The Information Sequences of
Adverbial Clauses in
Mandarin Chinese Conversation
Yu-Fang Wang
Abstract
• The adverbial clauses in the conversation corpus data:
(a) preposed clauses to their modified material across
continuing intonation
(b) postposed clauses to their modified material across
continuing intonation
(c) postposed clauses to their modified material with
final intonation
Abstract
• Temporal & conditional clauses
→ before their modified material
• Causal clauses
→ after their modified material
Introduction
• Chinese relies chiefly on word order in its grammatical
system.
• Chinese causal clause word order on the basis of discourse:
(a) Kirkpatrick(1993) (more formal situations such as seminars)
Chinese speakers prefer to present supporting materials
for the main point before they deliver that point.
reason + main point
(b) Biq(1995) –
Text types may either facilitate or resist the occurrence
of causal-main sequence.
(1) Pre-allocated floor (reportage press data)
causal(reason) + main point
(2) Conversation
main point + causal(reason)
• Inspired by Biq’s research on causal clauses, this
paper aims to look at the order of adverbial clauses
in spoken Mandarin conversation in relation to
their associated modified clauses from a discourse
perspective.
Previous Studies on Adverbial Clauses in
Discourse in English
• Clause combining is associated with the “bi-directional
connectives”, which may precede as well as follow the clause
to which they are linked.
• Adverbial clauses in discourse:
(a) Chafe(1984) –
A preposed adverbial clause represents a limitation of
focus, signaling a path or orientation in terms of the
following information.
A postposed adverbial clause only adds something to the
assertion made by its main clause.
(b) Ford(1993) –
The distribution of three types of adverbial clauses in
conversations:
(1) Initial adverbial clause
E: yihknow that- that’s all, whenever you have intentions of going, hh
let me know.
(2) Final adverbial clause following continuing intonation
B: so I don’t know, I haven’t yihknow, she wasn’t home, by the yih
know, when I left for school today.
(3) Final adverbial clause following ending intonation
B: We’ll uhd-yihknow I don’t wanna make any-thing definite.
Because I yihknow I just thinking today all day riding on th’trains,
• Initial adverbial clauses set up pivotal points in the
development of talk and present explicit background for
material that follows.
Final adverbial clauses only complete a unit of information.
(a) in continuing intonation – presents new information
elaborating the main clause
(b) in ending intonation – separate units as extensions of
previous units
• More than half of causal clauses (99%) appear after the
material they modify.
Methods
• The corpus –
(two sets of talk)
(a) three-hour face-to-face conversation
→ informal and unplanned
(b) one-hour interviews and a call-in on radio
→ formal and planned
• A period or a question mark – ending intonation
A comma – non-final intonation
• Adverbial connectors found in Chinese corpus
Temporal
當……,....的時候,
每當……
…..之前……..,以前….
…..之後……..,以後....
自從….
一…….
‘when’
‘whenever’
‘before’
‘after’
‘since’
‘no sooner than’
Conditional
如果…..,既然…..,….的話
除非…….
要是…….
‘if’
‘unless’
‘in case that’
Concessive
雖然…..,縱使……,
即使….,
不管….,
‘although’
‘even though’
‘despite’
Causal
因為…..,由於……,
‘because’
• The adverbial clauses are distinguished into three major
types, using Ford’s scheme and classification.
(a) Initial adverbial clause following continuing intonation
S: 他那天終於有一個時間,
他可以一直睡.
說”我好幸“
說”我今天好幸福喔”.
睡覺時候,
我都不會吵他.
(b) Final adverbial clause following continuing intonation
F: 我是覺得,
這個茶水可能還是,
因為,
這個要燒,
要泡,
要那個呀,
每天依定要弄的事情.
“I think that making tea is still (to be included in this job),
because it needs boiling, brewing, and the like. It’s a
routine job.”
(c) Final adverbial clause following ending intonation
S: 我想,
其實他自己,
不是很想到編譯部去.
如果,
以我對他的了解.
Findings
• The distribution of adverbial clauses in the corpus
Temporal
Conditional
Concessive
Causal
Total
Initial
110
94
13
53
270(55.2%)
Final
11
14
1
150
176(36%)
Frag
5
13
1
24
43(8.8%)
Total
126
121
15
227
489(100%)
• The placement pattern of causal clauses is very different
from other adverbial clauses.
• The distribution of adverbial clauses in English and Chinese corpora
English Data
Position
Chinese Data
Temp
Cond
Caus
Total
Temp
Cond
Caus
Total
Initial
34.4%
59.1%
0%
26.2%
90.9%
87%
26.1%
60.5%
Final
65.6%
40.9%
100%
73.8%
9.1%
13%
73.9%
39.5%
Total
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
• The prototypical clause sequence in English complex sentences is
main to subordinate.
• Chinese temporal, conditional, and concessive clauses follow
adjunct-nucleus sequence, but causal clauses prefer to occur after
the material they modify.
• Causal clauses in both English and Chinese conversation have similar
tendency to be at final position.
Causal Clauses
• The distribution of causal clauses in Chinese radio program data
Causal
Initial
17 (44.7%)
Final
21 (55.3%)
Total
38 (100%)
• The distribution of causal clauses in Chinese daily conversation data
Causal
Initial
36 (21.8%)
Final
129 (78.2%)
Total
165 (100%)
• Initial causal clauses occurred more frequently in radio data than in
daily conversation data.
• In an interview, the speaker are allowed much more
‘floor time’ than conversation. This allows a speaker
to develop the points he/she is making.
• Text types play a critical role in the distribution of
adverbial clauses.
Discussion on Initial Adverbial Clauses
• Initial temporal clauses in Mandarin conversation are commonly
used to establish temporal frame for assertions that follows.
(7) S: 以倫君的個性,
他也不可能去逃.
但是,
如果你叫他不要介意,
那也很難.
C: 我覺得這兩種都很難.
S: 以前我在首都的時候,
我是比較兇一點,
可是,
我那時候路線比較清楚
• Initial conditional clauses in Mandarin conversation are
commonly used to establish optional situation frame for the
upcoming assertion.
(8) M: 他會看情況.
F: 天哪.
M: 他假如說出去的話,
就坐電梯.
假如是逃跑出去的話,
就爬樓梯.
The conditional clauses encode possibility.
• Initial causal clauses in Mandarin conversation act as a link
between causally related assertions, introducing causal
material to be followed by the associated result.
(9) H: 因為我從小,
從幼稚園到大學,
都是男女合班,
M: 嗯
H: 所以,
對女生的想法,
不會那麼陌生啦
Discussion on Final Adverbial Clauses in
Continuing Intonation
• When placed after their modified clause but in continuous
intonation, adverbial clauses present new information
elaborating the associated clause.
Temporal
(10) A: 所以,
我今天就很好笑,
我寫到一半阿,
然後他們能夠,
我覺得,
很容易有一種傾向阿,
在做那份作業的時候.
• Final clausal clauses in continuing intonation are used not only
to provide elaboration, targeting what has just been said as
needing explanation, but also to present material in response
to interactional trouble.
(12) F: 哦?
這個Kids哇
這本書也是很好.
可是
M: Kids 是不錯.
F: 可是問題是,
他是
我是說自己在家裡面,
他就沒甚麼興趣,
因為它不是錄影帶.
Discussion on Final Adverbial Clauses in
Ending Intonation
• The adverbial clauses that follow ending intonation stand for
independent units in terms of intonation.
Temporal
(13) C: 可是,
我覺得倫君,
這段時間,
他好像這段時間比較低潮.
自從上次發生,
那個同事罵過他.
• Conditional
(14) S: 我想,
其實他自己,
不是很想到編譯部去.
如果,
以我對他的了解.
• The speaker had at first decided to end his/her statement after
the clause. Having produced a clause-final falling pitch at that
point, he/she decided it would be better to add some account
or elaboration as a separate comment.
• Causal
(15) L: 那平常你們是不是除了聊天阿,
或是研究功課之外,
是不是還有唱唱歌.
因為,
我看,
C: 常常
L: 還有吉他,
常常是不是?
L adds a causal clause which provides a rationale for her own
question.
• Such type of post-completion extensions occurs to call for
certain responses of recipients.
Distribution of Temporal Clauses
The temporal clause specify a time or
situation for the coming clause, and
that the interpretation of the coming
clause will be relevant to the content
of the temporal clause.
Distribution of Conditional Clauses
90
80
77.69
The conditional clause involves
hypotheticality.
70
60
50
40
30
20
10.74
7.44
10
4.13
0
Initial
Continuing
Ending
Fragment
• The temporal or conditional clauses –
(a) limit the interpretation of the coming clauses
(b) like topics, prefer to occur initially in conversation
Distribution of Causal Clauses
45
40.97
40
35
30
25.11
25
23.35
20
15
10.57
10
5
0
Initial
Continuing
Ending
Fragment
• Adverbial clauses added after final intonation –
(a) found to form extensions in order to provide account or
clarification for the prior utterance
(b) often separated from their modified clauses with ending
intonation → act more like coordination instead of
subordination
Conclusion
• Adjunct-preceding-nucleus order is the preferred
information sequence in Chinese discourse.
• The exception to this is the causal clauses.
• Causal clauses are more likely to follow the material they
modify, especially in less planned speech.