Density: Nong and Dan

Semantically speaking, nong (濃) and dan (淡) are contraries in their own semantic network (see Figures 5.1 and 5.2). Most of their usual meanings are related to the high or low density of physical entities. For instance, in the CWN for “今天霧很濃” (the fog is dense today), the

word nong is utilized to describe the high density of the particles in the mist. As for dan, it is applied to mean the low degree of the quantity of physical entities in a CWN sentence such as “她臉上的彩妝乍看很淡” (she wears little make-up at first sight). Respectively, nong has nine distinctive senses, and dan has eight separate ones.

In total, three different perceptual modalities can be viewed as the perceptual aspects for nong: SIGHT, SMELL, and FLAVOR. According to CWN, in the example sentence of “您的 圖片顏色很濃” (the color of your picture is very dense), nong stands for the dense hue of color in the picture. In the sentence of “曇花在晚上開花，而且花香很濃” (The epiphyllum blossoms at night and its floral smell is very dense), nong stands for the high intensity of flower scents. Last, in the sentence of “這裡油條很好吃、豆漿很濃” (The youtiao (deep-fried breadstick) here is really delicious and the soybean milk is very dense), nong means the high density of flavor in the soybean milk.

These property modifiers contain their own aspects within mainly perceptual domains, and these aspects are correspondent to the zones of the object they activate. Within perceptions, the activated zones of the modified subject are within the domain of human senses, and thus can the aspects of both property modifiers and modified objects be efficiently communicated.

In the following examples, (5.1) to (5.3), the aspects of the modifier nong range from the intensity of hue in SIGHT (e.g., “deep green” 濃綠, “light purple” 淡紫), SMELL, and TASTE

to the complex sensation of FLAVOR. However, in the context of coffee cupping, their aspects are transferred to the density of SMELL to modify the olfactory sensation of rice, and to the density of FLAVOR to modify the gustatory sensation of white champaca.

(5.1)

加糖的部份的話，就是濃濃的米香味，以及一種藥水味。

In the espresso with added sugar, there is a dense smell of rice, and a kind of medicinal flavor.

(5.2)

第三杯的 latte 的話，主要還是有濃濃的白菜味，那有人說有海鮮的味

道…

In the third cup of the latte, there is mainly a dense flavor of Chinese cabbage, and some have said that it has the flavor of seafood…

(5.3)

第一杯則是，入口的時候完全喝不到牛奶的味道，可是在尾韻的時候出 現濃濃的奶味。

In terms of the first cup, the milk flavor is completely gone at first taste, but then there is a dense milk flavor in the aftertaste.

Mostly, this word is repeated to describe the high density of the smell quality or taste quality.

In example (5.1), the repeat of nong in nong-nong is used to signify a high degree of the rice smell. In the next two examples, (5.2) and (5.3), nong-nong is applied to elaborate the high density of Chinese cabbage flavor and milk flavor. As evident in the following examples of (5.4) and (5.5), this word can also modify the complete flavor of coffee, instead of reflecting the distinctive types of smell or taste. In (5.4), it is ambiguous whether the word nong stands for the flavor or the color of the coffee. In other words, this word allows a double-modal interpretation.

(5.4)

Espresso 我們覺得它非常的濃，然後是這三杯裡面最好喝的，所以我們

也覺得她最適合做espresso。

We think that the espresso is very dense (or dark in color), and it is the best one within the three types of coffee. Thus, we consider it as the most suitable one for making an espresso.

(5.5) Aftertaste 一樣會有一些苦味，但是味道會比第二支濃一些，比較沒 有這麼酸。

The aftertaste of this coffee has some bitterness as well, but its flavor would be denser than that of the second coffee, and would not be so sour.

As the antonym to nong, dan (淡) can also be specifically situated within the perceptual contexts of SIGHT, SMELL, and FLAVOR.However, compared with nong, dan denotes the low density within those perceptions. For instance, as shown in CWN, in the sentence of “生抽 是 醬 油的一種， 特色是色澤 較淡” (Light soy sauce is a kind of soy sauce, and its characteristic is a pale color), dan modifies the thin color of the soy sauce. In the example of

“口味較淡的月餅” (The mooncake with less flavor), the word indicates a reduced richness

In our present data, the foregrounded perceptual aspects are all within the flavor percept (i.e.,

SMELL, TASTE, or FLAVOR), while the SIGHT perceptual aspect is haphazard (see example (5.4)).

Only the FLAVOR aspect is foregrounded because synesthetic metonymic words are highly context-dependent. To be more precise, it is the context of the coffee tasting that “primes”

the perceptual aspects of FLAVOR to be in the foreground. Consider examples (5.6) to (5.8), which all involve the low density of flavor.

(5.6)

它在熱的時候入口後，苦味比較明顯而且有煙味，但是它的味道是稍微 比較淡的。

When drinking it while it is still hot, the bitterness is more obvious, accompanied by a smell of smoke, but its flavor is less dense.

(5.7)

味道喝起來的話，是有一點水，它沒有甚麼body，然後有一些菸味和起

士味，可是整體而言味道很淡。

Figure 5.3 The Chinese WordNet of dan

The flavor when drinking it is a bit watery; it does not have any (creamy) body.

Then, there is the smell of smoke and the flavor of cheese, but in sum, the flavor is very low density.

(5.8)

風味的部分，第一杯喝起來是比較清爽的麥茶，然後有淡淡的焦味，和 微微的鹹味。

As for the flavor, the first cup tastes like fresh wheat tea, and there is a low-density burnt flavor, and a little saltiness.

In examples (5.9) and (5.10), the word dan modifies the quality of smell. Moreover, it is applied to the subtypes of taste in examples (5.11) and (5.12). In these examples, dan indicates the intensity of the perceptual qualities sensed via the act of tasting.

(5.9)

加糖之後，有淡淡的榛果香，而且感覺蠻鮮甜的味道。

After adding sugar, the coffee has a low-density scent of hazelnut, and we feel that the flavor is fresh and sweet.

(5.10)

…然後有組員認為，它有一點淡淡的玉蘭花香。

…and some members have thought that it has a slightly light smell of white champaca.

(5.11)

喝起來的感覺呢，第一杯 espresso…入口的時候是先酸後苦，那有人說

有帶點淡淡的鹹味，然後有少許的中藥味。

In drinking the first espresso…there is at first acidity and then bitterness, and someone has said that it has a low-density saltiness, and there is a bit of the flavor of Chinese medicine.

(5.12)

然後在尾韻的部分，它有些許的奶油感，還有就是淡淡的甜味。

In the aftertaste, there is a bit of a creamy feel, and it has a low-density sweetness.

5.1.2 Thickness: Hou and Bo

In terms of the modifiers of thickness, hou (厚) and bo (薄) share an antonymic relationship in depicting the degree of thickness and thinness, respectively, within their semantic networks (see Figures 5.3 and 5.4). In other words, their usual application of scale modification is connected to the large or small dimension of physical entities. According to Williams, dimension is also viewed as another magnitude for measuring the SIGHT perception. For instance, according to CWN, in the saying, “手裡拿著一個很厚的簿子” (with a very thick notebook in his hand), the word hou is utilized to depict the thickness of the notebook. As for bo, the word is used to mean the small degree of thickness of physical entities. For example, in the CWN sentence of “修行者在石板地面上鋪一塊斑駁破舊的薄布，盤腿而 坐” (The cultivator placed an old, shabby, and very thin piece of fabric on the stone ground, and sat on it with his legs crossed), bo is used to depict the thinness of the fabric. According to CWN, hou has seven distinctive senses, and bo has eight separate ones. Compared with nong and dan, hou and bo have four different perceptual modalities whose perceptual aspects

are foregrounded, namely, SIGHT, SOUND, SMELL, and TASTE. However, in terms of its perceptual aspect, that is, SIGHT,hou elaborates the dimensional scale of physical objects rather than the hue of their color. In the sentence of “他的說話聲音厚而不滯” (The sound of his voice is thick without lifelessness), hou stands for the thickness of the timbre of a voice.

In the sentence of “風磨酒是博若萊斯著名的葡萄酒，

其酒味厚質良” (Moulin-a-vent is a famous grape wine from Beaujolais. Its wine flavor is thick and the quality is great), hou means the high density of flavor in the grape wine.

In our present data of hou, we find that the perceptions concerning the flavor percept (i.e.,

SMELL, TASTE, or FLAVOR) are the foregrounded perceptual aspects while the SIGHT and

SOUND aspects are backgrounded. Further, highly context-dependent synesthetic metonymic words foreground the FLAVOR aspect, while other possible perceptual aspects are in the background. In example (5.13), the word hou indicates the high density of the coffee flavor.

(5.13)

冷掉之後會覺得這個味道比前兩支更厚，然後有點像是發酵過後的葡萄

Figure 5.4 The Chinese WordNet of hou

乾的味道。

After the coffee is already cold, we feel that its flavor gets thicker than that of the former two cups, and it tastes a bit like the flavor of fermented raisins.

Nonetheless, hou is not shown independently in our present data. In fact, it appears along with nong most of the time. Since CWN can only cope with one-word lexicons, we view the frequent modifier, nong-hou (濃厚), as a lexicon, meaning both nong and hou, used to elaborate the quality of the flavor. Owing to the perceptual aspects of SMELL, TASTE, and

FLAVOR that both words evoke, there is no exclusiveness or vagueness in the semantics of nong-hou. Consider the following two examples.

(5.14)

第二杯espresso 喝起來，主要是可可的味道，就是黑巧克力的味道非常

的濃厚。

In tasting the second espresso, there is mainly a cocoa flavor, that is, a really thick flavor of dark chocolate.

(5.15)

喝美式的時候有發現，它其實澀味跟苦味非常的濃厚。

When drinking the Americano, we found that it actually has a very thick feeling of astringency and bitterness.

On the other hand, bo (薄) also evokes the perceptual aspects of SIGHT, SOUND, SMELL, and

FLAVOR.Yet, compared with hou, bo modifies the degree of these perceptions in terms of lowness. In particular, in terms of the perceptual aspect of SOUND, bo stands for the low degree of the volume instead of the timbre, as it is for hou. As shown in CWN, in the sentence,

“協奏曲中的大提琴聲音太小，樂團的低聲部太薄” (the cello sound is too low in this concerto, and the sound of the low part of the orchestra is too thin), bo indicates the low

degree of volume in the concerto. In the example of “壽司飯粒鬆垮，飯質過軟，該有的 醋香味薄到幾乎不見” (The sushi rice is very loose, the rice is too soft, and the required vinegar flavor is so thin as to be nearly gone), the word bo indicates the lack of vinegar in the sushi. In short, property modifier bo contains its own aspects within the senses of SIGHT,

SOUND, and FLAVOR, which are correspondent to the “zones” of the entity that they activate.

In the following examples, (5.16) to (5.18), the aspects of SMELL, TASTE, and the complex sensory experience of FLAVOR are activated in the context of coffee cupping. In addition, although it appears independently as a one-word lexicon, bo is sometimes accompanied by other modifiers signifying a low degree of intensity, such as dan, forming the lexicon

dan-Figure 5.5 The Chinese WordNet of bo

(5.16)

然後加了牛奶之後，咖啡可以帶出牛奶的甜味，但是他本身就顯得味道 比較薄一點。

After adding milk to the espresso, the coffee is able to bring out the sweetness of the milk, but its flavor is a bit thin.

(5.17)

加了牛奶，它的牛奶味是比較明顯的，並且味道上是比較淡薄。

After adding the milk, its milk flavor is more obvious, and the flavor is more low density and thin.

(5.18)

那espresso 稍微可惜一點就是有點中藥味，加水的部分，尖銳的酸，以

及淡薄的苦。

In terms of the espresso, it is a pity that it has a bit of a Chinese medicinal flavor. When water is added to it, there is a sharp acidity, along with a low-density, thin bitterness.