What is it about?
The use of the Chinese particle le cannot be grasped by a simple grammatical rule. In this study, context of use was studied as a crucial component and a context-sensitive mechanism was discovered, showing that Chinese speakers take note of DEVIATION from a normal or regular situation, or alternatively when the current situation is a deviation, a SOLUTION and a return to normal.
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Why is it important?
This study demonstrates that Chinese grammar (and by implication all grammars) cannot be studied as context-free. This extensive study of the use of the Chinese particle le demonstrates that language users have a complete contextual model in their mind and that grammar rules help to establish, update or change the settings of that model.
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This page is a summary of: The Chinese Particle Le, May 2006, Taylor & Francis,
DOI: 10.4324/9780203967898.
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