Note: While the sentences provide the romanized transcription according to glossing conventions, the romanized transcription (pinyin) is not an accurate reflection of Guanzhong Hua pronunciation (which includes its tones). Please click the audio file to hear Guanzhong Hua!
Guanzhong Hua is an analytic language that typically follows what we refer to as SVO word order. However, this is not the case in certain instances; for example, in 把/BA construction.
1.Existential
有一个孩子
Yǒu
exist
yī-gè
one-CL
háizi1
child
There is a child
2. Declarative
那个孩子正在睡觉
Nà-gè
DIST.DEM-CL
háizi
child
zhèngzài
in.process.of
shuì-jiào
sleep-sleep
That child is sleeping
那个孩子打碎了碗
Nà-gè
DIST.DEM-CL
háizi
child
dǎ
hit
suì-le
shatter-PFV
wǎn
bowl
That child broke the bowl
3. Yes/No Question
那个孩子打碎了碗吗
Nà-gè
DIST.DEM-CL
háizi
child
dǎ
hit
suì-le
shatter-PFV
wǎn
bowl
ma
Q
Did that child brake the bowl?
4. Content Question
谁打碎了碗
Shéi
who
dǎ
hit
suì-le
shatter-PFV
wǎn
bowl
Who broke the bowl?
5. Existential + Prepositional Phrase
a.
有一个孩子在房间
Yǒu
exist
yī-gè
one-CL
háizi
child
zài
at
fángjiān
room
There is a child in the room.
OR
b. (more natural/like a native speaker)
在房间有一个孩子
zài
at
fángjiān
room
yǒu
exist
yī-gè
one-CL
háizi
child
There is a child in the room.
6. Declarative phrase w/ negation
那个淘气的孩子没有睡觉
Nà-gè
DIST.DEM-CL
táoqì
naughty2
de
DE
háizi
child
méiyǒu
NEG
shuì-jiào
sleep-sleep
The naughty child is not sleeping.
7. Declarative Phrase w/ numerals
我的孩子打碎了三个碗
Wǒ-de
1SG.-POSS
háizi
child
dǎ
hit
suì-le
shatter-PFV
sān-gè
three-CL
wǎn
bowl
My child broke three bowls.
8. Relative Clause
那个去过动物园的男人感觉非常兴奋
Nà-gè
DIST.DEM-CL
qù-guò
go-EXP
dòngwùyuán
zoo3
de
DE
nánrén
man
gǎn-jué
feel-feel
fēicháng
extremely
xīngfèn
excite4
The man, who went to the zoo, felt very excited.
把/BA – Construction:
9.
a. (w/o 把)
我完成了我的作业
Wǒ
1SG.
wánchéng5-le
finish-PFV
wǒ-de
1SG.-POSS
zuòyè
homework
I finished my homework.
b. (w/ 把)
我把我的作业完成了
Wǒ
1SG.
bǎ
BA
wǒ-de
1SG.-POSS
zuòyè
homework
wánchéng-le
finish-PFV
I finished my homework.
10. 把 / BA – construction with a di-transitive phrase
a. (w/o 把)
那个男孩给了我书
Nà-gè
DIST.DEM-CL
nánhái
boy
gěi-le
give-PFV
wǒ
1SG.
shū
book
The boy gave the book to me
b. (w/把)
那个男孩把书给了我
Nà-gè
DIST.DEM-CL
nánhái
boy
bǎ
BA
shū
book
gěi-le
give-PFV
wǒ
1SG.
The boy gave the book to me
1Regarding 孩子 I am unsure whether this is the correct gloss; maybe it should be glossed just as ‘child’, or as child-zi (the suffix being the nominal derivational affix -zi ; see 2.2.1 in The Handbook of Chinese Linguistics, edited by C.-T. James Huang, Y.-H. Audrey Li, and Andrew Simpson. Or perhaps there is another gloss. 2, 3, 4, 5Unsure if these words are considered individual words or compounds. And if it’s the latter, what the glosses would be. In the case of 3, 动物园, I do know that it is ‘animal’ – ‘garden’. However, like the others, I am unsure if this makes it a compound or function as an individual word.