A multi-dimensional corpus study of mixed compounds in Chinese
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Zheng-sheng Zhang
Abstract
Certain mixed compounds, consisting of two synonymous components (one classical and one non-classical), are ideal for investigating lexical stylistics, as they are semantically synonymous but stylistically contrastive with both of their components. They are investigated using Biber’s (1988) multi-dimensional framework for register variation and the statistical method of Correspondence Analysis, which has been used by Zhang (2012, 2013) to show that there are two dimensions in written Chinese, namely the Classical and the Literate. The results, consistently replicated with different corpora, are rather surprising, being partially at odds with the intuitive prediction that mixed compounds should be in-between in stylistic value compared with their components on both dimensions. On one hand, mixed compounds are indeed less classical than their classical components but more classical than the non-classical components; on the other hand, they are interestingly more literate than either of their components. The unexpected results are tentatively attributed to the association of di-syllabicity with the literate style and possibly the propensity for parallelism in Chinese. Pedagogical benefits may be reaped from the present research, as mixed compounds may be ideal for alerting students to stylistic variation in Chinese. They exemplify the two stylistic dimensions most clearly in their embodiment of the tripartite distinctions of non-literate/non-classical vs. strongly classical vs. strongly literate.
Abstract
Certain mixed compounds, consisting of two synonymous components (one classical and one non-classical), are ideal for investigating lexical stylistics, as they are semantically synonymous but stylistically contrastive with both of their components. They are investigated using Biber’s (1988) multi-dimensional framework for register variation and the statistical method of Correspondence Analysis, which has been used by Zhang (2012, 2013) to show that there are two dimensions in written Chinese, namely the Classical and the Literate. The results, consistently replicated with different corpora, are rather surprising, being partially at odds with the intuitive prediction that mixed compounds should be in-between in stylistic value compared with their components on both dimensions. On one hand, mixed compounds are indeed less classical than their classical components but more classical than the non-classical components; on the other hand, they are interestingly more literate than either of their components. The unexpected results are tentatively attributed to the association of di-syllabicity with the literate style and possibly the propensity for parallelism in Chinese. Pedagogical benefits may be reaped from the present research, as mixed compounds may be ideal for alerting students to stylistic variation in Chinese. They exemplify the two stylistic dimensions most clearly in their embodiment of the tripartite distinctions of non-literate/non-classical vs. strongly classical vs. strongly literate.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Contributors vii
- Acknowledgments xi
- Integrating Chinese linguistic research and language teaching and learning xiii
- The emergence of verb argument structure in Mandarin Chinese 1
- A corpus linguistics approach to the research and teaching of Chinese as a second language 13
- Facilitating language learning 33
- An ERP study of the processing of Mandarin classifiers 59
- Explicit, implicit and metalinguistic knowledge in L2 Chinese 81
- Metalinguistic awareness and self-repair in Chinese language learning 97
- De-stressed words in Mandarin: drawing parallel with English 121
- Prosody and discourse functions of ranhou 然后 145
- Patterns of plural NP + dou (都) expressions in conversational discourse and their pedagogical implications 169
- Prominence marking in second language Chinese tones 195
- A multi-dimensional corpus study of mixed compounds in Chinese 215
- Index 239
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Contributors vii
- Acknowledgments xi
- Integrating Chinese linguistic research and language teaching and learning xiii
- The emergence of verb argument structure in Mandarin Chinese 1
- A corpus linguistics approach to the research and teaching of Chinese as a second language 13
- Facilitating language learning 33
- An ERP study of the processing of Mandarin classifiers 59
- Explicit, implicit and metalinguistic knowledge in L2 Chinese 81
- Metalinguistic awareness and self-repair in Chinese language learning 97
- De-stressed words in Mandarin: drawing parallel with English 121
- Prosody and discourse functions of ranhou 然后 145
- Patterns of plural NP + dou (都) expressions in conversational discourse and their pedagogical implications 169
- Prominence marking in second language Chinese tones 195
- A multi-dimensional corpus study of mixed compounds in Chinese 215
- Index 239
