Leiden University Student Repository

Koenders, Emily Anna Jantien (2017)

Het gebruik van -zi in het Kantonees en het Mandarijn

Bachelor thesis | Chinastudies (BA)

In Mandarin the suffix -zi is often used to free +count bound morphemes. However, in Cantonese this suffix is rarely used. This paper seeks to explain the discrepancy between these two Sinitic languages in the usage of this suffix. In the existing literature this discrepancy is often attributed to homophony: since homophony isn't as frequent in Cantonese as in Mandarin, the suffix -zi isn't necessary. However, in this paper I argue that homophony is not only a problem in Mandarin, but in Cantonese as well. Therefore both languages require a different method of disambiguation. In Mandarin this is done by affixation, of which the suffix -zi is one example, and in Cantonese this is done by an elaborate system of classifiers. These different methods of disambiguation explain the discrepancy in the usage of -zi.

Cantonese

Mandarin

Linguistics

-zi

子

Author

Koenders, Emily Anna Jantien

Faculty

Faculty of Humanities

Specialisation

BA Chinastudies

Supervisors

Sybesma, Rint

ECTS Credits

10

Language

nl