1. Differences in Modality and Subjectivity between "Pian" and "Pianpian".
- Author
-
Fan Wei
- Subjects
MODALITY (Linguistics) ,SUBJECTIVITY ,PIAN wen ,CHINESE literature ,LITERARY criticism ,POETRY (Literary form) ,LITERARY form ,SEMANTICS (Philosophy) ,LITERATURE & myth ,FIGURES of speech - Abstract
Though there is considerable overlap between the two words of "pian ((This character cannot be represented into ASCII text))" and "pianpian ((These characters cannot be represented into ASCII text))", they are different in semantic contents. "Pian" is semantically related to the subject of the sentence, indicating the subject's volition is in conflict with the undergoing act and the anticipation implied by the context; "pianpian" is semantically related to the speaker, indicating the reality is against the anticipation of the speaker and thus conveying his dissatisfaction and surprise. Such a difference determines the modality type of these two words: "pian" belongs to the category of dynamic modality but "pianpian" to the category of evaluative modality. In terms of subjectivity, "pianpian" is stronger than "pian". The examination of these two words from the perspectives of modality and subjectivity throws new light on the differences between them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2009