MING DYNASTY 'MOUNTAIN SONGS'
109
This first poem begins with a common type of phrase, outside the rhythmic pattern, which identifies the speaker when special indication is needed. Some linguistic points to observe are: 1) The use of the character †, (M) tzŭ “son, child', here a verbal suffix indicating attainment of a goal or completed action. Later we will see more clearly this function as an aspect marker comparable to the Cantonese jôh *.
2) Note the pun on the word 'weasel' with (M) láng chῑ 'young gentleman' substituted for the character (M) láng † 'wolf'. 3) The use of the particle (S) tē indicate an adverbial relationship in the phrase (M) chiao chiao li chῑao § hērt ·
4) And finally, note how much better the cackling comes through in a southern dialect pronunciation of the phrase in note 3) above: (S) kōq kōg.
II.
娘兩箇並行,
兩朵鮮花囉裏箇強.
囡免道池裏藕嫩好,
娘道沙角菱老香.
"The woman and the daughter were walking along side by side,
Two fresh flowers, which one is nicer?
The daughter says, Of the lotus roots in the pond, the tender ones are better;
The woman says, Of the lily bulbs from the sand spit, the older ones are sweeter.
Note in this poem:
1) The use of (M) erh meaning here 'daughter' and also functioning as a nominalizing suffix in the phrases meaning 'daughter', 'lotus', and 'lily'. There is apparently a contrast of stress for the same form in these two functions, both matching the Mandarin usage.
2) The function of (M) ko both as a measure and as an attributive marker. This corresponds to the usage of a number of Chinese dialects.
3) The dialect expression (S) lo-li meaning 'which one, where'.
MING DYNASTY 'MOUNTAIN SONGS'
109
This first poem begins with a common type of phrase, outside the rhythmic pattern, which identifies the speaker when special indication is needed. Some linguistic points to observe are: 1) The use of the character †, (M) tzй “son, child', here a verbal suffix indicating attainment of a goal or completed action. Later we will see more clearly this function as an aspect marker comparable to the Cantonese jôh * .
2) Note the pun on the word 'weasel' with (M) láng gị 'young gentleman' substituted for the character (M) láng † 'wolf'. 3) The use of the particle (S) to indicate an adverbial relationship in the phrase (M) chiao chiao li chìao § hr₤rt ·
4) And finally, note how much better the cackling comes through in a southern dialect pronunciation of the phrase in note 3) above: (S) kōq kōg.
II.
娘兩箇並行,
兩朵鮮花囉裏箇強.
囡免道池裏藕嫩好,
娘道沙角菱
老香.
"The woman and the daughter were walking along side by
side,
Two fresh flowers, which one is nicer?
The daughter says, Of the lotus roots in the pond, the
tender ones are better;
The woman says, Of the lily bulbs from the sand spit,
the older ones are sweeter.
Note in this poem:
+
1) The use of (M) erh meaning here 'daughter' and also func-
tioning as a nominalizing
a nominalizing suffix in the phrases meaning 'daughter', 'lotus', and 'lily'. There is apparently a contrast of stress for the same form in these two functions, both matching the Mandarin usage.
2) The function of (M) ko both as a measure and as an attri- butive marker. This corresponds to the usage of a number of Chinese dialects.
3) The dialect expression (S) lo-li meaning 'which one,
where'.
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