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Article published In: Functions of Language
Vol. 31:3 (2024) ► pp.327–367

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On the discourse marker yěshì ‘also’ in Chinese constructions of blame

ORCiD logo with link | Fujian University of Technology
 | Fujian University of Technology
Published online: 11 March 2025
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/fol.24053.fan
Abstract
Blame is generally considered a social-cognitive act, in which the blamer expresses their negative evaluation and attitude to the ‘blamee’ and their actions. In the act of blame, the blamer takes a stance, presents it, and negotiates this stance with other participants within the discourse. Adopting a Construction Grammar approach, this paper identifies four constructions of blame in Modern Chinese that share a construction-initial sequence ‘np yěshì’. Despite their formal similarity and the general function of expressing blame, the four constructions differ in syntax, detailed semantics, and pragmatic functions. Moreover, our analysis shows that, in interaction with the clauses that follow, construction-initial ‘np yěshì’ marks an evaluative-affective stance, mitigates the effects of blame, and signals a stance shift in the discourse. In terms of discourse organization, it serves to introduce new and relevant information in the forthcoming discourse.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Data and methodology
  • 3.Existing accounts and limitations
    • 3.1Functions of yěshì in Modern Chinese
    • 3.2Review of existing accounts regarding the DM yěshì
      • 3.2.1Yěshì as a topic marker
      • 3.2.2Hypothesis of ellipsis
      • 3.2.3Lexicalization
  • 4.Theoretical assumptions
    • 4.1Construction grammar
    • 4.2Stance triangle
  • 5.Constructions of blame marked by yěshì in Modern Chinese
    • 5.1General characteristics of ‘np yěshì’
    • 5.2Constructionhood of four CBs
      • 5.2.1Construction A: np yěshì, con x, zěnme/zǎ/wèishénme/gànmá y?
      • 5.2.2Construction B: np yěshì, (bù)gāi/bié/jiù vp (ba/bei)!
      • 5.2.3Construction C: np yěshì, (jiù/piān/tài/hái) s.
      • 5.2.4Construction D: np yěshì, s de/la/ma
    • 5.3Functions of ‘np yěshì’ in the CBs
      • 5.3.1Evaluative-affective stance
      • 5.3.2Face-threat mitigator
      • 5.3.3Shift from a prior stance
      • 5.3.4Signal new and relevant information
  • 6.Conclusion
  • Acknowledgments
  • Notes
  • Abbreviations
  • References
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