Analysis of Wh-Questions in Mandarin Language and their Linguistic Elements

This paper analyzes the Wh-questions in Mandarin language and their linguistic elements. It offers an insight into the construct of linguistics and helps to understand the language in a much effective manner.

Running head: INTRODUCTION TO LINGUISTICS
Introduction to Linguistics
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author’s Note:

1INTRODUCTION TO LINGUISTICS
1. Very brief characterization of the purpose of your paper
The purpose of this paper is to analyze the Wh-questions that I completed in
collaboration with my consultant. This is not only likely to offer me an insight into the
construct of linguistics but at the same time help me to understand the Chinese or Mandarin
language in a much effective manner. The modern day language which is being used by
different individuals can best be understood through an analysis of the diverse linguistic
elements of the same. In this regard, the modern languages can be seen as a conglomerate of
diverse linguistic elements and root words which have come to form an integral part of these
languages. The net result of this is the fact that the individuals in order to effective
understand the different languages which are being used in the contemporary times need to
take the help of construct of linguistics.
2. Brief characterization of the consultant
I would like to say in this regard that my consultant for the formulation as well as
completion of the Wh-questions which were given to me as part of my homework exercise
was David Zhang. Mr. Zhang is a native Mandarin speaker with an authoritative grasp over
the language of Mandarin. Mr. Zhang was born in China however for the completion of his
studies he migrated to the United States of America. This is the major reason why he is quiet
fluent in both the languages of English and Mandarin. Furthermore, he is currently residing in
city of Los Angeles however during his vacations or holidays he prefers to visit his
motherland. More importantly, during the course of his teaching career he often comes across
different international students some of them belongs to the nation of China and this has
enabled him to maintain not only his grasp over the Mandarin language but at the same time
his fluency as well. The net result of this is the fact that with the Chinese students and also his
close family members he normally interacts in Mandarin.
3. Basic patterns of how wh- questions are formed
The Wh-questions were not only intended to offer us an insight into the Chinese
language but at the same time to enable us to use the concepts of linguistics that they we have
learned in the class as well. In this regard, I would like to say that since it is a linguistics class
we were given the choice to select any language as per our convenience. I selected Mandarin
language because it was the most appealing one to me. There was an overall pattern in the
Wh-questions and they were concerned with the common aspects like “what, when, why,
how, who” and similar terms used in the Mandarin language. For example, I personally
believe that the majority of the questions offered me the opportunity to understand the
common speech terminologies and also the way in which the construct of linguistics needed
to be used in an adequate manner. Thus, the majority of the questions centered round the
notion of a box and the questions were asked regarding whose box it was or who took and
similar ones. More importantly, the questions also offered an insight into the manner in which
the commonly asked questions are answered in the Mandarin language. Furthermore, the
questions and their answers also introduced us to the commonly used syntaxes in the
Mandarin and also the way in which they need to be used during the normal conversations in
Mandarin language. For example, as per the questions that I answered I found that some of
the most commonly used syntaxes in the Mandarin language are “na-le ni-de he-zi”, “na-le
shen-me” and others.

2INTRODUCTION TO LINGUISTICS
Some of the questions that I answered along with a discussion of their syntaxes which
were used for answering them are given below-
The first Wh-question which I selected to answer was “who took my box” which
when written in Mandarin becomes “shui na-le wo-de he-zi”. It is pertinent to note that the
phrase “took my” or “na-le wo-de” lends meaning to the question which is under discussion
here. Furthermore, if the position of these words are changed then the entire meaning of the
question itself changes. The answer which I wrote for this question was “Xiaoming na-le ni-
de he-zi” which when translated into English becomes “Xiaoming took my box”. In this
sentence, the main syntactical phrase which determines the meaning of the sentence is “na-le
ni-de he-zi” or “took my box”. Furthermore, the phrase “took my” are related to Xiaoming
and box and it is this relationship that the phrase shares with these two which lends meaning
to the answer under discussion here. This question belonged to the cannon of matrix subject
questions and was mainly intended to offer an insight to the students regarding the way in
which they need to ask as well as answer questions related to particular objects or subjects.
The second Wh-question which I selected was “what did you take” or “ni na-le shen-
me”. In this regard, it needs to be said that the main phrase on which the meaning of the
question depends significantly is “na-le shen-me” or “did you take” since it is on this phrase
that the meaning of the question which was asked depended. The answer that I provided to
this particular question was “wo na-le he-zi” or “I took box”. I believe that the phrase on
which the meaning of the entire answer given by me to the above question depends is “na-le”
or “did you” since this phrase shows the relation that between the subject, that is, I and the
object of the sentence, that is, box. This question belonged to the repertoire of matrix object
questions and was intended to offer an insight to the students regarding how they needed to
ask as well as answer questions when both subject and object are involved in the process.
The third question which formed a part of the Wh-questions was “who did you take
the box with” or as translated in the Mandarin language “ni he shui na-le he-zi”. In this
question, the main syntactical phrase which determines the meaning of the question is “he
shui na-le”. At the same time, it needs to be said that this phrase forms the relation between
“whom” and “with”. The answer which I gave to this question was “I and Xiaoming took
box” or “wo he Xiaoming na-le he-zi”. The question as well as the answer which was given
by me clearly indicates the differences in grammatical styles and also techniques or
conventions that are used in the two languages under discussion here. For example, the
normal standard response to the question under discussion here in English should have been
“I and Xiaoming took the box” whereas the answer which I gave when translated in English
becomes “I and Xiaoming took box”. This question was asked to make the students
understand the style in which questions are asked and also answered when prepositional
object or postpositional object is involved in the sentence or question for that matter.
The question “when did you take the box” or as translated in Mandarin “shen-me-shi-
hou ni na-le he-zi” was the fourth question which was I selected. This question was asked to
understand the manner in which adverbs are being used in the Madarin language. The answer
which was give by me gave a fair idea to me regarding the manner in which the individuals
need to use adverbs as well as adverbial phrases in a sentence. For example, the answer that I
gave in Mandarin was “wo shi-er-dian na-le he-zi 12” which means in English “I took the
box at 12’o clock”. My reply to the question also highlights the differences in the usage of
adverbs in English and Mandarin.

3INTRODUCTION TO LINGUISTICS
The fifth Wh-question which I selected was intended to give the students an idea
regarding the manner in which questions are asked and answered when the possessor of the
object or thing is involved in the process. For example, the question which my consultant
asked me was “whose box did you take” which when translated in Mandarin becomes “ni na-
le shui-de he-zi”. The question under discussion here was directed to know owner or the
possessor of the box and the response which was given by me was “I took Xiaoming’s box”.
This when translated in Mandarin becomes “wo na-le Xiaoming-de he-zi”. The reply which I
gave in Mandarin intends to show the relation between Xiaoming and the box.
The second last question was related to the concept of subordinate clause object. The
question which was asked by my consultant was “who do you thing Xiaoming will
encounter?” which when translated in Mandarin will become “ni jue-di Xiaoming hui yu-dao
shui”. The answer which I gave to this question was “Xiaoming will encounter me” which
when translated into Mandarin becomes “Xiaoming hui yu-dao wo”. The question which was
asked and also the answer that I gave clearly indicates the way in which subordinates clauses
need to be used in the Mandarin language to render effective meaning to the sentences and
also to make them understandable.
The final question consultant was “who do you think will encounter Xiaoming” or in
the Mandarian language “ni jue-de shui hui yu-dao Xiaoming”. The answer to this will be the
same as the answer that I gave for the last question however there is a slight difference in the
question because of the use of subordinate clause subject for the formulation of the question
under discussion here. It is important to note that this question shows the difference which
arise when the tools of subordinate clause object and subordinate clause subject are being
used for the formulation of questions in the Mandarin language. An analysis as well as
discussion of these questions and answers clearly indicates the common inventory of words
which are being used in the Mandarin language for the purpose of communication like wo,
na-le, he-zi, ni and others.
4. Result of any further inquiries
I would like to say that after the completion of these Wh-questions with the help of
my consultant I conducted my own personal inquiry into the words that formed a part of the
repertoire of the Mandarin language. I began by finding out the words which were most
commonly used by the individuals to make themselves understood like food (Cānyǐn), water
(Shuǐ), air (Kōngqì) and others. In addition to this, I also tried to understand the morphology
or study the pattern in which different words were used to mean diverse things. I would like
to say that primary purpose with which I undertook these activities was to get not only
accustomed with the common terminologies of the Mandarin language but also to understand
the way in which I could use those terms in an effective manner. More importantly, these
further researches also offered me an insight regarding the manner in which subordinate
clauses, syntaxes are being used in the Mandarin language which in turn helped me to
understand the language under discussion here in a much better manner.
I would say in this regard, that for carrying out my personal research work to get
familiar with the Mandarin language I formulated various kinds of Wh-questions.
Furthermore, I ensured the fact that there was a logical flow between the different Wh-
questions that I had formulated. For example, the majority of these questions were intended
to not only provide me information regarding the common phrases or clauses which are being
used in the Mandarin language for communicating but at the same time to understand the
very language itself in a much better manner. In addition to these, for the analysis of these

4INTRODUCTION TO LINGUISTICS
questions as well as the answers that I got through my personal research work I also tried to
understand the morphology which was being used for the construction of those sentences.
Thus, I would like to conclude by saying that the wh-questions that I answered in Mandarin
not only helped me to gain an insight into the Mandarin language but at the same time help
me to understand as well as use the diverse concepts of linguistics which were taught me in
the class in a much effective manner.

5INTRODUCTION TO LINGUISTICS
5. Bibliography:
Crowther, D., Trofimovich, P., & Isaacs, T. (2016). Linguistic dimensions of second
language accent and comprehensibility. Journal of Second Language
Pronunciation, 2(2), 160-182.
Kramsch, C. (2014). Teaching foreign languages in an era of globalization: Introduction. The
modern language journal, 98(1), 296-311.
Lu, X., & Wang, B. P. Y. (2017). Towards a metaphor-annotated corpus of Mandarin
Chinese. Language Resources and Evaluation, 51(3), 663-694.
Su, Y. E., Naigles, L. R., & Su, L. Y. (2018). Uneven expressive language development in
Mandarin-exposed preschool children with ASD: Comparing vocabulary, grammar,
and the decontextualized use of language via the PCDI-Toddler Form. Journal of
autism and developmental disorders, 1-17.
Tsai, P. S., & Chu, W. H. (2017). The Use of Discourse Markers among Mandarin Chinese
Teachers, and Chinese as a Second Language and Chinese as a Foreign Language
Learners. Applied Linguistics, 38(5), 638-665.
Zhang, L., Li, Y., Wu, H., Li, X., Shu, H., Zhang, Y., & Li, P. (2016). Effects of semantic
context and fundamental frequency contours on Mandarin speech recognition by
second language learners. Frontiers in psychology, 7, 908.
Zhou, P., Crain, S., & Yip, M. C. (2018). Introduction to “Experimental Approaches to the
Study of Child Language: A Cross-Linguistic Perspective”. Journal of
psycholinguistic research, 47(6), 1189-1191.
Zhou, P., Crain, S., Gao, L., & Jia, M. (2017). The use of linguistic cues in sentence
comprehension by Mandarin-speaking children with high-functioning autism. Journal
of autism and developmental disorders, 47(1), 17-32.

6INTRODUCTION TO LINGUISTICS
6. Appendix:
Wh-questions and their answers

7INTRODUCTION TO LINGUISTICS

8INTRODUCTION TO LINGUISTICS

9INTRODUCTION TO LINGUISTICS