Table Of ContentA Grammar of Mandarin
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A Grammar of Mandarin
Jeroen Wiedenhof
Leiden University
John Benjamins Publishing Company
Amsterdam / Philadelphia
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TM The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of
8
the American National Standard for Information Sciences – Permanence
of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ansi z39.48-1984.
doi: 10.1075/z.197
Cataloging-in-Publication Data available from Library of Congress
ISBN 978 90 272 1227 6 (Hb)
ISBN 978 90 272 1228 3 (Pb)
ISBN 978 90 272 6775 7 (e-book)
© 2015 – John Benjamins B.V.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form, by print, photoprint, microfilm, or any
other means, without written permission from the publisher.
John Benjamins Publishing Company · https://benjamins.com
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Section title / except 1st page of section v
Contents
Symbols, abbreviations and other conventions xiii
Preface xxi
1 Mandarin 1
1.1 Mandarin and the other Chinese languages 1
1.2 Chinese and its neighbors 2
1.3 Mandarin as a standard language 4
1.4 Is Mandarin a difficult language? 6
1.5 Language names 7
1.6 The description of Mandarin 7
2 Phonetics and phonology 11
2.1 The sounds of speech and their transcription 11
2.2 Tone 12
2.2.1 Mandarin tones 14
2.2.2 The neutral tone 19
2.2.3 The transcription of tone 21
2.2.4 Tone sandhi and neutralization 23
2.3 Consonants, semivowels, vowels and syllables 30
2.4 Initials and medials 32
2.4.1 Consonants by place of articulation 35
2.4.2 Consonants by manner of articulation 37
2.5 Finals 38
2.5.1 a sounds 40
2.5.2 e sounds 40
2.5.3 i sounds 41
2.5.4 The seven buzzers: alveolar and retroflex -i 42
2.5.5 o sounds 43
2.5.6 u sounds 44
2.5.7 ü sounds 45
2.6 The pronunciation and spelling of syllables starting in i, ü and u 45
vi Section title / except 1st page oCf osnetcetinotns Section title / except 1st page of section vii
2.7 The -r coda 48 5 Verbs 117
2.7.1 No sandhi effects 49 5.1 Verbs and predicates 117
2.7.2 The loss of -n and -i after a vowel 50 5.2 Sentences and verbs 118
2.7.3 The loss of -ng: nasal rhotacisms 51 5.2.1 Subjects, topics and objects 118
2.7.4 Schwa insertion with high vowels 52 5.2.2 Transitive verbs 122
2.7.5 Schwa insertion with the seven buzzers 52 5.3 The presentative construction 127
2.8 Phonology 53 5.4 Coverbs 130
2.8.1 Tonemes 55 5.5 Causative constructions with jiào ‘call’ and ràng ‘let’ 139
2.8.2 Consonants 57 5.6 wèn ‘ask’ and qǐng ‘request’ 144
2.8.3 Vowels 61 5.7 Constructions of gěi ‘give’ with a second verb 146
2.9 Linking sounds of speech: sandhi and neutralization 67 5.8 Passive constructions with bèi 150
2.9.1 Voiced obstruents 67 5.9 The pretransitive construction 153
2.9.2 Neutralization of vowels 68 5.10 The progressive aspect with zài ‘be at’ 159
2.10 Prosody 68 5.11 Auxiliary verbs 160
2.11 Substandard pronunciation in Beijing 70 5.11.1 Being able and being possible 161
5.11.2 Wanting and needing 166
3 Subordination 73 5.12 shi ‘be’ 173
3.1 The subordinating construction 73 5.13 yǒu ‘be there’ 177
3.2 The particle de 74
3.3 Subordination with and without de 75 6 Properties and states 181
3.4 Modifier and head 77 6.1 Adjectives 181
3.5 Types of modifiers 80 6.2 Properties and gradation 182
3.6 Longer modifiers 83 6.3 Comparison with bǐ 187
3.7 Subordination without an overt head 84 6.4 Adverbs, free adverbs and conjunctions 189
3.8 Nouns and verbs defined 86 6.5 The adverbial predicate 193
4 Nouns 87 7 Negations and questions 201
4.1 Noun and noun phrase 87 7.1 Negations 201
4.2 Personal names 90 7.1.1 bù ‘not’ 201
4.3 Kinship terms 93 7.1.2 bú ‘not to be’ 202
4.4 Pronouns 99 7.1.3 méi ‘not to be there’ 204
4.4.1 Personal pronouns 100 7.2 Questions 208
4.4.2 Demonstrative pronouns 108 7.2.1 The interrogative particle ma 209
4.4.3 ‘Why’ and ‘how come’ 115 7.2.2 Reduplication-type questions 212
7.2.3 The use of interrogative pronouns 214
vi Section title / except 1st page of section CSoecnttieonnt st itle / except 1st page of section vii
2.7 The -r coda 48 5 Verbs 117
2.7.1 No sandhi effects 49 5.1 Verbs and predicates 117
2.7.2 The loss of -n and -i after a vowel 50 5.2 Sentences and verbs 118
2.7.3 The loss of -ng: nasal rhotacisms 51 5.2.1 Subjects, topics and objects 118
2.7.4 Schwa insertion with high vowels 52 5.2.2 Transitive verbs 122
2.7.5 Schwa insertion with the seven buzzers 52 5.3 The presentative construction 127
2.8 Phonology 53 5.4 Coverbs 130
2.8.1 Tonemes 55 5.5 Causative constructions with jiào ‘call’ and ràng ‘let’ 139
2.8.2 Consonants 57 5.6 wèn ‘ask’ and qǐng ‘request’ 144
2.8.3 Vowels 61 5.7 Constructions of gěi ‘give’ with a second verb 146
2.9 Linking sounds of speech: sandhi and neutralization 67 5.8 Passive constructions with bèi 150
2.9.1 Voiced obstruents 67 5.9 The pretransitive construction 153
2.9.2 Neutralization of vowels 68 5.10 The progressive aspect with zài ‘be at’ 159
2.10 Prosody 68 5.11 Auxiliary verbs 160
2.11 Substandard pronunciation in Beijing 70 5.11.1 Being able and being possible 161
5.11.2 Wanting and needing 166
3 Subordination 73 5.12 shi ‘be’ 173
3.1 The subordinating construction 73 5.13 yǒu ‘be there’ 177
3.2 The particle de 74
3.3 Subordination with and without de 75 6 Properties and states 181
3.4 Modifier and head 77 6.1 Adjectives 181
3.5 Types of modifiers 80 6.2 Properties and gradation 182
3.6 Longer modifiers 83 6.3 Comparison with bǐ 187
3.7 Subordination without an overt head 84 6.4 Adverbs, free adverbs and conjunctions 189
3.8 Nouns and verbs defined 86 6.5 The adverbial predicate 193
4 Nouns 87 7 Negations and questions 201
4.1 Noun and noun phrase 87 7.1 Negations 201
4.2 Personal names 90 7.1.1 bù ‘not’ 201
4.3 Kinship terms 93 7.1.2 bú ‘not to be’ 202
4.4 Pronouns 99 7.1.3 méi ‘not to be there’ 204
4.4.1 Personal pronouns 100 7.2 Questions 208
4.4.2 Demonstrative pronouns 108 7.2.1 The interrogative particle ma 209
4.4.3 ‘Why’ and ‘how come’ 115 7.2.2 Reduplication-type questions 212
7.2.3 The use of interrogative pronouns 214
viii Section title / except 1st page oCf osnetcetinotns Section title / except 1st page of section ix
8 Tense, aspect and mood 219 10.2.2 Suffixes 300
8.1 The linguistic expression of time 219 10.2.3 Localizing expressions 309
8.1.1 le: perfective aspect 220 10.3 The formation of adverbs with shi ‘be’ and yǒu ‘be there’ 311
8.1.2 guo ~ guò: experiential aspect 228 10.4 Resultative verbs 312
8.1.3 zhe: durative aspect 231 10.5 Reduplication 317
8.1.4 laide ~ laizhe: refreshing aspect 233 10.5.1 Verbs 317
8.1.5 de: situational aspect 235 10.5.2 Adjectives 319
8.2 Mood 240 10.5.3 Classifiers 320
8.2.1 ba: suggestion 241 10.5.4 Kinship terms and language of the home 321
8.2.2 a: expected continuation 242 10.5.5 The endearment tones 321
8.2.3 bei: limited commitment 244
8.2.4 ne: relevance 245 11 Function words 323
9 Counting and classifying 249 12 The Chinese script 359
9.1 Numerals 251 12.1 Archeology 359
9.1.1 Integers 251 12.2 The imperial period 360
9.1.2 yī ‘one’ and yi ‘a’ 253 12.3 Features of the Chinese script 365
9.1.3 yí ‘one item’, liǎ ‘two items’ and sā ‘three items’ 256 12.3.1 Graphical form 365
9.1.4 Ordinal numerals 257 12.3.2 Language and script 371
9.1.5 Interrogative numerals 259 12.3.3 六書 liù shū ‘the Six Categories of the Script’ 378
9.1.6 Parts, fractions and decimals 260 12.3.4 Statistics 380
9.2 Alternative ways of counting 262 12.4 Character classification 385
9.3 Classifiers 267 12.4.1 Radicals 387
9.3.1 Meaning and syntax of classifiers 270 12.4.2 Other graphical classifications 392
9.3.2 A list of classifiers 274 12.5 New developments 394
9.3.3 Èr ‘two’ and liǎng ‘pair, couple’ 278 12.5.1 Script reforms 394
9.3.4 Measuring time 280 12.5.2 The digital revolution 402
9.3.5 Measures and weights 286
Appendix A The International Phonetic Alphabet 409
10 Morphology 289 Appendix B Syllable inventory in Pinyin 410
10.1 Morphology in Mandarin 289 Appendix C Phonological inventory of Beijing Mandarin 412
10.1.1 Lexicon, syntax and morphology 289 Appendix D The transcription of Mandarin 414
10.1.2 Free and bound morphemes 291
10.1.3 Characters, syllables and morphemes 293 Glossary 429
10.2 Nouns 298 References 443
10.2.1 Prefixes 298 Index 463
viii Section title / except 1st page of section CSoecnttieonnt st itle / except 1st page of section ix
8 Tense, aspect and mood 219 10.2.2 Suffixes 300
8.1 The linguistic expression of time 219 10.2.3 Localizing expressions 309
8.1.1 le: perfective aspect 220 10.3 The formation of adverbs with shi ‘be’ and yǒu ‘be there’ 311
8.1.2 guo ~ guò: experiential aspect 228 10.4 Resultative verbs 312
8.1.3 zhe: durative aspect 231 10.5 Reduplication 317
8.1.4 laide ~ laizhe: refreshing aspect 233 10.5.1 Verbs 317
8.1.5 de: situational aspect 235 10.5.2 Adjectives 319
8.2 Mood 240 10.5.3 Classifiers 320
8.2.1 ba: suggestion 241 10.5.4 Kinship terms and language of the home 321
8.2.2 a: expected continuation 242 10.5.5 The endearment tones 321
8.2.3 bei: limited commitment 244
8.2.4 ne: relevance 245 11 Function words 323
9 Counting and classifying 249 12 The Chinese script 359
9.1 Numerals 251 12.1 Archeology 359
9.1.1 Integers 251 12.2 The imperial period 360
9.1.2 yī ‘one’ and yi ‘a’ 253 12.3 Features of the Chinese script 365
9.1.3 yí ‘one item’, liǎ ‘two items’ and sā ‘three items’ 256 12.3.1 Graphical form 365
9.1.4 Ordinal numerals 257 12.3.2 Language and script 371
9.1.5 Interrogative numerals 259 12.3.3 六書 liù shū ‘the Six Categories of the Script’ 378
9.1.6 Parts, fractions and decimals 260 12.3.4 Statistics 380
9.2 Alternative ways of counting 262 12.4 Character classification 385
9.3 Classifiers 267 12.4.1 Radicals 387
9.3.1 Meaning and syntax of classifiers 270 12.4.2 Other graphical classifications 392
9.3.2 A list of classifiers 274 12.5 New developments 394
9.3.3 Èr ‘two’ and liǎng ‘pair, couple’ 278 12.5.1 Script reforms 394
9.3.4 Measuring time 280 12.5.2 The digital revolution 402
9.3.5 Measures and weights 286
Appendix A The International Phonetic Alphabet 409
10 Morphology 289 Appendix B Syllable inventory in Pinyin 410
10.1 Morphology in Mandarin 289 Appendix C Phonological inventory of Beijing Mandarin 412
10.1.1 Lexicon, syntax and morphology 289 Appendix D The transcription of Mandarin 414
10.1.2 Free and bound morphemes 291
10.1.3 Characters, syllables and morphemes 293 Glossary 429
10.2 Nouns 298 References 443
10.2.1 Prefixes 298 Index 463
