Word-Class Flexibility in Classical Chinese

Word-Class Flexibility in Classical Chinese PDF Author: Lukas Zadrapa
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9004206418
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 268

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Book Description
The apparent flexibility of words in Classical Chinese with respect to traditional word classes has always posed a problem in the description of this language and has caused much misunderstanding. Moreover, it has been long understudied, along with the closely related theory of Classical Chinese word classes. This work seeks to summarize previous research on this issue, re-orientate the discourse and construe a new interpretative paradigm that would lead to a more complex and realistic view. It is principally based on a multi-disciplinary approach and supported by the theoretical framework of cognitive linguistics. The study deals with the very conception of word classes, but its focus lies in the analysis of verbal and adverbial functions of nouns.

Word-Class Flexibility in Classical Chinese

Word-Class Flexibility in Classical Chinese PDF Author: Lukas Zadrapa
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9004206418
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 268

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Book Description
The apparent flexibility of words in Classical Chinese with respect to traditional word classes has always posed a problem in the description of this language and has caused much misunderstanding. Moreover, it has been long understudied, along with the closely related theory of Classical Chinese word classes. This work seeks to summarize previous research on this issue, re-orientate the discourse and construe a new interpretative paradigm that would lead to a more complex and realistic view. It is principally based on a multi-disciplinary approach and supported by the theoretical framework of cognitive linguistics. The study deals with the very conception of word classes, but its focus lies in the analysis of verbal and adverbial functions of nouns.

Word-Class Flexibility in Classical Chinese

Word-Class Flexibility in Classical Chinese PDF Author: Lukas Zadrapa
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9004206310
Category : Foreign Language Study
Languages : en
Pages : 269

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Book Description
This book seeks to interpret the notorious word-class flexibility in Classical Chinese in a new way, based on a multi-disciplinary perspective and the theoretical background of cognitive linguistics. It focuses on the case of verbal and adverbial functions of nouns.

Flexibility in the Parts-of-Speech System of Classical Chinese

Flexibility in the Parts-of-Speech System of Classical Chinese PDF Author: Linlin Sun
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG
ISBN: 3110660792
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 299

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Book Description
Based on empirical data from five classical texts, this study investigates flexibility of parts of speech in Classical Chinese. The findings suggest that flexibility in a parts-of-speech system can only be fully understood by integrating a wide range of aspects. The components needed to account for it include constructions, semantics, metonymies, metaphors, pragmatic implicatures – and world knowledge as reflected within a given culture.

Flexibility in the Parts-of-Speech System of Classical Chinese

Flexibility in the Parts-of-Speech System of Classical Chinese PDF Author: Linlin Sun
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG
ISBN: 3110660873
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 317

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Book Description
Languages across the world differ from each other in a number of respects, and one such difference is in terms of how their lexicons are categorized. Compared to most European languages with distinct, functionally dedicated word classes in the traditional sense, quite a few languages are observed to possess lexical items that can fulfill the functions typically associated with more than one traditional word class such as ‘noun’ and ‘verb’. According to Rijkhoff and van Lier (2013), these lexemes exhibit what is called ‘flexibility’. Classical Chinese is observed to feature word-class flexibility, in the sense that there are lexemes that can be used to serve the functions of two or more traditional word classes, without the functional change being marked by any derivational means. For instance, a lexical item like xìn can either function as a verb meaning ‘to be trustworthy [intr.]’ or ‘to believe, to trust [tr.]’ or serve as a noun meaning ‘trust, oath of alliance’. Similarly, a human-denoting lexeme such as yŏu FRIEND cannot only mean ‘a friend’ but also ‘to be a friend, to behave friendly [intr.]’, ‘to make friends with [tr.]’ or ‘to consider as a friend [tr.]’; an instrument word like biān WHIP cannot only mean ‘a whip’ but also ‘to whip’. This situation is often thought to be related to the fact that Classical Chinese does not have any kind of productive morphology in the traditional sense (e.g. Zádrapa 2011). This is reflected in the lack of markedness distinctions across Croft’s (2000, 2001) conceptual space for parts of speech. This study ascribes flexibility of parts of speech in Classical Chinese to precategoriality, in line with Bisang (2008 a, b). Precategoriality can roughly be defined as the absence of the noun-verb distinction in the lexicon; instead, the linking of individual words to the syntactic position of N or V as well as their text frequency in these positions are subject to pragmatics. Precategorial lexical items are those that are not preclassified into parts of speech in the lexicon; rather, their word-class specification is ultimately determined at the syntactic level, according to their position/function in a given word-class indicating construction. From a diachronic viewpoint, this study assumes that precategoriality and categoriality of individual lexical items are not static, but that they are potentialities and tendencies that may change over time. Specifically, (full) precategoriality and (full) categoriality are assumed to constitute a continuum in the lexicon of Chinese throughout its history. In any given historical period, lexical items of the language are distributed between the two extremes on the continuum, according to the intensity of the association between their lexical meaning and the syntactic position/function of e.g. N or V. Generally, along the continuum at a given historical stage, lexemes with a strong association between meaning and function (i.e. lexemes that are normally associated only with one word-class specification for a particular syntactic role) tend to be located close to the extreme of (full) categoriality. In contrast, lexemes that are not necessarily related to one specific association between meaning and function, but can potentially occur in a variety of such associations, are assumed to be placed closer to (full) precategoriality instead. Roughly speaking, the group of lexemes that is located towards (full) precategoriality are flexible lexemes, though with varying degrees of flexibility, whose semantics licenses a syntactic variety and can thus be linked to more than one word-class specification through syntactic specification, a syntactically specified process of category assignment. Based on these considerations, this study aims to present the results of a corpus-based investigation into flexibility of parts of speech in Classical Chinese. The research focuses on two types of syntactic specifications of flexible lexemes, namely, those using action-denoting lexemes in nominal function (the V→N type), and those using object-denoting lexemes in verbal function (the N→V type). The two types of syntactic specifications are investigated for this study in the five Classical Chinese texts (Zuozhuan, Mengzi, Guoyu, Mozi, and Zhanguoce). Based on empirical facts, flexibility of parts of speech in Classical Chinese is addressed at three descriptive levels in this study: First, at the level of syntax, the discussion focuses on the most important syntactic configurations for the use of flexible lexemes and their relations to the basic word order of this language, with flexibility being observed in two positions of an argument structure construction: the V-position and the syntactic position of an argument. The findings of this study demonstrate that as far as the argument structure constructions formed with flexible lexemes are concerned, VO word order is much more frequent than OV. This strong preference for VO is, in connection with lexical flexibility, explained as follows: With the loss of derivational morphology in early stages of Old Chinese (e.g. Sagart 1999), word order became the most important indicator of word class and strongly supported the omission of strict verb-noun distinctions (co-existence of precategoriality and categoriality) in the lexicon of this language. Second, at the level of cognitive semantics (e.g. Lakoff 1987; Kövecses and Radden 1998; Schönefeld 2005), the discussion concentrates on the metonymic relationships that constitute the cognitive-semantic foundation of the use of flexible lexemes in Classical Chinese. In a metonymic mapping of either the V→N or the N→V type, the original semantics of a lexical item (which may typically be associated with a certain syntactic role of N or V) is used as a reference point to provide mental access to the newly derived meaning of the item in another syntactic function. Given the typologically salient characteristics of Classical Chinese discussed in this book, the argument is that the flexible use of an existing word form as a metonymically related but syntactically distinct item is one of the most economic ways in this language to name a new concept or a newly construed situation in discourse. Third, at the level of argument structure constructions (Bisang 2008a, b), the discussion focuses on how the different metonymic relationships mentioned interact with a given argument structure construction (which carries its own meaning within itself), and how these are further concretized into rule-based or metaphorically motivated pragmatic implicatures. A closer examination of an argument structure construction with an object word in the V-position reveals that there are two underlying frameworks for deriving the concrete meaning of the construction. In the rule-based framework, the verbal function of a given object word can basically be derived through grammatical analysis of the whole construction. In the metaphorical framework, the composed semantics of the construction actively interacts with the outside world in our conceptual system, where metaphor (Lakoff 1987, 1993; Kövecses 2010) serves as an essential cognitive principle in establishing and (re-)interpreting relations in the construction. The two mechanisms, rule-based and metaphorical, complement each other and work together to account for flexibility in Classical Chinese. This study argues that flexibility of parts of speech in Classical Chinese can only be fully understood by integrating a wide range of aspects, both linguistic and non-linguistic. The components that are needed to account for it include constructions (form-meaning pairings), semantics (Croft’s conceptual space), pragmatic implicatures, metonymies, metaphors, as well as world knowledge as reflected within a culture. In my view, it is reasonable to argue that these components need not be specific to the language investigated here; they are applicable to any language that shows flexibility in its parts-of-speech system.

Introduction to Classical Chinese

Introduction to Classical Chinese PDF Author: Kai Vogelsang
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0192571907
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 560

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Book Description
This textbook provides a comprehensive scholarly introduction to Classical Chinese and its texts. Classical Chinese is the language of Confucius and Mencius and their contemporaries, who wrote the seminal texts of Chinese philosophy more than 2,000 years ago. Although it was used as a living language for only a relatively short time, it was the foundation of Chinese education throughout the Imperial age, and formed the basis of a literary tradition that continues to the present day. This book offers students all the necessary tools to read, understand, and analyse Classical Chinese texts, including: step-by-step clearly illustrated descriptions of syntactic features; core vocabulary lists; introductions to relevant historical and cultural topics; selected readings from classical literature with original commentaries and in-depth explanations; introductions to dictionaries and other reference works on the study of ancient China; and a guide to philological methods used in the critical analysis of Classical Chinese texts. The extensive glossary provides phonological reconstructions, word classes, English translations, and citations to illustrate usage, while the up-to-date bibliography serves as a valuable starting point for further research.

Flexible Word Classes

Flexible Word Classes PDF Author: Jan Rijkhoff
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN: 0199668442
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 360

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Book Description
This book is the first major cross-linguistic study of 'flexible words', i.e. words that cannot be classified in terms of the traditional lexical categories Verb, Noun, Adjective or Adverb. It includes new cross-linguistic studies of word class systems as well as original descriptive and theoretical contributions.

The Oxford Handbook of Word Classes

The Oxford Handbook of Word Classes PDF Author: Eva van Lier
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0198852886
Category : Computers
Languages : en
Pages : 1137

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Book Description
This handbook explores multiple facets of the study of word classes, also known as parts of speech or lexical categories. These categories are of fundamental importance to linguistic theory and description, both formal and functional, and for both language-internal analyses and cross-linguistic comparison. The volume consists of five parts that investigate word classes from different angles. Chapters in the first part address a range of fundamental issues including diversity and unity in word classes around the world, categorization at different levels of structure, the distinction between lexical and functional words, and hybrid categories. Part II examines the treatment of word classes across a wide range of contemporary linguistic theories, such as Cognitive Grammar, Minimalist Syntax, and Lexical Functional Grammar, while the focus of Part III is on individual word classes, from major categories such as verb and noun to minor ones such as adpositions and ideophones. Part IV provides a number of cross-linguistic case studies, exploring word classes in families including Afroasiatic, Sinitic, Mayan, Austronesian, and in sign languages. Chapters in the final part of the book discuss word classes from the perspective of various sub-disciplines of linguistics, ranging from first and second language acquisition to computational and corpus linguistics. Together, the contributions showcase the importance of word classes for the whole discipline of linguistics, while also highlighting the many ongoing debates in the areas and outlining fruitful avenues for future research.

Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Education, Language and Art (ICELA 2022)

Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Education, Language and Art (ICELA 2022) PDF Author: Loo Fung Ying
Publisher: Springer Nature
ISBN: 2384760041
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 1083

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Book Description
This is an open access book. The 2nd International Conference on Education, Language and Art (ICELA 2022) was held in Sanya, China on Nov. 25–27, 2022.The aim of ICELA 2022 is to bring together innovative academics and industrial experts in the field of "Education", "Language" and other research areas. The primary goal of the conference is to promote scientific information interchange between researchers, developers, students, and practitioners working all around the world. The conference will be held every year to make it an ideal platform for people to share views and experiences. We warmly invite you to participate in ICELA 2022 and look forward to seeing you in Sanya, China.

Science and Civilisation in China: Volume 7, The Social Background, Part 1, Language and Logic in Traditional China

Science and Civilisation in China: Volume 7, The Social Background, Part 1, Language and Logic in Traditional China PDF Author: Joseph Needham
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 9780521571432
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 514

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Book Description
The first systematic survey of the conceptual history of basic logical terminology in ancient China.

Chinese Linguistics

Chinese Linguistics PDF Author: Giorgio Francesco Arcodia
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0198847831
Category : Foreign Language Study
Languages : en
Pages : 358

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Book Description
Presents a directory of WWW resources on Chinese linguistics, compiled by the East Asian Libraries Cooperative. Links to resources on phonetics, grammar, and dialects. Provides access to online courses, journals, and academic organizations.