Word Order Strategies of Standard Chinese: An Analysis in Regard to Temporal Sequence

Nonfiction, Entertainment, Drama, Anthologies
Cover of the book Word Order Strategies of Standard Chinese: An Analysis in Regard to Temporal Sequence by Anja Schmidt, GRIN Publishing
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Anja Schmidt ISBN: 9783638316019
Publisher: GRIN Publishing Publication: October 16, 2004
Imprint: GRIN Publishing Language: English
Author: Anja Schmidt
ISBN: 9783638316019
Publisher: GRIN Publishing
Publication: October 16, 2004
Imprint: GRIN Publishing
Language: English

Seminar paper from the year 2004 in the subject American Studies - Linguistics, grade: 1+ (A+), University of Hamburg, course: Motivation in Language, 17 entries in the bibliography, language: English, abstract: Linguists studying the syntactic relations of Chinese have often argued that Chinese, being a non-inflectional language, was more reliant on iconic principles than most Western languages. Since Chinese is largely dependent on the use of grammatical particles and word order, it was sought to represent conceptual mappings more directly than other languages, i.e. denoting states and events as direct reflections of human perceptions. But how iconic is Chinese really? And what are the main determinants of Chinese word order? The aim of this paper is to investigate the influence of temporal sequence on Chinese word order. I will in particular examine the pre- and post-verbal placement of adverbials and try to display the limitations of this theory. I will furthermore demonstrate how other factors can account for word order questions not sufficiently resolved by the 'Principle of Temporal Sequence'. Accordingly, I will try to show that not just one major parameter is involved in Chinese word order, but several - interacting to various degrees in different contexts. For this purpose, I have examined Chinese sample sentences taken from dictionaries, as well as Chinese language learning material and grammar books. My analysis was moreover verified by the intuitions of native speakers of Chinese and is only concerned with 'Standard Chinese', or Putonghua (PTH) - the standardized variant of Chinese as it is used on mainland China since the 1950s. Hence, I will start this analysis with a discussion of the 'Principle of Temporal Sequence', its possible means for Chinese word order and its limitations. I will then consider other influences, e.g. topicality and definiteness by examining problematic cases of word order which can otherwise not be explained thoroughly by the temporal sequence hypothesis. A brief summary will conclude this investigation, pointing to further possible determiners of Chinese word order.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Seminar paper from the year 2004 in the subject American Studies - Linguistics, grade: 1+ (A+), University of Hamburg, course: Motivation in Language, 17 entries in the bibliography, language: English, abstract: Linguists studying the syntactic relations of Chinese have often argued that Chinese, being a non-inflectional language, was more reliant on iconic principles than most Western languages. Since Chinese is largely dependent on the use of grammatical particles and word order, it was sought to represent conceptual mappings more directly than other languages, i.e. denoting states and events as direct reflections of human perceptions. But how iconic is Chinese really? And what are the main determinants of Chinese word order? The aim of this paper is to investigate the influence of temporal sequence on Chinese word order. I will in particular examine the pre- and post-verbal placement of adverbials and try to display the limitations of this theory. I will furthermore demonstrate how other factors can account for word order questions not sufficiently resolved by the 'Principle of Temporal Sequence'. Accordingly, I will try to show that not just one major parameter is involved in Chinese word order, but several - interacting to various degrees in different contexts. For this purpose, I have examined Chinese sample sentences taken from dictionaries, as well as Chinese language learning material and grammar books. My analysis was moreover verified by the intuitions of native speakers of Chinese and is only concerned with 'Standard Chinese', or Putonghua (PTH) - the standardized variant of Chinese as it is used on mainland China since the 1950s. Hence, I will start this analysis with a discussion of the 'Principle of Temporal Sequence', its possible means for Chinese word order and its limitations. I will then consider other influences, e.g. topicality and definiteness by examining problematic cases of word order which can otherwise not be explained thoroughly by the temporal sequence hypothesis. A brief summary will conclude this investigation, pointing to further possible determiners of Chinese word order.

More books from GRIN Publishing

Cover of the book Europäisches Wasserrecht - Die Gewässer in Rechtsvorschriften der Europäischen Gemeinschaft by Anja Schmidt
Cover of the book Stephen Crane's 'The Red Badge of Courage' as a work of late nineteenth-century American naturalism by Anja Schmidt
Cover of the book 'Wuthering Heights' and Victorian values by Anja Schmidt
Cover of the book Economical situation of Thuringia - Representation and reality by Anja Schmidt
Cover of the book Methods of resolution designed to improve corporate governance by Anja Schmidt
Cover of the book Escape of Science - The Emigration and Forced Migration of Scientists, Scholars and Economists from Germany 1933-1945 by Anja Schmidt
Cover of the book Corpus Linguistics - Differences and similarities between German and English Fairy Tales by Anja Schmidt
Cover of the book International Banks and the Rise of financial Derivatives by Anja Schmidt
Cover of the book The Evolution of the English Scientific Register by Anja Schmidt
Cover of the book 'Writing in White Ink' - Textual strategies of resistance in Zora Neale Hurston´s 'Their Eyes Were Watching God' and Alice Walker´s 'The Color Purple' by Anja Schmidt
Cover of the book The impact of hackers on the internet commerce by Anja Schmidt
Cover of the book Corporate and social responsibility. The case of Volkswagen by Anja Schmidt
Cover of the book From Germany to the United States to Germany: Emigration and Remigration Between 1800 and 1914 by Anja Schmidt
Cover of the book The russian economy under Putin by Anja Schmidt
Cover of the book Definition of brand preferences by means of the Limbic® Tool by Anja Schmidt
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy