A study of the Aspectual Meaning Expressed by ‘一’ in the Chinese ‘一V’ Structure in both Incomplete and Complete Sentences, Based upon Equivalent Expressions in Thai

Abstract

The objective of this research is to study and analyze the Chinese structural pattern “一V” in both incomplete and complete sentences, through comparison with equivalent expressions in Thai. The methodology involved collecting data and categorizing Thai equivalents based on syntactic structure, followed by an analysis of the aspectual meaning conveyed by “一”. The data sources included the Modern Chinese–Thai Dictionary, Laoshe’s Rickshaw Boy, and Bajin’s Spring. The findings show that: (1) In both types of sentences, the structure “一V” is most commonly translated using verbs or verb phrases in Thai; however, these equivalents are generally unable to convey the aspectual meaning of “一”. (2) Structures such as “พอ...ก็...” (as soon as... then...) or temporal adverbs are considered ideal equivalents, but their frequency of use is low. (3) Certain verbs or verb phrases that inherently express aspectual meaning are regarded as natural equivalents, though they are also infrequently used. (4) The word “หนึ่ง” (one) is used to indicate quantitative meaning. The results of this study can be applied to Chinese language instruction and may also support typological studies on the semantic development of quantifiers across different languages.