현대 중국어 일상대화에서 출현하는 ‘有點兒’의 통사-의미적 특징과 그 담화-화용적 기능

Abstract

This study uses both qualitative and quantitative methods to investigate the syntactic and semantic characteristics and discourse-pragmatic functions of youdianr in Mandarin Chinese. In naturally occurring conversation, youdianr shows certain characteristics that are not covered in existing grammars or encyclopedias. Sometimes youdianr is not combined with postposed constituents such as adverbs, adjectives or nouns. Other times, youdianr is combined with the discourse particle nage. youdianr also appears as an independent unit without any particular grammatical function. Based on the result of the review on its syntactic and semantic characteristics, youdianr performs the following discourse-pragmatic functions. First, youdianr is used to soften the speaker’s negative stance toward a proposition. Second, youdianr can signal the speaker’s hesitation. Third, youdianr is used to describe a partially positive affirmation of the other speaker’s speech. Finally, youdianr performs as a filler. This non-grammatical use of youdianr is part of the interactional nature of the discourse between the speakers and recipients, reflecting the social aspect of the speaker’s stance in organizing meaning rather than simply expressing content.