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An Analysis of the Phenomenon of the Quasi-Affixation of Kinship Terms in Contemporary Chinese

ZHANG YONGWEI 1,  Joo-Oeck Maeng 1

1한국외국어대학교

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ABSTRACT

In recent years, with the popularization of new mass media, more and more traditional kinship terms have changed their original meanings, and become quasi-affixes. They have fixed positions, with high productivity, and also serve the function of classifying words. Scholars have defined such phenomenon as the “Quasi-Affixation of Kinship Terms.” These terms include “ye 爷”、“sao 嫂”、“ge 哥”、“di 弟”、“jie 姐”、 and “mei 妹.” This paper first analyzes the meanings of these quasiaffixation terms with multiple examples. Then, it examines the newly formed words ending with these kinship terms. The “X” elements in the “X-quasi-affixation kinship term” structure can be composed of nouns, verbs, adjectives, as well as letter words. Finally, this paper investigates the causes of such phenomenon, which include the weakening of the notion of Chinese patriarchalism, the changes in the concept of social life, the rapid development of mass media, and the influence of the own characteristics of these terms. Although the original meanings of these terms are weakened, their pragmatic functions are expanded, enriching our language usages. However, current utilizations of these terms are not satisfying, and thus require further regulations. A thorough analysis of the phenomenon of quasiaffixation of kinship terms enables us to have an in-depth understanding of the process of adding suffix in the formations of words in Chinese. Meanwhile, through distinguishing the differences in meanings and the cultural connotations of these terms during the process of teaching, students’ learning enthusiasms will be enhanced, and their understandings deepened, and memorizations improved. This is particularly important in Chinese teaching, especially within an international context.

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