現代漢語焦點句"是...的"已然義的分析與教學

Abstract

本文探討現代漢語焦點結構即“是…的”句式。研究有關這方面的文獻，雖然在過去提供了豐富的見解，然而已有的研究大都注重 “是”、”的”詞性的辨析，研究範圍大體上仍以句法功能為限。事實上他們的作用不只限於句法平面，尚有篇章功能。由於各家從不同的角度來論述”是”與 “的”在焦點”是…的”結構中所扮演的角色，因此分析出來的結論也不完全相同。如 “是…的”句式是焦點、還是話題；結構是分裂還是嵌套，以及它與”是”字句、”的”字結構的界限在哪裡？這些問題都與 “是…的”焦點句的界定息息相關，但在我們使用的教材上卻未作系統性的介紹，以至於中高級漢語學習者仍有這方面的問題。

有鑑於此，本文於第二章以六篇文獻為代表，指出各家觀點不同的語言事實並嘗試結合語義、語法及語用各方面，對現代漢語焦點”是…的”句式作一套完整的描述與詮釋，從中找出與本文相關的語義、語法及語用論點。在說明”焦點結構”的定義之前，我們必須先釐清與它相關的幾個概念，包括『焦點』、『主題』、『預設』、『信息』及『分裂句』。

第三章是本文的核心章節，根據前文提出 “是…的”的定義，及典型的 “是…的”句。從歷時的角度觀察“是”的演變，及與 “的”結合之關係，並提出在”是…的”框架下，有時不可任意省略 “是”或”的”。所謂的『焦點』(focus)這個概念是功能上的屬性，代表說話者所要傳達其凸顯的信息，它能以不同的媒介來表達，在音韻上如音高、音長、音量或語調的變化；在詞彙上如疑問詞的使用；在句法上如刪除、重複、焦點結構的運用；而在語用上則包括上下文的輔助以及說話者的背景知識和社會關係的影響等。

第四章根據第三章定義觀察學習者的偏誤情形，是受到句法結構”等同句”、”名物化”的影響、或是受到母語干擾、過度泛化、教材編寫以及學習策略的影響。根據過去文獻及作者所蒐集到的偏誤語料，依照偏誤的性質將其歸納分類，以此進行分析。

第五章根據前兩章的分析結果提出鄧守信的教學語法，建議教學排序，以供華語教材編寫者或華語教學者為參考。

第六章作結論並指出本文不足之處，以待日後相關研究者繼續深入探討。This paper explores the "shì... de" focus construction in modern Mandarin. Although previous research has provided rich insight into this problem, most of it concentrates on analyzing the parts of speech of shì and de and its scope is limited to syntactic function. In reality, their function is not limited to the syntactic plane, but includes discourse aspects as well. Due to the fact that different researchers approach the roles played by shì and de in the "shì... de" construction from different angles, the conclusions drawn are not entirely uniform. For example, does "shì... de" mark focus or topic? Is it cleft or nested? Where are the boundaries between "shì... de" vs. a shì sentence and a de construction? These questions are all closely related to the definition of the "shì... de" focus construction. A systematic explanation of these issues has yet to appear in Mandarin teaching materials, such that even intermediate and advanced students have problems mastering the use of this construction.

In Chapter 2, a representative sample of six articles is taken from the literature. This sample forms the basis for a discussion on how individual researchers interpret the linguistic facts. An attempt is made to integrate the various semantic, syntactic and pragmatic aspects of the issues at hand, in addition to providing a comprehensive description and explanation of the "shì... de" construction from which the related semantic, syntactic, and pragmatic arguments presented here arise. Before attempting to define the focus structure, it is first necessary to illustrate several related concepts, including information focus, topic, presupposition, information structure, and cleft sentences. Chapter 3 forms the core of this thesis. On the basis of the definition of the "shì... de" construction given in the last chapter and typical "shì... de" sentences, the development of shì is viewed from a historical perspective as well as its integrated relationship with de. It is shown that under certain circumstances, the "shì... de" construction cannot arbitrarily shed shì or de. The concept of focus is a functional attribute, representing information that the speaker wants to make prominent. There are several mediums by which focus can be expressed. Phonetically, it is expressed through a change in sound duration, volume, pitch height or sentence intonation; lexically by using question words; syntactically by the use of omission, reduplication or the focus structure; pragmatically, uses include context assistance as well as the influence of the speaker's background knowledge and societal relations.

On the basis of the definition given in Chapter 3, Chapter 4 analyzes learner errors which are shown to be caused by influences from "equivalent sentences," nominalization, native-language interference, over-generalization, teaching materials, and/or learning strategies. These errors are analyzed based upon error data provided in the literature by various authors. Errors are categorized and analyzed according to their given characteristics.

Chapter 5 presents Shou-hsin Teng's pedagogical grammar on the basis of the preceding two chapters, proposing an optimal pedagogical sequenceas a reference for Mandarin teachers and for those compiling Mandarin teaching materials.

Conclusions as well as a description of possible shortcomings of this research are presented in Chapter 6 with the hopes that the conclusions drawn here will be used by others as a basis for further inquiry into this area.