Abstract
This study aims to investigate Japanese Chinese as a Second Language (CSL) learners’ acquisition of the Mandarin potential complement ‘V bu C’ (V不C), in hope of shedding light on the effect of language proficiency on the language sense of L2 learners. Based on the results of previous studies [1–3], an acceptability judgment test on a 7-point Likert scale is administered to 58 native Mandarin speakers and 62 Japanese CSL learners, divided into two groups based on Mandarin proficiency, to probe whether there are significant differences between groups for the acceptability of grammatical and ungrammatical sentences containing ‘V bu C’ (V不C) and the negative modal verb ‘bu neng’ (不能). The preliminary results indicate a significant difference between the responses of native Mandarin speakers and Japanese CSL learners of all levels for both grammatical and ungrammatical sentences (all ps < .001), implying that learners struggle to discern the usages of ‘V bu C’ (V不C) and ‘bu neng’ (不能). In addition, a significant difference is also observed between the responses of beginning-intermediate and intermediate-advanced Japanese CSL learners (all ps < .05), indicating that the linguistic sense of intermediate-advanced learners is advancing toward that of native speakers, but has not yet reached the near-native level of proficiency.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
Participants responses were eliminated based on two criteria. (1) If responses were overly similar (i.e., over 75% of responses were the identical score ‘3’), those participants’ data were eliminated. (2) If responses to certain filler questions were not in line with basic Mandarin grammar rules, those participants were deemed to have not taken the experiment seriously (i.e., if a participant regarded “Wǒ hé péngyǒu zuótiān xiě de hěn kāixīn zuòyè” (我和朋友昨天寫得很開心作業; ‘Yesterday, me and my friend wrote very happily homework’) as a grammatical sentence, his/her responses were eliminated).
- 2.
Although there is much debate regarding the sensitivity of various acceptability judgment tests in the study of syntax [13], Marty et al. [11] found that the 7-point Likert scale test is the most effective in tasks asking participants to rate singular items, such as sentences, on a scale. This method is used in various L1 and L2 studies, such as Yuan and Dugarova [14] in their study on English-speaking CSL learners’ acceptability of sentences containing wh-topicalization and Xue et al. [15] in their investigation on native speakers’ acceptability of Mandarin sentences containing complement coercion.
- 3.
BBC Corpus, http://bcc.blcu.edu.cn/lang/zh. Last accessed 17 March 2023.
- 4.
TOCFL 8000 Vocabulary List, https://tocfl.edu.tw/index.php/exam/download. Last accessed 17 March 2023.
- 5.
Two ungrammatical sentences were perceived as grammatical by the native Mandarin speaking group; namely, Wo wàngjì dài yàoshi le, women bù néng jìnqù (我忘記帶鑰匙了, 我們不能進去) ‘I forgot to bring the key. We can’t go inside’ (M = 1.897, SD = 1.703) and Wǒ hěn ài wǒ dì yī ge nánpéngyǒu, dào xiànzài háishì bù néng wàngjì tā. (我很愛我第一個男朋友, 到現在還是不能忘記他) ‘I really love my first boyfriend. Even now, I still can’t forget about him’ (M = 0.431, SD = 2.264). This may be attributed to the influence of the Southern Min dialect on the Mandarin spoken in Taiwan [16,17,17]. However, because this topic exceeds the scope of the current paper, the two items are excluded from data analysis and the writers do not conduct further discussion at the present time.
References
Wu, L., Lu, D., He, Y., Yang, C.: A Study on Errors in the Acquisition of Chinese by Japanese Students [Riben xuesheng hanyu xide pianwu yanjiu]. China Social Sciences Press, Beijing (2002). (in Chinese)
Yang, D.: Dispelling Doubts on Common Grammatical Errors by Japanese People Learning Chinese [Ribenren xue hanyu changjian yufa cuowu shiyi]. Commercial Press, Beijing (2008). (in Chinese)
Li, Y.: A study on the acquisition of two types of potential expressions [Liang zhong nengxing jiegou de xide yanjiu]. In: Xiao, X. (ed.) Studies on the Difficulty and Arrangement of Chinese Sentence Structures for Foreign Students [Waiguo xuesheng hanyu jushi xuexi nandu ji fenji paixu yanjiu], pp. 258–278. Higher Education Press, Beijing (2009). (in Chinese)
Lü, S. (ed.): 800 Words in Modern Chinese [Xiandai hanyu babai ci]. Commercial Press, Beijing (1980). (in Chinese)
Li, C.N., Thompson, S.A.: Mandarin Chinese: A Functional Reference Grammar. University of California Press, Berkeley (1981)
Hsiao, H.S., Lin, C.: On Mandarin potential complement constructions. Lang. Linguist. 13(5), 936–998 (2012). (in Chinese)
Imaizumi, S.: Typological study on expressions of possibility and their related meanings in English, Chinese and Japanese- How modality and voice intersect. In: Fon, J. (ed.) Dimensions of Diffusion and Diversity, pp. 56–82. De Gruyter Mouton, Berlin (2019)
Sugimura, H.: The Mandarin expressions “V de C”, “neng VC”, “neng V de C” [V de C, neng VC, neng V de C]. Chin. Lang. Learn. [Hanyu xuexi] 6, 23–29 (1982). (in Chinese)
Liu, Y.: Studies on the usage of potential complements [Keneng buyu yongfa de yanjiu]. In: Liu, Y. Papers on Chinese Grammar [Hanyu yufa lunji], pp. 1–26. Modern Press, Beijing (1989). (in Chinese)
Selinker, L.: Interlanguage. Int. Rev. Appl. Linguist. 10, 209–231 (1972)
Marty, P., Chemla, E., Sprouse, J.: The effect of three basic task features on the sensitivity of acceptability judgment tasks. Glossa: J. Gener. Linguist. 5(1), 72 (2020)
Wu, S.-C., Hsiao, H.S.: A case study on scalar ordering relations of Chinese adverbs. In: Su, Q., Xu, G., Yang, X. (eds.) Chinese Lexical Semantics. CLSW 2022. LNCS, vol. 13495, pp. 368–383. Springer, Cham (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-28953-8_28
Sprouse, J., Schütze, C.T., Almeida, D.: A comparison of informal and formal acceptability judgments using a random sample from Linguistic Inquiry 2001–2010. Lingua 134, 219–248 (2013)
Yuan, B., Dugarova, E.: Wh-topicalization at the syntax-discourse interface in English speakers’ L2 Chinese grammars. Stud. Second. Lang. Acquis. 34(4), 533–560 (2012)
Xue, W., Liu, M., Politzer-Ahles, S.: A study of complement coercion in Mandarin Chinese: Evidence from an acceptability judgment task. In: Liu, M., Kit, C., Su, Q. (eds.) Chinese Lexical Semantics. CLSW 2020. LNCS, vol. 12278, pp. 775–784. Springer, Cham (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-81197-6_64
Kubler, C.C.: The influence of southern min on the mandarin of Taiwan. Anthropol. Linguist. 27(2), 156–176 (1985)
Kuo, W.-J.: Some directional complements in the potential verb-complement construction of Zhuziyulei–-compared with Southern Min dialect. Bull. Chin. 49, 107–134 (2011). (in Chinese)
Delacre, M., Lakens, D., Leys, C.: Why psychologists should by default use Welch’s t-test instead of student’s t-test. Int. Rev. Soc. Psychol. 30(1), 92–101 (2017)
Wu, P.-H.: Interlanguage Analysis of “Hui”: The Case of Japanese Learners. Master’s thesis, Taiwan Normal University, Taipei (2009). (in Chinese)
Teng, S.-H.: A Pedagogical Grammar of Chinese [Dui wai hanyu jiaoxue yufa]. Crane Publishing, Taipei (2008). (in Chinese)
Acknowledgments
This study was presented and discussed at The 24th Chinese Lexical Semantics Workshop (CLSW 2023). We would like to express our gratitude to the anonymous reviewers for their valuable suggestions on this study. All errors are of course our sole responsibility.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Appendix: Target Stimuli
Appendix: Target Stimuli
The below presents the target stimuli of the present study, consisting of 5 grammatical sentences containing the negative potential complement ‘V Bu C’ (V不C) and 5 ungrammatical sentences containing the negative modal verb ‘bu neng’ (不能) in no particular order. Note that the Pinyin romanization and English translation provided in this appendix were not included in the original survey administered to participants.
Grammatical target stimuli (5)
1. 這些漢字我已經練習很久了, 但是我一直寫不好。
Zhè xiē Hànzì wǒ yǐjīng liànxí hěn jiǔ le, dànshì wǒ yìzhí xiě bù hǎo.
I have been practicing these characters for a long time, but I always have trouble writing them nicely.
2. 我昨天很晚才睡, 所以今天早上起不來。
Wǒ zuótiān hěn wǎn cái shuì, suǒyǐ jīntiān zǎoshàng qĭ bù lái.
I slept late last night, so I couldn’t get up in the morning.
3. 我覺得這家飯館一點也不好, 菜很貴, 還吃不飽。
Wǒ juéde zhè jiā fànguǎn yìdiǎn yě bù hǎo, cài hěn guì, hái chī bù bǎo.
I think this restaurant is not good at all. The food is expensive and we aren’t full after eating.
4. 新來的老師說中文說得很快, 我有點聽不懂。
Xīn lái de lǎoshī shuō Zhōngwén shuō de hěn kuài, wǒ yǒudiǎn tīng bù dǒng.
The new teacher speaks Chinese really quickly. I can’t really understand her.
5. 這件事情有點複雜, 我怕我說不清楚。
Zhè jiàn shì yǒudiǎn fùzá, wǒ pà wǒ shuō bù qīngchǔ.
This matter is rather complicated; I’m afraid I can’t clearly explain it.
Ungrammatical target stimuli (5)
1. 我的錢包不見了, 已經找了兩個多小時, 但是我不能找到。
Wǒ de qiánbāo bú jiàn le, yǐjīng zhǎo le liǎng ge duō xiǎoshí, dànshì wǒ bù néng zhǎo dào.
My wallet has gone missing. I have been looking for it for over two hours, but I can’t find it.
2. 我忘記帶鑰匙了, 我們不能進去。
Wǒ wàngjì dài yàoshi le, wǒmen bù néng jìnqù.
I forgot to bring the key. We can’t go inside.
3. 我很愛我第一個男朋友, 到現在還是不能忘記他。
Wǒ hěn ài wǒ dì yī ge nánpéngyǒu, dào xiànzài háishì bù néng wàngjì tā.
I really love my first boyfriend. Even now, I still can’t forget about him.
4. 現在沒有什麼客人, 所以我們店的商品都不能賣完。
Xiànzài méiyǒu shénme kèrén, suǒyǐ wǒmen diàn de shāngpǐn dōu bù néng mài wán.
Currently, there aren’t many customers, so we can’t sell all the products in our store.
5. 我晚上九點喝了咖啡, 現在不能睡著。
Wǒ wǎnshàng jiǔ diǎn hē le kāfēi, xiànzài bù néng shuì zháo.
I drank coffee at 9 p.m. and I can’t fall sleep now.
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2024 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.
About this paper
Cite this paper
Yu, A., Hsiao, H.S. (2024). A Preliminary Study on Japanese CSL Learners’ Acquisition of Mandarin Potential Expressions. In: Dong, M., Hong, JF., Lin, J., Jin, P. (eds) Chinese Lexical Semantics. CLSW 2023. Lecture Notes in Computer Science(), vol 14515. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-97-0586-3_32
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-97-0586-3_32
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore
Print ISBN: 978-981-97-0585-6
Online ISBN: 978-981-97-0586-3
eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)