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Structural, Functional, and Prosodic Realization of the Chinese Discourse Marker jiùshìshuō

  • Journal of Chinese Language and Literature
  • 2026, (101), pp.307~335
  • DOI : 10.15792/clsyn..101.202604.307
  • Publisher : Chinese Literary Society Of Yeong Nam
  • Research Area : Humanities > Chinese Language and Literature
  • Received : March 20, 2026
  • Accepted : April 13, 2026
  • Published : April 30, 2026

LEE, MIKYOUNG 1

1대구대학교

Accredited

ABSTRACT

This study investigates the structural distribution, discourse functions, and prosodic realization of the Chinese discourse marker jiùshìshuō(就是说). Based on 7,040 sentences extracted from the BCC corpus and an acoustic analysis of 144 recorded utterances (432 tokens), the study examines how the discourse functions of jiùshìshuō are systematically associated with its structural environments and prosodic patterns. The corpus analysis shows that the structural distribution of jiùshìshuō varies according to its collocational patterns and positional environments. In particular, forms combined with demonstratives such as zhè jiùshìshuō and nà jiùshìshuō tend to occur at discourse boundaries and frequently perform transitional or summarizing functions, whereas the independent form more often appears within sentences and is associated with explanatory or mitigating functions. These structural patterns provide important clues for understanding the functional differentiation of the marker. The acoustic analysis further reveals that the discourse functions of jiùshìshuō are closely reflected in its prosodic realization. Significant differences in pitch were observed across the four functional types. Transitional uses exhibit the highest pitch and the steepest falling slope, indicating strong boundary marking in discourse. In contrast, explanatory uses show relatively lower pitch and longer duration, reflecting a stable prosodic pattern associated with information elaboration. Notably, the middle syllable shì shows the largest pitch differences across functions, suggesting that it may serve as a prosodic locus for functional differentiation. In addition, summarizing uses display a lengthening of the final syllable shuō, which appears to function as a prosodic cue signaling discourse closure. Taken together, the findings demonstrate that the discourse marker jiùshìshuō is not merely a lexical item with pragmatic functions but a complex discourse device in which structure, function, and prosody interact systematically. By integrating large-scale corpus analysis with acoustic evidence, this study provides a comprehensive account of the structural–functional–prosodic interface of a Chinese discourse marker and contributes to a more empirically grounded understanding of discourse marker research.

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This paper was written with support from the National Research Foundation of Korea.
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