ABSTRACT
The particle le is one of the more frequently used and discussed, but least understood, elements in Chinese grammar. The NWO (Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research) research project ‘On Chinese Discourse LE,’ undertaken collaboratively by Marinus van den Berg, Chinese Department, Leiden University, and Guo Wu, School of Marketing, International Business, and Asian Studies, The University of Western Sydney, Nepean, Australia, is an effort to approach this old problem from a new (discourse) perspective. The overall goal of the project is to develop a pragmatic functional framework that will allow for the description and explanation of the various functions of the particle le in an interactive context. The approach can then be extended to other particles and various grammatical processes employed by the Chinese language so as to produce ‘A Chinese Discourse Grammar.’
