Analysis of Meanings and Grammatical Functions of The Connector “而” in Chinese and Its Translation into Thai

Abstract

In Chinese language teaching, Thai students often have difficulty using words that have various and complex meanings. The conjunction is also an important part of speech in Chinese language teaching. Grammatical functions of the conjunction“而”are also difficult and complex. Therefore, the researcher is interested in studying the meanings and grammatical functions of the conjunction “而”  so that it can be beneficial for teaching Chinese in the future. This research aims to study the meanings , the grammatical functions of the conjunction“而” and its translations into Thai. This research will study only the conjunction“而” in modern Chinese.

It is found out that in terms of meanings and translations into Thai, the conjunction“而”can: 1. connect words that have related meanings, comparable to the word “และ” in Thai ; 2. show the relationship that is similar to each other, comparable to the word “และ” in Thai; 3. connect words with negative meanings to show contradiction, comparable to the word “แต่” in Thai; 4. connect words with opposite meanings, comparable to the word “แต่กลับ” in Thai; 5. show a change from one period to another, comparable to the word “ถึง” in Thai; 6. connect the subject and predicate, comparable to the word “ถ้า” in Thai; 7. connect an adverb or an adjective that shows the purpose, cause, reference, method, time or state with a verb, of which, in Thai language, there is no need to translate the meaning, etc.

The grammatical functions of conjunction“而”are: 1. connecting adjectives or verbs; 2. connecting phrases (adjectives phrases or phrasal verbs) 3. connecting clauses or sentences 4. connecting the subject with the predicate, having the same meaning as “如果、但是”. 5. connecting words that show purpose, cause, citation, method, and state with phrasal verbs. 6. connecting nouns with nouns, often structured “由（从）……而……”etc.