Focus Manifestation in Mandarin Chinese and Cantonese

A Comparative Perspective

Nonfiction, Reference & Language, Language Arts, Journalism
Cover of the book Focus Manifestation in Mandarin Chinese and Cantonese by Peppina Po-lun Lee, Taylor and Francis
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Peppina Po-lun Lee ISBN: 9781351339667
Publisher: Taylor and Francis Publication: May 23, 2019
Imprint: Routledge Language: English
Author: Peppina Po-lun Lee
ISBN: 9781351339667
Publisher: Taylor and Francis
Publication: May 23, 2019
Imprint: Routledge
Language: English

One prominent function of natural language is to convey information. One peculiarity is that it does not do so randomly, but in a structured way, with information structuring formally recognized to be a component of grammar. Among all information structuring notions, focus is one primitive needed to account for all phenomena.

Focus Manifestation in Mandarin Chinese and Cantonese: A Comparative Perspective aims to examine from a semantic perspective how syntactic structures and focus adverbs in Mandarin Chinese and semantic particles in Cantonese conspire to encode focus structures and determine focus manifestation in Chinese. With both as tonal languages, Mandarin Chinese and Cantonese manifest different morpho-syntactic configurations to mark focus. A general principle governing focus marking in Mandarin Chinese and Cantonese is given in the book, which aims to give a better understanding on the underlying principles the two used to mark additive and restrictive meanings, and related focus interpretations. Particular attention is also drawn to the co-occurrence of multiple forms of restrictive and additive particles in Cantonese, including adverbs, verbal suffixes and sentence-final particles. Linearity has shown to be an important parameter to determine how focus is structured in Cantonese.

This book is aimed at advanced graduate students, researchers and scholars working on Chinese linguistics, syntax and semantics, and comparative dialectal grammar.

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

One prominent function of natural language is to convey information. One peculiarity is that it does not do so randomly, but in a structured way, with information structuring formally recognized to be a component of grammar. Among all information structuring notions, focus is one primitive needed to account for all phenomena.

Focus Manifestation in Mandarin Chinese and Cantonese: A Comparative Perspective aims to examine from a semantic perspective how syntactic structures and focus adverbs in Mandarin Chinese and semantic particles in Cantonese conspire to encode focus structures and determine focus manifestation in Chinese. With both as tonal languages, Mandarin Chinese and Cantonese manifest different morpho-syntactic configurations to mark focus. A general principle governing focus marking in Mandarin Chinese and Cantonese is given in the book, which aims to give a better understanding on the underlying principles the two used to mark additive and restrictive meanings, and related focus interpretations. Particular attention is also drawn to the co-occurrence of multiple forms of restrictive and additive particles in Cantonese, including adverbs, verbal suffixes and sentence-final particles. Linearity has shown to be an important parameter to determine how focus is structured in Cantonese.

This book is aimed at advanced graduate students, researchers and scholars working on Chinese linguistics, syntax and semantics, and comparative dialectal grammar.

More books from Taylor and Francis

Cover of the book Beyond Computopia by Peppina Po-lun Lee
Cover of the book Clinical Implications of the Psychoanalyst's Life Experience by Peppina Po-lun Lee
Cover of the book Aphrodite and Eros by Peppina Po-lun Lee
Cover of the book The British Industrial Decline by Peppina Po-lun Lee
Cover of the book Chinese Masculinities in a Globalizing World by Peppina Po-lun Lee
Cover of the book Research as Social Change by Peppina Po-lun Lee
Cover of the book Challenging the Cult of Self-Esteem in Education by Peppina Po-lun Lee
Cover of the book Beyond Utopia by Peppina Po-lun Lee
Cover of the book The Ethics of Language Assessment by Peppina Po-lun Lee
Cover of the book Law and Fair Work in China by Peppina Po-lun Lee
Cover of the book Upheavals in the Psychoanalytical Institutions II by Peppina Po-lun Lee
Cover of the book Economics of the Oceans by Peppina Po-lun Lee
Cover of the book Land and People in Nineteenth-Century Wales by Peppina Po-lun Lee
Cover of the book Young People, Creativity and New Technologies by Peppina Po-lun Lee
Cover of the book Polemical Papers by Peppina Po-lun Lee
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