Semantic Variation on Chinese Classifiers for Vehicles: A Case Study on liang（輛）, bu（部）and tai（台）

華語車輛量詞之語意變異研究：以「輛、部、台」為例

黃榛萱(Chenhsuan Huang)

《華語文教學研究》 14卷1期 (2017/03) Pp. 1-20

摘要

The present study explored the Chinese classifiers liang （輛）, bu（部） and tai （台）for vehicles by using the Qualia structure (Pustejovsky 1995) as the major criterion. Four independent variables, including Constitutive, Formal, Telic, and Agentivity, are tested in the Rbrul program to account for the multiple cross-cutting and interesting factors that influence language usage. The major findings of the study are as follows. First, liang serves as the standard usage for vehicles, which favors vehicles with at least four wheels (Constitutive) and non-personal use (Telic). Second, bu is salient for its personal use for ownership (Telic) and tendency toward an external appearance description (Formal). Third, tai tends to emphasize a vehicle with its appearance (Formal), origin (Agentivity), and wheels that are less than four (Constitutive). The study demonstrated that the use of vehicle classifiers bu, liang, and tai is not arbitrary, but instead follows cognitive-based categories.

關鍵字

classifier ； Qualia structure ； Rbrul ； Chinese pedagogy

並列摘要

本文旨在探討華語車輛量詞「輛、部、台」間的語意變異，依屬性結構（Pustejovsky, 1995）將詞意分為組成成份（Constitutive）、動作（Telic）、外在形式（Formal）以及生產方式（Agentivity）等四類，經由Rbrul羅吉斯迴歸（logistic regression analysis）找出最佳的影響因子。主要的研究發現如下：首先，「輛」較常使用於四輪以上及非個人使用目的之車輛類型。其次，「部」的語意偏好突顯車輛之所有權以及外觀。至於「台」則傾向強調車輛外觀和來源，同時常用來計算四輪以下之車輛。本研究說明了華語車輛量詞「輛、部、台」的使用非任意，而是依循認知模式的選擇。

並列關鍵字

量詞 ； 屬性結構 ； Rbrul ； 華語文教學

參考文獻

Bybee, Joan Lea,Beckner, Clay(2010).The Oxford handbook of linguistic analysis.Oxford:Oxford University Press.

Chen, Rong-an(2014).A Historical Dictionary of Chinese Classifiers.Taipei:Crane Publishing Co. Ltd..

Chinese Knowledge Information Processing Group(1998).Content and Instruction of the Sinica Balanced Corpus.,::Academia Sinica.

Gao, Shufan(ed.)(1989).Zhengzhong Comprehensive Dictionary of the Form, Pronunciation, and Meaning.Taipei:Zhengzhong shuju.

Huang, Chu-Ren,Ahrens, Kathleen(2003).Individuals, kinds and events: classifier coercion of nouns.Language Sciences.25(4),353-373.