Drawing on various perspectives and diverse methodologies, the volume concerns Chinese language and discourse that represent the state-of-the-art research on the lexical, grammatical, and discursive features of Chinese discourse with a view of the global context.
Following the introductory chapter that presents the panorama of the volume, chapters 2, 3, and 4 probe into the development of new words and constructions in Chinese discourse, and the under-explored issue on the contextual variations of language uses. In chapter 2, Yun Xiao analyzes the structure and formation processes of new words from the perspective of language change and lexicalization. Chapter 3 by Liang Tao justifies the role of language use in language development and grammaticalization by illustrating how bushi…ma ‘isn't it the case that…’ developed into a new grammatical construction in Beijing Mandarin. In chapter 4, Shuai Li examines the contextual variations in using internal and external modifications to make requests. Li broadens the studies on Chinese mitigation production by mapping linguistic form on function and context.
Both drawing upon a conversation analysis approach, chapters 5 and 6 are bonded by their shared focus on the interactional functions. Chapter 5 by Xiaoting Li & Jie Luo investigates the interactional functions of yinwei- ‘because’ clauses in everyday conversations to reveal how these structures are employed to account for prior actions and provide background information. In chapter 6, Ni-Eng Lim delineates the sequential trajectory of wo gen ni shuo/jiang ‘I-say-to-you’ expressions and explains lexical bundles as discourse frames in achieving interactional purposes in conversations.
The subsequent five articles (chapters 7–11) address some prominent issues in Chinese linguistics from various perspectives. Chapters 7 and 8 deal with Chinese near-synonyms. In chapter 7, Chenhsuan Huang presents the salient factors that lead to different uses of near-synonyms in written and spoken genres. Chapter 8 by Jia Yang is heuristic in Chinese near-synonym education in the analysis of the factors constraining the collocational behaviors of near-synonyms. Chapter 9 by Fei Ren scrutinizes the semantic and pragmatic constraints on the genericity of sentences with an AP state complement. In chapter 10, Lin Zhu elaborates on the metaphorical uses of the kinship terms fu ‘father’ and mu ‘mother’. It shows that mu has higher metaphoricity and evenly distributed multiple referents due to experiential basis and cultural influences. Chapter 11 by Linda Tsung & Lubei Zhang endeavors to categorize time expressions in Chinese, which helps learners of Chinese as a second/foreign language better understand its temporal system.
The last two chapters are more application-oriented. In chapter 12, Wei Wang, Lisong Jiang & Meishu He conduct a sociolinguistic study on how Kam people construct and negotiate their ethnic identity under the influence of geographic, socio-economic and cultural factors. Chapter 13 by Hock Huan Goh, Jinzhan Lin & Chunsheng Zhao introduces the construction and application of two corpora specialized for Chinese language education in Singapore, which may facilitate curriculum development and assist language learning.
Overall, by showcasing the latest studies in Chinese language and discourse, this volume is a valuable asset to researchers in Chinese discourse and practitioners in language education.
