The nature of variation in tone sandhi patterns of Shanghai and Wuxi Wu

The primary goal of this dissertation is to understand the variation patterns in suprasegmental processes and what factors influence the patterns. To answer the questions, we investigated the variation patterns of tone sandhi in the Shanghai and Wuxi Wu dialects of Chinese. Shanghai disyllables and trisyllables have been documented to have two different sandhi patterns: tonal extension and tonal reduction. Some items can only undergo tonal extension, some items can only undergo tonal reduction, and some can variably undergo either type of sandhi. Previous works have indicated that the syntactic structure, semantic transparency, and lexical frequency of the items all play a role in the sandhi application. Additionally, the morpheme length of trisyllabic items (1+2, 2+1) is also expected to affect their sandhi application. A variant forms’ goodness rating experiment, together with a lexical frequency rating experiment and a semantic transparency rating experiment, showed that syntactic structure has a primary effect on sandhi application in general. It overrides the effect of semantic transparency, especially in modifier-noun items. The nature of the lexical frequency effect in Shanghai is related to the syntactic structure of the lexical item. Morpheme length effect is not found. Wuxi disyllables and trisyllables also have been observed to have two different sandhi patterns: tonal substitution and no sandhi. Some items can only apply tonal substitution, and some can apply either form variably. Syntactic structure and semantic transparency have been reported to affect Wuxi sandhi application, and morpheme length is also expected to have an effect in trisyllabic sandhi application. The three rating experiments conducted in Wuxi found that due to the lexical listedness of the opaque substitution pattern, frequency influences both modifier-noun and verb-noun positively, although modifier-noun prefers tonal substitution form more. Semantic transparency effect is only apparent for verb-noun disyllables. Moreover, morpheme length also distinguishes sandhi application between 1+2 and 2+1 modifier-noun items. In all, by using quantitative rating experiments, the present study shows that tone sandhi variation is regulated by both grammatical factors, such as syntactic structure, morpheme length, phonological opacity, and nongrammatical factors, such as lexical frequency

Biological classification in Early Chinese dictionaries and glossaries: from fish to unvertebrates and Vice Versa

This dissertation problematises the classification of chong 蟲 (invertebrates) and yu 魚(fish) in Early Chinese texts. The loci classici analysed will range from the Warring States (ca. 453 – 221 BCE) to the Eastern Han period (dong Han 東漢, 25 – 220 CE). The focus is on the lexical ambiguity between these two zoological categories: despite being perceived as different, they include a more or less loose set of “dynamic” words that shift from one category to the other. The project concentrates on two early Chinese texts: the Erya 爾雅 (III century BCE) and the Shuowen jiezi 説文解字 (100 CE). These works had a pivotal role during the development of Chinese lexicography and gave the lexical basis of later texts. They are also the first texts that deal with the problem of taxonomical classification in Early China. By systematically applying a philological approach (Coblin 1972, Carr 1979) to a selection of zoological glosses preserved in these sources, this study aims at reformulating the way in which early Chinese “proto-zoological categories” are organised (Needham 1986, Sterckx 2002). Through the analysis of selected case studies, it aims at showing that even if there are fairly well attested categories that constitute a dichotomous system (such as “quadrupeds” versus “winged creatures” or “wild beasts” versus “domestic animals”), Early Chinese taxonomies represent a dynamic and unstable attempt at zoological classification for what we call today “fish” and “invertebrates”

Context effects on second-language learning of tonal contrasts.

Studies of lexical tone  learning generally focus on monosyllabic contexts, while reports of phonetic learning benefits associated with input variability are based largely on experienced learners. This study trained inexperienced learners on Mandarin tonal contrasts to test two hypotheses regarding the influence of context and variability on tone  learning. The first hypothesis was that increased phonetic variability of tones in disyllabic contexts makes initial tone  learning more challenging in disyllabic than monosyllabic words. The second hypothesis was that the learnability of a given tone varies across contexts due to differences in tonal variability. Results of a word learning experiment supported both hypotheses: tones were acquired less successfully in disyllables than in monosyllables, and the relative difficulty of disyllables was closely related to contextual tonal variability. These results indicate limited relevance of monosyllable-based data on Mandarin learning for the disyllabic majority of the Mandarin lexicon. Furthermore, in the short term, variability can diminish learning; its effects are not necessarily beneficial but dependent on acquisition stage and other learner characteristics. These findings thus highlight the importance of considering contextual variability and the interaction between variability and type of learner in the design, interpretation, and application of research on phonetic learning

Phonological acquisition in three languages : a cross-sectional study in English, Mandarin and Malay.

The complex multiracial/multilingual situation of Malaysia poses challenges for local professionals, such as speech and language therapists, who work with children. The present cross-sectional study investigated ethnic Chinese children's simultaneous phonological acquisition of English, Mandarin and Malay, which are the three major local languages for the Malaysian Chinese population. The aims were to provide preliminary normative data on phonological acquisition for this population, as well as to investigate processes underlying multilingual phonological acquisition. Sixty-four pre-school children aged between 2;06-4;05 were recruited. A single-word naming test, a word consistency production subtest and an intonation imitation sub-test were devised for each of the three languages. Particular attention was paid to the characteristics of the local adult speech varieties as the benchmark for assessing and analyzing the children's responses on the tests. This sociolinguistic dimension has often been neglected in previous research with similar populations, where non-local, e.g. "standard" adult varieties have been taken to be the language model for the children being studied. The children's phonological acquisition was analysed in term of consonants, vowels, syllable structures, word production consistency, intonation and tones (Mandarin only). Overall, significant developmental trends were evident for all three languages. Most phonological components under study were acquired by 4;00-4;05. Similar phonological milestones were achieved as those reported in the literature for monolingual and bilingual peers acquiring the same languages, though some qualitative and quantitative differences were observed. Overall, the patterns of phonological development that were identified reflect the interaction of common cross-linguistic tendencies with the specific characteristics of the three ambient languages. As well as having clinical implications, the present findings contribute to the development of theory and models for multilingual phonological acquisition. The reliability and validity of the test battery indicate that it will prove a valuable tool for speech and language therapy practice and for future research

Modal auxiliaries in learning and teaching Chinese as a second language

Chinese modal auxiliary is one of the most important language elements in the Chinese language. Therefore, to effectively and efficiently fulfil the communicative purpose, learning modal auxiliaries is necessary for second language learners. However, modal auxiliaries are still a) a comparatively weak point in Chinese research as well as b) a challenge for foreign students who learn Chinese as a foreign language. To lay a theoretical foundation for the later empirical study: this study constructs a new definition and categorisations of Chinese modal auxiliaries; 13 Chinese modal auxiliaries are thoroughly studied; a comparison between Chinese modal auxiliaries and English modal verbs is explored; errors that the students made in the application of Chinese modal auxiliaries are analysed, categorised and summarised; the deep reasons behind the errors are explored from a syntactic and pedagogical perspective. The study proves that explicit instructions from the language instructors are a critical countermeasure against CMA application difficulties. Interaction with peers and language partners benefits L2 learners’ acquisition of the second language. After-class exercises and corrective feedback from language instructors are supplementary solutions. And the study points out that language instructors have attached great importance to the unique grammatical structures of the Chinese modal auxiliaries, suggesting that the semantics of different Chinese modal auxiliaries should be the instructional focus in future teaching practice

The Sound Patterns of Kachok in the Context of Bahnaric and North-Bahnaric Studies

This dissertation presents a description of the sound patterns of Kachok, Austroasiatic language spoken in northeastern Ratanakiri Province, Cambodia. The language is spoken by approximately 3000 people and is considered endangered (Simons & Fennig, 2018). Kachok is undocumented, and this dissertation is the first attempt to describe the language and its sound patterns. The goals of this dissertation are twofold: to contribute to linguistics and the science of phonetics and phonological typology, as well as increase the body of work on Austro-Asiatic languages, and to create resources for the Kachok language, culture, and people that have the potential to outlive the language itself. This dissertation describes the segmental phonology of Kachok, and then presents a new prosodic model of the sesquisyllable, a phenomenon prevalent in Southeast Asian languages

ON THE FORMS AND THORNS OF LINGUISTIC INDETERMINACY IN CHINESE LAW

This study addresses the different types and implications of linguistic indeterminacy in Chinese law. It firstly draws on the studies of scholars of different disciplines, such as linguistics and philosophy of language, to provide a taxonomy of indeterminacy in language. It then provides examples of each type, highlighting the implications in law and legal interpretation. It uses linguistic data from various texts, such as statutory laws and judgements, and analyse them with various methods, including discourse analysis and corpus linguistics. This study argues that when the language of the law is indeterminate, the legal outcomes may be particularly uncertain. It suggests that although it is difficult to ascertain whether the degree of indeterminacy is higher in some languages more than in others, some linguistic mechanisms at the word-formation level in Chinese are remarkably ambiguous. When uncertain terms are in key parts of the law, the consequences may be more serious. The study of linguistic indeterminacy in Chinese has implications for the study of forensic linguistics, and Chinese studies in general

CONTRIBUTION OF MORPHOLOGICAL AWARENESS TO WORD SEGMENTATION AMONG ADULT L2 CHINESE SPEAKERS

The current study aims to investigate the causal correlation between Chinese morphological awareness and word segmentation among intermediate adult speakers who learn Chinese as their second language (L2). In particular, we intend to determine the role of a potential mediator, vocabulary knowledge in this relationship. A total of 45 intermediate adult L2 Chinese speakers participated in the experiment and finished three separate tasks on Chinese morphological awareness, Chinese word segmentation, and vocabulary size. The logistic regression on the results of Chinese morphological awareness task fails to prove that the L2 Chinese speakers are sensitive to the degree of compositionally of Chinese compounds. Multi-linear regressions were conducted to test the mediation effects, and the results demonstrate that: (1) Chinese morphological awareness didn’t directly predict participants performance in word segmentation; (2) Chinese morphological awareness didn’t indirectly exert a strong effect on word segmentation via vocabulary knowledge. Although the current study didn’t find evidence to verify the relationship between morphological awareness and word segmentation nor the mediation effects of vocabulary knowledge, it establishes a foundation for future research design and implementation.Master of Art