A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF ADVERBIAL USAGE IN MANDARIN CHINESE AND IGBO LANGUAGES

Abstract

This study employed a comparative analysis to examine the adverbs of Chinese and Igbo languages, adopting a descriptive approach to identify similarities and differences. Data collection relied on secondary sources, including textbooks, journals, and online materials, with qualitative analysis focusing on Mandarin Chinese and Standard Igbo. The findings revealed that both languages use single-word adverbs, functioning as modifiers providing information on action or quality, but differ in their placement and modification capabilities. Specifically, Igbo manner adverbs cannot occur between subject and verb, whereas Chinese manner adverbs can, and Chinese adverbs typically have fixed sentence positions, whereas Igbo adverbs can be placed for emphasis or meaning. Furthermore, word order differs, with Mandarin Chinese placing adverbs before verbs, while Igbo places them after verbs, and Igbo adverbs modify only verbs, unlike Chinese adverbs which modify adjectives. The study contributes to understanding Chinese and Igbo language structures, highlighting unique adverbial features, and recommends that teachers of Igbo L1 learners of Chinese should be knowledgeable about Igbo to account for errors in spoken Chinese.