Chinese particles

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In classical Chinese philology, words are divided into two classes: the shízì (實字 lit. "solid word") and the xūzì (虛字 lit. "empty word"). The former include what modern linguists call verbs, nouns, and adjectives, while the latter includes what modern linguists call particles. Opinions differ as to which category pronouns and adverbs belong to. Chinese particles are also known as yǔzhù (語助), zhùzì (助字), zhùcí (助詞/助辭), yǔcí (語辭) or simply cí (辭).

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[edit] Functions

The function of a Chinese particle depends on its position in the sentence, and the context. The character for a Chinese particle is only used phonetically, thus the same particle can be written with different characters. For example, qí/jī (其, which originally represented the word jī "winnowing basket", now represented by the character 箕), a common particle in classical Chinese have, among others, the following meanings:

particle (character) function example
qí/jī 其 third-person possessive adjective: his/her/its/their 工欲善其事，必先利其器。 A workman who wants to do his job well has to sharpen his tools first.
demonstrative adjective: that/those 以其人之道，還治其人之身。 Punish that person (someone) with his very own tricks.
suffix before adjective or verb 北風其涼，雨雪其雱。 The northern wind is cool; the snow falls heavily.
to express doubt, uncertainty 吾其還也。I had better go.　君其問諸水濱。 You have to go to the riverside to make an inquiry, I'm afraid.
to express hope, command 吾子其無廢先君之功！ Boy, don't ruin the accomplishment of your father!
to form a rhetorical question 欲加之罪，其無辭乎？ How could we fail to find words, when we want to accuse someone?

In modern Chinese, an important function of particles is to show aspects. The particle le (了) is used to indicate a completed action, for example, Tā zŏu le (他走了 "he has gone"); and the particle zhe 着 is used to indicate a continuing action, for example, Tā shuìzhejiào shí yǒurén qiāomén (他睡着觉时有人敲门 "Someone knocked while he was sleeping"). (Both particles are pronounced in the neutral tone.)

[edit] Studies

The first book devoted to the studies of the Chinese particles is Speech Helpers (語助) by Lu Yiwei (盧以緯) of the Yuan Dynasty. More important works concerning the particles followed, including Some Notes on the Helping Words (助字辨略) by Liu Qi (劉淇) and Explanations of the Articles Found in the Classics (經傳釋詞) by Wang Yinzhi (王引之), both published during the Qing Dynasty. These works focus on the particles found in the Confucius classics, paying little attentions to the particles used in the vernacular literature. The Compilation and Explanations of the Colloquial Terms Found in Classical Poetry and Operas (詩詞曲語辭彙釋) by Zhang Xiang (張相), published posthumously in 1953, was the first work covering the particles found in the vernacular literature.

[edit] Parts of speech

[edit] References

  • Dobson, W. A. C. H. (1974). A Dictionary of the Chinese Particles. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
  • He Jiuying 何九盈 (1995a). Zhongguo gudai yuyanxue shi (中囯古代语言学史 "A history of ancient Chinese linguistics"). Guangzhou: Guangdong jiaoyu chubanshe.
  • _____ (1995b). Zhongguo xiandai yuyanxue shi (中囯现代语言学史 "A history of modern Chinese linguistics"). Guangzhou: Guangdong jiaoyu chubanshe.
  • Wang Li 王力 (ed.) (2000). Wang Li guhanyu zidian (王力古漢語字典 "A character dictionary of classical Chinese, chiefly edited by Wang Li"). Beijing: Zhonghua Book Company.
  • Yip Po-Ching & Don Rimmington (2004). Chinese: A Comprehensive Grammar. London; New York: Routledge.