A Comparative Study Of Modal Particles Attached To The End Of A Sentence In Mandarin And Taiwanese Mandarin

Modal particle is the category used to express the tone of the speaker. There are both similarities and differences between the modal particles in Mandarin and those in Taiwanese mandarin. This paper is a data-based investigation of both the same and the different uses of modal particles attached to the end of a sentence in Mandarin and Taiwanese mandarin.This paper consists of six chapters.The introductory chapter gives the definition and classification of modal particles, and describes the objective and methods of our research.The second chapter presents earlier researches on modal particles. There were both synchronic researches on basic modal particles, such as de’的’,le’了’,ma‘吗’,a’啊’,ba‘吧’,and ne‘呢’,and diachronic studies.The third chapter focuses on the same usages and different usages of modal particles attached to the end of a sentence in Mandarin and Taiwanese mandarin.The written form is often the same. Despite the difference in frequency of use, basic modal particles, such as de‘的’,le’了’,ma‘吗’,a’啊’,ba‘吧’,and ne‘呢’,and complex modal particles, such as bai‘呗’,la‘啦’,lo‘咯’, luo‘啰’,lou‘喽’,na’呐’,and ma‘嘛’are not much different in Mandarin and Taiwanese mandarin. This is not only because Taiwanese mandarin is factually the offspring of Beijing dialect, but also because modal particles themselves are quite immune to social influence. As for the modal particle la‘啦’,it has more meanings in Taiwanese mandarin than in Mandarin. Accompanying the progress of information technology, la‘啦’in Taiwanese mandarin has gained popularity in the network society, with more and more young women inclined to use la’啦’to express a certain meaning to show social identity.In the fourth chapter, we compare the modal particles with both different written forms and different meanings in Mandarin and Taiwanese mandarin. Besides de‘的’,le’了’,ma‘吗’,a‘啊’,ba’吧’,and ne‘呢’,there are also new modal particles commonly used by Mandarin-speaking netizens. We mainly focus on their phonetic forms and grammatical meanings. Languages are developing all the time, and we believe that these modal particles may finally become a part of standard Mandarin. In Taiwanese mandarin, o‘喔’,ye‘耶’,ei’欸’, and hoNh‘齁’are the representatives of newborn modal particles. They are employed to express tones that are quite different from those tones expressed by the old modal particles. The use of them constitutes one significant feature of Taiwanese mandarin. Among them, o’喔’and ei‘欸’have imposed considerable influence upon Mandarin. In addition, we discuss how a modal particle come into existence and how a complex modal particle is formed.The fifth chapter deals with the successive use of modal particles in Mandarin and Taiwanese mandarin. The rules of using modal particles in a successive way are similar. Successive use of modal particles conduces to enriching the modal particle system of the language. In addition, we discuss the standardization of modal particles.In the final chapter, we conclude all the research findings and innovations of this paper and point out the inadequacies requiring reparation.