Research Project： Specialized Language Analysis

I. Introduction

This research project is a case study of the learner language. I am interested in the inappropriate use of the auxiliary word 的‘de in Chinese L2 learners， for it is an obvious problem among non-native （English） Chinese learners. English is a language without the auxiliary word 的‘de， whereas Chinese has obligatory using. My research is based on Obligatory Occasion Analysis （OOA） and target-like use analysis， which try to identify the usage of Chinese 的‘de and some wrong uses of this Chinese auxiliary word by the informant in terms. Then my research is analyzed with some relevant references from some literatures to explain the reason why the learner commits the errors. A test is given to collect the data.

II. Literature review

According to Gao （2005）， it is hard for foreigners to learn function words in Chinese，among which the auxiliary word 的‘de is the most problematic. As a function word， 的‘de is used to connect the attribute and the nouns and it is the symbol of attribute. But it is not always the case that all the attributes are followed by 的‘de （Liu， 1983）. And based on Gaos research （2005）， omission of this kind of auxiliary word is a main common problems in L2 Chinese learning. English learners of Chinese always have tendency to omit 的 ‘de where a native speaker would use. From her research， Gao has pointed out that omission of the auxiliary word by English learners is systematic and that one of the principles， which can help to explain the omission of 的 ‘de by Chinese learners is because there is no such a word in English， and there are many exceptions to the rules guiding the use of the auxiliary word.

Tang and Zhu （2005） declare in their research that as a function word， omission is not the only main error the non-native Chinese speakers have when they use 的 ‘de. Overuse is also a problem. The reason is that the Chinese language learners dont fully control and understand the rules of using 的 ‘de and think too much about the usage， thus result in the phenomenon of overuse.

III. Methodology

1.Learners Background

For doing this research project， Matthew Chow， a 19-year-old male Australian， was chosen to be the informant for this research. He has learnt Chinese for about a year and is now studying it in the University of New South Wales. His mother tongue is English and Chinese level is elementary （Also see appendix1）

2.Task & data elicitation

Matthew was asked to do a translation in Chinese based on an English paragraph. He was asked to put the auxiliary word at the right place of the sentences， but not all of the sentences need such a word. This test （see Appendix 2） was given to examine the informants use of the Chinese function word ‘de and he spent 20 minutes to finish it.

3.Analytical framework

I chose Obligatory Occasion Analysis （OOA） and target-like use analysis to do the project according to the data collected. The analytical framework that the present research employed is the obligatory occasion analysis （OOA）. The framework is based on Brown （1973） that OOA examines how accurate learner use specific linguistic features and also it compares between the samples of learner language with the target language norms. OOA also takes into account the overuse of the morpheme as well as the underuse. Ive conducted an OOA as follows：

（a） investigating obligatory occasions for the use of 的‘de from the test；

（b） calculating the percentage of accurate use and ‘target-like use analysis （Pica， 1994） with two formulas.

4.Results & Analysis

Based on Ellis and Barkhuizens description， the level of accurate use a learner must achieve in order to claim that a morpheme has been acquired is always set at 90%. If a learners accuracy score is 90% or higher， the morpheme is acquired， otherwise， if the score is lower than 89%， it is considered “not acquired” by the learner （2005： 85）. Following are the results of Matthews work：

（1） morphemes to be studied：

auxiliary word： 的 de

（2） Identify obligatory occasions for the usage of the morpheme and count the numbers of obligatory occasion.

（3） Establish whether the correct morpheme is supplied in the obligatory context.

Through the analysis， Matthews accuracy of the use of the auxiliary word 的‘de is only 43.75%. It is far less than the standard level. According to OOA， this morpheme can not be considered ‘acquired and it can be considered that Matthew didnt fully understand the use of this word.

IV. Discussion

The reason why I decided to use this translation is that it specializes in the use of ‘de in Chinese and is a frequent method to examine the learners control of the language.

It is clear to find that the results above are quite relevant to the previous literatures. The errors Matthew made when he was using 的 ‘de include both omission and overuse and this quite follows Gao （2005） and Tang and Zhus （2003） research work. Following are the examples：

Omission of 的 ‘de

e.g.

它被領进正面看台的下面一个不寻常，特殊马栏。

Ta bei ling jin zheng mian kan tai de xia mian yi ge bu xun chang， te shu mlan

He is led under the grandstand into an unusual， special stall.

The correct Chinese sentence should be：

它被领进正面看台下面的一个不寻常的，特殊的马栏。

Ta bei ling jin zheng mian kan tai xia mian de yi ge bu xun chang de， te shu de ma lan.

The result of this project is relevant to the analysis mentioned in the literature reviews as it indicates that English learners of Chinese have no frame of reference for the auxiliary word， for this function word does not exist in the English linguistic system. Thus， the absence of the auxiliary word in English indirectly influences them to commit errors when using this Chinese word. According to Gao （2005）， the English learners of Chinese often commit omission of 的 ‘de when they use the auxiliary word if it lies after an adjective， verb phrase， pronoun and preposition phrase. Errors related to the auxiliary word usage found in this study could be due to ignorance of rule restrictions. Many English learners are either ignorant or unaware of the various conditions existing in Chinese that require the use of the function word. In the example given above， the auxiliary word 的 ‘de should be after 不寻常 ‘bu xun chang， unusual and 特殊 ‘te shu， special， but Matthew missed both of them. The reason could be concluded that Matthew was deep influenced by his mother tongue when he was using this function word.

Overuse of 的 ‘de

e.g.

马很紧张的

Ma hen jin zhang de.

The horse is nervous.

The correct Chinese should be：

马很紧张。

Ma hen jin zhang.

The horse is nervous.

On the other hand， based on Tang and Zhu （2003）， as there is no such a word in English， the English learners may sometimes think too much about the usage， and thus causes overuse. In the above example， based on the habit of native Chinese speakers， 的 ‘de should not be used there. But it is obvious that Matthew didnt realize the exception. Totally， Matthew committed two overuses in his writing.

V. Conclusion

The test shows that Matthew does not acquire the word ‘de. And the result follows the conclusion in the previous studies. Usage of the auxiliary word 的 ‘de in Chinese is really difficult for many English learners of Chinese. The reason lies in the absence of the word in English. Learners may either easily ignore the word or overuse it.

Appendix

A horse knows when he is going to race. How does he know？ His breakfast was scanty. （He is angry about that.） He does not have a saddle on his back. He is being led， not ridden， to the grandstand. He is led under the grandstand into an unusual， special stall. The horse is nervous. Sometimes he does not know what to do when the starting gate flies open and the track is before him. If he does not begin to run instantly， other horses are already ahead of him. During the race， when he sees another horse just ahead of him， he will try to pass him. Sometimes the jockey holds him back to save his energy for the last stretch. Eventually the horse gets to run as fast as he can. The exercise boy， watching the owners favorite jockey riding the horse he has exercised day after day， says nothing. Secretly， he is planning for the day when he will be a jockey himself， and his horse will be the first to cross the finish line.

VI. Correct translation

马知道什么时候该它比赛。它怎么知道的呢？它的早餐并不充足。（对此它非常生气）。它背上没有鞍。它被领着来到正面看台，而不是骑着。它被领进正面看台下面的一个不寻常的，特殊的马栏。马很紧张。有时候当开始的闸门打开，赛道出现在它面前的时候，它不知道该做什么。如果它不立刻开始跑，其他的马就会在它前面。在比赛中，如果它看见有其他的马在它前面，它会试着超过它。有时候骑师会拉着它为最后的冲刺节约体力。最终，马开始以它最快的速度跑。那个看着他最喜欢的骑师骑马的激动的男孩儿，已经兴奋了好多天，虽然他什么都没有说。但悄悄的，他打算有一天自己也成为一名骑师，而他的马会第一个冲过终点。

Matthews translation

马知道什么时候该它比赛。它怎么知道的呢？它的早餐并不充足。（对此它非常生气）。它背上没有鞍。它被领着来到正面看台，而不是骑着。它被领进正面看台的下面一个不寻常，特殊马栏。马很紧张的。有时候当开始的闸门打开，赛道出现在它面前时候，它不知道该做什么。如果它不立刻开始跑，其他马就会在它前面。在比赛中，如果它看见有其他马在它前面，它会试着超过它。有时候骑师会拉着它为最后冲刺节约体力。最终，马开始以它最快的速度跑。那个看着他最喜欢骑师骑马激动的男孩儿，已经兴奋了好多天，虽然他什么都没有说。但悄悄的，他打算有一天自己也成为一名骑师，而他的马会第一个冲过终点。

References：

[1]Gao，X.（2005）.Yingyu Guojia Xuesheng xue Hanyu Jiegou Zhuci ‘de de Pianwu Fenxi[An analysis of the auxiliary word ‘de from the perspectives of the Chinese language learners from English - speaking countries].Chuxiong shifan Xueyuan Xuebao[Journal of Chuxiong Normal University]，20（2），110-114.

[2]Liu，Y.H.（1983）.Shiyong Xiandai Hanyu Yufa[Practical Modern Chinese Grammar].Beijing：Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press.

[3]Shi，Y.Z&Li;，C.N.（1998）.Lun Jiegou Zhuci de Xingti[On the replacement of the constructional particle in the history of Chinese].Zhongguo Shehui Kexue[Chinese social science]，6，165-180.

[4]Shi，Y.Z.&Li;，C.N.（2002）.The establishment of the classifier system and the grammaticalization of the morphosyntactic particle de in Chinese.Language Sciences，24，1-15.

[5]Tang，C.H.&Zhu;，Y.F.（2003）.Dezi Jiegou de Duiwai Hanyu Jiaoxue[Teaching foreign students the “De” structure].Yunnan Shifan Daxue Xuebao[Journal of Yunnan Normal University]，1（4），42-45.

【作者簡介】唐弢，重庆第二师范学院。