Explicit expression of unconditionality using conjunctions in Chinese

Dudanov Timofey ORCID: 0009-0007-1747-9440 Postgraduate student, the Higher School of Oriental Studies, Russian State University For The Humanities 125993, Russia, Moscow, Miusskaya square, 6 tdudanov@mail.ru

Introduction

In most languages of the world, there are conditional adjuncts as one of the parts (clause) of a complex sentence. Such sentences are called conditional. In them, one part indicates the condition, and the second — the result or consequence ^{[1, p. 15]}.

Nevertheless, this article focuses not on the presence, but on the absence of a condition. For explicit (explicit) transmission of the absence of a condition, it is most preferable to use conjunctions that contain the semantics of unconditionality. Unconditional offers are actually a unique type of conditional sentences in the Chinese language, since, for example, in Russian they are traditionally classified as concessive, which in turn create an obstacle to the implementation of the condition ^{[2, p. 353]}. In Chinese, unconditional sentences are distinguished as one of the types of conditional sentences in such works as ^{[3, pp. 109-121; 4, pp. 369-370; 5, pp. 166]}. They are a combination of several sentences with the conjunction "if" ^{[6, p. 180]}, that is, regardless of the truth or falsity of the condition in the conditional part of the sentence, the consequence remains the same. This can be displayed as the following diagram (P is the condition; Q is the result/consequence):

[IF] P, [THEN] Q

[IF NOT] P, [THEN] Q

That is why the purpose of the study is to distribute unions with explicit transmission of unconditionality. Chinese was chosen as the language on the basis of which further classification was carried out. To achieve this goal, the following tasks have been solved:

1) The classification of explicit allied transmission of unconditionality by types is given

2) Semantic, combinable and stylistic types of conjunctions with the expression of unconditionality are considered

3) A comparison of semantic components in the Russian and Chinese languages has been carried out

The article considers three groups of unions with the expression of unconditionality: absolute, unreal and real. This classification belongs to the Chinese linguist Xing Fui, who included them in the composition of concessive-contrastive complex sentences and spoke about concession, not unconditionality ^{[7, pp. 492-495]}. Further, in the classification process, the reasons for replacing the term "assignment" with the term "unconditionality" are given.

Certain cases of the use of conjunctions as indicators of the absence of a condition are motivated by examples from the literature. Russian Russian examples are taken from the BCC corpus ^[8], and from the Russian language from the National Corpus of the Russian Language (NKRR) ^[9]. All Chinese examples are provided with a glossed translation.

The stylistic characteristics of the unions are confirmed by data from the Dictionary of Modern Chinese ^[10], the Practical Dictionary of the Chinese Language ^[11], the handbook "800 words of modern Chinese" by Liu Shuxiang ^[12] and the dictionary "1700 pairs of synonyms" ^[13] for Chinese, Russian grammar ^[14] and articles Russian Russian Grammar O. E. Pekelis from the project "Russian corpus grammar" ^[15-16] for the Russian language.

Absolute unconditionality

Absolute unconditionality implies a complete absence of grounds for changing the result. Conjunctions with similar semantics contain a presupposition of exhaustion ^{[17, p. 18]}.

Chinese language

Among the words expressing absolute unconditionality (absolute concession from Sin Fui) should be attributed the synonymous conjunctions b?gu?n, b?l?n, w?l?n and r?np?ng with the general meaning "independently". They are distinguished in the category of words with the absence of a condition ^{[3, pp. 109-121] [4, pp. 369-370] [5, p. 166]}.

Most of them contain indicators of negation ? b? (not) and ? w? (not to have). Thus, it is indicated that it is impossible to influence the investigation when choosing any condition. According to the Xinhua dictionary ^[18], the literal translation of the unions will be as follows:

- b?gu?n (letters. "not limited to")

- b?l?n (letters. "without analyzing")

- w?l?n (letters. "without having an analysis")

The word r?np?ng consists of components identical in meaning:

r?n ("independently") + ? p?ng ("independent") = r?np?ng ("independently")

From a stylistic point of view, the conjunction b?gu?n is used in oral speech, and the conjunctions w?l?n and b?l?n are used in written speech ^{[11, p. 107] [12, p. 98]}. However, there is no information about the stylistic characteristics of the union r?np?ng in dictionaries and reference books. That is why it should presumably be classified as neutral unions, that is, it is characteristic of both written and oral speech.

These unions have the properties of alternativeness and universality ^{[19, p. 130]}.

The word "alternative" usually means the simultaneous affirmation and denial (1), which is most characteristic of the Union b?gu?n, the use of special words with the expression of the question ( h?ish? — or sh?f?u — Yes or no y?f?u or not). Phrase of the classical Chinese language, such as sh?f?u (2) and y?f?u (3), more preferred of sentences with w?l?n and b?l?n:

(1)

Regardless of whether you want to admit it or not, the child is still four years old now. [Shi Tesheng. Coming into the World]

(2)

Regardless of whether the enemy does so or not, he will undoubtedly do so. [Wang Ho. War and people]

(3)

Regardless of whether it is true or not, in essence, you should consider it so. [Lu Yao. The morning starts at noon]

Universality implies unlimited choice of options in the conditional subordinate ^{[20, pp. 345-346]}. It is often expressed with interrogative pronouns (? sh?i who, sh?nme — what (4), n?l? — where, with du?sh?o — how) and adverbs (for example, z?nme — as (5), du?me — how, what).

(4)

No matter where they moved to, I'm not going with them anyway. [Mao Dun. Tempering]

(5)

No matter what choice he makes, hatred is already predestined for him. [Zhou Gopin. Whining]

Another Union r?np?ng (independently) has the same meaning as b?gu?n, b?l?n, w?l?n, however, in contrast, takes a question word h?ish? (or) in the dependent parts:

It doesn't matter if he speaks in a foreign language or translates in writing ... ^{[12, p. 466]}

Russian language

In Russian, absolute unconditionality is conveyed by the conjunctions "despite", "regardless" and "independently". "Despite" and "independently" are found both in written and oral speech, and "regardless" — in written speech ^[15].

The conjunctions "despite" and "despite" are formed by the preposition "on" and the demonstrative pronoun "that", and "independently" by the preposition "from" and the demonstrative pronoun "that". This is followed by an indication of alternativeness or universality.

"Independently" can convey both alternativeness (using the conjunctions "or" (6) and "whether") and universality (using the relative pronoun (7)), but "despite" and "despite" are used only to express universality (8):

(6) Regardless of whether Morgan killed this reptile or not, the day after tomorrow we need to go to the Base and organize a raid. [Arkady Strugatsky, Boris Strugatsky. Midday. XXII century (1961-1967)]

(7) Regardless of whether Panafidine metaproptisol was in the car or someone else's, one thing is clear: either Panafidine's enemy or his rival sent this letter. [Arkady Weiner, Georgy Weiner. The Cure for Fear (1987)]

(8) But, despite the fact that he is so terribly angry, so tormented, so indifferently often dozes, although he was awakened by a thunderbolt, why is he so lazy, so terribly motionless, smiles so much wrongly and laughs at what is not worth it at all, not worthy of laughter. [Nikolai Skavronsky (A. S. Ushakov). Sketches of Moscow (1860-1865)]

Unreal unconditionality

Unlike absolute unconditionality, unreal unconditionality presupposes the presence of hypothetical, rather than an actual statement in a conditional subordinate. This assumption does not affect the outcome of the action referred to in the main clause (part of a complex sentence).

Chinese language

The absoluteness of the unreal (unreal assignment u Sin IGF) is expressed using synonymous unions j?sh? (9), j?bi?n, z?ngr?n, z?ngsh?, ji?su?n, ji?sh? and n?p?, r?np?ng, ? su? with the General meaning "even if".

(9)

Even if they cannot fully reveal her secrets, they know that she is currently plotting a grand plan. [Xu Xingye. The Broken Golden Bowl]

Huang Bozhong and Liao Xudong attributed them to hypothetical unions, however, in their opinion, in a number of contexts they have the meaning of unconditionality ^{[5, p. 169]}. Therefore, we also refer them to the number of words expressing unconditionality.

Most of the above unions contain common components: ? j? (if suddenly), ? sh? (urge), ? ji? and ? z?ng (let). Literally, whole words are translated as follows:

- j?sh? (letters. "if you suddenly prompt")

- j?bi?n (letters. "if just in case")

- z?ngr?n (letters. "let it be so")

- z?ngsh? (letters. "let them encourage")

- ji?su?n (letters. "let it count")

- ji?sh? (letters. "let it be")

- n?p? (letters. "where are you afraid from")

Unreal unconditionality can also be transmitted using conditional conjunctions r?gu? and ? y?o (if):

(10)

If you kill one, I'll deduct a tenth of your salary. Even if you can't beat anyone right away, I'll still deduct a tenth of your salary. [Mo Yan. Thirteen steps]

Unions j?sh?, j?bi?n, z?ngr?n ? and su? (let) characteristic of written language ^{[13, p. 616] [12, p. 289]}, and in oral speech there are ji?su?n, ji?sh? and n?p? (let) ^{[13, p. 616; 873]}.

Союзz?ngsh? (let) is specified as a synonym for the words j?sh? and z?ngr?n in "Dictionary of modern Chinese language" and "a Practical dictionary of the Chinese language" ^{[10, p. 1734; 11, p. 1692]}, which gives the basis to carry z?ngsh? to the writing style.

As mentioned earlier, there is no information about the stylistic characteristic.

Almost all the unions listed above have no restrictions in compatibility and can be interchanged, however, some of them (for example, ji?su?n and r?np?ng) contain a number of features.

ji?su?n, in addition to the above-mentioned meanings, has the semantics of a concessive-contrastive union, where the concession is expressed in a subordinate clause, and the opposition is in the main sentence (11):

(11)

Even if everything is fine with us, we still need to finish writing this, because the head of the group will read it. [Wang Xiaobo. The Golden Age]

The union of r?np?ng as an indicator of unreal unconditionality indicates only an emergency that contradicts the result. When expressing such a meaning, only the noun (12) can follow the conjunction.

(12)

No matter how smart the boy is, it's impossible to catch him. [Zhang Jie. Heavy wings]

An emergency case can also be expressed by the conjunctions j?sh? and ji?sh?, but they do not contain restrictions on use only in this context.

Russian language

In the Russian language, unreal unconditionality is conveyed using the conjunctions "let" (13), "let", "at least" and "at least". You can add the word "if" to this list, but in this case, an additional indicator of the absence of a condition is required. Most often, the adverb "even" acts as such (14):

(13) Let me be considered immodest: I am ready for any suffering for my brother! [Anatoly Aleksin. My brother plays the clarinet (1967)]

(14) Even if I was already lying on my stomach on the array, barely breathing, the fleeing wave washed me away, carried me far back and rushed forward again. [Alexander Green. An autobiographical novel (1912)]

In Russian, the conjunctions "let", "let", "at least" and "at least" are considered oral or colloquial ^{[14, p. 714]}. In writing, a union with the addition of an amplifying adverb is more preferable — "even if".

Real unconditionality

Real unconditionality is used to indicate a feasible condition (a fulfilled condition, according to ^{[21, p. 492]}), through which it is nevertheless impossible to influence the result. For this reason, conjunctions with the expression of this type of unconditionality lack the semantics of assumption. They express the fact of objective reality ^{[12, p. 290]}.

The linguist Zhang Bin mentioned above calls them opposites ^{[21, p. 491]}. However, and b?gu?n (independently) as a marker of absolute unconditionality, and j?sh? (let) as a marker of unreal unconditionality, they themselves express opposition, unlike conditional conjunctions, which indicate the cause ^{[19, p. 133]}. That is why it was decided to classify the following unions as unconditional.

Chinese language

List of words expressing real unconditional enter synonymous unions su?r?n (14), su?shu?, ? su? and j?ngu?n with the General meaning "although". They have no combinable differences and can be interchanged in most contexts.:

(15)

Although work stopped at the end of 1954, it did not stop. [Yang Jiang. The three of us]

However, this cannot be said about the adverbial conjunctions g?r?n (16) and ch?ngr?n (although, of course), which are given by Ip Poching and D. Rimmington ^{[22, p. 385]}. Unlike the above-mentioned words, they lower the degree of unconditionality, as a result of which the condition becomes permissible in extreme cases to achieve a certain result in the main part of the sentence:

(16)

Of course, a person can't help but have a facial expression, but it seems to me that if you just show yourself a little bit, everything will be fine. [Zhou Zozhen. Goldfish]

Most of the unions have a common component ? su? (though). Literally, they are translated as follows:

- su?r?n (letters. "although so")

- su?shu? (letters. "although I say")

- j?ngu?n (letters. "limited as much as possible to the fact that")

Union su?r?n is universal: it is characterized both written and oral speech; su?shu? more characteristic of an oral speech; ? su? and j?ngu?n — written ^{[12, p. 308, 517]}.

There is no information about the stylistic characteristics of the unions ch?ngr?n and g?r?n, therefore, they are probably characteristic of both written and oral speech.

Russian language

In the Russian language, real unconditionality is conveyed through the conjunctions "although (and)" (17), "though (and)", "despite", "regardless", "regardless", "for free", "despite".

(17) Although he saw French guns and troops precisely on the Pratsen Mountain, on the very one where he was told to find the commander-in-chief, he could not and did not want to believe it. [L. N. Tolstoy. War and Peace. Volume One (1867-1869)]

Unlike "although" and "though", "despite", "regardless" and "independently" are formed with the preposition "on" (for unions "despite" and "regardless") or "from" (for the union "independently") with a noun or pronoun, as well as the demonstrative pronoun "that" and the subordinate conjunction "that" in verb form (18). After the word "for free" comes the subordinate conjunction "what", and after "contrary" — the words "that" and "that" (19) ^{[14, p. 592]}:

(18) Despite the fact that your letter deeply hurt me, I am the first, and today I would be ready to turn myself in to you, but I have been in such trouble since yesterday that I am now completely killed and barely stand on my feet. [F. M. Dostoevsky. A Novel in Nine Letters (1847)]

(19) For contrary to what is often said and written, it is sometimes easier to dispute a fact than to imagine it. [Dmitry Bilenkin. A Moment of Wonder (1958-1980)]

In addition, the union "regardless" requires a conscious and active participant in the action ^[15]. That is why the following sentence will be impossible:

* Despite the fact that sunny weather was promised today, it started to rain.

The meaning of real unconditionality is also the union of "if". In this case, the particle "and" (20) should be used to emphasize the absence of a condition.

(20) Finally, if she accepts capital now, it is not at all as payment for her girlish shame, of which she is not to blame, but simply as a reward for a distorted fate. [F. M. Dostoevsky. The Idiot (1869)]

"Although", "despite" and "despite" act as neutral conjunctions, "despite" is more common in written speech, "though" and "for free" — in oral speech ^[15].

However, unlike Chinese, there are no conjunctions in Russian that reduce the degree of unconditionality (like the Chinese g?r?n and ch?ngr?n).

Correlates

Correlates are words that clarify the general meaning of a condition in a sentence ^{[23, p. 125]}. They are put in the main sentence indicating the consequence that follows from the condition.

Chinese language

Unions indicate the absolute absoluteness (example: b?gu?n — independent) and the unreal absoluteness (example: j?sh? — let), combined with the correlates y? ? (also), mobile h?i (even) (20), ? d?u (still) (21) and ? z?ng (yet). All of them have an emphatic function and specify the situation in the sentence.

(21)

No matter what, he helped me anyway. [Li Guowen. The thief]

(22)

Even if he finds himself in an environment from which it is difficult to get out, he will still use smart means. [Lin Yutang. A moment in Beijing]

However, the unions representing real absoluteness (example: su?r?n — though), combined with similar correlates d?n (Shi), k? (Shi) (23), ? qu?, (r?n)’?r, b?gu? (no) or mobileh?i (Shi) (even) (24) and ? y? (yet).

(23)

She may be rich, but in Shanghai, the richer you are, the easier it is for you to go broke. [Zhang Hengshui. Fate in tears and laughter]

(24)

Despite the fact that everything has changed dramatically, I was still able to clearly identify the address of the house and the location of the pond. [Yu Hua. A scream in the drizzling rain]

The only exception to the rule is the union with the meaning of unreal unconditionality ji?su?n (even if) in a concessive-contrastive meaning. It is the same as su?r?n (although) and others, combined with d?nsh? and k?sh? (but). Let's duplicate the example (11):

(11)

Even if everything is fine with us, we still need to finish writing this, because the head of the group will read it. [Wang Xiaobo. The Golden Age]

Russian language

In our language, among conjunctions with absolute unconditionality (for example: "despite") correlates are joined only by the union "independently". He rarely allows words such as "but", "anyway" (25) and "still":

(25) — However, do we not know that regardless of whether the criminal already has reason to fear the disclosure of his deed or not, he is still afraid. [N. N. Shpanov. The Sorcerer's Apprentice (1935-1950)]

Conjunctions with unreal (for example: "let") and real unconditionality (for example: "although") can be combined with a larger number of correlates than "independently": "but" (26), "however" (27), "but", "anyway", "still" and "nevertheless."

(26) Let them call me your Shakespeare Falstaff then, but you meant so much in my fate!.. [F. M. Dostoevsky. Demons (1871-1872)]

(27) Although this circumstance applies to another department, however, you know, I am a permanent lawyer in all such cases. [I. S. Aksakov. Letters to relatives (1849-1856)]

With another conjunction "if" with the adverb "even", indicating unreal unconditionality, words such as "that" (28) and "so" correlate:

(28) Even if someone helps you, and you say thank you for it, you will also do well, because you should always be grateful and polite. [Nikolai Nosov. Dunno in the Sunny City (1958)]

As an exception, the unions "despite" and "despite" are distinguished with the designation of real unconditionality. For them, the combination with correlates is not typical ^[16].

The order of the clause

Chinese language

In Chinese, the dependent conditional clause almost always precedes the main resultant clause. In rare cases, the main part may precede the dependent part if the latter has an emphatic function and provides additional clarification. At the same time, correlates in the main clause can be preserved ^{[7, p. 496] [5, p. 166] [21, p. 491]}. This can be seen in the following examples (29) (30) (31):

(29)

Everyone called her Laoyu Zhengnong, both old people and children. [Yu Hua. Mistake by the river]

(30)

Anyway, there can hardly be cases, even if there really are cases. Then my older brother is responsible for life and death, happiness and unhappiness. [Liu Xifen. Willow at the White Gate]

(31)

I'm worried at the moment that I can't think of anything. I have only one way out, although this is the "only" way out. [Zhu Ziqing. The letter]

However, the union of su?r?n is burdened with a number of restrictions. So, for example, when setting the unconditional (subordinate) part after the effective (main) part, the correlates k?sh? and d?nsh? are not allowed. This procedure is typical for written speech:

(lit.) ‘But you're very smart, even if you're arrogant.’

Russian language

The order of clauses in Russian is more free, however, correlates ("but", "however", etc.) when changing the order, conditions and consequences are not preserved due to a violation of the semantic relationship between clauses:

* However, you know, I am a permanent lawyer in all such cases, although this circumstance applies to another department. ^[16]

Conclusion

Chinese, like Russian, has a rich variety of conjunctions with the absence of a condition, as well as correlates attached in the main clause. In some cases, the number of words used to indicate unconditionality in Chinese exceeds their number in Russian. Not only stylistic, but also combinable features of the use of conjunctions in the Chinese language were considered. In some cases, the same unions can be traced in different types of unconditionality. In conclusion, if we talk about the order of clauses, then in Chinese it is much more limited than in Russian, despite the possibility of setting correlates in the main clause even when changing the word order.

The distribution of unions with the designation of unconditionality can be traced in the following tables:

Table 1. Conjunctions in unconditional sentences in Chinese

Table 2. Conjunctions in unconditional sentences in Russian

In fact, the number of conjunctions expressing unconditionality is somewhat higher in Chinese, but they are quite rare and are not always recorded in dictionaries. That is why this article selects only common unions or those unions that in different contexts denote a different type of unconditionality.

The Russian language in this article is much less consecrated than Chinese. This is due to the fact that the concept of "unconditionality" is not typical for our language. It is customary to call all of the above unions "concessional". Russian Russian assignment transfer features have been studied in more detail by researchers who own the authorship of articles in Russian Corpus Grammar, in particular O. E. Pekelis ^{[24] [16]}. Another reason for the low illumination of the Russian material is the different grammatical and lexical structure. For example, in the works of O. E. Pekelis, the grammatical terms "mood" or "impersonality of clause" are considered, which are irrelevant for the Chinese language.

This article can be useful not only for Sinologists, but also for typologists engaged in general research of the linguistic system.

List of abbreviations

LOC — locative (spatial postposition)

PTCL — particle

RES is a productive morpheme

COP — copula (verb-copula)

ATR is an attribute particle

PRG — progressive (an indicator that an action is being performed at the moment)

CL is a counting word

INT amplifier

EXP is an indicator of the experience of a perfect action

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