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[Language Studies and Education] The 2nd Research Seminar: "Comparative Analysis between Chinese and Japanese and Japanese Language Education: Quantifier expressions" (2 December 2011)

The seminar "Comparative Analysis between Chinese and Japanese and Japanese Language Education: Quantifier expressions" was held on 2 December 2011 (at the Agora Global Prometheus Hall). The lecturers were Zhang Lin Sheng, Osaka Prefecture University (Research on Acquiring Quantifier Expressions in both Chinese and Japanese), and Peng Guanglu, Peking University (Contrastive Research on Subjective Quantifier Expressions in Chinese and Japanese).

Prof. Zhang emphasized the importance of contrastive research in the respective fields of second language acquisition research and linguistic research. In research on second language acquisition, he proposed handling the issue of language transfer based on a model of "hypothesis verification" (acquisition research based on a three-prong approach of contrastive research, error observation, and hypothesis verification). In other words, it is a model to first detect the possibility of language transfer based on contrastive research, observe the language produced by the learners, then frame a hypothesis regarding the acquisition pattern, and finally to verify the hypothesis through various surveys.

Prof. Peng introduced the different types of subjective (evaluative) expressions in Japanese and Chinese. In Chinese, the subjective quantifiers to express "many" are the "sufficient type," "achievable type," "excessive type," "approaching type," "transforming type," "focused type," and "unexpected type." Quantifiers expressing "few" are the "insufficient type," "non-achievable type," "non-excessive type," "restrictive type," and "descriptive type." On the other hand, Japanese uses "mo" + positive form to express the former type, and "mo" + negative from to express the latter. Prof. Peng also pointed out that the acquisition of modifiers of noun-inflectable words (e.g., yaku 30 paasento mono fuufu) is difficult for native-Chinese Japanese learners.

About twenty people participated in the seminar and many questions such as the language transfer of native-Chinese Japanese learners were asked.