Contrastive study of English and Chinese Measure words

1. Contrastive study of English and Chinese Measure words Chiu Man Hin Kwan Yin Lai, Sherleen Leung Chau Pui, Allison

2. What is “measure words”? • “A measure is a bound morpheme which forms a D-M compound with one of the determinatives” (Y.R. Chao). • There is no such part of speech as “measure words” in English. • Similar to quantifying / measuring nouns

3. Interview with Mr. J. Guest His observations on “measure words”: • Easiest: • Extensive use of “個” (ge) • Measures involving containers or standard measurement • Peculiar: “隻” (zhi) • Usually for animals, but “一隻錶”, “一隻窗”

4. The interview (cont’d) nominalization and doubling • Confusing: • 這塊給你。 • 句句話都說對了。 • Hardest: • Measures associated with different individual nounse.g. 一張枱, 一枝筆, 一塊麵包, *一張麵包 • There are no general rules to followe.g. 一年, 一個月, 一(個)星期

5. Our aim To justify the difficulties of rendering the measure words by appreciating the major differences and some similarities of such in both language systems

6. Our focus • 5 most common groups: • Classifiers and classifiers associated with V-O • Group measures and partitive measures • Standard measures

7. The classification • Y. R. Chao’s classification: • 9 groups: (1) Classifiers (2) Classifiers (V-O) (3) Group measures (4) Partitive measures (5) Container measures (6) Temporary measures (8) Quasi-measures (7) Standard measures (9) Measures for verbs

8. Classifiers • 2 groups: • Classifiers or individual measures (Mc) • Classifiers associated with V-O (Mc’) • Chinese: • e.g. 一個人, 說(一)句話 but not *一人, *說一話 (Chao) • Each noun has its own specific classifier • Indicating shape, kind, or other properties • (Verb) + Determiner + Mc + Noun

9. Classifiers • English: • e.g. a man, speak a word, but not: *an individual of a man, *speak a sentence of words(some exception, e.g. a head of cow) • Normally: Determiner + Noun • No classifiers! • Poses difficulties for English learners of Chinese

10. More about Chinese classifiers • Some nouns have 2 or more specific classifiers according to different meanings • e.g. 一道門, 一扇門e.g. a doorway, a door (physical object) • Nominalization • e.g. 這個是你的, 那本是好書, *一本是好書e.g. This is yours, That is a good book • Demonstrative + Mc • Doubling • e.g. 天天如是, 一幕幕悲劇

11. General classifier: 個 (ge) (Chao) • Applicable to most individual nouns • e.g. 一個人, 一個雞蛋, 那個手袋, ?這個書, ?一個鞋 • Ease foreign learners’ difficulties • Risk over-extensive usage

12. Group Measures 集體名量詞 一系列新裝 一路軍隊 一群雀鳥 一組學生 一套衣服 一隊士兵 一批成衣 一幫人 Chao (1968): A group measure is used for a groupor collection of individuals

13. How about in English? A group of students 一組學生 Two groups of students 兩組學生 Biber (1999): quantifying collectives select certain collocates which are just confined to a range of entities making up the group.

14. 一組學生 A group of students 兩組學生 Two groups of students Structure “Group Measure” in Chinese (Chao, 1968) : Det + Mg + Nwhere Mg denotes Group measure words “Group Measure” phrase in English (Wang, 2001) : a / number + n1 + of + n2where n1 has to be countable andn2 can either be countable or uncountable

15. 一組學生 組 A group of students group 兩組學生 組 Two groups of students groups group 組 Always in one-to-one relationship??

16. N O! • Significant differences between the two systems: (Wang, 2001) • 1. English “group measure words” are • more specific • exclusive and selective for particular nouns in a certain domain (專用性強) For example … …

17. How to express these in English? An army of workmen A flock of birds A galaxy of talents A school of fish A swarm of bees A troop of welcomers 工人 雀鳥 才子 魚 蜜蜂 歡迎者 一群

18. army flock galaxy school swarm troop “群” can be applied to all animals in Chinesebut …expressed in numerous ways for English!! 一群

19. Significant differences between the two systems: (Wang, 2001) • 2. English “group measure words” • possess visualization effect • are represented with cultural imagination For example … …

20. How to express these in English? An army of workmen A flock of birds A school of fish A swarm of bees A galaxy of talents 工人 雀鳥 魚 蜜蜂 歡迎者 才子 A galaxy of talents 一群

21. A galaxy of talents • Galaxy luminous tract with numerous stars Visualization effect extended to …  An assembly of brilliant, glamorous, or distinguished persons who are also like blinking stars

22. “Group measure” for insects A hive of A cloud of An army of “Group measure” for birds A bevy of A case of An host of MORE... Subject to the culturalunderstanding and imagination associated with the “group” - a matter of convention! “Group measure” for wild animals A tribe of A kennel of A collection of A herd of

23. However, … glasses trousers gloves 一副眼鏡一條褲子 一對手套 A pair of Violates the specific property of English “group measure words”? English  more imaginative for animal groups (group property) but not for static object, which has to be descriptive and logical enough. (e.g. pair – purely mathematical) Again, cultural/language convention!

24. What do these differences matter? Chinese English-learners may find many difficulties in rendering their group measure words into English. In Chinese, group measure words can only illustrate the identity as a group in a direct way. Chinese speakers may not be able to understand the cultural imagination of the “group measure words”. (as in the case of idioms) English ones: too specific!

25. Partitive Measures 一層雲 部分量詞 一篇散文 一堆沙 一片麵包 一套衣服 一些事情 一塊石頭 一客點心 Chao (1968): A partitive measure represents portion of a thing instead of a group of it. However, it is just a matter of point of view since the same group of individuals may also be part of a larger class.

26. How to express these in English? wood music prose kindness bread advice 一塊木頭 一支樂曲 一篇散文 一番好意 一片麵包 一則勸告 A piece of

27. No direct equivalent class in English! But… In English, “a piece of” is associated with partitive meaning and commonly used for making uncountable nouns “countable”. e.g. a piece of bread Vs two pieces of bread 一塊 一支 一篇 一番 一片 一則 A piece of “a piece of” is productive in English and can be expressed in numerous waysfor Chinese words!!

28. A significant difference between the two systems: (Wang, 2001) • Contrary to “group measure words”, • the English so-called “partitive measure words” are • less specific • extensively applied to different domains For example … …

29. So… English Chinese-learners find many difficulties in partitive measure. e.g. Our interviewee - Mr John Guest Why is “a piece of bread” translated to “一片麵包”? Why not “*一張麵包”? Why is “a piece of information” translated to “一則資料”? Why not “*一片資料”? Specific property goes to partitives in Chinese this time! (with very limited number of collocates)

30. An interesting COMMON property to both systems: some partitive measure words in Chinese do not admit numeral determinatives greater than one. In English, n1 cannot be plural.一番好意  a piece of kindness*兩番好意  *two pieces of kindness一些學生  a number of students*兩些學生  *two numbers of students

31. Standard measure Definition: Measures proper (by Chao) Measure partitive nouns (by Quirk) Relate to precise and standard quantities

32. Classification Chinese (English) • Length 米 (meter)、寸 (inch) • volume 升 (liter)、立方米 (cubic meter) • Weight 公斤 (kilogram)、噸 (tonne) • Area 平方米 (square meter)、 公頃 (hectare)

33. Comparison:similarities 1.Structure 一公升水　　　　a liter of water 兩碼布　　　　　two yards of cloth Chin Eng structure: num+Mm+n num+Mm+of+n n2: neither [C] nor [U] usually [U] “of”: Nil obligatory

34. 2.Serving as different grammatical functions (a) 五里　　　five miles (b) 五里路　　five miles of road • 十磅 ten pounds (b) 十磅肉ten pounds of meat (a) Functioning as a noun without a classifier (b) Functioning as a classifier with another noun

35. 3. Modifying adjective • 三尺長three-feet long • 五米高five-meter tall • 六寸寬six-inch wide • 塊布三尺長。(adjective) • A three-feet long cloth. (modifier)

36. Differences 1. Different measure scales in Chinese and English Chin.Eng. (1) 　畝 1/6 acre (2) 里　　　　　　 1/3 miles (3) 丈　　　　　　 10 feet

37. 2. Some Chinese standard measures are transliteratedfrom English's Chin.Eng. (1) 噸　　　　　　 tonne (2) 加侖　　　　　 gallon

38. 3. Some Chinese standard measures not only functioning as precise units but also functioning as modifiers 升 (a standard measure of rice) 斗 (a standard measure of soybeans) 我們只是升斗市民。(modifier of 市民) English: 升 (pint)、斗 (peck) → standard measure extension of noun

39. 4. Chinese standard measures will be varied as othe types of measure wordsaccording to different situations Mandarin • 三塊(standard measure associated with money) • 一塊麵包 (partitive measure as a numerative to modify a noun ) English dollar (standard measure) ≠ a piece of (partitive measure)

40. General observation • The same morpheme sometimes serves as different kinds of measures (Chao), e.g. • 一口飯 (a partitive measure) • 一口鐘 (a classifier) • The measure word can either be classifier or partitive measure.

41. 2. Chinese and English have their own language systems and cultural convention • Rhetoric effect Chin: • 一線希望 (2) 一臉無奈 Eng: • A galaxy of talents • An army of workmen

42. 4.Modern use: Omission of measure words  Precise English: Omission of measure word (1) A can of coke → a coke (2) A jar of beer → a beer • Container measure is omitted. Chinese: 一個光年→一光年 • A classifier is omitted.

43. After all… We have to get a better use of measure words in both Chinese and English • Always refer to some useful measure word tools. • Understand the general pattern /rules of measure words in Chinese and English. • Read more, write more, use more.

44. References: Biber, D. 1999.Longman grammar of spoken and written English. Harlow, Essex : Longman. Chao, Y. R. 1968. A grammar of spoken Chinese. Berkeley : University of California Press. Li and Thompson. 1989.Mandarin Chinese: A functional reference grammar. Berkeley : University of California press. Matthews, S. 1994. Cantonese: a comprehensive grammar. London : Routledge.

45. 王曉玲。《漢英量詞之比較》；南京航空航天大學學報(社會科學版)：2001年第三卷第1期。王曉玲。《漢英量詞之比較》；南京航空航天大學學報(社會科學版)：2001年第三卷第1期。 李宇明。2000。漢語量範疇研究。武漢：華中師範大學出版社。 何杰。2001。現代漢語量詞研究。北京：民族出版社。 趙傳河。《漢語量詞在英語中的表達》；外語學刊（黑龍江大學學報）：1992年第1期。 趙獻東。《漢英量詞的比較與翻譯》；許昌師專學報：1997年第1期。 Special Acknowledgement to Mr John Guest (HKU)