Exploring the Role of Sentence-Final Particles in Spoken Cantonese: A Comparative Study Based on the POS-based Dependency Networks

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Sentence-final particles (SFPs) are pervasive in spoken Cantonese for expressing speakers’ attitudes. This study explores the global and local features of SFPs in both spoken Cantonese and Mandarin Chinese using two part-of-speech-based (POS-based) dependency networks. Results show that (1) globally, spoken Cantonese and Mandarin Chinese networks exhibit centralization and scale-free properties, reflecting the communication efficiency of human languages. However, spoken Cantonese manifests weaker centralization properties, as demonstrated by the diversity of its edges. Moreover, SFPs in spoken Cantonese have a greater degree and in-degree than those in Mandarin Chinese, indicating a stronger ability to form syntactic connections with other POSs in the language structure. (2) locally, Cantonese SFPs display more extensive mood expression devices, notably differing in PART-NOUN (discourse:sp), PART-ADV and PART-ADJ dependencies compared to Mandarin Chinese. Additionally, specific examples illustrate how Cantonese SFP usage differs from Mandarin Chinese, showcasing their distinct discourse functions. The findings suggest that communication efficiency is a cross-lingual universal, while spoken Cantonese is distinctive in its use of diverse SFPs to express moods. This study may shed new light on adapting the complex network approach to explore the similarities and differences across human languages.