Chinese Grammar at Work
Author
Chinese Grammar at Work adopts a cognitive-functional approach and uses a corpus-based methodology to examine how Chinese syntax emerges from natural discourse context and what the evolving grammar at work looks like. In this volume the author weaves together an array of fresh perspectives on clause structure, constructions, interactional linguistics, cognitive science and complex dynamic systems to construct a grammar of spoken Chinese. The volume contains discussions of a large number of topics: contiguity relation, the roles of repair strategies in the shaping of constituent structure, non-canonical word order constructions, pragmatics of referring expressions, classifier constructions, noun-modifying constructions, verb complementation, ethnotheory of the person and constructions specific to the language of emotion, sequential sensitivity of linguistic materials, meaning potential in interaction, the nature of variability and stability in Chinese syntax from the perspective of complexity theory. The result is a volume that highlights the connections between language structure, situated and embodied nature of cognition and language use, and affords a true entrée to the exciting realm of Chinese grammar.
[Studies in Chinese Language and Discourse, 1] 2013. xii, 458 pp.
Publishing status: Available
© John Benjamins
Table of Contents
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Preface | pp. vii–viii
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Abbreviations | pp. ix–x
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Chapter 1. Introduction | pp. 1–18
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Chapter 2. The dynamics of the clausal structure | pp. 19–54
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Chapter 3. Constituency and patterns of syntactic contiguity | pp. 55–80
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Chapter 4. Pragmatics of word order | pp. 81–114
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Chapter 5. Referring expressions | pp. 115–162
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Chapter 6. Classifiers and classifier constructions | pp. 163–190
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Chapter 7. Noun-modifying constructions | pp. 191–218
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Chapter 8. Complementation constructions | pp. 219–242
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Chapter 9. Some more constructions in Chinese | pp. 243–286
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Chapter 10. The left and right peripheries in the clause and sequence structure | pp. 287–320
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Chapter 11. Projection and repair | pp. 321–346
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Chapter 12. Grammar, construction and social action | pp. 347–376
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Chapter 13. Meaning in interaction | pp. 377–402
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Chapter 14. Language, cognition and the complexity turn in grammatical research | pp. 403–432
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Reference | pp. 433–454
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Index | pp. 455–458
“This is a remarkable book in many ways. It represents the culmination of thirty years of study and research since Li & Thompson’s (1981) Mandarin Chinese, a reference grammar based on functional principles. A functional approach turns out to be an ideal way to present the grammar of a language where universal categories (nominal, verbal, adverbial) are not prefigured, but are created configurationally in the structure of the sentence, and consequently, everything has a functional role to play.”
John Hewson, Memorial University of Newfoundland, in Folia Linguistica Historica Vol. 35 (2014)
“The author demonstrates vast knowledge in linguistic theories, recent findings across different languages, and the Chinese language. Many views highlighted by the author are of significant theoretical value: language is usage-based; syntax emerges from discourse; meaning is an interactional effect negotiated in talk-in-interaction; and grammar is best viewed as consisting of a vast set of procedures and methods for interpreting language. The cognitive-functional approach, the corpus-based methodology, and the insightful analyses of natural discourse data combine to make this book an excellent addition to Chinese linguistics, spoken Chinese grammar, and cognitive-functional linguistics.”
Han Luo, Lafayette College, in Journal of Chinese Language Teachers Accociation, Vol. 52:2 (June 2015)
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Subjects
Main BIC Subject
CF/2GDC: Linguistics/Chinese
Main BISAC Subject
LAN009000: LANGUAGE ARTS & DISCIPLINES / Linguistics / General