Publications

Publication details [#66561]

Huang, Shu-Yu and Yu-Chen Liou. 2019. Differentiating and teaching the Chinese near-synonyms kongpa and pa. Chinese as a Second Language (漢語教學研究—美國中文教師學會學報) 54 (1) : 31–50.
Publication type
Article in journal
Publication language
English
Language as a subject
Place, Publisher
John Benjamins
Journal DOI
10.1075/csl

Annotation

Previous research and data from learner corpora show that Chinese language learners have a hard time differentiating k?ngpà (??) and pà (?). However, there has been little research analyzing the differences between the two words. Therefore, this study aims to distinguish k?ngpà and pà when both words denote worry toward a probable event. Adopting the corpus-based analysis approach, the researchers explain the semantic and pragmatic differences between k?ngpà and pà. Based on the research findings, the researchers propose discovery-oriented activities and drill practice to guide students to use the two words correctly. The researchers further argue that research findings from corpora data should be included in textbooks and integrated into Chinese language instruction.