Peculiarities of Expressing Rhetorical Questions in Chinese Through Adverbs

Аннотация

This article analyzes the ways in which adverbs in the Chinese language are expressed in sentences and explains how this can help distinguish between words that are related to rhetoric and those that are not. Keywords: 不 bù – “no, not”, 就 jiù – “immediately”, “only”, “already”, “as soon as”, 难道 nándào – “could it be that…?”, 何 hé – “who?”, 岂 qǐ – “how could…?”, “could it be that…?”, 还 hái – “still”, “yet”, 又 yòu – “again”. xuéxí duìdéqǐ shéi? Introduction: The main adverbs belonging to the adverb category in Chinese are 不 bù – “no, not”, 就 jiù — The conditions in Beijing are so good now; if you still – “immediately”, “only”, “already”, “as soon as”, 难道 don’t study well, what kind of person does that make you? nándào – “could it be that…?”, 何 hé – “who?”, 岂 qǐ – 2. 别折腾了，你现在不是很好吗？ “how could…?”, “could it be that…?”, 还 hái – “still”, Bié zhēteng le, nǐ xiànzài bùshì hěn hǎo ma? “yet”, 又 yòu – “again”. These adverbs serve to convey slight emphasis or meanings close to proof in — Stop fussing, aren’t you doing just fine now? sentences. All interrogative sentences expressed with 3. 凭着崇高的理想，豪迈的气概，乐观的志趣 these adverbs can be considered rhetorical questions. This is very helpful in distinguishing between words ，克服困难不也是一种享受吗？ that are relevant to rhetoric and those that are not. Píngzhe chónggāo de lǐxiǎng, háomài de qìgài, lèguān On the adverb 不 bù “no, not” de zhìqù, kèfú kùnnán bù yěshì yī zhǒng xiǎngshòu ma? In addition to being used independently, 不 bù can also — With lofty ideals, heroic spirit, and an optimistic appear in forms such as 不是 bùshì, 不也是 bù yěshì, outlook, isn’t overcoming difficulties also a kind of 不都是 bù dōu shì, 不就是 bù jiùshì, etc. Among these, enjoyment? rhetorical questions expressed with 不是 bùshì are 4. 不论德国还是中国，欧洲还是亚洲，法兰克 more frequent, and in ordinary cases they are often 福、科隆、柏林，还是北京、大连、乌鲁木齐，不 accompanied by the interrogative particle 吗 ma 都是在同一个地球上吗？ (“…right?”, “isn’t it?”). Moreover, the construction 不 bù (也 / 都 / 就 yě / dōu / jiù) 是…吗 shì…ma? (“isn’t Bùlùn Déguó háishì Zhōngguó, Ōuzhōu háishì Yàzhōu, Fǎlánkèfú, Kēlóng, Bólín, háishì Běijīng, Dàlián, it…?”) also occurs. Wūlǔmùqí, bù dōu shì zài tóng yīgè dìqiú shàng ma? Examples: — Whether it’s Germany or China, Europe or Asia, 1. 北京现在条件这么好，你再不好好学习对得 Frankfurt, Cologne, Berlin, Beijing, Dalian, or Urumqi— 起谁？ aren’t they all on the same planet? In fact, 不也是 bù yěshì, 不都是 bù dōu shì, and 不就 Běijīng xiànzài tiáojiàn zhème hǎo, nǐ zài bù hǎo hào American Journal Of Philological Sciences 12 https://theusajournals.com/index.php/ajps American Journal Of Philological Sciences (ISSN – 2771-2273) 是 bù jiùshì are all extended forms of 不是 bùshì. The once omitted, the rhetorical force of the sentence adverbs 也 yě “also”, 都 dōu “all”, and 就 jiù “precisely, weakens. immediately” are inserted between 不 bù “no, not” and The table below shows the possible combinations of 不 是 shì “is/are”. These adverbs can also be omitted, but bù with adverbs: Expressed Translati Structure Semantic Example on Meaning Someone once said, aren’t literary works in 不也是…吗 有人说，书本上的文艺作品，古代的和外国的文艺作品，不也是源泉 Emphatic books— bù 吗？Yǒurén shuō, shūběn shàng de wényì zuòpǐn, gǔdài de hé wàiguó de form both yěshì…ma wényì zuòpǐn, bù yěshì yuánquán ma? ancient and foreign— also sources? …Other people’s children are like 不都是…吗 …人家的孩子这样，咱们的孩子那样，孩子不都是将来的国民吗？…ré this, ours Generalizi bù dōu njiā de háizi zhèyàng, zánmen de háizi nàyàng, háizi bù dōu shì jiānglái de are like ng form shì…ma guómín ma? that— aren’t all children the future citizens? Isn’t it 不就是…吗 simply Affirmativ bù 不就是没给他送礼吗？Bù jiùshì méi gěi tā sònglǐ ma? that you e form jiùshì…ma didn’t give him a gift? small profit for yourself? On the Adverb 就 jiù (“immediately, in that case”) The adverbial form 就 jiù (“immediately,” “in that 3. “考不上大学就没有前途吗？” case”) is not used independently or in isolation; rather, Kǎo bù shàng dàxué jiù méiyǒu qiántú ma? it is combined with other adverbs, interrogative — If you fail to enter university, does that mean your pronouns, question-particle words, or verbs. future is ruined? For example: On the Adverb 难道 nándào (“could it be that”) 1. “我哪回不是掉完眼泪，就拼命去干活儿？” This adverb is typically used in rhetorical questions. Wǒ nǎ huí bùshì diào wán yǎnlèi, jiù pīnmìng qù gàn huó er? However, not every sentence containing 难道 nándào — When have I ever, even after shedding tears, not can be considered rhetorical. For example: immediately thrown myself into work with all my a) “难道你们闹矛盾了？” might? Nándào nǐmen nào máodùn le? 2. “你怎么就光顾着你自己那点小利呢？” — Could it be that you had a conflict? Nǐ zěnme jiù guānggùzhe nǐ zìjǐ nà diǎn xiǎo lì ne? (Here, there is no definite judgment; depending on — How can you immediately complain about such a context, the adverb may appear in rhetorical or American Journal Of Philological Sciences 13 https://theusajournals.com/index.php/ajps American Journal Of Philological Sciences (ISSN – 2771-2273) ordinary interrogatives.) occur in combinations such as: In rhetorical contexts, sentenc