Chinese State Complements: A Structural and Semantic Analysis of Their Thai Corresponding Forms

Abstract

This study employs a qualitative approach to investigate the structural and semantic features of Thai equivalents of the Chinese construction “Verb + 得 + State Complement.” The data consist of Chinese sentences containing the construction “Verb + 得 + State Complement” and their Thai translations drawn from 20 modern Chinese novels alongside their translated versions, for a total of 1,346 sentence pairs. Guided by the concept of translation shifts, the analysis first categorizes the types of Thai corresponding forms and then assesses their semantic alignment with the source language. The results reveal that from the nine sub-types of Thai corresponding forms identified: 1), in terms of structure, Thai equivalents show both minimal and significant translation shifts. Minimal shifts most commonly employ the Thai “Verb + Adverbial Modifier” structure as the corresponding form, whereas significant shifts involve clearer structural transformation, such as converting the state complement into the main verb or into an object modifier. 2) On the semantic level, most Thai forms effectively convey the intended meaning of the Chinese source, with varying degrees of necessity in the selection of each form, with the choice of form influenced by linguistic nature, semantic orientation, and fluency. Overall, the study provides systematic understanding of the varied Thai equivalents of the “Verb + 得 + State Complement” structure, covering both recognized and previously unexamined patterns, and provides insights useful for translation practice and Chinese-Thai translation pedagogy.