何谓现代汉语情态副词 — 一个“跨越东亚”语言研究的示例 = What are Modal Adverbs in Modern Chinese: A Case Study in ‘Trans-East Asian’ Linguistic Research

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

This study adopts a Trans-East Asian perspective to conduct a comparative analysis of modal adverbs in Modern Chinese and Korean. It aims to identify gaps in Chinese modal adverb research and draw insights from Korean studies to refine the Chinese modal adverb system. A review of existing literature reveals that while modal adverbs are generally recognized as a subcategory of adverbs in Chinese, terminology remains inconsistent, and classification primarily follows Western modal theories. A comparison with Korean modal adverb classification shows that both languages acknowledge this category with a similar understanding of modality. However, Korean research demonstrates greater terminological consistency, avoiding conceptual ambiguities. Additionally, both languages rely on Western frameworks, yet Korean classification exhibits a more standardized approach. Based on this analysis, two suggestions are proposed: (1) adopting Korean classification methods to delineate the unique role of modal adverbs in Chinese and define their scope more precisely, and (2) introducing clear definitions and universal language annotations (e.g., English) to minimize terminological confusion. Using the Chinese modal adverb “也许” as a case study, corpus analysis confirms its function in expressing uncertainty and modifying entire sentences. This study contributes to the standardization and systematization of Chinese modal adverb research through cross-linguistic comparison.