A sketch grammar of Singapore Teochew

Abstract

This is a sketch grammar of the Singaporean variety of Teochew (also known as Chaozhou), a language from the Southern Min branch of the Sinitic family. It aims to offer a broad overview of the phonological structure and grammatical features of Singapore Teochew based on data from three native Teochew speakers. This sketch grammar describes the phonology of Teochew, loanwords and word formation processes, the constituents and structure of the noun phrase, the verb phrase, clause types and structures, adversative constructions, the structure of interrogative sentences, particles and kinship terms. It is hoped that this thesis can add to a greater understanding of this under-described language as well as serve as a springboard for further research.