Cognitive and Empirical Research on Dialects of Southeast China

2023 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 18K00522
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Review Section: Basic Section 02060:Linguistics-related
• Research Institution: University of Tsukuba
• Principal Investigator: Sasaki Yoshihito 筑波大学, 人文社会系, 教授 (40250998)
• Project Period (FY): 2018-04-01 – 2024-03-31
• Keywords: 中国東南方言 / 事態把握 / 主観的事態把握 / 客観的事態把握 / ヴォイス / 主題化

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Through detailed investigation and analysis of linguistic data from various dialects in southeastern China, this study clarified the characteristics of Chinese language with regard to the problem of construal, an issue that has been the subject of much research in the field of cognitive linguistics in recent years.
Chinese is said to be a language that favors an objective construal, and it has become clear that this tendency is particularly evident in the northern dialect known as Mandarin. In northern dialects, speakers tend to prefer an objective construal, placing themselves outside of the situation and viewing it from the perspective of a bystander or observer, whereas in southeastern dialects, speakers tend to prefer a subjective construal, placing themselves within the situation and viewing it from the perspective of someone who has experienced it.

Free Research Field

言語学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

東南方言の受動文や使役文、処置文といったヴォイスに関わる言語現象について新たな知見を得られたことは本研究の成果である。また、当該現象の分析を通して、東南方言の事態把握が、北方方言とは異なることを実証的に明らかにすることができた。広大な国土に様々な方言が存在する中国語は、地域ごとに異なる性質を備えていることを事態把握の分析を通して明らかにすることができた。方言文法研究の有用性を示すと同時に、中国語の多様性を示すことができたことも本研究の大きな成果である。