Browsing results for Chinese (Cantonese)
Published on May 12, 2017. Last updated on August 19, 2021.
Tong, Malindy, Yell, Michael, & Goddard, Cliff (1997). Semantic primitives of time and space in Hong Kong Cantonese. Language Sciences, 19(3), 245-261. DOI: 10.1016/S0388-0001(96)00063-0
This paper takes a subset of the semantic primitives currently proposed in the Natural Semantic Metalanguage theory and addresses two questions: Do these meanings have lexical equivalents in Cantonese? If so, does their combinatorial syntax conform to Wierzbicka’s hypotheses? The temporal primitives (WHEN/TIME, NOW, BEFORE, AFTER, A LONG TIME, A SHORT TIME) are all found to have clear Cantonese exponents which can be combined as predicted with other metalanguage elements–but for two exceptions: the combinations A VERY SHORT TIME and BEFORE/AFTER NOW are apparently not possible in Cantonese. We also argue that the Cantonese evidence suggests that
‘when-time’ (as in the phrase AT THIS TIME) and ‘frequency time’ (as in IT HAPPENED TWO TIMES) may be distinct semantic primes. As for the spatial primitives (WHERE/PLACE, HERE, NEAR, FAR, INSIDE, SIDE, ABOVE, BELOW), they all appear to have Cantonese exponents with the predicted syntax, but the tentative proposal that ON may be a universal primitive is challenged by the apparent lack of an equivalent expression in Cantonese.
Published on May 12, 2017. Last updated on February 9, 2020.
Wakefield, John C. (2010). The English equivalents of Cantonese sentence-final particles: A contrastive analysis. PhD thesis, Hong Kong Polytechnic University.
Open access
Abstract:
Cantonese has a lexical tone system that severely restricts its ability to manipulate pitch. As a result, many of the speaker-oriented discourse meanings that are expressed through intonation in languages such as English are expressed in the form of sentence-final particles (SFPs) in Cantonese. Although this is widely known and accepted by linguists, apparently no study to date has made a systematic attempt to discover whether any of the more than 30 Cantonese SFPs have English intonational equivalents, and if so, what those equivalents are. To work towards filling this research gap, this study examines the English intonational equivalents of four Cantonese SFPs that divide into the following two pairs: particles of obviousness: 咯 lo1 and 吖吗 aa1maa3; question particles: 咩 me1 and 呀 aa4.
The English equivalent form of each of the four SFPs of this study is identified by examining the pitch contours of Cantonese-to-English audio translations, provided by Cantonese/English native-bilingual participants. A definition using Natural Semantic Metalanguage (NSM) is proposed for each SFP, which is hypothesized to apply equally to its English intonational counterpart. Following earlier proposals by Hirst regarding emphatic intonation, these pitch contours are proposed to be floating tones that exist as lexical entries in the minds of native speakers of English. Syntactic positions are proposed for the SFPs and their English equivalents adopting Rizzi‘s split-CP hypothesis.
The findings of this study have far reaching implications regarding the descriptions and classifications of intonation, as well as regarding the classifications of the various forms of suprasegmentals. This study used segmental discourse markers to discover their suprasegmental counterparts in English, exploiting a unique window through which to examine the forms and meanings of English discourse intonation, which is one of the least understood and most difficult to study aspects of English. This research has arguably provided the strongest and clearest evidence to date regarding the forms and meanings of the particular forms of English intonation with which it deals.
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Research carried out in consultation with or under the supervision of one or more experienced NSM practitioners
Tags: (E) aa1maa3 吖吗, (E) aa4 呀, (E) lo1 咯, (E) me1 咩, (T) Chinese (Cantonese)
Published on May 12, 2017. Last updated on September 13, 2018.
Sun, Jaclyn Kayen (2010). Deciphering the Chinese smile: The importance of facial expressions in linguistic communication. Cross-Sections, 6, 105-120.
This paper explores the role of facial expressions in Cantonese people’s communication, with a focus on 笑 siu3 (lit. ‘smiling’, ‘laughing’, ‘grinning’). The communicative implications underlying linguistic communication are discussed with reference to two core cultural values, 和諧關係 wo4 haai4 gwaan1 hai6 or wo6 haai4 gwaan1 hai6 (lit. ‘harmonious relationship’, ‘together relationship’) and 含蓄 ham4 chuk1 (lit. ‘implicit’, ‘contained’, ‘control’), which govern the facial movements of the Chinese. Semantic explications of cultural key words and cultural scripts are generated based on the author’s personal reflections as a native speaker of Cantonese who has resided in Hong Kong for 20 years. The Natural Semantic Metalanguage (NSM) is used as the methodology of this paper so that these cultural values can be captured through an insider perspective, in a language that is culture-independent. The use of NSM in this present study effectively avoids ethnocentrism, while meanings can be spelt out in an undistorted way that can be understood and translated systematically across different languages, serving as a rigorous tool for comparing different cultural norms. It is hoped that this will aid better understanding of the communicative styles involved and so help to facilitate an effective intercultural communication between Chinese speakers and cultural outsiders.
The following Cantonese words are explicated: 臉色 lim5 sik1 ‘complexion, look’; 賠笑 pui4 siu3 ‘compensating smile’; 苦笑 fu2 siu3 ‘bitter smile’
Note: Provided the first line (“many people think like this”) is dropped, the cultural scripts proposed by the author for particular types of smiles are at the same time semantic explications for the phrases used in Cantonese to identify the smiles in question.
Research carried out in consultation with or under the supervision of one or more experienced NSM practitioners
Tags: (E) fu2 siu3 苦笑, (E) lim5 sik1 臉色, (E) pui4 siu3 賠笑, (S) communicative styles, (S) conflict, (S) emotions, (S) relationships, (S) smiling
Published on May 12, 2017. Last updated on February 9, 2020.
Wakefield, John C. (2011). Disentangling the meanings of two Cantonese evidential particles. Chinese Language & Discourse, 2(2), 250-293.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1075/cld.2.2.05wak
Abstract:
Some linguists have argued that sentence-final particles (SFPs) are only meaningful in relation to discourse content. Adopting as a working hypothesis the idea that SFPs have core meanings independent of the discourse context, this paper proposes definitions for two evidential SFPs in Cantonese with related meanings: 咯 lo1 and 吖吗 aa1maa3.
Corpus-based examples and constructed minimal-pair dialogues are used to demonstrate that the definitions succeed at accounting for all the contexts that allow one, the other, both, or neither of the SFPs to be used based on acceptability judgments from native speakers of Cantonese. In addition to furthering our understanding of the two SFPs under discussion, this paper provides empirical evidence in support of the idea that discourse particles have context-independent meanings.
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Research carried out by one or more experienced NSM practitioners
Tags: (E) aa1maa3 吖吗, (E) lo1 咯
Published on July 1, 2017. Last updated on August 16, 2021.
Leung, Helen (2011). *The semantics of Cantonese particles laa1 and laa3. BA(Hons) thesis, Australian National University.
Published on May 12, 2017. Last updated on February 9, 2020.
Wakefield, John C. (2012). A floating tone discourse morpheme: The English equivalent of Cantonese lo1. Lingua, 122(14), 1739-1762.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lingua.2012.09.008
Abstract:
Cantonese linguists have said that Cantonese sentence-final particles (SFPs) express the same kinds of meanings that are expressed by intonation in languages such as English, yet apparently no study has ever systematically attempted to discover whether any SFPs have English intonational equivalents. This study identifies the English intonational counterpart to the SFP 咯 lo1 by looking at the pitch contours of Cantonese-to-English audio translations, which were provided by four Cantonese/English native bilingual participants.
Based on the data, it is concluded that the English equivalent of 咯 lo1 is a high-falling pitch contour. A definition using the Natural Semantic Metalanguage is formulated to define 咯 lo1, and native English-speaker judgments indicate that this same definition also defines the meaning of 咯 lo1‘s English equivalent. Examples are given to demonstrate that this definition succeeds at defining either 咯 lo1 or its English equivalent in any context within which they are used. It is proposed that this 咯 lo1-equivalent pitch contour is a floating tone morpheme in the English lexicon. Linguists have long debated whether or not any forms of intonation have context-independent meanings. This study offers empirical evidence in support of the argument that they do.
Rating:
Research carried out by one or more experienced NSM practitioners
Tags: (E) lo1 咯
Published on May 12, 2017. Last updated on August 19, 2021.
Leung, Helen Hue Lam (2012). The semantics of the Cantonese utterance particle ‘laa1’. In Maïa Ponsonnet, Loan Dao, & Margit Bowler (Eds.), Proceedings of the 42nd Australian Linguistic Society Conference – 2011 (pp. 245-280). http://langfest.anu.edu.au/index.php/als/als2011. PDF (open access)
This paper will carry out an in-depth semantic analysis of one of the most salient and frequently used Cantonese utterance particles, laa1 (high level tone). Cantonese utterance particles occur in continuous talk every 1.5 seconds on average, and play a very important role in Cantonese speakers’ self-expression.
There are approximately one hundred utterance particles in Cantonese, outnumbering those in Mandarin. However, it has been suggested that the particles have no meaning, and there has not been much comprehensive semantic analysis of individual particles. Where utterance particles have
previously been described, the descriptions do not fully and accurately convey their meanings.
In this study, a range of naturally occurring examples of laa1 from the Hong Kong Cantonese Corpus will be examined, and an invariant meaning of laa1 proposed using the Natural Semantic Metalanguage (NSM). This approach offers advantages over previous descriptions of laa1, and will allow a simple,
precise and translatable definition to be constructed. It is found that laa1 indicates some shared knowledge between a speaker and an addressee. This study addresses the current gap in Cantonese linguistics, and contributes to the understanding of Cantonese utterance particles.
Published on May 12, 2017. Last updated on September 10, 2018.
Leung, Helen Hue Lam (2013). The Cantonese utterance particle ‘gaa3’ and particle combinations: An NSM semantic analysis. In John Henderson, Marie-Eve Ritz, & Celeste Rodríguez Louro (Eds.), Proceedings of the 2012 Conference of the Australian Linguistic Society (27 pp.). https://sites.google.com/site/als2012uwa/proceedings. PDF (open access)
Cantonese utterance particles occur in ordinary Cantonese conversation every one or two seconds. Speech becomes unnatural when they are omitted. They are often used in combinations of more than one, with ‘basic’ and ‘compound’ particles totalling approximately one hundred. However, it is generally agreed that the particles’ meanings are extremely elusive. This study uses the Natural Semantic Metalanguage (NSM) framework and natural speech data from the Hong Kong Cantonese Corpus to explain the meaning of the utterance particle gaa3 as used in statements. Gaa3 is the second most frequently used utterance particle in the corpus, and the eleventh most frequently used Cantonese word
overall. The NSM explication proposed clearly states what the ‘core’ or invariant meaning of gaa3 is. Furthermore, the explications of gaa3 and two other particles, laa1 and wo3, can reveal why they can
(or cannot) combine, and what their composite meanings are. This is a new approach to the untested idea that the meaning of particle ‘clusters’ is equal to that of the individual particles combined. The explications begin to expose a system with which the vast array and patterns of Cantonese utterance particles can be explained in a logical way.
Published on May 12, 2017. Last updated on February 9, 2020.
Wakefield, John C. (2013). When cultural scripts collide: Conflicting child-rearing values in a mixed-culture home. Journal of Intercultural Communication Research, 42(4), 376-392.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/17475759.2013.838984
Abstract:
This paper discusses some key differences between the child-rearing values of American-English culture and Hong Kong-Cantonese culture. Evidence is drawn from contrasts in the child-rearing-related speech behaviour of people from the two cultures, including the American English-speaking author and his Hong Kong Cantonese-speaking partner. Speaker-oriented cultural scripts written in NSM are developed in an attempt to articulate and explain these differences in verbal behaviour. It is proposed that a major contrast between the two cultures is whether or not parents believe children can or should determine for themselves what is appropriate to say and do.
Rating:
Research carried out by one or more experienced NSM practitioners
Tags: (E) giu3, (S) child-rearing behaviour, (S) children require instruction, (S) example setting for children, (S) parental love withdrawal, (S) wh-imperatives
Published on May 12, 2017. Last updated on February 9, 2020.
Wakefield, John C. (2014). The forms and meanings of English rising declaratives: Insights from Cantonese. Journal of Chinese Linguistics, 42(1), 109-149.
Open access
Abstract:
The study reported in this paper exploited the existence of a pair of semantically related Cantonese question particles (咩 me1 and 呀 aa4) to learn more about the forms and meanings of the tones that mark declarative questions in English. First each particle was defined using NSM. Cantonese-to-English translations were then elicited from native-bilinguals to discover the English-equivalent forms of the particles. The NSM explications proposed for 咩 me1 and 呀 aa4 are hypothesized to apply equally to their English-equivalent forms. The results of this study provide empirical evidence that suggests there are at least two forms of rising declaratives in English with distinct meanings. It is argued that high-rising (but not mid-rising) declaratives express a prior belief in the negative form of their propositional content.
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Research carried out by one or more experienced NSM practitioners
Tags: (E) aa4 呀, (E) me1 咩
Published on May 12, 2017. Last updated on May 7, 2019.
Goddard, Cliff (2014). Interjections and emotion (with special reference to “surprise” and “disgust”). Emotion Review, 6(1), 53-63.
DOI: 10.1177/1754073913491843
Abstract:
All languages have ‘emotive interjections’ (i.e. interjections expressing cognitively based feelings), and yet emotion researchers have invested only a tiny research effort into interjections, as compared with the huge body of research into facial expressions and words for emotion categories. This article provides an overview of the functions, meanings and cross-linguistic variability of interjections, concentrating on non-word-based ones such as Wow!, Yuck!, and Ugh! The aims are to introduce an area that will be unfamiliar to most readers, to illustrate how the NSM approach deals with interjectional meaning, and to start a discussion about an interdisciplinary research agenda for the study of emotive interjections. Examples are drawn from English, Polish, and Cantonese.
Rating:
Research carried out by one or more experienced NSM practitioners
Tags: (E) ai1 jaa3! 呢樽, (E) Fu!, (E) Gee!, (E) Gosh!, (E) Tfu!, (E) Ugh!, (E) waa3! 哇, (E) Yikes!, (E) Yuck!
Published on December 13, 2017. Last updated on August 16, 2021.
Leung, Helen Hue Lam (2016). The semantics of utterance particles in informal Hong Kong Cantonese (Natural Semantic Metalanguage approach). PhD thesis, Griffith University, Brisbane. PDF (open access)
This study identifies the semantic invariants of some commonly-used Cantonese utterance particles in Hong Kong Cantonese. The particles are a distinctive and ubiquitous feature of informal, everyday Cantonese, occurring every 1.5 seconds on average. The particles are necessary for expressing speakers’ transitory attitudes, assumptions, or feelings connected with an utterance. Although they are not grammatically obligatory, conversation sounds unnatural when they are omitted. There are approximately 30 ‘basic’ particles, which can combine with each other to form ‘clusters’, resulting in roughly 100 variations. This number easily surpasses that of comparable particles in Mandarin, and is matched by very few, if any, other languages. Semantic analysis of Cantonese utterance particles is challenging because their meanings are extremely elusive, even to native speakers. The range of use of each particle is so varied and wide-ranging that some Cantonese speakers and scholars have concluded that the particles have no stable semantic content. Prior research on the particles has produced contradictory, vague, obscure or inaccurate descriptions.
This study demonstrates that particles have meaning, by using the Natural Semantic Metalanguage (NSM) approach to identify the semantic invariants, or ‘core’ meanings, of a selection of commonly-used utterance particles, namely laa1, wo3, gaa3, laa3, and zaa3. NSM expresses the meanings of words and concepts in reductive paraphrases called explications, where the language used is limited to a set of semantic primes. Using this method, each particle’s meaning is identified and stated in versatile explications which are clear, accurate, translatable, and testable. The explications reliably explain each particle’s range of use in the Hong Kong Cantonese Corpus, which comprises 180 000 words of naturally-occurring Cantonese. One of the most significant findings is that explications for Cantonese utterance particles are typically short and simple. The results prove that the particles have stable and identifiable meanings.
In addition, the explications reveal the role of semantics in determining why particles can or cannot combine in particular ways. The particles selected for analysis occur in many common clusters, e.g. gaa3-laa1, gaa3-zaa3-wo3, while other clusters are unacceptable, e.g. *laa1-wo3. The meanings of particle clusters are widely claimed to be the combined meanings of the particles of which they are made up, but there have been no serious attempts to verify this. To do so would first require accurate definitions of the individual particles. The explications proposed in this study shed light on this neglected area. It is found that where particle clusters are acceptable in speech, the combined explications reveal the meanings of the clusters. A semantic critique of sub-morphemic analyses of monosyllabic particles is also presented.
This study also considers the complexities of using NSM for Hong Kong Cantonese. If basic NSM assumptions are correct, any explication should be able to be expressed in simple and natural Cantonese, giving the same meaning as in any other language. This thesis identifies and evaluates Cantonese exponents of all the 65 proposed semantic primes, and explores some Cantonese-specific issues. Each particle explication is presented in English and Cantonese.
Published on August 2, 2018. Last updated on August 31, 2018.
Xue, Wendi (2016). The semantics of ‘uncle’-type kinship terms in Cantonese (Guangzhou) and Teochew (Jieyang). Master’s thesis, Australian National University.
Kinship stands as the foundation of all human societies, and kinship terms have been an important area of research in cultural anthropology and linguistics. Although scholars have accumulated much information on kinship terminology across many languages, there is still a gap to be bridged regarding the Sinitic languages, especially the non-Mandarin varieties of Chinese; moreover, many previous studies require semantic reanalysis so that the native speaker’s point of view can be revealed. This thesis examines the under-surveyed groups of kinship terms which are semantically related to the English category of ‘uncle’ (henceforth ‘uncle’-type) in Cantonese and Teochew, and uses the Natural Semantic Metalanguage (NSM) for their semantic analysis. It offers full NSM explications for the 32 ‘uncle-type’ terms in the two languages under three major categories: father’s side, mother’s side and in-laws; it also explains how these explications are arrived at and discusses the similarities and differences in the semantic patterns between these two non-Mandarin Chinese varieties. An innovative aspect of the thesis is that it proposes four culture-specific semantic molecules in explications. As well as shedding light on the under-explored area of ‘uncle’-type kinship terminology in Sinitic languages, this work highlights the diversity within Han Chinese culture, which has often been misunderstood as a homogeneous system based on the prevailing Mandarin-centric conventions.
Research carried out in consultation with or under the supervision of one or more experienced NSM practitioners
Tags: (E) a-baak, (E) a-che, (E) a-chek, (E) a-hiaⁿ, (E) a-kǔ, (E) a-muě, (E) a-peh, (E) a-sūk, (E) a-tǐ, (E) a-tiǒⁿ, (E) agō, (E) baakfuh, (E) baakyē, (E) bíubaak, (E) daaihbaak, (E) daaihbaakfuh, (E) daaihgūjéung, (E) daaihkauhfú, (E) daaihyìhjéung, (E) gūjéung, (E) jèhjē, (E) kauhfú, (E) kauhfújái, (E) lāaisūk, (E) mùihmúi, (E) pió-peh, (E) saigūjéung, (E) saikauhfú, (E) sailóu, (E) saisūk, (E) saiyìhjéung, (E) soi-chek, (E) sòi-kǔ, (E) sòi-tiǒⁿ, (E) sūksūk, (E) thâng-a-peh, (E) tòhngbaak, (E) tuā-kǔ, (E) tuā-peh, (E) tuā-peh-thâu, (E) tuā-tiǒⁿ, (E) yìhjéung
Published on October 15, 2017. Last updated on September 13, 2018.
Leung, Helen Hue Lam (2017). Cantonese ‘mong4’: A cultural keyword of ‘busy’ Hong Kong. In Carsten Levisen & Sophia Waters (Eds.), Cultural keywords in discourse (pp. 183-210). Amsterdam: John Benjamins. DOI: 10.1075/pbns.277.08leu
This chapter investigates the Hong Kong Cantonese cultural key word 忙 mong4. 忙 mong4 is usually translated into English as busy and into Mandarin as 忙 máng, but though their meanings overlap, many examples of busy and 忙 máng cannot be translated directly into Cantonese using 忙 mong4. This is because mong has a culturally significant meaning and usage, and is linked to a specific value system supported by Hong Kong discourse. This chapter examines some differences between 忙 mong4, busy and 忙 máng, explores Hong Kong discourses of work and life, and the meta-discourse surrounding mong in the speech community. A Natural Semantic Metalanguage (NSM) explication for 忙 mong4 is proposed in English and Cantonese.
Research carried out in consultation with or under the supervision of one or more experienced NSM practitioners
Published on February 20, 2019. Last updated on June 20, 2019.
Wong, Jock, & Liu, Congyi (2019). Two ways of saying ‘thank you’ in Hong Kong Cantonese: m-goi vs. do-ze. In Alessandro Capone, Marco Carapezza, & Franco Lo Piparo (Eds.), Further advances in pragmatics and philosophy: Vol. 2. Theories and applications (pp. 435-447). Cham: Springer.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-00973-1_24
Abstract:
While in English there is only one main way of thanking someone, using the phrase thank you or one of its variants (e.g. thanks, ta), in Hong Kong Cantonese there are two phrases, 唔該 m4-goi1 and 多謝 do1-ze6, both of which could be translated in English as thank you. Whereas in some instances it is clear which one of the two Hong Kong Cantonese phrases one should use, in other situations both could be used. This suggests that the two Hong Kong Cantonese phrases have different meanings and that learners of Hong Kong Cantonese could be confused. However, the meanings of and differences in meaning between the two phrases have hitherto not been articulated with any degree of clarity, making it rather difficult for learners of Hong Kong Cantonese to understand precisely how they are used in native Hong Kong Cantonese culture. The objective of this paper is thus to articulate the meaning of each of these two phrases using a maximally clear and minimally ethnocentric metalanguage (NSM).
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Research carried out by one or more experienced NSM practitioners
Tags: (E) do1-ze6 多謝, (E) m4-goi1 唔該, (E) please, (E) thank you
Published on May 19, 2019. Last updated on February 9, 2020.
Wakefield, John C.; Lee, Hung Yuk (2019). The grammaticalization of indirect reports: The Cantonese discourse particle wo5. In Alessandro Capone, Manuel García-Carpintero, & Alessandra Falzone (Eds.), Indirect reports and pragmatics in the world languages (pp. 333-344). Cham: Springer.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-78771-8_16
Abstract:
This paper proposes a definition for the Cantonese sentence-final discourse particle wo5, which marks the proposition contained within a clause as an indirect report that does not belong to the speaker. The methodology for defining wo5 is based on NSM theory and draws on a general model for the investigation of discourse markers, the goal of which is to come up with a formula that would make sense in all the contexts in which the discourse particle can occur, and that could also explain why in some contexts it cannot be used at all. The proposed definition we propose is discussed in light of what other authors have said about wo5, and is tested against a number of examples within which wo5 can and cannot appear.
Rating:
Research carried out by one or more experienced NSM practitioners
Tags: (E) wo5
Published on July 28, 2020. Last updated on July 28, 2020.
Leung, Helen Hue Lam (2020). Combining NSM explications for clusters of Cantonese utterance particles: laa3-wo3 and zaa3-wo3. In Bert Peeters, Kerry Mullan, & Lauren Sadow (Eds.), Studies in ethnopragmatics, cultural semantics, and intercultural communication: Vol. 2. Meaning and culture (pp. 187-206). Singapore: Springer.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-32-9975-7_10
Abstract:
Utterance particles expressing speakers’ attitudes, assumptions or feelings are indispensable in informal Hong Kong Cantonese. Everyday conversation would sound very unusual if they were omitted. There are approximately 30 ‘basic’ (monosyllabic) particles, which can be either used on their own or combined with each other in ‘clusters’, i.e. polysyllabic combinations where two or more particles occur one after the other in immediate succession. Clusters of particles have consistently been claimed to have the combined meaning of the separate particles of
which they are made up; however, in the absence of rigorous semantic analyses of the individual particles involved, evidence for this has been scant at best. Indeed, the range of use of each of the particles is broad and varied, and it is extremely difficult, even for native speakers, to satisfactorily explain their meanings and functions. Most prior studies provide semantic descriptions that are vague, contradictory, and sometimes untrue. The current chapter builds on some of the evidence-based, translatable and testable NSM explications of individual particles put forward in the author’s earlier work, which demonstrated that the particles have stable and identifiable meanings. It shows how, using NSM, the semantic content of clusters of Cantonese utterance particles can effectively be derived from the meaning of individual particles.
Two clusters are examined, laa3-wo3 and zaa3-wo3, which are formed from three ‘basic’ particles: laa3, zaa3 and wo3. The short explications of the individual particles are combined to create ‘joint’ explications, with the resulting cluster definitions tested by substitution into real examples taken from the Hong Kong Cantonese Corpus. It is found that the combined NSM explications adequately portray the meanings of the particle clusters.
Rating:
Research carried out by one or more experienced NSM practitioners
Tags: (E) laa3, (E) laa3-wo3, (E) wo3, (E) zaa3, (E) zaa3-wo3
Published on February 10, 2020. Last updated on February 10, 2020.
Wakefield, John C.; Winnie Chor, Winnie; & Lai, Nikko (2020). Condolences in Cantonese and English: What people say and why. In Kerry Mullan, Bert Peeters, & Lauren Sadow (Eds.), Studies in ethnopragmatics, cultural semantics, and intercultural communication: Vol. 1. Ethnopragmatics and semantic analysis (pp. 35-58). Singapore: Springer.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-32-9983-2_3
Abstract:
This study uses the ethnopragmatics approach to examine the cultural-based knowledge that guides Cantonese and Anglo-English speakers when offering death-related condolences, or what we refer to here as ‘condolence routines’. The data come from discourse completion tasks, the existence of cultural key phrases, and the authors’ native-speaker intuitions. The authors examine condolences that are offered to a good friend who has recently lost someone close to him or her. They present cultural scripts that are proposed to account for the linguistic contrasts in Cantonese versus English condolence routines. The Cantonese script is entirely new while the English script is revised from a previous study.
Based on our analysis, we conclude that the primary contrast is that Anglo-English condolences typically focus on expressing that the condoler feels sad because of the bereaved’s loss, while Cantonese condolences typically focus on telling the bereaved not to be sad and to take care of his- or herself. Knowledge of this contrast in sociopragmatics is not only a meaningful contribution to the study of pragmatics; it is also of practical help to people in regular contact with Cantonese and/or Anglo-English speakers. It can help one understand how to avoid saying something during a condolence routine that may sound inappropriate, or even insensitive, to speakers of these two languages.
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Research carried out by one or more experienced NSM practitioners
Tags: (E) ai1jaa3! 哎啊!, (E) close person, (S) condolences, (S) life continues after death
Published on May 12, 2017. Last updated on February 9, 2020.
Wakefield, John C. (2020). Intonational morphology. Singapore, Springer, 2020.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-2265-9
Abstract:
This book discusses the morphological properties of intonation, building on past research to support the long-recognized relationship between the functions and meanings of discourse particles and the functions and meanings of intonation. The morphological status of intonation has been debated for decades, and this book provides evidence from the literature combined with new and compelling empirical evidence to show that specific intonational forms correspond to specific segmental discourse particles. It also describes how intonation is represented in speakers’ minds, which has important implications for first and second language acquisition as well as for theories and approaches to artificial speech recognition and production.
Chapter 6 of the book presents evidence that strongly indicates that six Cantonese sentence-final particles (SFPs) have English intonational equivalents. These six SFPs divide into three pairs of related particles: the evidential particles 咯 lo1 and 吖吗 aa1maa3; the question particles 咩 me1 and 呀 aa4; and the “only” particles zaa3 and ze1. Each SFP’s meaning is described and an NSM explication of it is presented before showing and discussing the data related to its English equivalent. The data comprise Cantonese-to-English oral translations and their accompanying F0 contours. The translators were ambilingual speakers of L1 Cantonese and L1 English. Based on the fact that each SFP translated into English as the same form of intonation by more than one ambilingual translator in more than one context, it is assumed that the definition given to each SFP also applies to its English intonational equivalent. It is further proposed that these English forms of intonation are tonal morphemes that reside in native-English speakers’ lexicons.
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Research carried out by one or more experienced NSM practitioners
Published on February 9, 2020. Last updated on February 9, 2020.
Wakefield, John C. (Forthcoming). It’s not as bad as you think: An English tone for ‘downplaying’. In Wentao Gu (Ed.), Studies on tonal aspects of languages. Hong Kong: Journal of Chinese Linguistics Monograph.
More information:
A version of this paper is part of the final chapter of the author’s book Intonational morphology, Singapore, Springer, 2020.
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Research carried out by one or more experienced NSM practitioners
