如何理解中文語法──從功能詞說起

How to Make Sense of Chinese? – Start with Chinese Function Words

人有個性，語言有語性。本文試圖從外語人士的角度來檢視中文語法，到底中文有什麼特殊之處？中文幾個重要卻難解的問題，如何能清楚地說明並落實在教學中？本文以功能語法學派所提出的「形意搭配」原理，來剖析語法形式所要表達的溝通功能，並透過中英文的比較，主張要把中文學通，必須了解中文獨特的形意搭配原則，並針對功能詞「的」、「得」和「很」字的用法提出一個基於形式搭配功能的新論點，有別於過去的研究論述。這些功能詞的用法雖多，但位置和形式只有一種，核心功能也只有一種。對語言學習者而言，中文功能詞的形意搭配是最重要的課題之一，了解功能詞的核心用法是將中文語法學通的第一步。

Grammar is meant for communication and grammar has to make sense! The Chinese grammar is featured by its form-function mapping principles that are crucial in understanding the unique “character” of Chinese. This study aims to explore the form-meaning mapping relations behind three commonly used function words, the pre-nominal DE (的), the post-verbal DE (得), and the default degree marker HEN (很).The three function words are re-defined by associating their relatively-fixed formal properties with their prototypical functions. The pre-nominal DE is used as a marker of pre-Head modification or specification, which is presuppositional in nature; the post-verbal DE marks a post-verbal complement by affixing to the verb; the degree marker HEN is a signal or trigger of evaluative predication. The proposed analyses are able to account for the various uses of the three markers and find answers to previously puzzling questions. The study shows that a function-based approach to Chinese grammar may help delimit the core grammatical roles of the three markers and explain their diverse uses and constraints in a well-motivated manner.