A Contrastive Study On Adverbs Of Probable Conjecture Category Between Chinese And English

Each nation employs different language forms to express the concept of probable conjecture. Adverbs of the probable conjecture category play an irreplaceable role in delivering the very concept. Previous studies focus mainly on the semantic and syntactic aspects of a single or several PCAs(probable conjecture adverbs). This paper documents systematic research on Chinese and English PCAs considering such aspects as semantics, syntactic and pragmatics. The major findings are:Chinese PCAs and English PCAs share both similarities and difference. The similarity between them is that no matter whether the PCAs are Chinese or English, they are, in essence, used to conjecture on amount. The difference between them is as follows: semantically, Chinese PCAs tend to conjecture both on amount and situations, whereas an English PCA rarely can be used to conjecture both on amount and situations at the same time. Syntactically, Chinese PCAs usually co-occur with modal particles, which function to strengthen the conjectural meaning. Besides they often co-occur with volitive auxiliaries and some monosyllable adverbs. English ones are relatively simple in syntax. Pragmatically, Chinese PCAs are much more capable of denoting subjectivity.Moreover, Chinese PCAs, with basic meanings, are more likely to cause ambiguity compared with English ones.Chinese and English PCAs are different in the way of denoting probable conjecture concept. Therefore, various aspects should be taken into consideration while solving non-equivalence in translation. In translation, aspects as follows should be paid attention to: the style of PCAs, whether PCAs can be used to conjecture on amount or on situations, the subjective feelings and the degree of uncertainty speakers want to express, as well as collocation and syntacticpositions of PCAs.This study is of both theoretical and practical significance. This contrastive study has shed some light on the functional features of Chinese and English PCAs. It is helpful for the explanation of the syntactic, semantic and pragmatic functions of functional words and some grammatical structures. In practice, this research may be of some help for the teaching and learning of PCAs, as well as for the translation(machine translation included) between Chinese and English.