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香港粵語「咗」的語法特點： 與北京話「了1」的比較
Author(s)
Date Issued
2022
Journal
ISSN
1606822X
23095067
Citation
Language and Linguistics, Jun 2022, vol. 23 (3), p. 371 - 410
Type
Peer Reviewed Journal Article
Abstract
本文詳細分析香港粵語的體助詞咗的語法特點.較之北京話的了,咗在現實句裡使用範圍更大,在非現實句裡使用範圍更小,在複雜短語裡須緊附於首個謂詞上,更容易用來表達持續性事件.我們推測,咗異於了的這些特點主要有三個動因.第一,粵語是語序最偏VO型的漢語方言,動後限制較弱,它不懼動詞後帶複雜成分,相對地抗拒句末時體詞.第二,咗很可能源自附著義動詞著,這導致它排斥作表示客體損失義的動相補語,更容易用於表述持續性事件的謂語中.第三,咗的時體義略異於了,這也會造成二者的使用差異.這項比較研究在漢語方言的整體格局方面亦有兩項發現.一方面,漢語的完整體標記分為著系和了系兩大組,它們有成系統的語法差異;另一方面,南北漢語在語序類型和時體範疇上的差異導致不同方言的完句條件有區別,漢語的完句研究不該集中於普通話,應該回歸到方言口語中.
This paper analyzes the perfective marker zo 咗 in Hong Kong Cantonese, by comparing it with the verbal suffix le 1 了1 in Beijing Mandarin. zo differs from le 1 in three aspects: (i) zo has a wider scope of usage in realis sentences, yet a narrower scope in irrealis sentences; (ii) in a complex VP, zo must be attached to the first verb of the construction; and (iii) zo is more inclined to occur in expressions of continuous events. It is speculated that, the differences between the features of zo and those of le 1 are due to two motivations. First, as a strong-VO Chinese dialect, Cantonese is less subject to the post-verbal constraint. Therefore, complex elements can be placed in the post-verbal position, while tense/aspectual markers are less likely to be found in the sentence final position. Second, it is likely that zo originates from the verb zoek 著 ‘to adhere’. Thus, zo is less likely to denote the deletion of the internal argument when it functions as a phase complement, and it is more compatible with expressions of continuous events than le 1. We furthermore examine the grammatical differences between Cantonese “V + la” and “V + zo + la”, and show that “the constrast between single le and double le”proposed by Zhu (1982) is yet to be proven. Several issues regarding the completeness of sentences in Cantonese and Beijing Mandarin will also be discussed in this paper. This comparative study brings two discoveries to the theories of the overall structures of Chinese dialects: (i) the perfective particles in Mandarin Chinese can be classified into the zhe-series and the le-series. The two series have systematic differences in terms of grammatical behavior; and (ii) there is variation between northern and southern Chinese dialects in terms of word order type and tense-aspectual categories. As a result, the condition for the completeness of sentences in different dialects varies. Therefore, the study of the completeness of sentences in Chinese should be done with the data from spoken dialects, rather than with those from Standard Mandarin.
This paper analyzes the perfective marker zo 咗 in Hong Kong Cantonese, by comparing it with the verbal suffix le 1 了1 in Beijing Mandarin. zo differs from le 1 in three aspects: (i) zo has a wider scope of usage in realis sentences, yet a narrower scope in irrealis sentences; (ii) in a complex VP, zo must be attached to the first verb of the construction; and (iii) zo is more inclined to occur in expressions of continuous events. It is speculated that, the differences between the features of zo and those of le 1 are due to two motivations. First, as a strong-VO Chinese dialect, Cantonese is less subject to the post-verbal constraint. Therefore, complex elements can be placed in the post-verbal position, while tense/aspectual markers are less likely to be found in the sentence final position. Second, it is likely that zo originates from the verb zoek 著 ‘to adhere’. Thus, zo is less likely to denote the deletion of the internal argument when it functions as a phase complement, and it is more compatible with expressions of continuous events than le 1. We furthermore examine the grammatical differences between Cantonese “V + la” and “V + zo + la”, and show that “the constrast between single le and double le”proposed by Zhu (1982) is yet to be proven. Several issues regarding the completeness of sentences in Cantonese and Beijing Mandarin will also be discussed in this paper. This comparative study brings two discoveries to the theories of the overall structures of Chinese dialects: (i) the perfective particles in Mandarin Chinese can be classified into the zhe-series and the le-series. The two series have systematic differences in terms of grammatical behavior; and (ii) there is variation between northern and southern Chinese dialects in terms of word order type and tense-aspectual categories. As a result, the condition for the completeness of sentences in different dialects varies. Therefore, the study of the completeness of sentences in Chinese should be done with the data from spoken dialects, rather than with those from Standard Mandarin.
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