汉语是一种“无时态语言”吗?
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摘要
因为汉语没有明显的时态标记,所以不少学者认为汉语是一种无时态语言。但是,我们通过实例分析和比较,发现现代汉语的动态助词"了_1"也可以满足如下时态语言的要求:1)"了_1"作为时态标记,出现在动词之后,把事件时间锚定在时间轴上; 2)它可以把"先时/非先时"区分开来; 3)虽然不是所有动词都能与"了_1"搭配使用,但是随着时间的变迁,它逐渐打破了这一限制。也就是说,没有带上终点的状态类、活动类动词本来不能跟"了_1"结合,但是通过语料库调查,我们发现有些状态类、活动类动词也能跟"了_1"搭配使用。由此可见,虽然"了_1"还没虚化为一个完善的时态标记,但它的时态功能也在不断地强化。换句话说,"了_1"已经开始发生从体标记到时态标记的转变。值得注意的是,因为它还处在变化之中,所以有些方面不太符合时态语言的要求。为了更加明确地说明上述现象,我们认为现代汉语是一种介于"时态语言"与"无时态语言"之间的"半时态语言"。
Mandarin Chinese is often taken by scholars as a ‘tenseless language ',because there is no explicit tense marker therein. Grammatical analyses and comparative studies,however,show that the Chinese verbal particle le_1 satisfies the following three requirements of a tense marker: 1) it follows the verb and anchors the event on the axis of time; 2) it distinguishes between the anterior tense and non-anterior tense; 3) it is used to affix verbs with a final endpoint,e. g.,verbs of achievement or accomplishment,such as ying‘to win'and jianzao‘to build',but it has gradually broken this constraint over time because,according to our survey in the corpus,it does practically affix verbs with no final endpoint,e.g.,verbs of state or activity,such as you‘to have'and xie‘to write',and this is more likely to occur when objects are abstract nouns. That is to say,though it is not fully grammaticalised as a tense marker yet,the function of le_1 to mark the tense has been strengthened. In other words,it is still in the process of evolving from an aspect marker to a tense marker. For this reason,it does not satisfy all the requirements of a tense marker.Therefore,le_1 is a‘semi-tensed marker'and,accordingly,Mandarin Chinese is a‘semitensed language',a language between a‘tensed language'and a‘tenseless language'.
Mandarin Chinese is often taken by scholars as a ‘tenseless language ',because there is no explicit tense marker therein. Grammatical analyses and comparative studies,however,show that the Chinese verbal particle le_1 satisfies the following three requirements of a tense marker: 1) it follows the verb and anchors the event on the axis of time; 2) it distinguishes between the anterior tense and non-anterior tense; 3) it is used to affix verbs with a final endpoint,e. g.,verbs of achievement or accomplishment,such as ying‘to win'and jianzao‘to build',but it has gradually broken this constraint over time because,according to our survey in the corpus,it does practically affix verbs with no final endpoint,e.g.,verbs of state or activity,such as you‘to have'and xie‘to write',and this is more likely to occur when objects are abstract nouns. That is to say,though it is not fully grammaticalised as a tense marker yet,the function of le_1 to mark the tense has been strengthened. In other words,it is still in the process of evolving from an aspect marker to a tense marker. For this reason,it does not satisfy all the requirements of a tense marker.Therefore,le_1 is a‘semi-tensed marker'and,accordingly,Mandarin Chinese is a‘semitensed language',a language between a‘tensed language'and a‘tenseless language'.
引文
Bybee,Joan,Revere Perkins,and William Pagliuca.1994.The Evolution of Grammar:Tense,Aspect and Modality in the Languages of the World.Chicago/London:The University of Chicago Press.
Cao,Daogen (曹道根) and Lingchun Xu (许凌春).2017.The study of genuine tenseless languages.Contemporary Linguistics 1:93-121.[2017,“真”无时态语言研究。《当代语言学》第1期,93-121页。]
Cho,Kyung-sook.2006.Aspectuality of English and Korean in a typological perspective,Eoneohak 46:81-114 [2006, 。《》第46辑,81-114页。]
Comrie,Bernard.1985.Tense.New York:Cambridge University Press.
Dai,Yaojing (戴耀晶).1994.On functions of -le in future sentence.In Zhihong Yu (余志鸿),ed.,Modern Linguistics:New Horizons of Theoretical Construction.Pp.114-22.[1994,“了”在表示未来意义句子中的用法。《现代语言学:理论建设的新思考》。114-22页。]
.1997.The Aspect System of Modern Chinese.Hangzhou:Zhejiang Educational Press.[1997,《现代汉语时体系统研究》。杭州:浙江教育出版社。]
Gao,Mingkai (高名凯).1986.On Chinese Grammar.Beijing:The Commercial Press.[1986,《汉语语法论》。北京:商务印书馆。]
Guo,Rui (郭锐).2015.Time reference and its syntactic effects in Mandarin Chinese.Chinese Teaching in the World 4:435-49.[2015,汉语谓词性成分的时间参照及其句法后果。《世界汉语教学》第4期,435-49页。]
Klein,Wolfgang.2009.How time is encoded.In Wolfgang Klein and Ping Li (李平),eds.,The Expression of Time.Berlin/New York:Mouton de Gruyter.Pp.39-82.
Li,Charles and Sandra Thompson.1981.Mandarin Chinese:A Functional Reference Grammar.Berkeley,CA:University of California Press.
Lin,Jo-wang (林若望).2012.Tenselessness.In Robert Binnick,ed.,The Oxford Handbook of Tense and Aspect.New York:Oxford University Press.
Lyons,John.1977.Semantics,Vol.2.Cambridge:Cambridge University Press.
Matthewson,Lisa.2006.Temporal semantics in a superficially tenseless language.Linguistics and Philosophy 29,6:673-713.
Palmer,Frank.2007 [2001].Mood and Modality,2nd edition.Beijing:World Book.
Smith,Carlota.1997.The Parameter of Aspect,2nd edition.Dordrecht:Kluwer.
Smith,Carlota,Ellavina Perkins,and Theodore Fernald.2007.Time in Navajo:Direct and indirect interpretation.International Journal of American Linguistics 73,1:40-71.
Stassen,Leon.1997.Intransitive Predication.Oxford:Clarendon Press.
Wang,Li (王力).1944.Theories of Chinese Grammar.Beijing:The Commercial Press.[1944,《中国语法理论》。北京:商务印书馆。]
Xiao,Richard and Tony McEnery.2004.Aspect in Mandarin Chinese:A Corpus-based Study.Philadelphia,PA:John Benjamins.
Yang,Suying (杨素英).1995.The aspect system of Chinese.Ph.D.diss.,University of Victoria.
.2011.The parameter of temporal endpoint and the basic function of -le.Journal of East Asian Linguistics 20,4:383-415.
Zhang,Jiqing (张济卿).1998.The tense and aspect in Chinese,part 1.Linguistic Researches 3:17-25.[1998,论现代汉语的时制与体结构(上)。《语文研究》第3期,17-25页。]
(1)http://ccl.pku.edu.cn:8080/ccl_corpus/index.jsp?[2017年12月1日登录]。
(2)下文的例子,除非特别表明,一般都取自CCL语料库。
(3)在本文中,NONPOST指“非后时”(non-posterior)、 POST指“后时”、 NOM指“主格”(nominative case)、 ANT指“先时”、 ACC指“受格”(accusative case)、 LOC指“处所格”(locative case)、 TEM指“时间格”(temporal case)。
(4)Cho(2006)指出,韩语的“-eoss-[--]”由于受到它前边音节尾音的影响,发生了一些语音变化,比如:-ass-[--]、 -ss-[--]、 -yeoss-[--]等。
(5)关于“情状类型”(situation types)的分类问题,详见Xiao和McEnery(2004)。
(6)http://corpus.byu.edu/coca/[2017年12月1日登录]。
(7)http://ithub.korean.go.kr/user/corpus/corpusSearchManager.do.[2017年12月1日登录]。
(8)http://bcc.blcu.edu.cn/[2015年11月6日登录]。
(9)在宾语“书”的影响下,连一个“瞬间活动类动词”(semelfactive)的例子也没有出现。但这并不意味着“了1”不能跟瞬间活动类动词搭配使用。通过其他检索表达式,我们不难检索到有关例子,如:a.他一连敲了1几下。b.又轻轻跳了1下去。
Cao,Daogen (曹道根) and Lingchun Xu (许凌春).2017.The study of genuine tenseless languages.Contemporary Linguistics 1:93-121.[2017,“真”无时态语言研究。《当代语言学》第1期,93-121页。]
Cho,Kyung-sook.2006.Aspectuality of English and Korean in a typological perspective,Eoneohak 46:81-114 [2006, 。《》第46辑,81-114页。]
Comrie,Bernard.1985.Tense.New York:Cambridge University Press.
Dai,Yaojing (戴耀晶).1994.On functions of -le in future sentence.In Zhihong Yu (余志鸿),ed.,Modern Linguistics:New Horizons of Theoretical Construction.Pp.114-22.[1994,“了”在表示未来意义句子中的用法。《现代语言学:理论建设的新思考》。114-22页。]
.1997.The Aspect System of Modern Chinese.Hangzhou:Zhejiang Educational Press.[1997,《现代汉语时体系统研究》。杭州:浙江教育出版社。]
Gao,Mingkai (高名凯).1986.On Chinese Grammar.Beijing:The Commercial Press.[1986,《汉语语法论》。北京:商务印书馆。]
Guo,Rui (郭锐).2015.Time reference and its syntactic effects in Mandarin Chinese.Chinese Teaching in the World 4:435-49.[2015,汉语谓词性成分的时间参照及其句法后果。《世界汉语教学》第4期,435-49页。]
Klein,Wolfgang.2009.How time is encoded.In Wolfgang Klein and Ping Li (李平),eds.,The Expression of Time.Berlin/New York:Mouton de Gruyter.Pp.39-82.
Li,Charles and Sandra Thompson.1981.Mandarin Chinese:A Functional Reference Grammar.Berkeley,CA:University of California Press.
Lin,Jo-wang (林若望).2012.Tenselessness.In Robert Binnick,ed.,The Oxford Handbook of Tense and Aspect.New York:Oxford University Press.
Lyons,John.1977.Semantics,Vol.2.Cambridge:Cambridge University Press.
Matthewson,Lisa.2006.Temporal semantics in a superficially tenseless language.Linguistics and Philosophy 29,6:673-713.
Palmer,Frank.2007 [2001].Mood and Modality,2nd edition.Beijing:World Book.
Smith,Carlota.1997.The Parameter of Aspect,2nd edition.Dordrecht:Kluwer.
Smith,Carlota,Ellavina Perkins,and Theodore Fernald.2007.Time in Navajo:Direct and indirect interpretation.International Journal of American Linguistics 73,1:40-71.
Stassen,Leon.1997.Intransitive Predication.Oxford:Clarendon Press.
Wang,Li (王力).1944.Theories of Chinese Grammar.Beijing:The Commercial Press.[1944,《中国语法理论》。北京:商务印书馆。]
Xiao,Richard and Tony McEnery.2004.Aspect in Mandarin Chinese:A Corpus-based Study.Philadelphia,PA:John Benjamins.
Yang,Suying (杨素英).1995.The aspect system of Chinese.Ph.D.diss.,University of Victoria.
.2011.The parameter of temporal endpoint and the basic function of -le.Journal of East Asian Linguistics 20,4:383-415.
Zhang,Jiqing (张济卿).1998.The tense and aspect in Chinese,part 1.Linguistic Researches 3:17-25.[1998,论现代汉语的时制与体结构(上)。《语文研究》第3期,17-25页。]
(1)http://ccl.pku.edu.cn:8080/ccl_corpus/index.jsp?[2017年12月1日登录]。
(2)下文的例子,除非特别表明,一般都取自CCL语料库。
(3)在本文中,NONPOST指“非后时”(non-posterior)、 POST指“后时”、 NOM指“主格”(nominative case)、 ANT指“先时”、 ACC指“受格”(accusative case)、 LOC指“处所格”(locative case)、 TEM指“时间格”(temporal case)。
(4)Cho(2006)指出,韩语的“-eoss-[--]”由于受到它前边音节尾音的影响,发生了一些语音变化,比如:-ass-[--]、 -ss-[--]、 -yeoss-[--]等。
(5)关于“情状类型”(situation types)的分类问题,详见Xiao和McEnery(2004)。
(6)http://corpus.byu.edu/coca/[2017年12月1日登录]。
(7)http://ithub.korean.go.kr/user/corpus/corpusSearchManager.do.[2017年12月1日登录]。
(8)http://bcc.blcu.edu.cn/[2015年11月6日登录]。
(9)在宾语“书”的影响下,连一个“瞬间活动类动词”(semelfactive)的例子也没有出现。但这并不意味着“了1”不能跟瞬间活动类动词搭配使用。通过其他检索表达式,我们不难检索到有关例子,如:a.他一连敲了1几下。b.又轻轻跳了1下去。