Situation-Bound Utterances in Chinese

What is it about?

This paper argues that when analyzing formulaic language use in Chinese besides the three main groups, proverbs (谚语 yànyŭ), idioms (成语 chéngyŭ, and 惯用语 guànyòngyŭ compounds) we need to distinguish and pay special attention to a fourth category: situation-bound utterances (qíngjìng zhuānyòngyǔ 情境专用语). Situation-bound utterances (SBU) constitute a unique group within idiomatic expressions because their use is tied to particular situations. SBUs fulfill social needs in conversation. People know that if they use these prefabricated expressions they are safe: nobody will misunderstand them because these phrases usually mean the same to most speakers of a speech community.

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Why is it important?

The paper aims to introduce Situation-Bound Utterances (qíngjìng zhuānyòngyǔ, 情境专用语) as a separate category among Chinese formulaic expressions, discuss its relationship to yànyŭ, chéngyŭ, and guànyòngyŭ compounds, explain why it is important to handle it as a separate lexical category and highlight the unique nature and use of SBUs.