Resultativity in Chinese and Japanese

Resultativity in Chinese and Japanese:
Comparative study and
aid to teaching and learning
Meili Fang
Research Associate, Linguistics, SOAS
[email protected]
03-02-2015
Research Centre for Japanese Language & Linguistics
Oriental Institute, University of Oxford
This talk
• Introduction to resultativity and comparative study in
Chinese (C) and Japanese (J)
• Language learner errors
• Correspondence between N + V in C and J
• What is resultative?
• Japanese resultativity
• How resultativity is expressed in C
• Whats the problems for learners
• J & C lexical meanings
• Dealing with these problems
• In language teaching – drama in the Performance Approach
• Conclusion
Introduction
Japanese
Chinese
[N case V] 東京へ行く
[V N] (去东京)
[V Aux N] (去到东京)
[prep N (post) V ] (到东京去)
[V N](走路)
[V Aux N (prep)] (走在路上)
[prep N (post) V] (在路上走)
[N case V] 道を歩く
Data
J structure [N case V] generally corresponds to three structures
in Chinese. Language learners have difficulty with:
• when do J verbs correspond directly to C verbs?
• when and what kind of auxiliaries verb are needed?
• when do J verbs correspond to prepositional phrases, or need
a postposition?
Language learner errors
• Errors from Japanese students learning Chinese Link
Source text:
妻: 本当に！昨日よりもさらに寒いのかしら？
愛人: ええ。3度ですってよ。 (“… it will be 3°”)
Student translation:
会冷三度。 “Three degrees colder”
Should be:
会冷到三度。 “Go down to 3 degrees”
Language learner errors
• Errors from Japanese students learning Chinese
Source text:
すごくお腹空いちゃった (“I’m extremely hungry”)
Student translation:
我饿了！ “ I’m hungry”
Should be:
我饿死了！ (I’m hungry-die) “I’m starving”
Language learner errors
• Errors from Japanese students learning Chinese
Source text:
あなたは私を好きになるの。聞こえたわね？ (“Do you
understand?”)
Student translation:
你听得到了吧？ (hear-catch) “Can you hear?”
Should be:
你听懂了吧？ (hear-understand) “Do you understand?”
Language learner errors
• Errors from Japanese students learning Chinese
Source text:
なんでお前と海にいかなきゃいけないんだよ。 (“… go
to the sea …”)
Student translation:
为什么我要跟你一起去海。 (“… go to the sea …”)
Should be:
为什么我要跟你一起去海辺。 (“… go to the
beach/seaside …”)
Language learner errors
• Errors from Japanese students learning Chinese
Source text:
手紙を書いてから … (“Write a letter”)
Student translation:
写信了 … “Write a letter”
Should be:
把信写好了 (ba-letter-write-well) “Write a letter
(completely)”
How J N + V corresponds to C
• In my doctoral dissertation(1997) and Fang (2004)
Japanese:
A. [N case V]
人を殺す
Data
Chinese:
[V N]
杀人
“kill someone”
[V Aux N]
杀死人 “kill-to-death someone”
[prep N V Aux] 把人杀死 “cause someone to be dead”
B. [N case V]
[V N post]
去海边 “go to the seaside/beach”
海へ行く
[V Aux N post ] 去到海边 “go and arrive at the seaside/beach”
“go to the sea” [prep N post V] 到海边去 “arrive at the seaside/beach”
This contrast is not only due to J distinguishing the combinational
meaning of the N + V via the case particle, but also due to the J verb
showing stronger semantic resultativity. In other words, because in C the
lexico-grammatical relation between the noun and verb is more
constrained by combinational subcategorisation, different structures are
needed to express corresponding meanings.
[A] Japanese 人を殺す “kill someone” [N case V] phrases
translate into three different structures in C:
– 杀人: simply an action ’kill’ + object[V N], called 动宾结
构‘Verb-object structure’
– 杀死人: [action+ result + object] [V Aux N], called 动补
结构‘Verb-complement structure’
– 把人杀死: [preposition + object + action + result] [prep N
V Aux], called 介词结构‘preposition structure’, and
preposition ‘ba+ N V Aux’ called 处置文‘disposal
structure’ (highly affected)
What is resultative?
• indicates a completed or achieved action, or change of state
or situation link
• often expressed as part of lexical meaning of verb, eg
compare:
J korosu 殺す
E kill
C shā 杀
• J, C can have different resultativity in lexical meaning of
equivalent verbs:
J: *彼を殺したが、彼は死らなかった。
E: *I killed him, but he didn’t die.
C: 我杀了他, 他没死。
• C verb杀 shows only action, not result
A contrastive example
• for J non-resultative we could use “attempt 意図性”:
J: 彼を殺そうとしたが、彼は死らなかった。
E: I tried to kill him but he didn’t die.
• but J しようとする “attempt” expresses action already
started (Miyajima 1994:428-435), while C打算/想要/试图
“attempt” does not entail action already started
• so the J sentence no longer corresponds to C. We would
need to change both clauses:
我原本打算杀死他的，没想到他没死。
“Originally I planned to kill him but somehow he didn’t die”
How resultativity is expressed in J
• verbs resultativity generally C ＜ J ＜ E (Miyajima 1994)
• (transitive verb represents the process of action, intransitive
verb represents the result.) Miyajima(1994):
Transitive
Intransitive
電話をかける
… made a phone call
電話がかかる
… got through
大学を受ける
大学に受かる
“… took the examination” “… passed the examination”
ドアを開けたけれど, 開かなかった。
??”I opened the door but the door didn’t open.”
How resultativity is expressed in J
• compound verb：
押し開ける
殴り倒す
揺すり起こす
蹴り殺す
“push open”
“knock down”
“shake awake”
“kick to death”
• action resulting in change：Kageyama (2006:208) calls this
type 結果述語 resultative predicates:
グラスがこなごなに割れた “The glass broke to bits”
… 部屋を白く塗った “… painted the room white”
床をきれいに掃いた “… swept the floor clean”
靴をピカピカに磨く “polish the shoes shiny and clean”
How resultativity is expressed in C
• in C auxiliary verbs provide resultative meaning:
-掉fall, drop, 通through, 破,断break, 死die, 到to, 成
become, turn into , 好good, 見see, 起up, 起来begin an
action, 完finish，上up, 下down, 回back, 进into, 入into, 出
out (of), 开open, 光light, 去go, 懂understand, 湿wet, 干dry,
清楚clear,干净clean…
– C: 那栋房子盖了三年了, 还没盖好。
J: ??あの建物三年間も立てたが, いまだに立たない。
E: ??“ That house was built for 3 years, still not built.”
– C: 电话我打了，但没打通。
J: 電話をかけたが、かからなかった。
E: I called, but didn’t get through.
• ‘preposition structure’介词结构
J & C lexical meanings
• generally, common verb lexical meanings correspond:
Japanese
Chinese
出る “leave / go out ”
出 “out / get out“
行く “go”
去 “go”
歩く “walk”
走 “walk”
• but their grammatical meaning are different
• Japanese ＮLを＋VM phrase Chinese VM＋ＮL
国を出る“leaving a country”
田舎を出る“leave hometown”
東京へ行く“go to Tokyo”
山へ行く“go to mountain”
出国“go out from the country”
离开乡下“ leave hometown“
去東京“go to Tokyo”
去山上“go to mountain-top of”
Problems for learners
Japanese
Chinese
Nを/へ/から行く去 N
山道を行く
走山路
[V Aux N] 走过山路
[prep N V] 从/朝/沿着/在路走过/走下去
To show the meaning “walk along a mountain road” C needs
‘走’ to indicate “motion with manner”. J verb 行く “go” is
generally ‘去’ in C, but here it needs to be ‘走’ because J verb
行く can show the action in process, while C verb ‘去’ can only
show direction or arrival.
Also: problem of C preposition. In case above, C noun can
follow different prepositions. link
Dealing with these problems
• V and auxiliary verbs. Depending on the main verb, different
meanings. Examples:
eg. -起来 up
1. get up from the bottom
站起来“立ち上るstand up”, 叫起来“呼び起こすwake up ”
捡起来“拾う pick up ”,
2. beginning an action
烧起来 “燃え上がるburn up”, 打起来“戦い始めるfight”
3. stable (＝记住 keep in mind=stable)
记起来“覚えてしまうremember” ,绑起来“縛り上げるtied
up ”, 抓起来“捕まえる catch”,
4. try the action
看起来“みため looks ”, 听起来“聞こえsound ”, 穿起来“ 着
るwear ”
Dealing with these problems
eg. -死 die
1. action range (“to die for”)
恨死“死ぬほど恨むhate”, 饿死“死ぬほどお腹が空く
starve”, 爱死“死ぬほど愛するlove(love it to death)”, 想死
你了 I really miss you,
2. concrete action
想死“死にたいwant to die”, 找死 court death.
3. causal of death
烧死 “焼死するburned to death”, 溺死 “溺死するdrown” ,
病死“ 病死するdie of disease ”.
Applying this with learners
• Student group drama script composed in MT
• Students translated …
• Teacher corrected …
Conclusion
• there is no complete theory and choices in real
conversation can be very subtle
• theory-neutral analysis and description of patterns helps
students
• “Performance approach” involves learner groups
developing (and translating) their own drama scripts –
their own stories
• learner investment and motivation makes learning
experience stronger Link
References
Fang, Meili. 2014. A Performance Approach to Foreign Language Teaching and Learning.
Koubun. Tokyo, Japan. [in Japanese]
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-- 2004. Location and Motion: A Comparative Study of Chinese and Japanese Grammar.
Tokyo: Hakuteisya
-- 2004. “A comparative study of Japanese and Chinese [Location]” Japanese Studies:
Explanation and Appreciation. Shibundo pp. 76-92, July 2004
-- 2002. “Location Noun and Motion verb: A Comparative Study of Japanese and Chinese
Grammar.” Japanese Linguistics No 11, pp.55-78, April 2002, The National Association
for Japanese Language. Tokyo, Japan
-- 2002. “Phrasal Combinations of Movement and Direction: A Comparative Study of
Japanese and Chinese Grammar”. TaishoGengogakuKenkyu 12, pp. 88-104, December
-- 2001. “Deriving the meanings of Verb and Noun combinations, Studies in Comparative
Japanese and Chinese Grammar.” Japanese Studies: Explanation and Appreciation, pp.
109-118, July 2001: Shibundo
-- 1999. “The meaning of grammatical categories, Studies in Comparative Japanese and
Chinese Grammar.” Japanese Studies: Explanation and Appreciation, January 1999:
Shibundo
-- 1997. A Contrastive Study of Verb-Object Collocations Chinese and Japanese, Studies in
Comparative Japanese and Chinese Grammar. Ochanomizu University
Kageyama, Tarou. 1996. Verb semantics. Kurosio press
Miyajima, Tatsuo. 1994. Lexical analysis. Mugisyobou press

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