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 (continued)
Effective CLS must be grounded in a
sound understanding of the parts of speech in Chinese. Yet, by and large, the systems of Chinese
word type classification popular today are derived from the Indo-European
classification system, a fact which leads to endless confusion among
students. In  order to remedy this, Professor Teng has developed a rational system of classification
and a corresponding labeling system. According to Professor Teng,
“a good system of
parts of speech to be used in the field of Chinese as a Second Language
must be concise (簡易), precise (non-ambiguous, non-redundant)
and rigorous (requiring minimal effort yet offering maximal syntactic
consequences).” His system is mindful of the commonality of all languages, but
highlights the particularities of the Chinese language. The number of word types is kept small
for the learner’s convenience, but at the same time reflects all of the
significant grammatical phenomena.
The system is easy to understand and learn. Once familiar with the system, learners
will be able to assimilate the grammatical function and restrictions of new
words at the same time they learn their meanings, thus facilitating the
application of new vocabulary.
While Professor Teng’s
lecture was aimed at instructors, students of Chinese—beginning through
advanced—would benefit greatly from studying his system. Why for instance can some two syllable verbs
be split, while others cannot? (e.g. 離婚 may be split: 離了婚, but 離開 may not be: 離了開). Some verbs may only be negated with bù and
others only with méi. Some can be negated with either. How do we know which is which? Professor Teng’s
system provides the learner with the tools necessary to make these
distinctions.
For those who
missed the lecture, this editor recommends the papers “Verb Classification
and Its Pedagogical Extensions” and “Grammatical Categories in Chinese: A
Pedagogical Perspective.” Both are
quite accessible to the average student and may be found in Studies on Modern Chinese Syntax
(1). Also check out the invaluable Chinese Synonyms Usage Dictionary (漢英漢語常用近義詞用法詞典) (2).
(1) Teng, Shou-hsin, Crane (文鶴出版有限公司), 2005
(2)
Teng, Shou-hsin, Crane (文鶴出版有限公司), 1996
Interview
BKB: What aspects of American
CSL need to be improved?
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