Edited by Yun Xiao and Linda Tsung
[Studies in Chinese Language and Discourse 10] 2019
► pp. 138–153
This study reexamines Mandarin Chinese near-synonyms jian (建), zao (造), gai (蓋) ‘to build’ and their shared patterns in written and spoken genres. Three independent variables – including word length of the object NP, preverbal locative phrase, and building purpose – were tested by a logistic regression analysis (Rbrul) to account for the multiple crosscutting and interacting factors that influence language usage. Multivariate analyses show that word length and building purpose can account for the differences among these verbs in both genres. The analyses suggest that the use of jian (建) and zao (造) possess more written properties, while gai (蓋) favors the spoken genre. The current study contributes to a growing number of studies in Chinese near-synonyms by focusing on genre variation.