The Concept of “Macro-Grammar” and the Teaching of Chinese Grammar

The system of Chinese grammar has been established within the framework of Indo-European grammatical theory. Defining Chinese grammar within this framework has become a tradition in the study and teaching of Chinese grammar. However, strictly adhering to this tradition often leads to a sense of “cutting the foot to fit the shoe” or “being stretched too thin” in the teaching of Chinese grammar. Advocating for the concept of “macro-grammar”, which emphasizes “usage” as the foundation and gives equal importance to phonology, syntax, semantics and pragmatics, can help broaden our perspective and enable a more comprehensive understanding of Chinese grammar. This, in turn, allows us to address problems encountered in Chinese language teaching more effectively and reasonably.