French and Chinese/Contrastive Grammar - Revision history

Ethanchi at 02:36, 16 December 2016

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Ethanchi at 00:32, 16 December 2016

2016-12-16T00:32:15Z

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Ethanchi: /* Possessives */

2016-12-15T07:09:48Z

Possessives

Ethanchi at 07:09, 15 December 2016

2016-12-15T07:09:29Z

Ethanchi at 06:54, 15 December 2016

2016-12-15T06:54:57Z

Ethanchi: Created page with "French and Standard Chinese are far-removed linguistically. This page gives a brief background on some important grammatical differences. {{TOCD}} ==Pronouns== ===Case mar..."

2016-12-15T06:54:30Z

Created page with "French and Standard Chinese are far-removed linguistically. This page gives a brief background on some important grammatical differences. {{TOCD}} ==Pronouns== ===Case mar..."

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French and Standard Chinese are far-removed linguistically. This page gives a brief background on some important grammatical differences.

{{TOCD}}

==Pronouns==

===Case marking===

French displays a case distinction for personal pronouns.

* {{test|fr|Je le vois.|I see him.}}
* {{test|fr|Il me voit.|He sees me.}}

Note the alteration between ''je'' 'I' and ''me'' 'me.'

Standard Chinese does not display a case distinction; meaning is conveyed through word order. Note that some varieties of Chinese do mark case on pronouns.

* {{test|zh|我在看他。|I see him.}}
* {{test|zh|他在看我。|He sees me.}}

===2nd-person pronouns===

French displays two 2nd-person pronouns:

* tu (singular informal)
* vous (singular formal, plural informal and formal)

Chinese displays four 2nd-person pronouns:

* 你 (singular informal)
* 您 (singular formal)
* 你們 (plural informal)
* 您們 (plural formal)

==Possessives==

French possessives are marked through the preposition de. The possessed noun is the head word, while the possessor comes after the preposition.

* {{test|fr|le chien de la fille|the girl's dog (literally: the dog of the girl)}}

Chinese possessives are marked through the particle 的, also coincidentally pronounced ''de''.
In a reversal of the French word order, the possessor is the head word, while the possessed noun comes after the preposition.

* {{test|zh|女孩的狗|[the] girl's dog (literally: girl 的 dog)}}

==Verbs==

===Person===

French verbs display conjugations for person. However, person is not implicit; unlike most Romance languages, the subject is never dropped.

* {{test|fr|Je pense.|I think.}}
* {{test|fr|Nous pensons.|We think.}}
* {{test|fr|Tu penses.|You (singular informal) think.}}

Chinese verbs do not display conjugations for person.

* {{test|zh|我想。|I think.}}
* {{test|zh|我們想。|We think.}}
* {{test|zh|你想。→ You (singular) think.}}

Person is indicated by the subject only, which may be dropped.

* {{test|zh|不知道。|I don't know. (literally: don't know)}}

===Tense===

French verbs mark tense through verb conjugation. Tense is obligatorily marked.

* {{test|fr|Je pense.|I think.}}
* {{test|fr|Je pensai.|I thought.}}
* {{test|fr|Je penserai.|I will think.}}

Chinese verbs are marked by verb-prefixing or verb-suffixing particles. These particles are optional; tense is sometimes not marked.

* {{test|zh|我想。| I think (without tense)}}
* {{test|zh|我在想。| I am thinking.}}
* {{test|zh|我想了。| I have thought.}}
* {{test|zh|我會想。| I will think.}}

==Interrogatives==

===''Wh''-questions===

French displays three paradigms for *wh*-questions:

1. (formal|fronting of the interrogative pronoun and an inversion of the subject-verb order:

* {{test|fr|Que voulez-vous?|What do you want? (formal)}}

2. (informal|fronting of the interrogative pronoun, followed by the particle est-ce que:

* {{test|fr|Qu'est-ce que vous voulez?|What do you want? (informal)}}

3. (very informal|standard SVO sentence order, with the interrogative pronoun substituted in the normal position.

* {{test|fr|Vous voulez quoi?|What do you want? (very informal)}}

Chinese has only one paradigm for wh-questions, matching in structure the last, very informal paradigm of French. The interrogative pronoun is not fronted.

* {{test|zh|你要什麼？|What do you want?}}

===Yes/no questions===

French displays two paradigms for yes/no questions:

1. (formal) inversion of the subject-verb order:

* {{test|fr|Êtes-vous prêt?|Are you ready? (formal) }}

2. (informal) use of the sentence-initial particle ''est-ce que'':

* {{test|fr|Est-ce que vous êtes prêt?|Are you ready? (informal)}}

Chinese displays several paradigms for yes/no questions, including the following main ones:

1. the sentence-final particle 嗎 ''ma'':

* {{test|zh|你準備好了嗎？|Are you ready?}}

2. the so-called A-not-A construction, only usable with certain verbs:

* {{test|zh|西瓜甜不甜？|Is the watermelon sweet? (literally: Watermelon sweet-not-sweet?)}}

@@ Line 11: / Line 11: @@
 Standard Chinese does not display a case distinction; meaning is conveyed through word order.  Note that some varieties of Chinese do mark case on pronouns.
-* {{test|fr|Je le vois.|我在看他。|I see him.}}
+* {{test|fra|Je le vois.|我在看他。|I see him.}}
-* {{test|fr|Il me voit.|他在看我。|He sees me.}}
+* {{test|fra|Il me voit.|他在看我。|He sees me.}}
-* {{test|fr|Il va avec moi.|他跟我去。|He goes with me.}}
+* {{test|fra|Il va avec moi.|他跟我去。|He goes with me.}}
 Case tags would need to be removed using appropriate transfer rules.
@@ Line 21: / Line 21: @@
 French displays two 2nd-person pronouns, while Chinese displays four 2nd-person pronouns.
-* {{test|fr|tu|你|you (singular informal)}}
+* {{test|fra|tu|你|you (singular informal)}}
-* {{test|fr|vous|你|you (plural informal/formal and singular formal)}}
+* {{test|fra|vous|你|you (plural informal/formal and singular formal)}}
-* {{test|zh|你|vous|you (singular informal)}}
+* {{test|zho|你|vous|you (singular informal)}}
-* {{test|zh|你們|vous|you (plural informal)}}
+* {{test|zho|你們|vous|you (plural informal)}}
-* {{test|zh|您|vous|you (singular formal)}}
+* {{test|zho|您|vous|you (singular formal)}}
-* {{test|zh|您們|vous|you (plural formal)}}
+* {{test|zho|您們|vous|you (plural formal)}}
 When transferring from French to Chinese, both ''tu'' and ''vous'' would most likely need to be translated to 你, due to ambiguity.  Chinese to French would most likely translate to "vous," since "tu" is unacceptable in certain situations where 你 would be.
@@ Line 40: / Line 40: @@
 In a reversal of the French word order, the possessor is the head word, while the possessed noun comes after the preposition.
-* {{test|fr|le chien de la fille|女孩的狗|the girl's dog	(literally: the dog of the girl)}}
+* {{test|fra|le chien de la fille|女孩的狗|the girl's dog	(literally: the dog of the girl)}}
-* {{test|fr|les hommes de ce pays|這個國家的人|the men of this country}}
+* {{test|fra|les hommes de ce pays|這個國家的人|the men of this country}}
-* {{test|fr|le nez du chat|貓的鼻子|the cat's nose}}
+* {{test|fra|le nez du chat|貓的鼻子|the cat's nose}}
 This difference in word order would need to be dealt with in transfer rules.
@@ Line 54: / Line 54: @@
 Chinese verbs do not display conjugations for person.  Person is indicated by the subject only, which may be dropped.
-* {{test|fr|Je pense.|我想。|I think.}}
+* {{test|fra|Je pense.|我想。|I think.}}
-* {{test|fr|Nous pensons.|我們想。|We think.}}
+* {{test|fra|Nous pensons.|我們想。|We think.}}
-* {{test|fr|Tu penses.|你想。|You (singular informal) think.}}
+* {{test|fra|Tu penses.|你想。|You (singular informal) think.}}
-* {{test|fr|Je ne sais pas.|不知道。|I don't know.  (literally: don't know)}}
+* {{test|fra|Je ne sais pas.|不知道。|I don't know.  (literally: don't know)}}
 A hypothetical French-Chinese pair would most likely not deal with subject-dropping, as it is not mandatory and occurs in limited and difficult-to-predict situations.
@@ Line 66: / Line 66: @@
 Chinese verbs are marked by verb-prefixing or verb-suffixing particles.  These particles are optional; tense is sometimes not marked.
-* {{test|fr|Je pense.|我想|I think.}}
+* {{test|fra|Je pense.|我想|I think.}}
-* {{test|fr|Je pensai.|我想了|I thought.}}
+* {{test|fra|Je pensai.|我想了|I thought.}}
-* {{test|fr|Je penserai.|我會想|I will think.}}
+* {{test|fra|Je penserai.|我會想|I will think.}}
 There would be two possible methods to deal with this:
@@ Line 86: / Line 86: @@
 . (formal|fronting of the interrogative pronoun and an inversion of the subject-verb order:
-* {{test|fr|Que voulez-vous?|你要什麼？|What do you want? (formal)}}
+* {{test|fra|Que voulez-vous?|你要什麼？|What do you want? (formal)}}
 . (informal|fronting of the interrogative pronoun, followed by the particle est-ce que:
-* {{test|fr|Qu'est-ce que vous voulez?|你要什麼？|What do you want? (informal)}}
+* {{test|fra|Qu'est-ce que vous voulez?|你要什麼？|What do you want? (informal)}}
 . (very informal|standard SVO sentence order, with the interrogative pronoun substituted in the normal position.
-* {{test|fr|Vous voulez quoi?|你要什麼？|What do you want? (very informal)}}
+* {{test|fra|Vous voulez quoi?|你要什麼？|What do you want? (very informal)}}
 Translating the several interrogative structures of French into Chinese would most likely require the use of transfer rules (with chunking).  As for the reverse (Chinese to French), it would most likely be appropriate to generate structure #1, as it is correct (if perhaps not appropriate) in almost all contexts.
@@ Line 102: / Line 102: @@
 French displays two paradigms for yes/no questions: (formal) inversion of the subject-verb order and (informal) use of the sentence-initial particle ''est-ce que.''  Chinese displays two paradigms for yes/no questions: the sentence-final particle 嗎 ''ma'' and the so-called A-not-A construction.
-* {{test|fr|Êtes-vous prêt?|你準備好了嗎？|Are you ready? (formal) }}
+* {{test|fra|Êtes-vous prêt?|你準備好了嗎？|Are you ready? (formal) }}
-* {{test|fr|Est-ce que vous êtes prêt?|你準備好了嗎？|Are you ready? (formal) }}
+* {{test|fra|Est-ce que vous êtes prêt?|你準備好了嗎？|Are you ready? (formal) }}
-* {{test|zh|你準備好了嗎？|Êtes-vous prêt?|Are you ready?}}
+* {{test|zho|你準備好了嗎？|Êtes-vous prêt?|Are you ready?}}
-* {{test|zh|西瓜甜不甜？|La pastèque est-elle douce?|Is the watermelon sweet?}}
+* {{test|zho|西瓜甜不甜？|La pastèque est-elle douce?|Is the watermelon sweet?}}
 Again, the structures of both French and Chinese may be dealt with through transfer rules.  The safest method would most likely be:

← Older revision		Revision as of 07:09, 15 December 2016
Line 57:		Line 57:

	This difference in word order would need to be dealt with in transfer rules.		This difference in word order would need to be dealt with in transfer rules.


	==Verbs==		==Verbs==

@@ Line 11: / Line 11: @@
 * {{test|fr|Je le vois.|I see him.}}
 * {{test|fr|Il me voit.|He sees me.}}
+* {{test|fr|Il va avec moi.|He goes with me.}}
-Note the alteration between ''je'' 'I' and ''me'' 'me.'
+Note the alteration between ''je'' 'I,' ''me'' 'me,' and ''moi'' 'me (stressed tonic).'
 Standard Chinese does not display a case distinction; meaning is conveyed through word order.  Note that some varieties of Chinese do mark case on pronouns.
@@ Line 18: / Line 19: @@
 * {{test|zh|我在看他。|I see him.}}
 * {{test|zh|他在看我。|He sees me.}}
+* {{test|zh|他跟我去。|He goes with me.}}
+Case tags would need to be removed using appropriate transfer rules.
 ===2nd-person pronouns===
@@ Line 32: / Line 36: @@
 * 你們 (plural informal)
 * 您們 (plural formal)
+When transferring from French to Chinese, both ''tu'' and ''vous'' would most likely need to be translated to 你, due to ambiguity.  Chinese to French would be an unambiguous transfer.
+Appropriate directional notations would need to be added to the bidix to reflect this.
 ==Possessives==
@@ Line 38: / Line 46: @@
 * {{test|fr|le chien de la fille|the girl's dog	(literally: the dog of the girl)}}
+* {{test|fr|les hommes de ce pays|the men of my country}}
+* {{test|fr|le nez du chat|the cat's nose}}
 Chinese possessives are marked through the particle 的, also coincidentally pronounced ''de''.
 In a reversal of the French word order, the possessor is the head word, while the possessed noun comes after the preposition.
-* {{test|zh|女孩的狗|[the] girl's dog (literally: girl 的 dog)}}
+* {{test|zh|女孩的狗|[the] girl's dog (literally: girl ''de'' dog)}}
+* {{test|zh|這個國家的人|[the] men of this country}}
+* {{test|zh|貓的鼻子|[the] nose of [the] cat}}
+This difference in word order would need to be dealt with in transfer rules.
 ==Verbs==
@@ Line 63: / Line 78: @@
 * {{test|zh|不知道。|I don't know.  (literally: don't know)}}
+A hypothetical French-Chinese pair would most likely not deal with subject-dropping, as it is not mandatory and occurs in limited and difficult-to-predict situations.
 ===Tense===
@@ Line 79: / Line 96: @@
 * {{test|zh|我會想。| I will think.}}
+There would be two possible methods to deal with this:
+* include tense particles in the morphological analysis of a single verb (i.e. 想 generates 會想 as an inflected form
+* treat tense particles as separate lemmas and deal with inflection in transfer rules.
+The latter approach seems more promising.
 ==Interrogatives==
@@ Line 102: / Line 125: @@
 * {{test|zh|你要什麼？|What do you want?}}
+Translating the several interrogative structures of French into Chinese would most likely require transfer rules.  As for the reverse (Chinese to French), it would most likely be appropriate to generate structure #1, as it is correct (if perhaps not appropriate) in almost all contexts.
 ===Yes/no questions===
@@ Line 124: / Line 149: @@
 * {{test|zh|西瓜甜不甜？|Is the watermelon sweet? (literally: Watermelon sweet-not-sweet?)}}
+Again, the structures of both French and Chinese may be dealt with through transfer rules.

@@ Line 58: / Line 58: @@
 * {{test|zh|我想。|I think.}}
 * {{test|zh|我們想。|We think.}}
-* {{test|zh|你想。→ You (singular) think.}}
+* {{test|zh|你想。| You (singular) think.}}
 Person is indicated by the subject only, which may be dropped.