terms of Chinese dialects and language policy making in China now, we need to take a historical perspective. The origins of modern language policy in China can be traced back to the year 1728 of the Qing Dynasty during the reign of Yongzheng Emperor, when an imperial edict was issued to order the establishments of local Mandarin schools in the Fujian and Guangdong areas (Dong 2014: 131; Wang 2014: 106).
    [Show full text]
  • Continuum of Fujian Language Boundary Perception: Dialect Division and Dialect Image
    Dialectologia 20 (2018), 147-180. ISSN: 2013-2247 Received 7 September 2016. Accepted 2 January 2017. CONTINUUM OF FUJIAN LANGUAGE BOUNDARY PERCEPTION: DIALECT DIVISION AND DIALECT IMAGE Fumio INOUE Tokyo University of Foreign Studies *∗ [email protected] Abstract It is argued that the dialects of South China are as different from each other as the European languages are. This paper reports on a perceptual dialectological investigation of linguistic difference in Fujian Province, where dialectical difference is said to be intense. The dialect image technique was applied, so informants were asked to partition a map with lines. The geographical areas as partitioned according to “same as my variety”, “similar to my variety” and “cannot understand at all” were analyzed. Since varieties in “cannot be understood at all” exist side-by-side in Fujian Province, there are several dialects which have the status of independent language according to linguistic difference perceptions. Hokkien and the Hakka language are perceived as separate languages. Hokkien (or Min) is further divided into several subdialects, including Southern Min, Eastern Min, Northern Min, etc. Although mutual intelligibility is difficult for any two geographic extremes, there is a chain of mutual intelligibility between neighboring locations. It is also perceived that they are part of the Chinese language (Mandarin, Putonghua being the standard). Certain cities such as Fuzhou and Xiamen are associated with the image of “correct”. Their respective varieties are considered socially high and their mutual intelligibility is low. They occupy the social status of independent language. Keywords Fujian, Southern Min, dialect division, dialect image, linguistic boundary ∗* 3-11-1 Asahicho, Fuchu, Tokyo 183-8534, Japan.
    [Show full text]
  • Operation China
    Han Chinese, Min Zhong April 15 parts of present-day Central Asia, Russia, Myanmar, JIANGXI ZHEJIANG Vietnam, Tibet, Nepal, Nanping HUNAN Fuzhou •Putian Bhutan, and northern India. FUJIAN TAIWAN •Xiamen For the first time China was GUANGDONG divided into 300 prefectures HONG KONG Scale and 1,500 counties, which 0 KM 400 mirror the present boundaries Population in China: remarkably closely. Following 683,000 (1987) the collapse of the Tang 798,400 (2000) 902,200 (2010) Dynasty in 907, China again Location: Fujian entered into a period of Religion: No Religion discord and war. Christians: 35,000 Customs: The Grand Canal, Overview of the constructed over a period of Min Zhong 1,000 years, linked four of Countries: China China’s major rivers: the Pronunciation: “Min-Jong” Yangtze, Yellow, Huai, and Other Names: Central Min Qiantang. Between Beijing and Population Source: Hangzhou the canal measured 683,000 (1987 LAC); 1,800 kilometers (1,110 mi.). Out of a total Han population of It opened up China’s trade 1,042,482,187 (1990 census) and caused the inland Location: Central Fujian: Around Yong’an, Sanming, and Shaxian provinces to flourish. townships Paul Hattaway Status: Officially included Location: The Min Zhong (or Central Min) Religion: Recently there has been under Han Chinese numbered 683,000 speakers in 1987, speculation claiming the wise men who Language: Chinese, Min Zhong making them one of the smallest of the visited Bethlehem may have come from Dialects: 0 Chinese language groups in the country. China. The Chinese were using the Religion: No Religion, Buddhism, compass 1,000 years before the birth of Daoism, Christianity Min Zhong is spoken in the central part of Christ.
    [Show full text]
  • Chapter Four Mutual Intelligibility of Chinese Dialects
    Mutual intelligibility of Chinese dialects : an experimental approach Tang, C. Citation Tang, C. (2009, September 8). Mutual intelligibility of Chinese dialects : an experimental approach. LOT dissertation series. Utrecht. Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/1887/13963 Version: Not Applicable (or Unknown) Licence agreement concerning inclusion of doctoral thesis in the License: Institutional Repository of the University of Leiden Downloaded from: https://hdl.handle.net/1887/13963 Note: To cite this publication please use the final published version (if applicable). Mutual intelligibility of Chinese dialects An experimental approach Published by LOT phone: +31 30 253 6006 Janskerkhof 13 fax: +31 30 253 6406 3512 BL Utrecht e-mail: [email protected] The Netherlands http://www.lotschool.nl Cover illustration: Map of mainland China with the locations of the target dialects of this study indicated. ISBN: 978-94-6093-001-0 NUR 632 Copyright © 2009: Chaoju Tang. All rights reserved. MUTUAL INTELLIGIBILITY OF CHINESE DIALECTS AN EXPERIMENTAL APPROACH PROEFSCHRIFT ter verkrijging van de graad van Doctor aan de Universiteit Leiden, op gezag van Rector Magnificus prof. mr. P.F. van der Heijden, volgens besluit van het College voor Promoties te verdedigen op dinsdag 8 september 2008 klokke 13.15 uur door CHAOJU TANG geboren te Chongqing, China in 1968 Promotiecommissie Promotor: Prof. dr. Vincent J. van Heuven Overige leden: Prof. dr. Willem F.H. Adelaar Dr. Yiya Chen Dr. Charlotte S. Gooskens-Christiansen (Rijksuniversiteit Groningen) Prof. dr. ir.
    [Show full text]
  • Typology of Word Order in Chinese Dialects: Revisiting The
    Article Language and Linguistics Typology of Word Order in Chinese Dialects: 15(4) 539–573 © The Author(s) 2014 Revisiting the Classification of Min* Reprints and permissions: sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav DOI: 10.1177/1606822X14532052 lin.sagepub.com Carine Yuk-man Yiu The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology On the basis of the degree of subtopic prominence, Liu (2001a) suggests that Wu and Min are weak VO dialects, while Cantonese is a strong VO dialect. The present study examines the word orders exhibited by the directional verb/the directional complement and the theme object/the locative object in Wu, Min and Cantonese, when denoting self-agentive and agentive motion events. The findings of the study show that the word orders exhibited in the three Min dialects studied, namely Fuqing, Hui’an and Chao’an, closely resemble those in Cantonese, but differ significantly from the ones exemplified in Wu. The contrast between Min/Cantonese and Wu is further supported by their differences in the tolerance of postverbal object and in the use of preposition or postposition. The findings of the present study suggest that Min and Cantonese are strong VO dialects while Wu is a weak VO dialect in the sense of Liu (2001a). Key words: Cantonese, classification of Chinese dialects, Min, typology of word order, Wu 1. Introduction Greenberg (1966) studies the question of morpheme and word order in 30 languages. He notes that there is an association or correlation between a number of word order characteristics, so that given a single word order characteristic of a language, such as the order of the verb and object, one can, at least in a statistical sense, predict a variety of other characteristics of the language.1 The following examples from Japanese and Thai illustrate the word order correlations between the relative word order of the verb and the object in declarative sentences and that of the adposition, that is, preposition versus postposition, and the noun in a language.
    [Show full text]