重点

[hpa88]

Hello to everyone,

I am a bit confused about the meaning of 重点 in the following sentence (it belongs to a political speech I have to translate)

一方面...重点支持实体经济特别是小型微型企业

At first sight I thought that the sentence means : on one hand, (we) focused on supporting the real economy, especially small and micro enterprise

Am I right?

still not conviced about the use of 重点, before this sentence I've always seen it used as "main point", i.e. a name and not a verb

thank you

[陳德聰]

重点支持 focus on supporting

[Hofmann]

This usage kind of bothers me too, but I guess you can do it. Wild guess: it means 以為重點而支持.

[陳德聰]

Isn't it as wild as verbing nouns in English?

The categories are much more fluid in Chinese and so while it is not necessarily the expected usage, it shouldn't be all that surprising that it is perfectly acceptable.

[creamyhorror]

The categories are much more fluid in Chinese and so while it is not necessarily the expected usage, it shouldn't be all that surprising that it is perfectly acceptable.

True, but 重点 seems more like an adjective/verb+noun compound to me, and I prefer those not to be used as transitive verbs since they basically break grammar and become idioms. It's like saying "Let's main-point economic development" in English - awkward-sounding (since I'm not used to this usage). I acknowledge it's accepted usage, though.

[陳德聰]

Hm. I like your example, but wouldn't it be more like saying "Let's main-point-support economic development"?

Which is not so far off from English constructions where similar compounds occur (though I don't know that I would say 重点支持 constitutes a compound so much as a phrase), e.g., "sidestep", "browbeat", and "manhandle".

But in all fairness... I don't really like 重点支持 as a phrase either.

[creamyhorror]

Hm. I like your example, but wouldn't it be more like saying "Let's main-point-support economic development"?

That would imply that 重点 is being used as an adverb, sort of like 重点地支持, which is still weird-sounding to me but probably also acceptable. An equivalent might be "Let's main-pointedly support economic development." The analogy breaks down since Chinese adverbs work differently from English ones, though.

Which is not so far off from English constructions where similar compounds occur (though I don't know that I would say 重点支持 constitutes a compound so much as a phrase), e.g., "sidestep", "browbeat", and "manhandle".

Notice how all those are adj+verb or noun+verb compounds, and not verb+noun ones? My impression is that English doesn't like V+N compounds as much as the reverse (and for good reason IMO).

[Mindmaxd]

重点here means 着重的，有重点地 with an emphasis on; centering on; focusing on

eg：像小聪这样的同学需要 重点培养。

贫困小学需要 重点支持。

[陳德聰]

@creamyhorror

I'm confused, you think 重点支持 is a V+N compound??? If 重点 were a V+N compound, the head would be N not V, so a 重点支持 compound (theoretical, and not really what I think is going on with this construction) would be [_V [_N[_V 重][_N 点]][_V 支持]]. Like you said, N+V compounds are not really all that weird, so even in this framework it's half-heartedly okay.

What is more likely is that 重点支持 is a phrase meaning 有重点地支持, not a compound, that has acquired idiom/lexical status because of the similarity in form to other acceptable constructions.

[li3wei1]

kick-ass and lickspittle are both V+N compounds, but neither is used adverbially as far as I know.

[creamyhorror]

@creamyhorror

I'm confused, you think 重点支持 is a V+N compound???

I think 重点 is a A/V+N compound, as you say. BTW, I initially thought 重点 was being used as a verb, but on checking the dictionary discovered it was only an adverb (and noun and adjective).

If 重点 were a V+N compound, the head would be N not V, so a 重点支持 compound (theoretical, and not really what I think is going on with this construction) would be [_V [_N[_V 重][_N 点]][_V 支持]]. Like you said, N+V compounds are not really all that weird, so even in this framework it's half-heartedly okay.

Yes, if 重点 taken as a noun, then its use as an adjective is expected, and an adverbial usage as in 重点支持 is just one step beyond that. I just find using 重点 adverbially a little weird. I probably just haven't seen enough noun-as-adverb examples in Chinese to get comfortable with the practice.

What is more likely is that 重点支持 is a phrase meaning 有重点地支持, not a compound, that has acquired idiom/lexical status because of the similarity in form to other acceptable constructions.

Yes, I never meant to imply that I thought 重点支持 was a compound and not a phrase. I was talking about 重点 as a V/A+N compound.

Good discussion, thanks.

[HusbandOfWuhan]

3.

副

表示把某一内容当作

重点

；着重 I think it's being used as an adverb here? But it's better to get the feel of the sentence structure instead of worrying about the grammatical terminology.

重点扶持。重点介绍 To make "the support of the real economy (支持实体经济)" into a priority （重点）. 重点 - To make ....something.... into a priority 武汉之夫

[skylee]

To make ....something.... into a priority

I agree that it means to give priority or to give emphasis to something.

[creamyhorror]

I think it's being used as an adverb here? But it's better to get the feel of the sentence structure instead of worrying about the grammatical terminology.

I like to understand grammar, so it doesn't hurt to be clear about the grammatical roles of words. Knowing that it's an adverb tells me that you can't say 重点经济 (meaning "to make the economy a priority"), because 经济 isn't a verb. Instead you have to say 重点支持经济. That's why grammar is useful.

[li3wei1]

that you can't say 重点经济

are you sure? Google's coming up with 524 million results.

[imron]

Using Google can be really useful sometimes, but you need to be careful how you do it, otherwise it can lead you to draw widely inaccurate conclusions.

For example, try searching again with quotes and that number drops to 277,000. Which is still quite a lot, but then if you look at the results, it always 重点 + 经济something or other e.g. 经济改革时间表. So it's not really 重点经济.