Languages & Cultures of East Asia
Trad 101, Sections
18-19-20-21 Fall 2000
Lecture Outline, 11/27/00 - Syntax-- Chinese
Putting words together 10 features of Chinese November 29, 2000
1. Basic word order
(1) Mao you huxu
cat have whiskers
'Cats have whiskers.'
(2)a. Wo xiuhao che le
I fixed car perfective
'I have fixed the car.'
b. Wo ba che xiuhao le
I car fixed perfective
'I have fixed the car.'
2. Noun ellipsis
(3) A: Wangshang chi shenme?
evening eat what
'What are (we) going to
have for dinner?'
B: chuqu chi ba
out-go eat
Particle
''(Let's) eat out.'
(4) Wo shi bingqilin
am ice cream
'(What) I (ordered) was ice cream.'
3. Classifiers (CL) /measure words
(5) yi tiao yu
pidai 'belt', chong 'worm', he 'river', jie 'street',
one CL
fish
xian 'line', lingdai 'tie'
'one fish'
(6) yi ba dao
yizi 'chair', yaoshi 'keys',
one CL
knife
kuaizi 'chopsticks', san 'umbrella'
'one knife'
4. Topic-comment
(7) Jiazhou qihou hao
California climate good
'As for California, its climate is good.'
(8) Zhe zhong pingguo yi bang yi kuai qian
this kind apples one pound one CL dollar
'This kind of apples are a dollar a pound.'
5. Definite and indefinite articles
No definite or indefinite articles. Consider (1), (2), and (8).
6. Adjectives
(9) Zhe ben shu hen gui
this CL book very expensive
'This book is very expensive.'
(10) Jintian tianqi hao
today weather good
'The weather today is good.'
7. Demonstratives
(11) Zhe zuo lou gao, na zuo lou ai
this CL building tall that CL building short
'This building is tall; that building is
short.'
8. Negative question
(12) A: Ni bu he kafei ma
you not drink
coffee Question
'Don't you
drink coffee?'
B: Shide, wo bu he kafei
'Yes, I don't
drink coffee.'
9. Plurals
(13)a. Xuesheng hen guai
student very
well-behaved
'The student is
well-behaved.'
'The students are
well-behaved.'
b. Xuesheng men hen guai
student plural very
well-behaved
'The students are well-behaved.'
(14)a. Shu dou mai le
book all buy perfective
'The books were all bought.'
b. *Shu men dou mai le
book plural all buy
perfective
'The books were all
bought.'
10. Gender distinction
(15) Ta dui wo hen hao
he/she to me very good
'He/she is very good to me.'
Comparison of Chinese, Japanese and Korean on the 10 features of
syntax
1. Basic word order
Chinese SVO
Japanese SOV
Korean SOV
English SVO
2. Ellipsis
Chinese Nouns can be left out as long as it is clear from the context
Japanese same
Korea same
English usually not possible
3. Classifiers/measure words
Chinese large number of classifiers
Japanese same
Korean same
English not obligatory
4. Topic-comment
Found in all three languages.
Chinese no special marker
Japanese topic marker -wa
Korean topic marker -n(un)
English not common
5. Definite and indefinite articles
Chinese no definite or indefinite articles
Japanese same
Korean same
English has definite and indefinite
articles
6. Adjectives
Chinese can function as verbs, not inflected
Japanese can function as verbs, inflected like verbs
Korean can function as verbs, inflected like verbs
English cannot function as verbs, not inflected
7. Demonstratives
Chinese two-way distinction
Japanese three-way distinction: kono, sono, ano
Korean three-way distinction: i, keu, cheo
English two-way distinction
8. Negative questions
Chinese Answer is based on the literal meaning, rather than the speaker's
implication
Japanese same
Korean same
English answer based on the
speaker's implication
9. Plurals
Chinese plural marking optional; mark on people only, cannot mark on objects
Japanese same
Korean same
English plural marking
obligatory
10. Gender distinction on pronouns
Chinese no gender distinction on pronouns
Japanese has gender distinction on pronouns
Korean no gender distinction on pronouns
English has gender distinction on pronouns
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