Amazing & Complicated

Exclusivity, contingency, exceptionality and (un)desirability: A corpus-based study of

Chinese chufei (unless) in spoken and written discourse
Tianyu Fu

WHAT IS CHUFEIE?

Chuefei

Condition
/Excepti
on

Only if

unless

P
q
~q

Stand for the proposition introduced by chufei

e.g. /ni qu/ you will go

Its matrix clause (consequent)

e.g. /ta qu/ he will go

The opposite consequent

e.g. /ta bu qu/ he will not go

When we choose to use Chufei

An emphasis
on theonnecessity
of the condition
Emphasis
the absoluteness
of the
Emphasis on the
universality of the
(p)
consequent (q)
consequent (q)

http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XMjI0NDk3MDE2.html

Chufei p, cai
qu

Chufei p,
fouze q

(Ruo/ruguo)
Yao Xiang
~q, chufei p

Chufei p, cai
q;fouze/bur
an ~q

~q, chufei P

 Chufei p, cai q

Only if p, will q

Chufei ni qu, ta cai qu

Only if you go, will he go.

Chufei p, fouze ~q
Chufei p, buran ~q
Chufei p, yaoburan ~q
Chufei p, ~q

Unless (only if) P, otherwise ~q

Chufei ni qu, fouze ta bu qu.

Chufei ni qu, buran ta bu qu.

Chufei ni qu, yaoburan ta bu qu.

ta bu hui qu de, Chufei ni qu

Chufei p, cai q ; fouze /buran ~q

Unless (only if) p, will q; otherwise ~q

Chufei ni qu, ta cai hui qu, fouze ta bu qu.

Only if you go, he will go; otherwise he wont go.

(Ruo/rugu

o) Yao
Xiang
(~q),
chufei p

If you want
something
happened,
you need to
do something
first.

Ruo xing rang ta qu , chufei ni qu qing ta.

If you want him to go, invite him,
He wont go, unless you invite him.

q
or
~
q

(~q), chufei p (~q), unless p

Chufei p, ~q

Ta bu qu, chufei ni.

He will not go, unless you go.

Type

Type

Spoken
discourse

Written discourse

Favorite
(~q),

Favorite

chufei p

chufei p, fouze ~q
,chufei p,~q
Chufei p, cai q

Reason

negation

Highlight an effect of a default

situation to indicate a
bad/negative result
Reason
Emphasize the seriousness of
the consequence if the condition
prefaced by chufei is not
fulfilled.

LETS HAVE A TRY

Five groups of p, q, ~q.

Choose one group and one type of CHUFEI constructions to make a sentence and think

In what situation?

What kind of emotion has been contained?

Why you choose such a particular type instead of others?

E.G. P: the boy has a house

q: He can get married with his girl friend

~q: They can not get married

Sentence:
Unless the boy has a house, otherwise he can't get married with his girl friend

Conclusion

Linewhen you reach it something is going to happen; while something else will
happen if you do not reach this line

Subjection included (expectation)

Context based

Chufei can be viewed as a kind of predictive conditional, which predicts that if a desired
action is/is not carried out or a desired condition is/is not fulfilled, the desired/undesired
consequence would occur.

In particular, Chufei clauses have a recapitulative function in that they summarize what
has come before.

We demonstrate that speakers/writers express a particular stance of desirability versus

undesirability toward a particular event through chufei constructions base on their
subjective evaluation of reality.

Thanks ~~