The Formation and Understanding of the Pragmatic Function and Negative Meaning of Zenme Shuohua Ne

Zenme shuohua ne (what is your way of speaking) is a substantial construction that expresses a negation in a question form. The construction can form many variants through four transformation methods: component addition, component transposition, component reuse, and component substitution. Its negative function can be divided into two types: pragmatic negation and semantic negation. The former refers to negating the appropriateness of how the addressee expresses a proposition without involving the truth or falsehood of the proposition. By contrast, the latter refers to negating the addressee’s manner of speech so as to negate the content of his / her speech. The negation of the latter involves the truth or falsehood of the proposition. The addressee understands the construction via pragmatic reasoning guided by the cooperative principle and maxim of relation.