NARRATIVE STRUCTURE IN SPOKEN MANDARIN--A PRELIMINARY STUDY

• Main Authors: Wei-yun Chin, 秦微雲
• Other Authors: Vincent W. Chang
• Format: Others
• Language: en_US
• Published: 1999
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/57495163110513729606

碩士 === 國立臺灣師範大學 === 英語研究所 === 87 === ABSTRACT The present study aims to investigate how a narrative is constructed and sequenced in spoken Mandarin and what linguistic devices are employed to indicate the point of the story and to mark the transitions of story elements. The entire corpus, consisting of twenty narratives produced in an informal interview setting by mature Mandarin-speaking teachers recounting their unforgettable teaching experiences, is given a qualitative analysis first based on Labov's model of narrative structure. A quantitative analysis is then performed to closely examine the frequency of occurrence of narrative elements in different positions and the distribution of various linguistic devices. The results of the study show that in Mandarin narratives, past experiences, in general, are recounted in chronological order and the organization of stories follows the sequence delineated by Labov, namely abstract-orientation-complicating action-evaluation-resolution-coda. However, similarities aside, Mandarin narratives differ from their English counterparts in that they exhibit more complex variations both in the position and frequency of occurrence of narrative elements. Chinese speakers usually show more complex chains of embedding to create a layered organization out of the linear sequence in their narratives. In the process of narration, both external and internal evaluative devices are frequently employed to direct the listener to the point of the story. In addition, discourse markers are an important device in the organization of Mandarin narratives. Some correlations between opening markers and narrative elements are found in the study. The findings of the study can provide useful guidelines for those who are verbally less skillful in storytelling and foreign Mandarin learners to improve their narrative skills and thus become more competent storytellers in Mandarin.