Passives and “give” constructions
The passive voice in Teochew uses the same words that mean “to give”, so these two topics are treated together here.
Contents
Passive
The passive markers in Teochew are koih4 (also pronounced kêh4 or kih4) 乞 or bung1 分. The latter is characteristic of the dialect spoken in Swatow, but the two can be used interchangeably. The passive marker in Hokkien is hōo/hǒ 予 (also written 與); here Teochew has more in common with Northern Min, which use cognates of koih4 乞.
(The character 乞 is also pronounced keg4, kêg4, or kig4 when used to mean “to beg” or “request”.)
The basic construction is:
[object] PASS [agent] [verb]
tsʰɯŋ¹¹teŋ⁵³ kai¹¹ pĩã⁵³ loŋ³⁵tsoŋ⁵³ kʰoiʔ² nou³³kĩã⁵³ tsiaʔ⁵kʰɯ¹¹ lou¹¹
Ceng5(7)dêng2-gai5(7) bian2 long2(6)zong2 koih4 nou1gian2 ziah8-ke3 lou7.
床頂 個 餅 攏總 乞 奴仔 食去 路。
Table-top-REL biscuits all PASS children eat-away-PERF.
The biscuits on the table have all been eaten by the children.
***
i³³ puŋ³³ lui¹¹koŋ³³ kʰa⁵³si⁵³
I1 bung1 lui6(7)gong1 ka3(2)si2.
伊 分 雷公 扣死。
He PASS lightning struck-dead.
He was struck dead by lightning. (Lim 1886, pg. 47)
The passive marker is thought to have evolved from the verb “to give” via the related sense of “to allow” (see “‘Give’ constructions” below, and Xu 2007 chapter 8).
kʰoiʔ² a³³ meŋg⁵⁵ tso¹¹ kai¹¹ pĩã⁵³ tsiŋ³³sik⁵ bo¹¹ho³⁵tsiaʔ⁵
Koih4 A1Mêng5 zo6(7)-gai5(7) bian2 zing1sig8 bho5(7)ho2(6)ziah8.
乞 阿明 做 個 餅 真實 無好食。
PASS Ah-Meng make REL biscuits really NEG-good-eat.
The biscuits made by Ah Meng are really terrible. (Interpretation 1: Passive)
The biscuits that Ah Meng was tasked to make are really terrible. 1 (Interpretation 2: Passive + sense of “give”)
The example above also shows how the passive can be used in a relative clause with the relative marker gai5 個.
koih4nang5 • 乞儂 • Use of a generic agent
Koih4 or bung1 cannot be used without an agent, e.g. English “I was given a basket of pears.” The question “by whom?” is not answered by such an “agentless” passive form, making it a common construction in unclear or evasive speech.
In Teochew, the passive must always be accompanied by an agent. Where none is forthcoming, a dummy or generic agent can be used: nang5 儂 (“person”) in koih4nang5 乞儂 or bung1nang5 分儂.
This is unlike Mandarin, where the passive marker bèi 被 can be used without an agent:
Nàge xiǎotōu bèi zhuō le.
那個 小偷 被 捉 了。
That thief PASS catch PERF.
That thief has been caught. [By whom?]
The analogous construction would be ungrammatical in Teochew:
* hɯ⁵³kai¹¹ tsʰɯ³⁵tsʰak²kĩã⁵³ kʰoiʔ² liaʔ⁵ liou²¹³
* He2gai5(7) ce2(6)cag8(4)kian2 koih4 liah8 liou3.
* 許個 鼠賊囝 乞 掠 了。
* That-CL thief PASS catch PERF.
Instead it requires a dummy agent:
hɯ⁵³kai¹¹ tsʰɯ³⁵tsʰak²kĩã⁵³ kʰoiʔ²naŋ¹¹ liaʔ⁵ liou²¹³
He2gai5(7) ce2(6)cag8(4)gian2 koih4nang5(7) liah8 liou3.
許個 鼠賊囝 乞儂 掠 了。
That-CL thief PASS-person catch PERF.
That thief has been caught by someone.
Uses of koih4 and bung1
Aside from marking the passive voice, the words koih4 and bung1 can be used as a straightforward verb for “to give” and a number of other functions.
“To give”
ua⁵³ kʰoiʔ² i³³ tsek² puŋ³⁵ tsɯ³³
Ua2 koih4 i1 zêg8(4)-bung2(6) ze1.
我 乞 伊 一本 書。
I give he one-CL book.
I give him a book.
“To allow”
ua⁵³ tsi³⁵pai⁵³ kʰoiʔ² lɯ³⁵ zip⁵lai¹¹ / e¹¹pai⁵³ tsu¹¹ mo⁵³
Ua2 zi2(6)bai2 koih4 le2(6) rib4(8)lai7, e6(7)bai2 zu6(7) mo2.
我 只擺 乞 汝 進來, 下擺 就 孬。
I this-time allow you enter, next-time then not-able.
I’ll let you come in this time, but not the next time.
“For” or “to”
ua⁵³ kʰioʔ⁵ lai¹¹ kʰoiʔ² lɯ³⁵ tʰoiʔ⁵³
Ua2 kioh8-lai5(7) koih4 le2(6) toin2.
我 挈來 乞 汝 睇。
I take-here for you see.
I’ll bring it here for you to see.
***
ua⁵³ kʰoiʔ² lɯ³⁵ tso¹¹ kai¹¹ kʰaŋ³³kʰue¹¹
Ua2 koih4 le2(6) zo6(7)-gai5(7) kang1kuê7
我 乞 汝 做個 工課
I for you do-REL work
The work that I did for you
In Hokkien, the word kā 共 is used for the senses of “for”, “to”, “with”, e.g. guá kā lí kóng “let me tell you…”.
“Give” with sang3
Unlike koih4 / bung1, the verb sang3 送 can be used in the sense of “to give” but not the other functions that koih4 / bung1 have.
Ua2 sang3(2) le2(6) zêg8(4)-bung2(6) ze1.
* Ua2 zi2(6)bai2 sang3(2) le2(6) rib4(8)lai.
* Ua2 kioh8-lai5(7) sang3(2) le2(6) toin2.
References and further reading
- Xu Hui Ling 許惠玲 (2007), Aspect of Chaozhou grammar, Chapter 8
- Koons, Alvin & Koons, Barbara (2016) [1967], Spoken Swatow, Chapter 23
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One shouldn’t trust an orangutan with baking. ↩