Qualifiers In Chinese:A Systemic Functional Linguistic Approach

Qualifiers in modern Chinese have been controversial issues in the field of linguistics.Although achievements have been made in previous studies,there is still a disagreement as to the definition of qualifiers.Meanwhile,the description and explanation of qualifiers and their existences are not systematic and sufficient enough.Against this background,the present study,based on previous achievements,sets out to define and further describe qualifiers in Chinese,and to explain their existences from a trinocular perspective in Systemic Functional Linguistics(henceforth SFL),i.e.,'from above','from below' and 'from round about',aiming to provide a relatively holistic view of qualifier system for modern Chinese.Under the guidance of such a purpose,this study employs the theoretical ideas in SFL such as stratification,metafunction,system,and context,to define qualifiers.It points out that qualifiers are the elements placed immediately after the head in nominal groups,and express definiteness.Semantically,they are regarded as the expansions of the heads through enhancement,extension or elaboration from diverse aspects,so as to make the nominal groups definite.Formally,the qualifier system is composed of three subsystems,namely the displaced determiner,the displaced modifier,and the post-element in the appositive structure.In view of this,this study investigates the semantic and syntactic functions of these three subsystems respectively,and examines their relations.The results can support the definition of qualifiers on the one hand,and provide a more systematic and comprehensive description of qualifier system on the other hand.The results show that the displaced determiner is semantically the expansion of the head through enhancement,serving the function of clarifying the head from its deictic,quantity,fraction,order,polarity degree,type,space or time.Correspondingly,displaced determiners can be divided into seven subcategories,namely,the displaced deictic determiner,the displaced quantifying determiner,the displaced fractionative determiner,the displaced ordinative determiner,the displaced superlative determiner,the displaced typic determiner and the displaced spatiotemporal determiner.Besides,each type of the displaced determiner can be further divided into diverse subcategories and expresses definiteness or indefiniteness of different degrees in light of the meaning expressed.However,syntactically,only definite displaced determiners can act as qualifiers.Indefinite displaced determiners will not appear in syntax.Therefore,all the seven subcategories of displaced determiners which appear in syntax are all definite and can be regarded as qualifiers.The displaced modifier is semantically the expansion of head through extension.In this study,the semantic function expressed by displaced modifiers is presented as a continuum with depicting function and classifying function at each end.These two graded functions are in mutual containment,which means the enhancement of one function signifies the recession of the other.Therefore,displaced modifiers can be descried into two subcategories,i.e.,depicting-function dominated one and classifying-function dominated one.The former tends to be definite,while the latter tends to be indefinite.Syntactically,by comparing the two subcategories,this study points out that displaced modifies,which are classifying-function dominated(definite),can act as qualifiers,while those depicting-function dominated ones are regarded as Predicators in clauses.The post-element in the appositive structure is semantically the expansion of the head(pre-element)through enhancement,extension or elaboration.The relationship between the pre-and the post-element is a co-referential one.According to different co-referential methods,post-elements in appositive structures can be divided into those which are semantically congruent or incongruent with the pre-elements.And the former can be further divided into those which are absolutely or relatively congruent with the pre-elements.The latter can be divided into those which are implicated with or implicate the pre-elements.Besides,there exists a special kind of post-elements in rhetorical appositive structures.They can be subdivided into those which indicate rhetorical references and those which indicate actual references.Generally,post-element in appositive structure is semantically the enhancement(i.e.,the confirmation of the content),extension(i.e.,the description of the nature or attribute)or elaboration(i.e.,the emphasis on quantity or the pre-element itself)of the head.In syntax,the relationship between the pre-and the post-element is a subordinate one.Only post-element in appositive structure where the post-element(1)is semantically congruent with the pre-element,(2)semantically implicates the pre-element,or(3)indicates the rhetorical reference,can act as the qualifier.As the pre-and the post-element in appositive structure are mutually explanatory,the post-element is treated as definite to some extent.Secondly,it is pointed out that complementarities exist both within and beyond the qualifier system.Within the qualifier system,the three subsystems have their own semantic functions respectively,but they are essentially unified in the fact that all of them are semantically the expansions of heads via different ways,to make the nominal groups definite.When there are ambiguities in the interpretation of the subsystem type,the one with higher degree of definiteness should be selected for further functional syntactic analysis,according to the "concession" principle,i.e.,"the post-element in appositive structure>the displaced determiner>the displaced modifier".Beyond the qualifier system,the qualifier and elements in the nominal group,the clause and the text belong to different strata.However,they are essentially unified to make the nominal group definite as well.The qualifier and these elements will follow the "cooperation" principle in analysis,including the superposition of similar properties and the coordination of different properties.Therefore,the "concession" principle and the "cooperation" principle should be taken into consideration when referring to qualifiers.Finally,this study points out that the existences of qualifiers in modern Chinese are the results of joint influences from different strata in language system.Specifically,(1)the pursuit of harmonious rhythm on the phonetics/phonology stratum,(2)the request of diverse patterns,and the tendency of early identification for the core elements on the lexico-grammar stratum,(3)the emphasis of the semantic meaning expressed,and the inclination of precision in semantic development on the semantic stratum,(4)the seek of textual coherence,and the influence of old Chinese and the foreign expressions around May 4th movement on the context stratum,all result in the existences of qualifiers in modern Chinese.In general,this study comprehensively defines and further describes qualifiers in modern Chinese,and explains their existences from the perspective of SFL,which helps to construct a relatively complete qualifier system for modern Chinese.Theoretically,this study not only enriches the current qualifier studies,but also acts as a convincing demonstration in extending delicacy at the group level,as well as an effective advancement in the localization of SFL.Practically,it provides valuable references in the teaching of modern Chinese as a foreign language.