The Semantics of Mandarin Approximation Adverbs ‘chàbùduō’ and ‘jīhū ’ almost
Changxin Ke[tʂʰɑŋɕin, kʰɤ]
PhD in linguistics at The University of Manchester
English almost
(1) almost p
Polar: it’s not the case that p
Proximal: things close to p being the case
(2) John almost cried.
Polar: It’s not the case that John cried.
Proximal: John got close to crying.
Truth condition: John didn’t cry, and John got close to crying.
In different contexts, either of the polar and proximal meaning components can be focused, as in (3).
(3) a. John has almost arrived. We’d better wait for him at the gate in case he can’t find us. (Proximal)
b. John has almost arrived. We’d better finish this quickly in case he sees it. (Polar)
In (3a), the speaker implicates that John gets very close to arriving that it’s better for us to wait for him a bit earlier before he arrived, thus focusing on the proximal meaning. In (3b), the speaker emphasizes the fact that John has not arrived so that they still have little time left to finish everything before he arrives, thus focusing on the polar meaning. However, the emphasis on either meaning in English comes from the context, not from the lexical item almost itself.
The ambiguity
English (4) is at least ambiguous between a counter-factual reading and a scalar reading (Rapp and von Stechow, 1999).
(4) John almost closed the door.
Counterfactual: John was about to start closing the door, but he didn’t start the action.
Scalar: John got close to fully closing the door.
The ambiguity
The structural approach to the ambiguity: there’s only one almost which encodes a polar and a proximal meaning components. Depending on the interpretation sites of almost, different readings rise.
Decomposition (Rapp and von Stechow, 1999; Beck, 2005) :
The ambiguity
(6) a. John almost [Ø𝑣 the door adj<closed>]
counterfactual
polar: it’s not the case that John caused the door to be closed.
proximal: John almost started the action to cause the door to be closed.
b. John Ø𝑣 almost [the door adj<closed>]
scalar
polar: it’s not the case that the door was closed.
proximal: it got close to being the case that the door was closed.
The ambiguity
Again, the counterfactual reading is that John almost did something that would have had the effects of the door being closed, but he didn’t act. The scalar reading is that John did something that almost had the effects of the door closing but actually didn’t.
Mandarin approximation adverbs
(7) Xiao Ming chàbùduō/jīhū/chàdiănr kū le.
Xiao Ming almost cry PRF.
‘Xiao Ming almost cried.’
Polar: It’s not the case that Xiao Ming cried.
Proximal: Xiao Ming got close to crying.
(8) Xiao Ming almost cried.
Mandarin: the scalar reading
Mandarin approximation adverbs only allow the scalar interpretation, as in (9) where tuīkaī ‘push-open’ is a resultative construction.
(9) XM chàbùduō/jīhū/chàdiănr tuī kaī le mén.
XM almost push open PRF door.
‘Xiao Ming almost pushed the door to be open.’
#Counter-factual: Xiao Ming was about to pushing the door to be open, but he didn’t start the action.
Scalar: Xiao Ming pushed the door, and the door is close to be fully open.
chàbùduō vs. jīhū: desirability
Zhu (1980) argues that the proposition modified by chàdiănr, which is a Mandarin equivalent to English almost, is undesired by the speaker. I propose that both jīhū and chàdiănr implicate that the proposition is undesired, while chàbùduō implicates the proposition modified by it is desired. As in (10),
(10) a.wŏ chàbùduō/#chàdiănr/#jīhū chī băo le.
I almost eat full PER.
‘I’m almost full by eating.’
b.wŏ #chàbùduō/chàdiănrer/jīhū shuāi dăo le.
I almost fall down PER.
‘I almost fell down.’
For neutral verbs, it depends on the speaker’s attitude whether the proposition is desired or not.
(11) a.
[Background: Xiao Ming plans to take pictures of the yellow leaves in autumn.
Desired: leaves become yellow.
Speaker: Xiao Ming]
Shùyè chàbùduō/#chàdiănr/#jīhū huáng le.
leaves almost yellow PRF.
‘The leaves are almost yellow.’
Polar & proximal: the leaves have not been entirely yellow yet, and the leaves get close to being yellow.
b.
[Background: Xiao Ming plans to take pictures of the green leaves.
Undesired: leaves become yellow.
Speaker: Xiao Ming]
Shùyè #chàbùduō/chàdiănr/jīhū huáng le.
leaves almost yellow PRF.
‘The leaves are almost yellow.’
Polar & proximal: the leaves have not been entirely yellow yet, and the leaves get close to being yellow.
Since negation phrases and phrases with negative meaning are not commonly desired, they cannot be used with chàbùduō but can be used with chàdiănr and jīhū in most cases, such as in (12).
(12) a.
jīntiān chàdiănr/jīhū/#chàbùduō kàn bú dào tàiyáng
today almost see NEG RES sun
‘One almost cannot see the sun.’
b.
Xiao Ming chàdiănr/jīhū/#chàbùduō yào sĭ le.
Xiao Ming almost will die PER.
‘Xiao Ming will almost die.’
In few cases, negation phrases might be desired by the speaker, and therefore compatible with chàbùduō, as in (13).
(13) zhèxiē jiăoyìn chàbùduō kàn bú jiàn le.
these footprint almost see no RES PER.
‘These footprints almost cannot be seen.’
Polar & proximal: these footprints can be seen, and these footprints are close to being invisible.
A special meaning of chàbùduō
Moreover, chàbùduō has a special meaning that the proposition is so close to being true that it can be treated as true, in addition to the polar and proximal meaning, as in (14).
(14) yì zhuōzi cài chàbùduō chī wán le.
One table dish almost eat finished PER.
‘A table of dishes are almost eaten up.’
Polar & proximal: the dishes haven’t been finished, and the dishes are close to being finished.
Special meaning: the dishes can be treated as finished.
(15) a. The bottle is chàbùduō empty. Let’s add new liquids into it. [The bottle is so close to being empty that it can be treated as empty.]
b. The clothes are chàbùduō dry. You can wear them now. [The clothes are so close to being dry that it can be treated as dry.]
c. Homework chàbùduō is finished. I can play video games now. [The homework is so close to being finished that it can be treated as finished.]
However, both jīhū and chàdiănr are odd in the contexts in (15), where the second proposition is based on the realization of the first one. (16) is another example.
(16) Zuòyè #chàdiănr/#jīhū/chàbùduō xiĕ wán le, wŏ homework almost write finish PER, I
kĕyĭ chū qù wán le.
go play PER.
‘Homework is almost done. I can go out to play.’
The special meaning: an implicature
Even if the following proposition is based on the non-realization of the first one, chàbùduō can still be used, but the special meaning is cancelled, indicating that it is a conversational implicature, as in (17).
(17) mĭ chàbùduō chī wán le, dàn hái kĕyĭ chī yì
rice almost eat finished PER, but still can eat one
tiān
day.
‘The rice is almost eaten up, but it can still be eaten for one day.’
Further research
Thank you!