新加坡华语的祈使句 = IMPERATIVES IN SINGAPORE MANDARIN

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to examine the use of imperatives in Singapore Colloquial Mandarin (SCM). The grammatical study of SCM has its origins in the early 1980s. Thereafter, scholars, such as Chew Cheng Hai, Lu Jianming, Chua Chee Lay and Zhu Xiaohong explored topics such as the grammatical features of function words, content words and verb-predicate sentences, the standardization of SCM grammar, as well as how language contact led to the emergence of SCM. However, there has been very little discussion on the grammatical patterns of sentence categories in SCM till date. The three main sentence categories include declarative, interrogative and imperative, amongst which, imperative in SCM received the least attention. The existing studies with regard to sentence categories are considered to be more sporadic than systematic, as discussions are only restricted to small sections in a few dissertations. Imperatives come in various forms, such as direct and indirect, unmarked and negatively marked speech acts. However, due to the length constraint of the dissertation, this paper aims to explain only the use of imperatives in the most basic form of a direct, unmarked speech act. In the process, we aim to conduct a systematic study of imperatives which has never been thoroughly explored in the past. The use of imperatives is a linguistic phenomenon that is very much worth exploring in SCM as it displays features that are unique, particularly the use of sentence final particles, lah5 ', lah3', hor3', ah35 , leh 33 and come (lai) to express imperative. These particles perform functions that express the attitude of the speaker which differs in various speech discourses. The strength of an imperative, the social distance between the speaker and hearer and the sense of obligation by the hearer can also be determined by the choice of particles used in the speech act. The varying circumstances under which imperatives are being used, may also restrict how particles perform. Hence, this paper explores how imperatives are applied to express two different propositions: first, to ask the hearer to carry out the action as stated in the imperative and second, to ask the hearer to amend or alter his/her course of action that is taking place. The first proposition, being the most basic form of imperative, has been commonly discussed in linguistic typological studies, while the second has yet to be explored in both the studies of typology and Putonghua (standard Mandarin) grammar. There is a myriad of forms which can be used to express the second proposition in SCM, which include the verb-complement (VC) structure, the reduplication of adjectives in VC structure, the use of the particle come, and the conjoining of particles. How these various forms are being collocated is a key concern in this paper, which will eventually allow us to discuss how the principle of iconicity is evident in SC imperatives.The aim of this paper is to examine the use of imperatives in Singapore Colloquial Mandarin (SCM). The grammatical study of SCM has its origins in the early 1980s. Thereafter, scholars, such as Chew Cheng Hai, Lu Jianming, Chua Chee Lay and Zhu Xiaohong explored topics such as the grammatical features of function words, content words and verb-predicate sentences, the standardization of SCM grammar, as well as how language contact led to the emergence of SCM. However, there has been very little discussion on the grammatical patterns of sentence categories in SCM till date. The three main sentence categories include declarative, interrogative and imperative, amongst which, imperative in SCM received the least attention. The existing studies with regard to sentence categories are considered to be more sporadic than systematic, as discussions are only restricted to small sections in a few dissertations. Imperatives come in various forms, such as direct and indirect, unmarked and negatively marked speech acts. However, due to the length constraint of the dissertation, this paper aims to explain only the use of imperatives in the most basic form of a direct, unmarked speech act. In the process, we aim to conduct a systematic study of imperatives which has never been thoroughly explored in the past. The use of imperatives is a linguistic phenomenon that is very much worth exploring in SCM as it displays features that are unique, particularly the use of sentence final particles, lah5 ', lah3', hor3', ah35 , leh 33 and come (lai) to express imperative. These particles perform functions that express the attitude of the speaker which differs in various speech discourses. The strength of an imperative, the social distance between the speaker and hearer and the sense of obligation by the hearer can also be determined by the choice of particles used in the speech act. The varying circumstances under which imperatives are being used, may also restrict how particles perform. Hence, this paper explores how imperatives are applied to express two different propositions: first, to ask the hearer to carry out the action as stated in the imperative and second, to ask the hearer to amend or alter his/her course of action that is taking place. The first proposition, being the most basic form of imperative, has been commonly discussed in linguistic typological studies, while the second has yet to be explored in both the studies of typology and Putonghua (standard Mandarin) grammar. There is a myriad of forms which can be used to express the second proposition in SCM, which include the verb-complement (VC) structure, the reduplication of adjectives in VC structure, the use of the particle come, and the conjoining of particles. How these various forms are being collocated is a key concern in this paper, which will eventually allow us to discuss how the principle of iconicity is evident in SC imperatives.The aim of this paper is to examine the use of imperatives in Singapore Colloquial Mandarin (SCM). The grammatical study of SCM has its origins in the early 1980s. Thereafter, scholars, such as Chew Cheng Hai, Lu Jianming, Chua Chee Lay and Zhu Xiaohong explored topics such as the grammatical features of function words, content words and verb-predicate sentences, the standardization of SCM grammar, as well as how language contact led to the emergence of SCM. However, there has been very little discussion on the grammatical patterns of sentence categories in SCM till date. The three main sentence categories include declarative, interrogative and imperative, amongst which, imperative in SCM received the least attention. The existing studies with regard to sentence categories are considered to be more sporadic than systematic, as discussions are only restricted to small sections in a few dissertations. Imperatives come in various forms, such as direct and indirect, unmarked and negatively marked speech acts. However, due to the length constraint of the dissertation, this paper aims to explain only the use of imperatives in the most basic form of a direct, unmarked speech act. In the process, we aim to conduct a systematic study of imperatives which has never been thoroughly explored in the past. The use of imperatives is a linguistic phenomenon that is very much worth exploring in SCM as it displays features that are unique, particularly the use of sentence final particles, lah5 ', lah3', hor3', ah35 , leh 33 and come (lai) to express imperative. These particles perform functions that express the attitude of the speaker which differs in various speech discourses. The strength of an imperative, the social distance between the speaker and hearer and the sense of obligation by the hearer can also be determined by the choice of particles used in the speech act. The varying circumstances under which imperatives are being used, may also restrict how particles perform. Hence, this paper explores how imperatives are applied to express two different propositions: first, to ask the hearer to carry out the action as stated in the imperative and second, to ask the hearer to amend or alter his/her course of action that is taking place. The first proposition, being the most basic form of imperative, has been commonly discussed in linguistic typological studies, while the second has yet to be explored in both the studies of typology and Putonghua (standard Mandarin) grammar. There is a myriad of forms which can be used to express the second proposition in SCM, which include the verb-complement (VC) structure, the reduplication of adjectives in VC structure, the use of the particle come, and the conjoining of particles. How these various forms are being collocated is a key concern in this paper, which will eventually allow us to discuss how the principle of iconicity is evident in SC imperatives.