On the Semantics and Pragmatics of SHUANG (雙) and LIANG (兩) in Mandarin Chinese

• Main Authors: Min-Chao Hsiu, 修敏釗
• Other Authors: Mary A. Wu
• Format: Others
• Language: en_US
• Published: 2014
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/8negx3

碩士 === 國立暨南國際大學 === 外國語文學系 === 102 === Abstract This thesis deals with the semantics and pragmatics of shuang (雙) and liang (兩) in Mandarin Chinese. In previous literature, much is said about shuang as a measure word and the various usages of liang. However, little is said about the contrasts between shuang and liang when shuang is not functioning as a standard measure word (Chao1968; 徐陽春, 劉綸鑫2008; 趙元任著1968, 丁邦新譯1994; 朱德熙1982). In this thesis, I propose that we can have an explanation for the contrasts of shuang (non-measure word) and liang (when it means 2) similar to Hawkins’ (1991) semantic and pragmatic analysis of the contrast between the and a in English. I classify shuang-expressions into four types (plus a subtype), liang-expressions into two categories, and discuss cases where shuang and liang are interchangeable. I propose that shuang has the meaning of a pair, and given the four types of shuang-expressions, we have four types of shuang, three of which carry different conventional implicatures. When liang is a numeral indicating cardinality two, liang-expressions may be classified into two categories: Category 1 is conventional usage, and Category 2 is liang plus measure words. I propose that liang in Category 2 carries two conversational implicatures. Furthermore, when shuang and liang are interchangeable, and when ‘exactly a pair’ may be relevant in the given context, they will constitute a Horn scale: <shuang, liang> where the speaker using liang conversationally Q-implicates not-shuang.