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Xi you ji zhong yao ci fa yu ju fa yan jiu = Important aspects of morphology and syntax in journey to the west
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Type
Thesis
Other titles
西游记重要词法与句法研究
Author
Tham, Wai Mun
Supervisor
Chew, Cheng Hai
Abstract
The aim of the thesis is to provide an analysis on specific grammatical phenomena in "near modern Chinese" (% g g), in particular, selected syntactic and n~orphological structures using the descriptive framework against historical developments, combined with quantitative and synchronic comparison tools. The relatively unexplored literary work, Journey to the West, is chosen for the purpose.
The thesis is organized into three sections: The introduction, the body and the epilogue. The body of the thesis is divided into two parts. Part I comprises two chapters focusing on morphological issues, whereas Part I1 comprises three chapters centering on syntactic structures found in.lourney to the West.
Chapter One, the introduction, gives an overview of the study of nearmodern Chinese Language spanning the period from the late Tang dynasty to the early Qing and zooms in to review literature done on language use in the Ming dynasty as well as Journey to the West. It argues that further meaningful periodization of the history of the Chinese language is only conclusive after closer examination of language paradigms in each characterising period and specifically, the core period of near-modern Chinese, the Ming dynasty. Emerging and dirninishing language traits during the Ming period is also dealt with.
In Chapter Two, the suffixes "er7' and "zi" are discussed. The thesis surveys the tonal transition of "er" found in i%e.lourney to the West to support the case that conditions for phonological changes matured at least by mid-Ming. The interchangeable use of "er" and "zi" gives insight to phonological changes in the period while the discourse and semantic development show the link between contemporary Chinese and its source, the near-modern Chinese.
Chapter Three examines replicate expressions, a special feature in noninflecting languages, to explore the peculiarity it displays in the Chinese language during the time and specific to the target book of study. The highlight of the chapter is the expression of replication in Chinese verbs and adjectives. Both synchronic and dynchornic comparisons demonstrate that verb replication is in a state of transition, having a variety of unique constructs and shift in object positioning. For objectives, phonemic replication developed from archaic Chinese found its way into adjectival usage in the period.
Chapter Four addresses the "ban construction. This construction reflects the maturing post- and pre- verbal constituents during the period in which the work was composed. It also analyses special constructions not found in contemporary Mandarin Chinese, some of which may be exclusive to Journey to the West. Comparison with the "jiang" construction gives evidence of the dominance of the "ban construct over "jiang" but does not suggest lexical replacement since each construction serves its own domain and carries characteristics specific to itself . Semantic analysis indicates that "disposal" only explains in part, the larger meaning of the construction.
Chapter Five centers on the grammatical function of "jiang" in the "Verbjia:ng-directional verb7' construction, the factors leading to its obsolescence and the emlergence of the structural suffix "le". Close analysis rules out lexical replacement judged superficially on syntactic position, and suggests that comparative advantage, as a rule of language economy, ultimately leads to lexical refinement and specialisation.
Chapter Six investigates the "bei" construction. The presence of both ergative and non-ergative constructs is fully demonstrative of the originality of the "bei" construction in the history of the Chinese language. As it is, "passive" is not an appropriate description of its meaning and function.
Chapter Seven touches briefly on other areas yet to be closely scrutinized, including the rich opportunities for discourse analysis, lexicology study, study of character presented by the literary work, and discoveries from cross-edition examination.
Journey to the West confirms the distinctive phenomena characterising the pe~iod in which it was published. In comparison with other literary works in the sarne period, Journey to the West contains fewer grammatical phenomena exclusive to itself. This relatively more standardised and uniform usage recommends it as a basis for comparison. As far as near modern Chinese is concerned, the numerous changes within specific and related constructs can constitute a historical linguistic theory pertaining solely to syntax.
The thesis is organized into three sections: The introduction, the body and the epilogue. The body of the thesis is divided into two parts. Part I comprises two chapters focusing on morphological issues, whereas Part I1 comprises three chapters centering on syntactic structures found in.lourney to the West.
Chapter One, the introduction, gives an overview of the study of nearmodern Chinese Language spanning the period from the late Tang dynasty to the early Qing and zooms in to review literature done on language use in the Ming dynasty as well as Journey to the West. It argues that further meaningful periodization of the history of the Chinese language is only conclusive after closer examination of language paradigms in each characterising period and specifically, the core period of near-modern Chinese, the Ming dynasty. Emerging and dirninishing language traits during the Ming period is also dealt with.
In Chapter Two, the suffixes "er7' and "zi" are discussed. The thesis surveys the tonal transition of "er" found in i%e.lourney to the West to support the case that conditions for phonological changes matured at least by mid-Ming. The interchangeable use of "er" and "zi" gives insight to phonological changes in the period while the discourse and semantic development show the link between contemporary Chinese and its source, the near-modern Chinese.
Chapter Three examines replicate expressions, a special feature in noninflecting languages, to explore the peculiarity it displays in the Chinese language during the time and specific to the target book of study. The highlight of the chapter is the expression of replication in Chinese verbs and adjectives. Both synchronic and dynchornic comparisons demonstrate that verb replication is in a state of transition, having a variety of unique constructs and shift in object positioning. For objectives, phonemic replication developed from archaic Chinese found its way into adjectival usage in the period.
Chapter Four addresses the "ban construction. This construction reflects the maturing post- and pre- verbal constituents during the period in which the work was composed. It also analyses special constructions not found in contemporary Mandarin Chinese, some of which may be exclusive to Journey to the West. Comparison with the "jiang" construction gives evidence of the dominance of the "ban construct over "jiang" but does not suggest lexical replacement since each construction serves its own domain and carries characteristics specific to itself . Semantic analysis indicates that "disposal" only explains in part, the larger meaning of the construction.
Chapter Five centers on the grammatical function of "jiang" in the "Verbjia:ng-directional verb7' construction, the factors leading to its obsolescence and the emlergence of the structural suffix "le". Close analysis rules out lexical replacement judged superficially on syntactic position, and suggests that comparative advantage, as a rule of language economy, ultimately leads to lexical refinement and specialisation.
Chapter Six investigates the "bei" construction. The presence of both ergative and non-ergative constructs is fully demonstrative of the originality of the "bei" construction in the history of the Chinese language. As it is, "passive" is not an appropriate description of its meaning and function.
Chapter Seven touches briefly on other areas yet to be closely scrutinized, including the rich opportunities for discourse analysis, lexicology study, study of character presented by the literary work, and discoveries from cross-edition examination.
Journey to the West confirms the distinctive phenomena characterising the pe~iod in which it was published. In comparison with other literary works in the sarne period, Journey to the West contains fewer grammatical phenomena exclusive to itself. This relatively more standardised and uniform usage recommends it as a basis for comparison. As far as near modern Chinese is concerned, the numerous changes within specific and related constructs can constitute a historical linguistic theory pertaining solely to syntax.
Date Issued
1998
Call Number
PL2697.X5 T4
Date Submitted
1998