| Summary: | 碩士 === 國立臺灣師範大學 === 華語文教學研究所 === 97 === Zhe in modern Mandarin is both a function word and a durative aspect marker. Function words are not semantically significant on their own, but must work in conjunction with a content word, such as a noun or a verb, in order to bring out their meaning. The durative aspect marker zhe in the present study must be collocated with a verb for its semantic meaning to be revealed. The semantic properties of the resulting meaning differ from those of the verb when it appears by itself. This thesis investigates the semantic meanings of zhe and its relationship to the verbs with which it collocates.
It is generally thought that Mandarin zhe corresponds to Japanese ているteiru. However, it turns out that this is not the case. Depending upon the context, Japanese てte, てあるtearu, ていたteita and ながらnagara can also correspond to Mandarin zhe. The relationship between zhe and these correspondences in Japanese are explored in depth in this thesis. First, the functions of zhe are discussed from the two distinct planes of syntax and discourse, which is followed by a discussion of zhe and its relation to collocating verbs. Next, Mandarin zhe and zai are contrasted and compared. Lastly, ているteiru is used to discuss Japanese verb types as well as the Japanese aspect system.
Based on the analysis framework presented in Chapter 3, the correspondences between Mandarin zhe and Japaneseているteiru are carefully studied as they occur in a natural linguistic corpus and possible learning difficulties for Japanese-speaking learners of Chinese are investigated by way of examining the results of a questionnaire survey.
The results of this study show that Mandarin zhe does not correspond exactly to Japanese ているteiru, where the main differences are as follows:
1. Word order: Mandarin Chinese word order is SVO, while that of Japanese is SOV. In addition to differences in acceptable locations for Verb + zhe and Verb＋teiru to appear in a sentence, the Mandarin Verb + zhe construction functions differently than the Verb + teiru construction in Japanese.
2. Typology: Mandarin is an isolating language while Japanese is an agglutinating language. Additionally, Duration is expressed differently by the two languages. Time words or other elements might be needed to express the past tense in Mandarin. Japanese, however, relies on the Verb + reiru construction.
3. Discourse function: the core role played by Mandarin zhe is that of “background”. However, this is a role that Japanese teiru cannot take on. Japanese teiru can only be collocated with the main verb of a sentence and play the role of “foreground”.
Lastly, some suggestions and recommendations are made regarding how to apply the results of this study to the teaching of Mandarin zhe to Japanese-speaking learners of Mandarin.
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