On Modality And Aspect Of Mood Particle Le

Functional word le in Mandarin Chinese has always been a complex and heattopic in Chinese grammar. The classification of le, grammatical meanings of le as wellas the discussion on le as aspect markers have evoked much controversy in the field ofMandarin Chinese grammar. Mood particle le’s usage as a perfect aspect marker isidentified and demonstrated by some scholars, but the relevant exploration fails to seekthe syntactic constraint and the underlying cognitive motivation. Meanwhile, moodparticles are devices to indicate modality. In cognitive grammar, modality and aspectbelong to the grounding constituents of the core schema indicated by the event,providing grounding information to the event in question. However, previous studiesseldom involve a comprehensive and systematical study on modality and aspect ofmood particle le. Therefore, we employ some classical concepts on aspect and relevanttheories in cognitive linguistics. Specifically, there are three research questionsinvolved in this study:(1) In what grammatical environments does mood particle le indicate aspect andmodality simultaneously, and then in what grammatical environments does it indicatemodality alone, when used in declarative sentences?(2) What is the motivation underlying the simultaneous embodiment of aspect andmodality by the same marker le?(3) What modal meanings does le convey respectively when used in imperativeand exclamatory sentences, and how do they generate?By correcting the long-term misunderstanding on aspect and language-biasedunderstanding on modality, we manage to grasp the essence of perfect aspect andmodality by resorting to bounding theory and subjectification in cognitive linguistics.The major findings are:(1) When mood particle le relates a bounded situation, it is an aspect marker andmodality marker simultaneously. In this case, its modal meaning is to accentuatecurrent relevance of a previous situation and further to ground it. Correspondently,when the situation is unbounded, mood particle le indicates modality alone, i.e. toaccentuate the change of state subjectively.(2) The motivation underlying the simultaneous embodiment of aspect andmodality by the same marker mood particle le is that modality derives from anaspectual source. Perfect aspect indicates the relevance of two situations at two points of time. The subjective attitudes and opinions of the speaker are encoded in the processof indicating the current relevance, which we call modality.(3) When mood particle le used in imperative sentences, the modal meaning of leis to accentuate the change of state in a mild tone. While in exclamatory sentences, itexpresses affirmation to the state indicated by the adjectival predicates as well asstrengthening the emphatic force subjectively.The systematical study on the aspect and modality of mood particle le has offeredgreat inspiration and guidance in teaching Mandarin Chinese as a second language aswell as in the aspect and modality study of other mood particles in Mandarin Chinese.