尔苏语形容词的词类独立性研究

Adjectives as a Separate Word Class in Ersu

一个语言中的形容词是否可以视为独立的词类一直是语言学界讨论的热点。基于"浸入式田野调查"搜集到的尔苏语语料的对比分析,表明该语言的形容词和(静态)动词在比较结构中和做小句谓语使用时,有一定的相似性,同时也有很大的差异性,此外,尔苏语的形容词和名词、动词在形态、附着词和名词词组等层面的差异更为显著,因此,尔苏语的形容词应该具有独立词类的属性和地位,研究成果为形容词的类型学研究提供了第一手素材。

Whether adjectives could be viewed as a separate word class in a language has long been under heated discussions among the academic circle of linguistics. Based on the comparative analysis on the data collected through our immersion fieldwork in the Ersu-speaking communities, we found that nouns, verbs and adjectives in Ersu show significant differences in morphology, clitic choices, and noun phrases although （stative） verbs and adjectives not only share some similarities, but also have some more differences while being used in comparative structures and as predicates of clauses. Consequently, Ersu adjectives have the property and the status as a separate word class. The findings will provide the first-hand materials for typological studies on adjectives.