A Comparative Study On Interrogative Category In Chinese Dialects

This dissertation is a comparative study of cross-dialects in the Chinese dialect question category.In the process of cross-dialect comparison,a special investigation on the Chinese dialect’s yes-no questions,alternative questions,positive and negative questions and definite questions has been conducted by making full use of the rich Chinese dialect corpus,and the "two triangles" grammar theory.Through comparing and analyzing the characteristics of "form","meaning" and "value" of different interrogative sentences in different dialects,the commonalities and differences between dialects and dialects,dialects and mandarins are summarized.The reasons and the internal laws behind the formation are also explored.Besides,we also investigate the geographical distribution of various interrogative sentences and the use of dialects for the purpose of deepening the understanding of Chinese common language and dialects.There are totally 8 chapters and the main ideas of each chapter are as follows.Chapter one,the introduction,illustrates the research background and research significance,conducts a relatively comprehensive review of interrogative sentences researches in old Chinese,modern language and Chinese dialects and explains the corpus sources as well as the usage of terminologies and symbols.Chapter two is an overview of the integrative category.We firstly identify the concept of integrative category and define it as the grammatical and semantic category based on its characteristics.Secondly,while sorting out the ways of raising questions and the syatactical types and semantic types of interrogative sentences based on the Chinese modern language the writer establishes the "Putonghua" angle system of the question category,which provides a basis for the comparison between "mandarins-dialects" and"dialects-dialects".Chapter three is a comparative study of yes and no questions in Chinese dialects.According to the different ways of raising questions,yes-no questions in Chinese dialects can be divided into two types,namely,the intonation type and the modal type.To begin with,the dissertation conducts a multi-angle research into two types of yes-no questions from syntactical structure,semantic characteristic and pragmatic performance,and then analyzes the geography distribution of different types of integrative sentences.On the basis of above findings and the material on hand,a summary has been made on the usage of yes-no question of intonation type and "ma"(a common question mark in Chinese language type)in Chinese dialects.Chapter four is a comparative study of alternative questions in Chinese dialects.’.First of all,this dissertation describes the dialect features of connectives,modal particles and intonations through the three linking devices that constitute the alternative question.The evolution process of connectives and modal particles is explored diachronically,and according to different linking devices,the alternative questions are divided into five types:connectives-based alternative questions,intonations-based alternative questions,modals-based alternative questions,mixed alternative questions,and parataxis-based alternative questions.They are examined from the two aspects of sytactical structure and geographical distribution.Then,semantic relations as well as elliptical rules of alternative questions are investigated from a holistic perspective.Finally,the useage of various kinds of alternative questions in dialects is concluded.Chapter five is a comparative study of positive and negative questions in Chinese dialects.Combined with dialect materials,the positive and negative questions can be divided into direct positive and negative questions,concise positive and negative questions,compact positive and negative questions,yes-no positive and negative questions,accessory positive and negative questions according to the different ways of means.This dissertation firstly analyzes various kinds of interrogative questions from the aspects of sytactical structure,semantic features,pragmatic performance and special usage.On this basis,it combines synchronic phenomena with diachronic development to explore the evolution process and motivations of various interrogative questions.Then,the geographical distribution of various interrogative questions is sorted out.Finally,based on the information collected,the usage of various positive and negative questions in dialects is summarized,and the common features of different dialects in the use of questions are explored.Chapter six is a comparative study of definite questions in Chinese dialects.Based on the different types of questions,definite questions in Chinese dialects are classified into interrogative definite questions and elliptical definite questions.First of all,this dissertation describes the types of interrogative pronouns from the synchronic perspective,and explores motivations for the formation of various interrogative pronouns from a diachronic perspective.Secondly,it examines the sytactical structure of the interrogative definite questions and sorts out the geographical distribution of various interrogative pronouns with the existing materials.Finally,from the two aspects of sytactical structure and semantic features,the characteristics of the interrogative definite questions in different dialects are explored to find out their common connections.Since the interrogative definite questions and the elliptical definite questions are commonly used in various dialects simultaneously,its usage in dialects is not examined.Chapter seven is a comprehensive comparative study of the categories of interrogative questions in modern Chinese based on chapter two,chapter three,chapter four,chapter five,and chapter six.On one hand,this dissertation makes a horizontal comparison of mandarin dialects and non-mandarin dialects from the aspect of yes-no questions,alternative questions,positive and negative questions,and definite questions.On the other hand,this dissertation makes a similar horizontal comparison of Chinese dialects and Chinese common language.Through the comparative study,the writer intends to grasp the common characteristics as well as individual differences between dialects and dialects,dialects and common languages.Chapter eight is a conclusion.The main contents of this dissertation are summarized,and inadequacies in the material collection and interpretation depth in this research are clarified.In this chapter,understandings and suggestions on future research work are also put forward.