American Journal Of Philological Sciences
75
https://theusajournals.com/index.php/ajps
VOLUME
Vol.05 Issue06 2025
PAGE NO.
75-77
10.37547/ajps/Volume05Issue06-21
Character
把
“b
ǎ
”
in Chinese Linguistics
Artikova Ziyoda Zaynitdinovna
Lecturer at the School of Sinology, Tashkent State University of Oriental Studies, Uzbekistan
Received:
14 April 2025;
Accepted:
10 May 2025;
Published:
12 June 2025
Abstract:
As a word, the character
把
“bǎ” in the Chinese lexicon is somewhat complex, yet it is one of the most
frequently used, flexible, and widely applicable words in the language. This is due to its ability to occupy different
syntactic positions in a sentence, thereby expressing various meanings and performing multiple functions. Chinese
linguists have proposed a variety of perspectives and interpretations regarding the analysis of the character
把
“bǎ” in their
research. This article presents and discusses the views of these scholars concerning the usage and
functions of
把
.
Keywords:
把
“bǎ” prepositional sentence,
把
“bǎ” character, classifier, noun phrase, object, verb, semantics,
cognitive, function, grammar.
Introduction:
In general linguistics, according to
typological classification, Modern Chinese belongs to
the isolating languages. For this reason, the Chinese
language possesses a number of distinctive typological
features. One of the main characteristics of Chinese is
the polysemy of its words. Typically, in Chinese, a single
character corresponds to a single simple word.
Therefore, when examining both the semantic and
grammatical meanings of a word, the role of the
character is of great importance. Even in the
interpretation of polysyllabic words, the meanings of
individual characters are taken into account. In our
case, a single character, namely
把
“ba”, exemplifies
polysemy not only in terms of having multiple
meanings but also demonstrates the necessity of
studying it as a multifunctional unit.
METHOD
In their studies on the character
把
“bǎ”, Chinese
linguists have put forward numerous views and
insights, providing extensive information regarding the
structure and formation of the frequently used
把
-
construction in Modern Chinese. For example, Wang
Hai (1984, 1985) conducted research on the
characteristics of the object in the
把
-construction,
demonstrating its usage in definite, indefinite, and
special contexts . Linguists such as Wang Shiyuan (W.
Wang, 1964, 1969), Li Yingzhe (Y. Li, 1970), and Zou Ke
(1993, 1995) have explored the formal structure of
sentences containing
把
.
Regarding the functional analysis of the
把
-
construction, the views of Cao Fengfu are considered
fundamental. He identified that the object following
把
carries several features of the sentence topic but does
not occupy the primary syntactic position. Cognitive
research on the
把
-construction is a relatively new
direction in Chinese linguistics. In this area, the works
of scholars such as Zhang Bojiang (2000) and Zhang
Wangxi (2001) can be cited as notable contributions.
RESULTS
However, there are differing views among scholars
regarding certain aspects of the
把
“bǎ” construction.
M. Hashimoto and A. Hashimoto, for instance,
proposed that the noun phrase following
把
functions
as the subject of a subordinate clause. Another group
of researchers argued that there is a semantic
connection between the noun phrase that follows
把
and the one that appears after the verb. According to
this view, originally both noun phrases served as
complements of a single verb. Later, due to syntactic
reordering, one of these noun phrases was moved to
precede
把
, although it still retained its role as the
object.
Notable research on the functional analysis of
把
-
sentences has been conducted by Chinese linguists
American Journal Of Philological Sciences
76
https://theusajournals.com/index.php/ajps
American Journal Of Philological Sciences (ISSN
–
2771-2273)
such as Cao Fengfu (1986/2005), Zhang Wangxi (1991),
Xue Fengsheng (1987, 1994), Fan Xiao (2001), and
British scholar Emily Bender (2000) . Among them, Cao
Fengfu introduced the concept of the "main topic" (
主
要
话题
) in a sentence. He explains that in a
把
-
sentence, if the verb reflects an action performed by
the subject toward the topic, the sentence
demonstrates two key features: transitivity of the verb
and the causative meaning (
致使意
义
) often found in
passive or resultative constructions.
Based on this, Cao Fengfu categorizes the semantic
interpretation of
把
-sentences into two types: one
expressing transitivity, and the other reflecting
reflexivity or a causative-passive relationship.
Zhang Wangxi (1991) emphasized that the application
of the
把
“bǎ”
-construction must involve a clear cause-
and-effect relationship. In other words, when a speaker
intends to highlight the causal and resultant connection
of an action, the
把
-construction is appropriate and
effective for expressing such relationships.
The development of cognitive linguistics has further
stimulated research into the
把
“bǎ” construction from
this perspective. For instance, Zhang Bojiang (2000),
building on Goldberg’s Construction Grammar Theory,
investigated the semantics of
把
-sentences. Rather
than focusing solely on the relationship between
把
and the verb, he emphasized the interaction between
the verb and the overall sentence construction,
considering
把
-sentences as semantically complex
sentence structures.
Shen Jiaxuan's definition of subjective control has been
widely accepted by many linguists. According to Shen,
subjectivity in language involves three aspects: the
speaker’s emotion, the speaker’s viewpoint, and the
speaker’s awareness or unde
rstanding. These three
dimensions are interrelated in
把
-sentences, forming
an integrated meaning. In such constructions, the
subject is identified by its ability to exercise control or
agency over the object, which appears as the
complement of the sentence.
Studies on the use of the character
把
“bǎ” as a
classifier are relatively limited. Among the notable
works is that of Ye Guichen in his 2018 study Qingdai
biji xiaoshuo yanjiu (Research on Anecdotal Novels of
the Qing Dynasty), where he explores instances of
把
being used as a classifier . In addition, in his research on
classifiers in the Chinese language during the Ming
Dynasty, Ye also discusses how
把
“bǎ” functions as a
measure word, particularly in reference to liquid
substances.
For example, in the sentence:
大家
见面，一把鼻涕，一把眼泪，个人诉说客人苦
处。
(Dàjiā jiànmiàn, yī bǎ bítì, yī bǎ yǎnlèi, gèrén
sùshuō kèrén kǔchù.) "When everyone met, tears and
mucus flowed uncontrollably, as each person began
sharing the hardships they had faced while away from
home."
In this sentence,
把
“bǎ” is used as a classifier for both
tears and nasal mucus, indicating quantities of fluid
emitted from the nose and eyes. This illustrates how
把
can function as a measure word specifically related to
amorphous or liquid substances, expressing emotional
intensity and quantity in a vivid, tangible manner.
Liu Shiru and Jin Guitao have also examined the usage
of classifiers during the Song, Yuan, Ming, and Qing
dynasties, specifically highlighting the historical
development of the classifier
把
“bǎ” d
uring these
periods. According to the authors,
把
was initially used
as a nominal classifier and later evolved into an action
classifier.
The data presented in their research indicate that the
classifier
把
“bǎ” is derived from the verb
把
, whose
core meaning is associated with hand movements or
manual manipulation. Therefore, when used as an
action classifier,
把
typically quantifies actions that are
carried out by hand. Furthermore, the syntactic
position of
把
in a sentence helps determine whether it
functions as a nominal or an action classifier.
For example:
那独眼老二就火了，一把揪住老三的耳
朵。
(Nà
dúyǎn lǎo'èr jiù huǒ le, yī bǎ jiūzhù lǎo sān de ěrduǒ.)
"That one-eyed second brother suddenly got angry and
grabbed third brother's ear with one swift motion."
In this sentence,
把
“bǎ” functions as an action
classifier, quantifying the single, forceful hand
movement of grabbing. This usage reflects its semantic
origin related to physical, manual actions and aligns
with its grammatical development across historical
periods.
Research on
把
“bǎ” as a Verb and Noun Although there
are no comprehensive studies specifically dedicated to
the use of the character
把
“bǎ” as a verb or noun,
several scholars have commented on these functions in
their grammatical analyses. For example, in his work
"Osnovy kitayskoy grammatiki" (The Fundamentals of
Chinese Grammar), Wang Liao-yi discusses the original
verbal usage of
把
“bǎ” in the section comparing
把
[bǎ]
and
被
[bèi] .
Consider the example:
左手把其袖
(zuǒshǒu bǎ qíxiù) “He grabbed the sleeve
with his left hand.” In this sentence,
把
“bǎ” is used in
American Journal Of Philological Sciences
77
https://theusajournals.com/index.php/ajps
American Journal Of Philological Sciences (ISSN
–
2771-2273)
its original verbal sense, meaning ‘to hold’ or ‘to grasp
by hand’. This early verbal usage of
把
underlies many
of its later grammatical roles in Modern Chinese,
including its evolution into a prepositional marker in
the
Syntactic and Semantic Versatility of
把
“bǎ” Zhang
Aimin and Wu Jianfeng, in their research on auxiliary
words expressing approximation and estimation, have
noted that the character
把
“bǎ” c
an also function as
an auxiliary word in certain contexts.
Uzbek sinologist A.A. Karimov, in the appendix of his
candidate dissertation titled “Classifiers in the Chinese
Language: A Lexical-Semantic, Structural, and
Functional Analysis”, includes
把
“bǎ” a
s an example.
He explains that beyond its use as a classifier,
把
can
belong to multiple word classes, and discusses
phenomena related to its use, such as homonymy,
polysemy, and syntactic inversion in Chinese characters
.
For instance, in the third tone,
把
“bǎ” may function as
different parts of speech:
•
as a verb (e.g., ‘to hold’),
•
as a classifier (used for objects grasped or
manipulated by hand),
•
as a prepositional marker (in
把
-constructions),
•
or even as an adverbial element in specific
contexts.
These observations highlight the morphosyntactic
flexibility and polyfunctionality of
把
“bǎ”, making it a
subject of continued interest in both Chinese and
international linguistics.
CONCLUSION
Polyfunctionality in Chinese words is a prominent
feature of Chinese grammar. It indicates the absence of
a strict one-to-one correspondence between word
classes and syntactic constituents, emphasizing that a
single word can function in various syntactic roles
without undergoing a change in its inherent lexical
properties.
As demonstrated by the cited studies, considerable
research in Chinese linguistics has been devoted to the
use of
把
“ba” primarily as a prepositional marker,
alongside investigations into its function as a classifier.
The present study aims to comprehensively analyze the
full range of meanings and functions of the character
把
“ba”. In doing so, we have drawn on the insights of
previous scholars while also contributing our own
reflections, analyses, and interpretations.
This
holistic
approach
facilitates
a
deeper
understanding of the polyfunctional nature of
把
“ba”
and its significant role in the structure and semantics of
Modern Chinese.
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