John Jing-hua Yin University of Vermont

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1 John Jing-hua Yin University of Vermont john.yin@uvm.edu
Characters and Words: Understanding the Acquisition of Chinese Vocabulary John Jing-hua Yin University of Vermont

2 What is vocabulary? It is all the words of a language.
It is the sum of words used by, understood by, or at the command of a particular person. --from the American Heritage Dictionary

3 What is a word? A word is a sound or a combination of sounds, or its representation in writing or printing, that symbolizes and communicates a meaning and may consist of a single morpheme or of a combination of morphemes. --from the American Heritage Dictionary

4 What does it mean to know a word?
1) Form: Spoken What does the word sound like? (R) How is the word pronounced? (P) Writing What does the word look like? (R) How is the word written? (P) 2) Position: Syntactic In what patterns does the word occur? (R) In what patterns must the word be used? (P) Semantic What words can be expected before or after it? (R) What words must be used with it? (P)

5 What does it mean to know a word?
3) Function: Frequency How common is the word? (R) How often should it be used? (P) Appropriateness Where would we expect this word to be used? (R) Where can this word be used? (P) 4) Meaning: Concept What does the word mean? (R) What word should be used to express this meaning? (P) Associations What other words does this word make us think of? (R) What other words should we use instead of this one?(P) --I.S.P. Nation

6 What is a Chinese word? A Chinese word is formed by one or more Chinese characters, almost all of which are morphemes. Many of the Chinese characters can be words by themselves; however, most of the modern Chinese words are disyllabic or multi-syllabic with two or more Chinese characters.

7 Chinese Words in the Vocabulary Conspectus of HSK

8 Monosyllabic Words vs. Multisyllabic Words in HSK Vocabulary
词汇总数 8,840 多音节词 6,902 单音节词 1,938

9 Characters vs. Words in HSK Vocabulary
The HSK vocabulary has 8840 words. These 8840 words are formed by 2907 characters.

10 Three Lists 1) Appearance Frequency List (AF)
2) Natural Acquisition List (NA) 3) Basic Characters List (BC)

11 Most frequently used Chinese characters
: 的一是不了人在我有中这大国上个来他为到地和时们年生会出就子要也以说学得对下那可过于之后着主能里多小而你天家去工十用作分发自成都方民好日还经没同如她么起本行心所然事现三加想面开电种前当美二外道从动看业高 : 者法但其理些实只老长月与两政文部最样意进很机公把又力全点四头已因等问新此名己定正知情无回明间手第产气话重几表由它将化女五代相华平或九水社比内位军车使制度向并活关体总给入什员身见常被西次期各及少打特象口

12 Words acquired by a kid at 18 months old
Monosyllabic 单音节 妈爸奶爷姐妹哥弟姑叔阿姨穿脱鞋袜带戴帽被裤睡床吃喝粥水奶饼糖米豆饭汤烫鸡鸭鱼肉虾下刀碗筷叉勺剪扎疼跌摔揉吹锅瓶盖开关门钟福笔纸写画书报信尿拉臭一二西瓜动剥皮橘苹果香蕉灯要不没破洒湿擦刷洗咚滴嗒台凳桌椅车狗汪牛巴拜再见熊兔鸟手脚头嘴牙眼鼻滑梯花圣诞树梳唉飞机学家屁旗摇白看跳舞唱歌拉 (140) Disyllabic 双音节 圣诞 垃圾 阿姨 熊猫 (4) --Recorded by Yin in Jan. 1998

13 Basic Chinese characters & radicals
日月水火土山川玉石田木竹草生禾米气电云雨天示文人儿父母子女士王主尸大小长立止走口目见艮自手又寸足身骨歹肉心耳舌牙面首页欠亡鬼牛马羊豕兔犬象鸟隹贝虫巴鱼角爪毛羽皮革瓜果豆巾丝衣门户穴广厂勺皿酉井瓦缶臼网刀戈弓矢车舟丁斤斗力工干一二三四五六七八九十百千万兆只几两半上下左右旁里外前后正反方东西南北中夕不 (149) 亻彳扌辶忄讠氵冫灬阝纟刂囗钅饣犭艸衤攵宀疒礻卩廴 (25)

14 Comparisons of the Three Lists
1) Appear in all the three lists 一下不二手 (5) 2) Appear in the NA and the BC lists 刀勺水牙牛瓜皮米肉车门鱼鸟 (13) 3) Appear in the BC and the AP lists 三上两中主人前力十又只后四外大 天子小工心方日月气生自里长面 (29) 4) Appear in the NA and the AP lists 头学家开要 (5)

15 What characters does PCR Lessons 1-15 have?
一下不二三中人十外大四工子气车七五八六几口女九儿学家书哥喝妈妹姐弟爸生笔写见个也他们作你去国在地好多当很想我文新是有本来没法现用的看老说还这进那都问名(75 characters in at least one of the lists) 么习买互什介住信先典再友叫号吗吸告呢和哪商啊喂图坐夫她姓字孩客室宿对少层师常店志忙您报教敢朋杂欢汉烟爱男画留相系绍给舍英茶行览认识诉词语请谁贵迎银阅院馆(76 characters not in any of the lists)

16 Some thoughts as the conclusion
1) To reduce the cognitive overload for Chinese beginners, offer a separate course on the basic knowledge of the Chinese characters to establish the link between the form and the meaning of characters. 2) To enlarge students’ Chinese vocabulary, we must emphasize the teaching of Chinese characters (form, meaning, position, function) when teaching words 3) Receptive skills and productive skills related to vocabulary should not be equally demanded and treated in teaching words. 4) Provide ample input and conduct massive practice for character recognition and production