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Syntactic Distribution, Semantic Framework, and Pragmatic Function of the Modal Adverb Meizhun (Maybe)

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Chinese Lexical Semantics (CLSW 2014)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((LNAI,volume 8922))

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Abstract

This paper divides the term meizhun into five homographs based on its morphemic structure and usage, and focuses on the modal adverb form that means maybe in English. Meizhun (maybe) generally appears in assertive sentences and can be used with auxiliary verbs, conjunctions, and other adverbs. Sentences with this term share the stylised frame of logical semantics. Its main textual functions are inference and definition, and the use of this term, which is derived from meizhun (uncertain/not sure), is now spreading rapidly among speakers of contemporary Chinese.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Chinese Language and Literature, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430072, Hubei, China

    Hong Xiao

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  1. Hong Xiao
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Correspondence to Hong Xiao .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Xiamen University, Xiamen, Fujian, China

    Xinchun Su

  2. Central China Normal University, Wuhan, Hubei, China

    Tingting He

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© 2014 Springer International Publishing Switzerland

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Xiao, H. (2014). Syntactic Distribution, Semantic Framework, and Pragmatic Function of the Modal Adverb Meizhun (Maybe). In: Su, X., He, T. (eds) Chinese Lexical Semantics. CLSW 2014. Lecture Notes in Computer Science(), vol 8922. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-14331-6_39

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-14331-6_39

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-14330-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-14331-6

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