An Analasys On Adverbs "Geng" And "You" In Hongkong's Written Chinese

Written Chinese used in Hongkong is to some extent different from the standard Chineseused in Mainland China in its vocabulary, sentence structure, use of function words andways of expression. At prsent, Putonghua teaching in Hongkong pays a lot of attention topronunciaton and vocabulary, but little to grammar.There isn't much grammar taught andwhat is taught is only based on the comparison between Cantonese and Pugtonghua, that is,in the form of oral language. More work needs to be done to study the difference ofgrammar between written Chinese in Hongkong and that in Mainland. And discoveries fromrelevant researches can be applied to Putonghua teaching and can contribute to theimprovement in Putonghua teaching.Hence, I chose to study two adverbs "geng" and "you" which have a high frequency ofusage. Both of these two adverbs show some differences in their usage between Hongkong'swritten Chinese and the standard written Chinese. Meanwhile,they share some similaritywhich makes them both different from the standard Chinese. We need to find out whatmakes them so different. A simple surye is conducted in this research to get to know howwell the Putonghua learners know about using "geng" and quantifying supplemental phrasein a comparative sentence, and whether they know the equivalent from standard Chineseto "you huo" in Hongkong's written Chinese.Studies on "geng" show that it is apparently different in its usage as a liaison wordconnecting two clauses or two sentences. When used as a liaison word, it not only indicatesa progress in the meaning of the sentence following it based on a comparison, but also aprogress without comparison. In addition, it connects two parts which are parallel in theirmeaning. What is more unique is it can also bring out explanation to or more information onthe clause or sentence which precedes it. In respect of sentence structure, the wordsfollowing "geng "also need attention as they are different from those of the standardChinese. Studies on "you" show that what is most unique about "you" is when sometimes itfuncions as a liaison word connecting two parts which share one subject,parallel in theirmeaning, it doesn't mean repetition, immediate action or coexistant situation. In this respect, "geng "and "you"share some similarity, but "geng" indicates an emphasis on thesecond part and "you" doesn't.The survey shows students have some problems in using slightly complicated comparativesentences and in finding equivalent for "you huo" from standard Chinese. Also,thesegramatical items are not covered in the teaching of Putonghua grammar. So, we can applywhat we find about "geng"and "you" to Putonghua teaching. If more work is done to findout the difference in grammar bettween Chinese in Hongkong and the Mainland, itcertainly will help Putonghua learners know more about Chinese grammar and improvetheir Chinese in both speaking and writing.