A Preliminary Study on Two Aspect-Related Morphemes '' Ø'' and ''le’

• Main Authors: Yeh, Jui-chuan, 葉瑞娟
• Other Authors: Tsao, Feng-fu
• Format: Others
• Language: en_US
• Published: 2001
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/94787877969501867592

碩士 === 國立清華大學 === 語言學研究所 === 89 === Cross-linguistically, aspect has long been a subject that captures much attention of linguists. Researches on Mandarin aspect morphemes, for instance, LE and guo, have been fruitful. Hakka, however, has long been a dialect that is scantily explored, not to mention the study of particular morphemes. Therefore, this thesis aims to investigate the semantic properties of two aspect-related morphemes ''Ø'' and ''le'' in Hakka, the corresponding forms of Mandarin verbal ''—le'' and sentential ''le''. Recent studies reveal that the interpretation of aspect morphemes is closely related to situation types. Note that thought classification of verbs is similar, and sometimes identical, to that of situation types, they are by no means the same. Chen (1988), Smith (1991), Tsao (1998) and many others have argued that situation types are not only signaled by the verbs but also indicated by the arguments and adverbs of a sentence, among which verbs are the main determinant. In other words, situation types hold for sentences, rather than for individual verbs or for verb phrases. Smith (1991) points out that language-universally five situation types, i.e. States, Activities, Accomplishments, Achievements, and Semelfactives, are manifested. Basically, the situation types in Hakka conform to that suggested by Smith (1991) except that Semelfactives are subsumed under the derived Activities. The Mandarin ''—le'' is generally recognized as a perfective viewpoint morpheme, while ''le'' is regarded as a sentence-final particle. Though the existence of the Hakka ''Ø'' marker cannot be irrefutably proved, the striking parallelism between the Mandarin ''—le'' and the Hakka ''Ø'' marker leads us to conclude that they are corresponding forms. Investigation of the semantic contents of ''le'' in Hakka shows that it is a modal particle, denoting a change of state and involving speakers’ subjective attitudes toward the proposition expressed by a sentence. Both of the ''Ø'' marker and ''le'' in Hakka are compatible with States, Activities, Accomplishments, and Achievements, all of which play a crucial role in determining the interpretation of sentences containing ''le''. A full and detailed account of the temporal system in Hakka will not be possible without extending our research to the following fields: the study of other Hakka aspect morphemes (such as nen‘the durative aspect marker’and ko‘the experiential marker), the investigation of phase markers (such as ''ho'', ''thet'', and ''shang'', all of which can be viewed as the completive phase markers), the relationship between negation and aspect, and the interaction between the modal verb jiu‘have’and the ''Ø'' marker.